Healthy Crockpot Chicken Tacos
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The easiest recipe for Crockpot Chicken Tacos! Let your slow cooker do the work for dinner tonight and enjoy delicious shredded chicken tacos!
When you want an easy, yummy dinner but don’t have time to cook – these Crockpot Chicken Tacos are the solution!
Rather than grilling or pan searing chicken, let your crockpot do all the work! These Shredded Chicken Tacos are full of flavor and great with tortillas, in a salad, or even plain over rice!
Making Chicken Tacos in the crockpot requires just a few minutes of prep time and can easily feed a crowd with little to no work!
If you love easy, healthy crockpot meals, try these Crockpot Chicken Fajitas and Salsa Verde Chicken next!
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why we love this recipe
- Easy to make – This is such an easy recipe because you just layer the ingredients in your slow cooker, shred the chicken, and enjoy!
- Simple Ingredients – You probably already have everything you need to make these crockpot chicken tacos in your fridge and pantry!
- Great for meal prep – These shredded chicken tacos are such a healthy addition to your weekly meal prep because they are so versatile and reheat very well! See our favorite ways to eat this shredded chicken below.
Ingredients
This is our favorite crockpot for these shredded chicken tacos.
Substitutions
Boneless Chicken Breasts: You can substitute with boneless skinless chicken thighs or chicken tenders. Chicken thighs have a little bit more fat, so they become super tender in the crockpot. For a fish taco recipe, we love our quick fish tacos. For pork, try these slow cooker pork tacos.
Spices: You can substitute taco seasoning for the spices! It’s super easy and cheap to make yourself! We like this taco seasoning if you’re looking for a store-bought brand. It has no preservatives, and it’s delicious! We use it in everything from Taco Pasta to Taco Stuffed Peppers!
Salsa: You can use red or green salsa, but I prefer red. If you prefer green salsa, try this Chicken Salsa Verde.
Lime: In a pinch, you can use lime juice, but fresh squeezed limes are so much better!
Broth: Broth and stock are the same thing! You can use any broth or stock interchangeably. Beef Broth, Chicken Broth, or vegetable broth all work interchangeably. I always use low or no salt broth.
How to Make Healthy Crockpot Chicken Tacos
- Place chicken breasts in your crockpot.
- Sprinkle the spices over the chicken.
- Place salsa and lime juice on top of the chicken.
- Add chicken broth, cover, and cook on low for 4-6 hours.
- Once cooked, remove the chicken from the crockpot and shred it with 2 forks.
- Return the chicken to juices from the bottom of the crockpot and mix well before serving.
Making Chicken Tacos in a Crockpot – Tips for Success
It’s so easy to make chicken tacos in your crockpot. Here are our top 3 tips for making sure they come out perfect!
- Cook the chicken on low, not high – Yes, if you’re in a pinch you can set your crockpot to high, but we really recommend cooking on low! Cooking on low can help your chicken get fall apart tender while cooking on high could give you dry chicken.
- Make sure the chicken is covered in salsa/broth– Most of the chicken should be submerged in the crockpot while it’s cooking. This will help the chicken get tender!
- Return the chicken to the pot after shredding– You’ll want to add your shredded chicken back to the pot after cooking so it can soak up all the juices/flavor!
Easy Ways to Shred Chicken
Pro Tip for shredding chicken: Shred it in your stand mixer! This is so much easier than shredding with 2 forks. Just place cooked chicken breasts in your stand mixer and use the paddle attachment on low. Your chicken will be shredded in no time!
How to Serve Chicken Tacos:
These chicken tacos are really versatile. We like them on tortillas with a little bit of guacamole or corn salsa.
You can also serve them in bowls with cooked rice (like our cilantro lime rice), salsa and veggies (I did this for meal prep the other day and it was great!)
They’re delicious with cheese, onions, or your other favorite taco toppings on top!
Storage
Storing: Crockpot chicken taco meat will last in the refrigerator for up to 4 days in an airtight container.
Freezing: You can freeze this recipe for up to 3 months. We like these containers for freezing! You can also place the chicken in ziploc bags and freeze flat.
If you need more freezer friendly recipes check out our Fill Your Freezer Ebook with 22 easy freezer meals!
Reheating: You can reheat this recipe in the microwave, toaster oven or on the stove. We recommend heating in a pan on the stove top with a little bit of olive oil!
Recipe FAQ’s
Chicken breasts and chicken thighs both shred well. Chicken thighs are a little bit fattier so they may be more tender.
Chicken tacos are healthy! Chicken is high in protein and low in fat compared to beef tacos. You can add veggies to chicken tacos to make them a complete meal!
The key to keeping shredded chicken taco meat moist is to store it in the juices it is cooked in. Make sure not to discard the salsa/broth while shredding the chicken. Store it all together in a container.
Other healthy crockpot recipes:
Love your crockpot? Check out these 40+ Healthy Crockpot Recipes. Click here to grab our free healthy crockpot cookbook.
Healthy Crockpot Chicken Tacos
Ingredients
- 2 lbs boneless, skinless chicken breasts
- 1 teaspoon chili powder
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1 cup salsa you can use red or green salsa, but I prefer red
- Juice of 2 limes – optional
- 1/2 cup chicken broth low or no salt or water
Instructions
- Place your chicken breasts in your crockpot insert. Cover the chicken with seasonings. Place salsa on top of chicken. Sprinkle lime juice on top (optional)
- Add chicken broth to the crockpot insert. Cover and cook on low for 4-6 hours (recommended!) or high for 3-4 hours. We don’t recommend cooking on high, chicken breasts are better cooked low and slow!
- Once the chicken is cooked, remove it from the crockpot and shred with 2 forks on a cutting board or you can use a stand mixer or hand mixer (don’t use a hand mixer directly in your crockpot as it can chip the enamel).
- Return the chicken to the crockpot insert to soak up the juices.
- Serve with your favorite taco toppings.
Video
I have made this recipe at least 10 times and have loved it every time. It is so forgiving, you can add whatever salsa you want & it always comes out great! I love to make too much and use the leftovers to make chicken tortilla soup!
This was super yummy, love the combination of jalapenos and red onion!
Love this recipe, it’s a staple on taco nights in my household! I do double some of the seasonings, add green chiles, 1/4c of chicken broth instead of 1/2c, and then add a full 24oz jar of red salsa. Just my little twist on it but so happy I stumbled upon this!
Can I leave the chicken in the crockpot while I am at work, 8-10 hours?
I think it will dry out a bit if it cooks for 8-10 hours. Is there any way you could set it on a timer?
I made for tge family and it was loved by all. I did reduce the amount of cumin.
I made these for my husband to mix up his lunches for the days he works from home. He loved them, and they were very easy to make.
We use Ole’ brand Xtreme Wellness High Fiber tortillas, which taste like normal tortillas to us, and keeps the carb count down.
This is going on repeat! Makes taco Tuesday so easy & delicious. I feel good about feeding my family!
Super easy and so delicious! I made a double batch of this for my meal prep this week.
Hi! if i double the recepie does the time of cooking stay the same ?
I’m sorry but I’m not sure how it will change the cook time. It might need a little more time but I can’t be sure without trying it!
5 stars because this is one of the easiest meals to put together and is super tasty! Made this last night with green salsa, looking forward to making it again and trying red salsa
Another family favorite! Super easy to throw together. I used Trader Joe’s Authentic Salsa and it added just enough spice for the whole family to enjoy. This will be added to my list of go-to’s!
Delicious and Easy! Great job!
I love this recipe it’s so good and easy! For sure it’s in my top five favorites!
LOVE this recipe! I made it early in the morning for a late lunch on low and slow cooked it! It turned out GREAT! The tender chicken with the salsa is a perfect pairing. I served over a bed of rice and had a complete high protein healthy meal that lasted me a few days with my family! Thanks for posting! Love all your recipes!
Hi, I have a question regarding the spices. The recipe calls for equal amounts of all the spices. However, you mention making your own taco seasoning to use in the recipe as an alternative (or store bought), and the ratio of ingredients is very different. How is this an equal substitute? Thanks for your help!
I was offering taco seasoning as an alternative if you don’t want to use the exact spices I mentioned. If you a taco seasoning, or make any substitute to any recipe it won’t taste exactly the same, but it can be used as a substitute. Hope that makes sense!
Recipe looks great, but we use the InstantPot instead of a slow cooker. Would love if you would include cooking instructions for the InstantPot!
this recipe isn’t meant to be made on a pressure cooker setting. Feel free to use the slow cook function on your instant pot and follow the directions as written. Somethings are better cooked low and slow, this is one of them. We provide instant pot instructions when we can and when it works for the recipe!
This was so incredibly simple and so incredibly tasty! This recipe will become an automatic staple for us. Highly recommend!
I’m so glad you liked them, Jennifer! Thank you!
Love this recipe! So easy and the whole family loved it. This will stay in the rotation for sure.
So happy you enjoyed it!
Made this one as well. Loved it and delicious for leftovers!
YES!! Finally found a chicken crockpot recipe that my picky 11 yr old will actually ask for. Minimial ingredients with big flavor. Extras warm up great as well.
Super easy to make and tastes delicious! The chicken comes out so tender and juicy in the crock pot. I love that it’s easy to customize with different toppings so you don’t get too tired of the same thing if eating it multiple days like I do.
Tried the crockpot chicken tacos tonight, never had it before. My husband and I was pleasantly surprised. DELICIOUS, will be making it from now on. Thanks for the recipe.
This recipe has been my go-to for taco night lately! It has been so easy for dinners and my kids will eat it too. I will say I’m very picky with crockpot chicken but I can eat this all the time and I also used the leftovers for enchilada filling and I bet it would be great in quesadillas too! The chicken is very versatile and can be enjoyed in a few different meals. Thanks for the recipe 🙂
Great idea to use as enchilada filling!K
Legit so easy and so delicious! Leftovers did not stand a chance, I’ll need to make a double batch next time. Had it as a taco and a rice bowl and I cant decide which I like more. Took me less than ten minutes to throw in the slow cooker too, which is amazing with an impossibly busy schedule. New favorite, which is saying a lot because I’m not really a chicken person! Great way to help get in all my protein.
This is a great recipe for a day when you want minimal food prep with satisfying results. While these don’t exactly blaze with flavor, they also don’t have the fat content that would bring that proverbial flame. If you’re looking for something satisfying but low calorie (which I was), these are a great choice. I will probably make again and experiment with going a bit heavier on the spices.