Crockpot Chicken Tacos
These Crockpot Chicken Tacos are one of our very favorite weeknight meals. They are easy, prep-free, and absolutely delicious. Whether you are just feeding the family or entertaining company, these tacos are always a crowd pleaser!
Why We Love These Crockpot Chicken Tacos
This recipe is honestly one of the most simple recipes that I make. The best part is, there is no prep required. Just grab the ingredients and throw them into your crockpot! There are only 3 main ingredients for this recipe: chicken, salsa, and taco seasoning. Cook for a few hours, shred, and boom! Dinner is done. It doesn’t get much easier than that!
It’s also crazy delicious. It makes a regular appearance as a quick weeknight meal, but it’s also great for entertaining! It’s hands-off, which gives me plenty of time for my guests. Add lots of toppings, tortilla options, and some cilantro rice, and you have a fantastic spread that everyone will love. Trust me on this one!
Ingredients for Crockpot Chicken Tacos:
- Chicken– You can use thighs or breasts. Thighs generally turn out more moist than breasts due to the higher fat content. But I always have frozen chicken breasts on hand, so that is usually what I use.
- Taco Seasoning– Buying the taco seasoning packets is great, super quick and convenient. But if you have a little bit of extra time, making your own is really delicious and a bit more versatile in flavor. Here is our homemade taco seasoning recipe.
- Salsa– The type of salsa you use in the recipe will really determine the flavor. There are so many different types of salsas – chunky, smooth, blended, spicy, mild, more smoky….. Choose your favorite salsa for this recipe and you will love the flavor of the chicken!
How To Make Crockpot Chicken Tacos:
- Add chicken to your crockpot. Sprinkle with taco seasoning and pour the salsa over the top.
- Cook on low for 5-6 hours. You can also cook on high for 3-4 hours. Because chicken breast cooks faster, you might want to use a meat thermometer to avoid overcooking. All poultry should be cooked to an internal temperature of 165 degrees F. You want it to easily shred, but not be dry.
- Shred the chicken. Remove the chicken to a cutting board and shred with two forks. Return the chicken to the crockpot and toss with the sauce.
- Put the chicken in tortillas. You can use flour or corn. Pro tip: cooking soft tortillas in a hot skillet or heating crunchy tacos in the oven really takes these tacos to the next level.
- Add toppings. Top your tacos with sliced avocados, fresh tomatoes, shredded cabbage, grated cheese, and/or sour cream.
Tips & Suggestions:
Can I make Crockpot Chicken Tacos in the Instant Pot?
Yes! This recipe works great in an Instant Pot. Set to PRESSURE COOK or MANUAL for 15 minutes. When it’s done, do a quick pressure release.
How long can I store leftover chicken?
Leftover shredded chicken can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for 3-4 days, or you can freeze it for up to 4 months.
What salsa should I use for Crockpot Chicken Tacos?
Because there are only a couple of ingredients in this chicken taco recipe, you want to make sure that you use a salsa that you love! I prefer using a smoother salsa, as opposed to a chunky salsa. The level of heat, smokiness, sweetness, etc. will all depend on the salsa that you use.
What should I serve on my Crockpot Chicken Tacos?
The best thing about tacos are the toppings! Some of our favorite taco toppings are:
- Avocados
- Tomatoes
- Lettuce
- Cabbage
- Cheese
- Fresh Cilantro
- Plain Greek Yogurt or Sour Cream
- Fresh Lime Juice
- Red Onion
- Radishes
- Jicama
- Mango Salsa
Other ways to enjoy this Crockpot Chicken Taco Recipe:
Because this recipe is so fast, easy, and delicious- I make it a lot! Here are some other delicious ways to serve it.
- Wrap it up with rice and cheese and bake for chicken burritos.
- Add it to your cheese quesadillas.
- Use leftover shredded chicken to make nachos.
- Use it to make taco salads.
- Wrap into tortillas and bake for easy chicken taquitos.
- Serve over cilantro rice with avocado lime dressing.
More Taco Recipes To Try:
- Taco Bowl with Avocado Lime Dressing
- Fish Tacos with Pineapple Salsa
- Instant Pot Pulled Pork Tacos
- Best Ever Taco Soup
Crockpot Chicken Tacos
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 pounds chicken boneless skinless thighs or breasts
- 16 ounces salsa your favorite kind
- 1/4 cup taco seasoning homemade or 1 store bought packet (1.25 oz)
- 8 medium tortillas corn or flour
Serve with:
- shredded cheese, sliced avocado, diced tomatoes, diced bell pepper, chopped lettuce or cabbage, sour cream or plain Greek yogurt, lime wedges
Instructions
- Add chicken to the bottom of your crockpot. Sprinkle with taco seasoning, and then pour salsa over the top.
- Cook on low for 5-6 hours or high for 3-4 hours. Once cooked through, remove the chicken to a cutting board and use two forks to shred. You can also put chicken in a large bowl and use a hand mixer to shred the chicken. Once shredded, put back in the crockpot and mix with the remaining sauce.
- Serve warm with corn or flour tortillas and your favorite taco toppings. Enjoy!
Nutrition
www.superhealthykids.com
Natalie Monson
I'm a registered dietitian, mom of 4, avid lover of food and strong promoter of healthy habits. Here you will find lots of delicious recipes full of fruits and veggies, tips for getting your kids to eat better and become intuitive eaters and lots of resources for feeding your family.
Learn More about Natalie
can you use chicken breast?
My favorite kind of meal. 🙂
How do you do your tortillas? My kids only like them fried and oil. Yours look healthier. 🙂
Vennessa- If I’m making homemade corn tortillas, I too fry them in some oil.. I do try to only use a tiny bit though. 🙁
Yes Christy- I would just include maybe a 1/4 cup of water with it, since they tend to be a little more dry.
I tried to fry my corn tortillas,and they turned out soft and greasy. Yours look crispy?? How do I get those to work better?
How long did you cook the chicken?
Chicken cooks pretty quickly in the Crockpot- I probably had mine in for about 3-4 hours.
Hi PK! This is one of my husbands fiotraves, so I fix it often! I prep it in a crock pot liner, and set in the refrig the night before, and put it on at the time that is needed to have it ready for the meal I am preparing! Happy Crocking!
Tortilla recipe please. Looks yummy!
Yes! Please!
Hey Kelly and Maggie- I wish they were homemade shells! they are raw corn tortillas that I quick fried 🙁 I’ll practice some homemade ones though! It’s tricky to get them thin enough!
I also want to know how you got your taco shells crispy and bent into the taco shape! They look yummy!
They actually aren’t that crispy! I still have a lot to learn to make those just like store bought!
I’m going to try this recipe tonight! If I use chicken breasts – how many lbs should I use with the 1/2 cup salsa and 1 T seasoning? And is the 3-4 hours on high or low? Thanks!
Hi Jen- I usually cook chicken on Low. It cooks very quickly in my crockpot!
Thanks Amy! How many lbs of chicken is your recipe written for?
I think the standard package I buy is 3 lbs!
Hello Amy,
Did you use skinless, boneless chicken thighs for this recipe? Or, do you recommend bone-in?
Skinless, boneless!
I really liked the chicken and veggies. The tortillas threw me a little. We called it burritos. The picture looked crunchy, but there aren’t directions how to do that.
This was great for Taco Tuesday. I used a different taco seasoning recipe that I already had made up. I added refried beans, sour cream, and dried cilantro. It was good!
Very moist with chicken thighs, I used pineapple salsa and Trader Joe’s taco seasoning, very good
Very delicious and easy. Both husband and I loved it!
I made in the pressure cooker and added bell peppers. Very quick and easy
Big hit!
A hit for the whole family.
Very good and easy, making again
I did use chicken breasts that I already had on hand. 2/3 of my kids devoured this and loved the build your own taco toppings we had on table! Hubby and I were bummed we didn’t have leftovers for lunch!
Tender chicken, great flavor, kids liked it
Phenomenal
This was so good. Family loved it. Will make it again.
Family loved it. Budget friendly very easy and delicious.
Super easy! And tasty!
Was a hit at dinner time, Miss Picky even ate it. -1 star as the Chicken was a little too spicy for the children even after I omitted the chilli powder.
Our family really liked this. Hubby grilled the chicken rather than cooking it in a crockpot, but it was delicious!
The kids loved this – I substituted most of the spices taco seasoning which made it even simpler and still delicious
used ground turkey, can of tomatoes, can of black beans, was delicious and more like chili
Used leftover chicken, so I just reheated it in a cast iron skillet, but I used the same ingredients otherwise and it turned out delicious!
Delicious and easy!
This was wonderful. The chicken was full of flavor and super moist. Even hubby enjoyed it, and he is super picky.
I really loved it. I didn’t put it in a crockpot because I didn’t have time, so I cooked it in a pan. I was scared because it was too spicy, but once it gets in the tortilla, the flavor is amazing (I still would use less spicy flavor).
So easy and delicious. A bit on the salty side though.
Kids loved it!
I was super excited about this simple recipe, but as I was distracted by the kids when preparing it and put most of the taco seasoning on the chicken before I realized I was only supposed to put 1 tbsp. We’ll see how it goes!
Yum. And easy.
Simply simple and delish!
This was a hit! Everyone loved it! We ended up having to do the chicken in then oven, so it was a little on the dry side, but still great!
How did you make the shells? I hate buying hard shells from the store because they are always stale. Those look like they are fried corn tortillas? Would love any tips so they don’t turn out an oily mess.
Hi Lauren! You can make your own baked corn tortilla shells by putting a little oil on them and baking them on a baking sheet. When we do this, they’re still pliable enough that we can fold them over into tacos (especially if you add a pinch of cheese to the middle) but they have a bit of crunch, too. Try them for just about 5 minutes in a 400 F oven.
I don’t feel like this made very much food but other than that, what can you hate about a taco?
How do you make thus in an instant pot?
I wrote a guide for doing just this! https://www.superhealthykids.com/the-ultimate-guide-for-making-any-crockpot-recipe-in-an-instant-pot/.