These crockpot shredded chicken tacos are tender, juicy, and unbelievably easy to make! Made with boneless skinless chicken thighs and delicious spices like cumin, chili powder, paprika, and more, these take just 10 minutes of prep time before they start cooking! Serve with your favorite taco toppings, or use the pulled chicken as a topping for nachos or rice bowls.
Fact: chicken tacos taste better shredded. It’s just the way it is. Shredding means that every little strand soaks up as much flavor as physically possible. And, what could be better than getting all that flavor for under five minutes of prep work? Not much I tell you, not much.
Do you have tried and true go-to meals you come back to again and again? You know, the ones that are easy to make, so tasty the whole family will actually be excited to eat, and are always a safe bet when feeding a crowd. Yeah, those.
In my home, they take the form of a good recipe with boneless skinless chicken thighs, especially when they’re made in a slow cooker and easy as can be. If you’re looking for a new crockpot chicken dinner idea check out my crockpot and slow cooker recipes. You’ll LOVE my green salsa slow cooker cilantro lime chicken recipe too!
Featured comment
“This is the chicken taco recipe I always use so I figured it’s high time I left a review. We use mild salsa since that’s all my kids can handle and always double it and freeze half for later. I usually use the frozen chicken to top nachos for our Friday night movie nights and it’s become a tradition around here.” 🙂
-Felicity R
Simple Ingredients
- Chicken – Chicken thighs are best here but chicken breast works too. Thighs lock in moisture and impart extra flavor into the dish, but you can use what you prefer. If using chicken breasts, they are less forgiving and will be dry if overcooked so make sure to keep an eye on that crockpot.
- Spices – A combination of cumin, salt, pepper, chili powder, garlic powder, onion powder, paprika, and oregano adds warm flavor and just a bit of heat. Personally, I tend to keep a big batch of my own chicken taco seasoning on hand for easy cooking!
- Salsa – Used to lock in moisture and provide even more flavor taking your tacos from good to great. I typically opt for a medium salsa for a bit of heat without overpowering the other ingredients. Either red or salsa verde is fine. However, if spice isn’t your thing, use a mild salsa instead.
I kept the ingredient limited to make this a simple recipe. f you want to dump in some green chilis, lime juice, or improvise in another way, go for it!
How to make it
The only things you’ll need for this recipe is a crockpot and two forks. No, really! Just dump everything in, set it to the cook setting and come back later. Here are the basic steps to make the recipe:
- Trim any excess fat off chicken, and layer the chicken breasts or thighs in the bottom of your crockpot.
- Sprinkle the seasonings on top followed by the salsa, and stir to evenly coat the chicken. It will mix together as it heats up and cooks so just a quick stir is fine.
- Cover and cook on high for 2-3 hours or low for 6-7 hours. Don’t over cook or your chicken will be dry. Some crockpots run hotter than others so err on the side of caution and check occasionally during cook time.
- The final (and arguably most fun) step is shredding. You’ve got to get in there with a couple of forks and just go to town. There’s no real technique here other than shredding until you have nice thin strands. Shred the taco chicken, serve in taco shells with all your favorite toppings, and enjoy!
How to Shred Chicken Taco Meat
The easiest way to shred your cooked chicken is with two forks. Just place the tongs in the center, and pull them apart in opposite directions to shred the chicken in the crockpot. Then, repeat this step until all of the chicken has been shredded.
Don’t drain the extra liquid! It will get soaked back up after shredding and make the meat super moist and juicy. Some people swear by using a hand mixer but I find forks work great.
If you love shredded taco meat recipes like this, make sure to check out my crockpot pork tenderloin carnitas. It’s one of the most popular recipes on this website!
Favorite Taco Toppings
The only thing better than a freshly made chicken taco is one that has is loaded up with all the best fixings. There’s something about taking corn or flour tortillas loading them up with all the goodies. Here are some ideas for your next taco bar:
- Pickled red onions
- Shredded cheese
- Cilantro
- Guacamole
- Lettuce
- Sour cream
Serve tacos on their own or alongside a cilantro lime salad to round out the meal.
More Ways to Use Pulled Chicken Taco Meat
If you aren’t in the mood for tacos (can’t relate), there are tons of ways you can serve this shredded chicken or use up the leftovers. Here are some ideas to get you thinking beyond the taco:
- topping nachos
- as part of a burrito bowl
- served on a taco salad
- stuffed in a cheesy air fryer quesadilla
- layered in an easy chicken enchilada casserole
- folded in SW style omelets
- piled on top of baked potatoes
- tucked into lettuce wraps for a low-carb taco option
Storing Leftovers
Leftover shredded chicken will stay fresh in the fridge for up to 3-4 days and up to 4 months in the freezer. Reheating in the microwave or on the stovetop works best for maintaining moisture. To defrost, thaw in the fridge overnight and warm up prior to eating. I don’t think it’s as good on it’s own after freezing so I recommend using it in a casserole, enchiladas, or another recipe like that.
Can you put frozen chicken in the crockpot?
According to USDA guidelines, you are not supposed to cook frozen meat in a crockpot or slow cooker to avoid the risk of food borne illness. That being said, many people do it all the time. If you choose to, add an extra hour or so to the cook time and understand that the texture at the end may not be quite as good.
Crockpot Shredded Chicken Tacos (10 Minute Prep!)
Equipment
- 1 Crockpot (slow cooker can be used if cooking times are increased)
- 2 Forks
Ingredients
- 3 lbs. boneless skinless chicken thighs, visible fat removed
- 2 teaspoons cumin
- 1 teaspoons salt
- 1/2 teaspoons pepper
- 4 teaspoons chili powder
- 1 teaspoons garlic powder
- 1 teaspoons onion powder
- 1 teaspoons paprika
- 1 teaspoons dried oregano
- 1 cup salsa
Instructions
- Place chicken thighs in crock pot.
- Sprinkle seasonings and salsa on top of chicken and stir to coat.
- Cook in crock pot for 2-3 hours on high or 6-7 hours on low heat. Exact cooking time will vary based on your crockpot model.
- Use two forks to shred chicken. Don't drain off extra liquid since after shredding the chicken will soak a lot of it back up and be more flavorful and juicy. Use a slotted spoon to serve with other taco fixings or use meat in other recipes that call for taco chicken.
Notes
- This recipes makes about four cups of shredded taco meat. 1 serving is approximately 1/2 cup of taco meat.
- When placed in an airtight container, leftovers will stay fresh in the fridge for up to 3-4 days.
- The taco meat can be frozen in freezer safe tightly sealing containers for up to 4 months. When you are ready to use, let chicken thaw in the refrigerator overnight, and warm it up in the microwave prior to eating.
- While thighs maintain moisture better, chicken breasts can be used instead of thighs if desired.
- If you make this recipe often, the spices can be substituted with my chicken taco seasoning blend. To make this even easier, make a large batch of the seasoning blend and use 4 Tablespoons for 3 lbs. of chicken (or 4 teaspoons per lb.).
- Most people use the words crockpot and slow cooker interchangeably but note that if you’re using an actual slow cooker that only has a heating element on the bottom, you may need to allow more time for the taco meat to cook.
Nutrition
did you make this recipe?
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Originally published in 2016. Post updated May 9, 2019 for content and again on November 21, 2022 for content and formatting.
Comments & Reviews
I think for my liking it could use a lot less cumin. I did add some other fajita seasoning and lime after shredded and was very good besides the slightly intense flavor of the cumin.
Hi Laura – sorry to hear you didn’t like all of the cumin! It’s a dominant spice in most taco seasoning recipes and if you make it again, knowing you don’t prefer it, you could always scale up a little more on the chili powder to counteract that.
Thanks for the tip and amazing recipe
You’re welcome! 🙂
Can you do in the oven low and slow?
If it’s covered tightly, it should work fine. I would use thighs instead of chicken breasts too so that the meat doesn’t dry out since the oven is a drier cooking method.
This recipe is so good!! It’s my new favorite way to do chicken tacos!
Well right now I’m pretty irritated with the site because it’s been 10 minutes then I’ve been trying and trying just to get this recipe that I really need a recipe don’t seem to be getting there instead it just keeps doing these other sites that are making me sign up for stuff. In order to get the recipe and I haven’t got there yet I’ll probably just move on I don’t have time for this
Hi Victoria – that should not be happening! I reached out to my ad provider to try to figure out what happened the other day for you. So sorry to hear that you did not have a good experience.
Do you think you can double the recipe and still cook throughout in the crockpot?
Yes! I’ve done it. I can’t remember exactly how much longer it took but I think it was an extra hour or so.
Can I just ask… Would the times on the slow cooker be switched… The low and the high seem the wrong way around awesome recipe though
Thanks for pointing that out Rob! Yes, that was definitely a typo and I just revised it. 🙂