Crockpot Mexican Chicken {Chicken Tacos}

One of the easiest, healthiest, and most versatile dinners that you’ll make all year, this crockpot Mexican chicken is going to become a staple in your regular meal prep routine! With just 5 ingredients, the flavorful shredded meat works well in tortillas for crockpot chicken tacos, over lettuce for taco salad, in casseroles, soups, enchiladas, burritos, on nachos, or with other toppings on rice bowls.

Crockpot Chicken Tacos

This crockpot Mexican chicken creates the best crockpot chicken tacos! The easy dump-and-go slow cooker dinner makes mealtime easy — even on busy weeknights. There’s no prep work necessary, and it takes advantage of just a handful of simple pantry staples. Use the zesty, flavorful shredded chicken in other ways, too. It keeps everyone at the table happy, whether it’s tucked inside tortillas or taco shells, served on top of rice, piled high on salad, used on taco pizzas, in casseroles, or melted into chicken quesadillas.

Ingredients for Crock Pot Mexican Chicken

This is just a quick overview of the ingredients that you’ll need for slow cooker chicken tacos. As always, specific measurements and complete cooking instructions are included in the printable recipe box at the bottom of the post.

• Fire-roasted diced tomatoes: these canned tomatoes are gently roasted over an open fire for a great smoky, Southwestern flavor. You can substitute with regular canned diced tomatoes if you prefer.
• Diced green chiles: add even more Mexican flavor to the meal.
• Diced onion: use frozen diced onion as a shortcut so that you don’t even have to pull out a knife or cutting board!
• Boneless skinless chicken breasts or boneless skinless chicken thighs: you’ll need about 2 pounds of boneless skinless chicken. The dark meat thighs tend to stay juicier over the longer cooking time, but either option is great.
• Taco seasoning: I grab a packet (or two!) of prepared taco seasoning mix for ease, but you can substitute with about 2-4 tablespoons of homemade taco seasoning mix if you prefer.

How to Make Crockpot Chicken Tacos

This recipe comes from a blog reader, who kindly shared it with me because her family loves the meal so much. I’ve since tested the Mexican chicken in the Instant Pot too, which works equally well. Both sets of instructions are included in the recipe box at the bottom of the post.

1. Place half of the tomatoes, half of the chiles, and half of the onions in the bottom of a slow cooker.
2. Arrange the chicken on top.
3. Sprinkle taco seasoning over the chicken.
4. Add the remaining tomatoes, chiles, and onions to the slow cooker.
5. Cover the Crock Pot and cook the chicken on LOW for 4-6 hours or on HIGH for 2-3 hours.
6. Remove the chicken to a cutting board and shred with two forks.
7. Return the chicken to the slow cooker and stir it into the juices.

How to Serve Crockpot Mexican Chicken

In addition to the fact that it’s easy and healthy, this Mexican-inspired dish is incredibly versatile! Here are just a few ways to enjoy the perfectly tender, juicy, and zesty meat:

• Piled on top of a bed of lettuce for a chicken taco salad (add cheese, sour cream, green onions, olives, and any other fixin’s that you love);
• Stuffed inside of burritos;
• Tucked into taco shells, corn tortillas, or soft flour tortillas for chicken tacos;
• Toasted inside cheesy chicken quesadillas;
• Sitting in a bowl on top of fluffy white rice or Mexican rice (or cauliflower rice, if you’re looking for a grain-free dinner);
• Baked in chicken enchiladas;
• Topping a giant tray of chicken nachos;
• In baked chicken taquitos;
• For taco soup (in lieu of beef);
• In a chicken taco casserole…

and there are probably about a zillion additional ways to use the slow cooker chicken, so do what works best for you!

Toppings for Crockpot Shredded Chicken Tacos

Add any of these fresh toppings to your crock-pot chicken tacos:

• Salsa or chopped fresh tomatoes
• Sliced avocado, or use the fresh avocados to make this easy homemade guacamole
• Sour cream
• Sliced green onions, minced red onion, or quick pickled red onions
• Fresh cilantro
• Sliced olives
• Lime juice squeezed from fresh limes
• Sliced jalapeños
• Black beans or pinto beans

How to Store Leftovers

The crockpot Mexican chicken is a great make-ahead option if you need a meal that you can prep in advance to enjoy on your busiest days. Store the leftover chicken taco meat in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 3-4 days, or in the freezer for up to 3 months. Reheat the shredded chicken and sauce in a saucepan or skillet over low heat on the stovetop (or in the microwave).

Recipe Variations for Slow Cooker Chicken Tacos

• To feed a larger family (or to have even more leftovers), double all of the ingredients to cook 4 lbs. of chicken. The rest of the cooking instructions remain the same.
• Add even more flavor to the shredded chicken by using a second packet of taco seasoning or by seasoning the meat with additional chili powder, cumin, garlic powder, onion powder, smoked paprika, salt, and pepper.
• Use an electric stand mixer to shred the cooked chicken if you don’t want to do so by hand.

Tips for the Best Crockpot Chicken Tacos Recipe

• Use either boneless skinless chicken breasts or boneless skinless chicken thighs for this recipe. We find that the dark meat boneless chicken thighs stay a bit juicier during the slow cooking process, but they are both great.
• You do not need to add any extra liquid to the Crock Pot. The juices from the tomatoes and chilies will go into the pot, and the condensation from the slow cooker will accumulate as well. There should be more than enough liquid by the end, and you don’t want to water-down the sauce.
• Be careful not to overcook your chicken. I find that the chicken breast or thighs have the best texture when cooked in my slow cooker on HIGH for about 2-3 hours (at the most — sometimes they’re done in just 90 minutes). That keeps them moist and juicy, and prevents them from drying out. The meat is done when it reaches an internal temperature of 165°F.
• Also remember — every slow cooker runs at a slightly different temperature (which is why the recipe gives you general time ranges, rather than exact times). Since my slow cooker tends to cook at a relatively high temperature, I find that the meal is best when cooked on HIGH for about 2 hours or on LOW for about 4 hours. Just get familiar with your pot and adjust accordingly.

More Crock Pot Chicken Recipes to Try

• Chicken Corn Chowder
• Crock Pot Chicken Stew
• Slow Cooker White Chicken Chili
• Crock Pot Chicken and Noodles
• Crockpot Chicken and Stuffing
• Slow Cooker Chicken and Rice
• Easy Chicken Tortilla Soup
• Crock Pot Chicken and Gravy
• Crock Pot Chicken Pot Pie
• Crockpot BBQ Chicken

Crockpot Mexican Chicken {Crockpot Chicken Tacos}

4.67 from 3 votes

Prep: 5 minutes minutes

Cook: 3 hours hours

Total: 3 hours hours 5 minutes minutes

Servings 6 servings

Calories 315 kcal

A super easy and delicious Crock Pot Mexican chicken recipe that works well for tacos, casseroles, salads, soup, burritos, enchiladas, rice bowls, and more!

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Ingredients

  

• 1 (14.5 oz) can fire-roasted diced tomatoes, not drained
• 1 (4 oz) can diced green chiles, not drained
• 1 cup diced onion (I use frozen diced onion as a shortcut)
• 2 lbs. boneless, skinless chicken breasts or boneless, skinless chicken thighs
• 1 (1 oz) packet taco seasoning (or increase to 2 packets of seasoning for more flavorful, zestier chicken)
• Optional, for serving: tortillas or taco shells, cheese, lettuce, tomatoes, salsa, avocado or guacamole, sour cream, chopped onion, fresh cilantro

Instructions

For the Slow Cooker:

• Place ½ of the tomatoes, half of the chilies, and half of the onion in the bottom of a slow cooker. Place chicken on top.
• Sprinkle taco seasoning over chicken. Add remaining tomatoes, chilies, and onion on top of chicken.
• Cook on LOW for 4-6 hours or on HIGH for 2-3 hours.
• Remove the chicken to a cutting board and use two forks to shred the meat. Stir the shredded chicken back into the sauce and cook for a few more minutes, until warmed through.

For the Instant Pot:

• Place ½ of the tomatoes, half of the chilies, and half of the onion in the bottom of an Instant Pot or pressure cooker. Place chicken on top.
• Sprinkle taco seasoning over chicken. Add remaining tomatoes, chilies, and onion on top of chicken.
• Secure the lid on the pot. Close the pressure-release valve.
• Select “Poultry” or “Manual” setting. Set the time to 8 minutes for fresh chicken breasts, or 13 minutes for frozen chicken breasts. (These times are for typical 6-8 ounce chicken breasts. If yours are larger, add a couple of minutes.)
• When done, let the pressure naturally release for at least 5 minutes. After that, you can turn the valve to “vent” for quick release if you’re in a hurry, or continue natural release.
• Remove chicken to a cutting board; shred with two forks.
• Return chicken to pot, stir, and serve.

Notes

• To feed a larger family (or to have even more leftovers), double all of the ingredients to cook 4 lbs. of chicken. The rest of the cooking instructions remain the same.
• Add even more flavor to the shredded chicken by adding a second packet of taco seasoning or by seasoning the meat with additional chili powder, cumin, garlic powder, onion powder, smoked paprika, salt, and pepper.
• Use an electric stand mixer to shred the cooked chicken if you don’t want to do so by hand with forks.
• Use either boneless skinless chicken breasts or boneless skinless chicken thighs for this recipe. We find that the dark meat boneless chicken thighs stay a bit juicier during the slow cooking process, but they are both great.
• You do not need to add any extra liquid to the Crock Pot. The juices from the tomatoes and chilies will go into the pot, and the condensation from the slow cooker will accumulate as well. There should be more than enough liquid by the end, and you don’t want to water-down the sauce.
• Be careful not to overcook your chicken. I find that the chicken breast or thighs have the best texture when cooked in my slow cooker on HIGH for about 2-3 hours (at the most — sometimes they’re done in just 90 minutes). That keeps them moist and juicy, and prevents them from drying out. The meat is done when it reaches an internal temperature of 165°F.
• Also remember — every slow cooker runs at a slightly different temperature (which is why the recipe gives you general time ranges, rather than exact times). Since my slow cooker tends to cook at a relatively high temperature, I find that the meal is best when cooked on HIGH for about 2 hours or on LOW for about 4 hours. Just get familiar with your pot and adjust accordingly.

Keyword: crockpot chicken tacos, crockpot mexican chicken, crockpot shredded chicken tacos, instant pot chicken, Mexican Chicken

Course: Dinner

Cuisine: Mexican

Author: Blair Lonergan

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This recipe was originally published in February, 2018. The photos were updated in April, 2022.