Description
A flavorful and easy Crock-Pot Chicken Tacos recipe featuring tender shredded chicken cooked in a savory blend of taco seasoning, diced tomatoes, green chiles, and onions. Perfect for a hands-off slow cooker meal that can be served with your favorite toppings and tortillas.
Ingredients
Scale
Chicken Taco Filling
- 3 pounds boneless skinless chicken breasts
- 3 heaping tablespoons homemade taco seasoning mix or store-bought
- 3/4 cup diced onion
- 14.5 ounce can diced tomatoes (regular, fire-roasted, or fire-roasted garlic), undrained
- 4.5 ounce can diced green chiles, undrained
- 1/2 cup chopped cilantro (optional)
For Serving
- Tortillas (corn or flour)
- Vegetable oil (if frying tortillas)
- Toppings such as cheese, sour cream, tomatoes, lettuce, avocado, hot sauce, etc.
Instructions
- Prepare the Slow Cooker: Place the chicken breasts in the bottom of the slow cooker insert.
- Add Seasoning and Vegetables: Sprinkle the taco seasoning evenly over the chicken, then top with the diced onion. Pour the undrained diced tomatoes over the top, followed by the undrained diced green chiles. Do not stir.
- Cook the Chicken: Cover and cook on LOW for 8 hours to ensure tenderness and full flavor development.
- Shred the Chicken: Remove the lid and shred the cooked chicken with two forks directly in the slow cooker.
- Add Cilantro and Mix: Add chopped cilantro to the shredded chicken and stir gently to combine all ingredients well.
- Prepare Tortillas for Serving: For soft tacos, toast flour tortillas in a dry skillet over medium heat for about 30 seconds per side until warm and slightly toasted. For crispy tacos, heat vegetable oil in a frying pan over medium-high heat and fry corn tortillas about 1 minute per side. Drain on paper towels and blot excess oil.
- Serve: Assemble the tacos with shredded chicken and your choice of toppings such as cheese, sour cream, tomatoes, lettuce, avocado, and hot sauce.
Notes
- This recipe yields approximately 7 cups of cooked shredded chicken.
- Nutrition values are based on the chicken taco filling only, excluding tortillas and toppings.
- To refrigerate leftovers, store in an airtight container for up to 3 to 4 days.
- Freeze leftovers in freezer-safe bags, pressing out air and freezing flat for up to 3 months; thaw in refrigerator before reheating.
- Use homemade taco seasoning for a fresh flavor or a good quality store-bought mix for convenience.
- Adjust cooking time according to your slow cooker; low and slow is best for tender chicken.
- For crispy tortillas, be cautious with oil temperature to prevent burning and ensure even frying.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1/8 of recipe
- Calories: 220 kcal
- Sugar: 3 g
- Sodium: 450 mg
- Fat: 4 g
- Saturated Fat: 1 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 3 g
- Trans Fat: 0 g
- Carbohydrates: 6 g
- Fiber: 1 g
- Protein: 38 g
- Cholesterol: 110 mg
