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Crockpot Chicken Tacos

5 from 21 votes
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posted: 02/16/20

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This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my disclosure policy

Crockpot Chicken Tacos are a staple in our house. This recipe is only three ingredients and makes for a perfect easy dinner. Want to do it faster? Make my Instant Pot Chicken Tacos!

upclose picture of a chicken taco garnished with pico de Gallo

This is a recipe that has been on my site for years! I said it then and I will say it now, it barely counts as a recipe.

But I insist on sharing it with you because it is such a simple and easy way to make a great dinner for your family. Everyone in my house loves taco night so much, and this moist shredded chicken made in the slow cooker is the essential ingredient to making it perfect.

Reader Review

Absolutely delicious!!! My husband has always been against chicken in tacos! He thinks only ground beef can be in tacos. This recipe made him a believer!!! Now he prefers this over any other taco hands down!!! Thank you for the easy delicious recipe!

Make Crockpot Chicken Tacos in a Few Easy Steps

Start by putting raw chicken breasts in the crockpot. See below for how much you can cook at one time.

a raw chicken breast being placed into a crockpot to make tacos

Add taco seasoning. You can see here, I’m using a store bought packet. That works perfect!

If you would like to make it from scratch you can use my Homemade Taco Seasoning which gives you measurements to replace the packet (3 tablespoons) or enough to make a big batch to always have on hand.

a packet of taco seasoning being poured into a slow cooker

Add enough chicken stock to cover the chicken (about four cups).

You can buy a carton of chicken stock, or keep chicken stock base in your pantry and make four cups before making these tacos.

If you are worried about the salt content of this recipe, I suggest making my taco seasoning and lessening the salt. Then use low sodium chicken broth.

pour chicken stock from a measuring cup into a slow cooker to make chicken tacos

Cook on low for four hours.

This may not seem like enough time, but the way modern slow cookers cook, I’ve never had a problem with this length of time.

shredded chicken for tacos in a slow cooker

Did I Just Make Soup?

I once had someone comment on this recipe that the next time they were going to make this they were going to cut the chicken stock down to 1 cup because they had just made soup.

Please don’t do that.

By covering the chicken with chicken stock we keep it from drying out in the slow cooker. There is nothing worse than coming home to a crockpot meal to find that your white meat is all dry.

With the stock in this recipe that doesn’t happen.

Remove the chicken from the slow cooker and shred it. You will have delicious seasoned shredded chicken perfect for chicken tacos.

overhead view of shredded chicken for tacos on a blue plate with a lime wedge, cilantro, pico de Gallo, tomatoes, and a jalapeño around the plate

Double It

We made this recipe for my in laws at Christmas. We had about thirty people eating, a mixture of adults and kids. We made this recipe and my Taco Meat. It was a huge hit!

You can easily double this recipe and it will still work in a 6 quart slow cooker. Double the meat, double the taco seasoning, and make sure you have enough chicken stock to cover the chicken. Cook for 1 to 2 extra hours on low.

I do not recommend tripling this recipe. We are fortunate enough to own two slow cookers, so we did four pounds of chicken – two in each slow cooker.

Freezing Leftovers

The left overs for this recipe are great! I often store them (without the liquid from the slow cooker) and have them on a taco salad for lunch the next day.

If you would like to freeze the left overs, do so in an airtight container with enough cooking liquid to completely cover the chicken.

What to Serve with Chicken Tacos

This chicken taco recipe is so simple that we often just put out shredded cheese, sour cream, olives, and jalapeños and let the kids built their own tacos.

If you want to get a little classier, make my homemade Pico de Gallo. It is absolutely delicious and takes these tacos over the top.

I’m not sure that taco night is fully complete with out the world’s best margaritas. Not a brag, it’s a friend’s recipe, and it really is the best. Especially if you toss in a few fresh jalapeño slices.

If you want to bulk out this meal a little more, you can make some cilantro lime rice.

If you make this recipe or any of my other recipes, leave me a comment and let me know what you think!

three tacos on a blue plate in front of a crockpot
three tacos on a blue plate in front of a crockpot
5 from 21 votes

Crockpot Chicken Tacos

Serves: 6 people
(tap # to scale)
Prep: 5 minutes
Cook: 4 hours
Total: 4 hours 5 minutes
Crockpot Chicken Tacos are a staple in our house. This recipe is only three ingredients and makes for a perfect easy dinner.

Ingredients

  • 1 pound chicken breasts
  • 4 cups chicken stock
  • 3 tablespoons taco seasoning or a 1 ounce packet from the store

Instructions

  • In the base of a slow cooker wisk together the taco seasoning and chicken stock. Add in the chicken.
  • Cook on low for four hours.
  • Remove the chicken breasts from the crockpot, shred and serve with tortillas and taco toppings.
Author: Lisa Longley
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: Mexican
three tacos on a blue plate in front of a crockpot

did you make this

Crockpot Chicken Tacos

I’d love to see what you made! Tag me @lisasimplejoy and hashtag it #simplejoyrecipes!

Hi! I'm Lisa Longley, and I am committed to giving you simple dinner ideas and recipes that are easy to make; recipes that will fill your home with joy. I am the owner and author of SimpleJoy.com and I'm so glad that you are here.

Reader Interactions

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  1. Nelda Spaks says

    LOVE YOUR RECIPES

    • Lisa Longley says

      Thank you Nelda!

  2. Nadine says

    If you are trying to keep it warm in a crockpot for serving over a couple of hours, would you add some of the stock back? If so, how much for two pounds once it is shredded?

    • Lisa Longley says

      When I’m keeping it warm for a party, I take the chicken out, shred it and put it back in the stock to keep warm.

  3. Diane says

    Love all your recipes
    Do you drain the chicken before serving so it’s not wet for the tortilla shell
    Thx

    • Lisa Longley says

      We usually serve it right from the crockpot. When you pull it out, it’s not soaking, so it doesn’t really get the tortilla shell much more wet than salsa does.

  4. Linda says

    5 stars
    Sounds easy and delicious so I just printed the recipe and definitely am going to make this!

    • Lisa Longley says

      I hope you enjoy them!

  5. Janet says

    5 stars
    I made this chicken taco recipe in bulk for my sons wedding Taco Bar Reception! It was so good and so easy… even in bulk! Also this wedding was at the NC Outer Banks so we had to travel with the ingredients so I was so grateful for the simple recipe and that it was crockpot friendly! Everyone there loved it and the wedding party enjoyed the leftovers… which by the way was only because I made more than enough! I will be using this recipe years! Thanks so much!

    • Lisa Longley says

      Hi Janet! I’m so happy that this was a hit! I LOVE this recipe for serving a crowd. It couldn’t be more simple to make and double, triple, quadruple.

  6. Patricia Cabrera says

    Can I cook on high for 2 hours to serve sooner than 4 hours.

    • Lisa Longley says

      You can, you just want to be sure that the chicken doesn’t overcook. You might want to leave in a probe so that you can pull the chicken right when it hits 165. This is one I like for that: https://amzn.to/3NidG6J

  7. Judy says

    5 stars
    I love chicken tacos, yours is easy and delicious. You could do the same with beef too. Thank you!

  8. Marcy says

    Can you use half chicken stock and half chicken broth ?

    • Lisa Longley says

      Yup!

  9. Joyce says

    Going to do this, I normally like the corn tortillas with the raw hamburger pressed on half of tortilla and cooked in very little oil……

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