This easy Slow Cooker Chicken Tacos recipe is quick to make and convenient to use in not just tacos, but burritos, enchiladas, tamales, taco salads and more.

We have many easy slow cooker meals to try, including Hawaiian Meatballs and Slow Cooker Chicken Tikka Masala.

An easy slow cooker chicken tacos recipe in corn tortillas, topped with lettuce and salsa.

Why I love Crockpot Chicken Tacos:

  • Quick and Convenient: you can throw together slow cooker tacos in just a few minutes and let the slow cooker do the work. Or if you’re short on time, could make them in the instant pot.
  • Versatile – it’s great for more than just tacos! We use this mexican shredded chicken as a base for chicken chimichangas, taco salad, or any of your favorite burritos, tostadas, or enchiladas.
  • Healthy – Packed with protein and cooked in light and flavorful sauce. Check out all my high protein recipes!

How to make Crockpot Chicken Tacos:

Layer Ingredients: Arrange chicken breasts in slow cooker. Mix remaining ingredients together: chicken broth, Italian dressing, lime juice and spices then pour over the chicken.

Two chicken breasts in a slow cooker topped with a homemade sauce for slow cooker shredded chicken tacos.

Cook on low for 3-4 hours. Shred chicken then cook for an additional 30 minutes to allow it to absorb some of the sauce and juices.

Crockpot shredded chicken taco meat in a slow cooker.

Serve crockpot shredded chicken tacos in corn or flour tortillas, with desired toppings shredded lettuce or cabbage, cheese, and pico de gallo.

Make Ahead and Freezing Instructions:

To Make Ahead: The slow cooker Mexican shredded chicken can be made up to 2 days in advance. Store in a sealed container in the refrigerator and heat before using.

To Freeze: Freeze shredded slow cooker chicken recipe in an airtight freezer safe container or bag for up to 3 months. Thaw in the refrigerator before reheating.

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Recipe

An easy slow cooker chicken tacos recipe in corn tortillas, topped with lettuce and salsa.
Prep 5 minutes
Cook 3 hours 20 minutes
Total 3 hours 25 minutes
Save Recipe

Equipment

Ingredients
 
 

Optional, for Serving:

  • 8 corn tortillas , or 4 flour tortillas
  • Desired toppings: shredded lettuce or cabbage, shredded cheese, Salsa or hot sauce, pico de gallo, guacamole, onion, cilantro, lime wedges

Instructions
 

  • Add chicken to slow cooker.
  • Whisk remaining ingredients in a small bowl and pour over chicken.
  • Cover and cook on LOW for about 3-4 hours (or 4-5 hours for chicken thighs).
  • Shred chicken. Cook for 30 more minutes.
  • Serve in flour or corn tortillas, with desired toppings. Or, use shredded taco chicken for enchiladas, quesadillas, tostadas, burritos, taco salads etc.

Notes

Serving size: about 4oz shredded chicken
Make Ahead Instructions: The shredded chicken can be made up to 2 days in advance. Store in a sealed container in the refrigerator and heat before using.
Freezing Instructions: Freeze the shredded chicken in an airtight freezer safe container or bag for up to 3 months. Thaw in the refrigerator overnight before reheating.
Instant Pot Instructions: Season the chicken with spices and place in the bottom of the instant pot. Cover with lime juice and 1 cup salsa (or use broth and Italian dressing). Cook on Manual, High Pressure, for 8 minutes. Quick release the pressure and carefully remove the lid. Shred chicken.

Nutrition

Calories: 129kcalCarbohydrates: 3gProtein: 17gFat: 5gSaturated Fat: 1gPolyunsaturated Fat: 2gMonounsaturated Fat: 1gTrans Fat: 0.02gCholesterol: 48mgSodium: 241mgPotassium: 350mgFiber: 1gSugar: 2gVitamin A: 451IUVitamin C: 2mgCalcium: 15mgIron: 1mg

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*I originally shared this recipe July 2015. Updated April 2020 and March 2024..

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Lauren Allen

Welcome! I’m Lauren, a mom of four and lover of good food. Here you’ll find easy recipes and weeknight meal ideas made with real ingredients, with step-by-step photos and videos.

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Comments

  1. 5 stars
    Love this recipe – it’s one I’ve added to our regular meal rotation and we eat it quite often. Simple and tasty!

  2. 5 stars
    Love this easy slow cooker Chicken Taco recipe! Just happened to have made it last night. I like to shred it a little early so all the flavors can seep into the chicken. Definitely a family favorite. 🌮

  3. 5 stars
    I have made this recipe countless times and it’s perfect. In fact, I have referred back to the recipe just for the slow cooker chicken portion for other recipes.

  4. 5 stars
    What a great recipe, easy to make. I read the comments as I too was scared to use the italian dressing but it was great. I did put in some chopped vegetables and it also made it great. I will be making this recipe again.

  5. 5 stars
    Personally, I love my instant pot and the chicken taco recipe is delicious. A great alternative to the beef tacos you are served at your local ‘Taco Tues’ restaurants in our area. The flavor and texture of the chicken takes your burritos/taco’s to a new level. We look forward to our new ‘Taco Tues’ meal at home now. Thank you for sharing ! 🙂

  6. 5 stars
    5 stars for flavor. Issue is that 1 lb of chicken is hardly enough to serve for a dinner. Barely enough for 2 people to enjoy unless you have extra sides on hand.

  7. 5 stars
    I made this for a small group meeting, never made chix tacos before. This was delicious! Am making it again tomorrow. Everyone raved about it, and they’re all chicken taco pros!

  8. 4 stars
    I really enjoyed how simple the prep was for this meal. I might add a little bit more salt next time, but the chicken was still very flavourful.

  9. 5 stars
    I made this in the crock pot with the chicken broth and zesty Italian dressing. I’m not gonna lie, I was a little hesitant, but woah. It’s amazing. Seriously. Try this, you will not regret it! My new chicken taco recipe!!

  10. I have made this four times and just love it! We use 6 chicken thighs and like that that the meat is more moist than using chicken breasts. Cooking time on low temp. is reduced to 4 1/2 hours. I so appreciate that most of the recipes on this site use ingredients that one would normally stock.

  11. This recipe is wonderful! I was able to start the chicken early in the afternoon and after shredding chicken and returning to slow cooker (with a rinsed can of black beans to add fiber) I prepped the toppings for a taco bar. I’ll definitely make this again. The chicken was moist, fell apart easily as I shredded it and had plenty of flavor. Tomorrow we’ll have the rest of the chicken over salad. Thank you, Lauren, for sharing this recipe and your meal planning function is fantastic!!

  12. 5 stars
    This was a really good meal. I fixed it one day for lunch and everyone in the house that day loved it. I will be making it again soon!!!

  13. 5 stars
    This chicken is delicious!! And so easy! I did accidentally put BOTH the salsa and the Italian dressing into the crock pot but it didn’t seem to hurt anything,. Just LOVE your recipes. Honestly, every one I have tried is a success and so delicious. Love feeding my family fresh ingredients and you make it easy!

  14. 5 stars
    We made this with cheese and garlic Italian dressing (just what we had) and it was divine! I’ve made versions of this with salsa (store bought and homemade), but prefer the Italian dressing hands down! Pair this with Lauren’s heavenly cilantro lime rice, black beans, cheese, lettuce, guacamole, and homemadeJen salsa…I’ve died and gone to Mexican food heaven!!! Burrito bowl style, crunchy taco, flour tortilla, always a win! Thank you, Lauren! ❤

  15. Hi, to double the recipe with 2 pounds of chicken would I just double all of the other ingredients as well? (Chicken broth, italian dressing, seasonings?) Thanks in advance!

  16. 5 stars
    This is my go to chicken taco recipe! I’ve been making it this way for months and everybody LOVES it. I feel like the italian dressing is key because it just gives the chicken a tangy, wonderful flavor! Only thing I do differently is use half boneless skinless chicken thighs and half boneless skinless chicken breasts. Thanks for such a great recipe 🙂

  17. 5 stars
    This is so yummy. Use it for all my Mexican dishes. Salsa no Italian dressing. I also use my mixer to shred the chicken. Much easier.

  18. I served this for a nine year old and twin seven year olds to rave reviews. The tweaks I made were to use boneless chicken thighs instead of breasts and instead of all the individual spices I just dropped in a packet of taco seasoning I had on hand I also used a local organic Italian dressing instead of the one pictured I cooked in the slow cooker on low for five hours. To serve, I had soft and crispy taco shells, black beans, brown rice, grated cheese, diced avocados and salsa and let the kids make their own creations, deciding what to include or leave out. Total knock out. Thanks for making this mom look good 😉

    1. And day two perks: the recipe is very “brothy” as others have commented but to serve as tacos I just let the juice drip and served chicken in bowl for taco fixings. But today I ate the leftover chicken with the broth and added brown rice and avocado for a variation of chicken tortilla soup!

  19. I’m making this now, cooking in crock pot for five hours. I just shredded it to cook another 30 mins but seems to have a lot of liquid in it, do you drain before you use for tacos? Sire smells wonderful ?

  20. 5 stars
    These are a family favorite. We probably make these 4 times a month. The whole family loves them and I love how easy they are. The chicken is so tender and so flavorful. Can’t beat an easy, delicious crock pot meal. Thanks!

  21. Could you recommend a good Italian dressing? I don’t usually use a store brand due to the sugar and corn syrup.
    Thanks!!
    Mary

  22. 5 stars
    Don’t bother pinning it. COOK IT! It’s delicious!

    We had a mexican day at work and i cooked up this recipe! Everyone loved it and wanted the recipe!
    I cooked it again tonight for dinner – i could have eaten the whole lot!
    So good!

    1. I just love it when a recipe is such a hit that it get’s made more than once! Thank you for sharing Michelle! 🙂

  23. 5 stars
    I am not at all a fan of Mexican food, however, these tacos are tastee and the chicken is very tender, I will be making these again.

  24. Oh! Looks good. I don’t eat meat, but I can always substitute the mean for Tofu or something else. The Barbecue sauce on tacos could be an interesting taste!

  25. I LOVE Mexican food so you had me at tacos. I always forget to bring out my slow cooker this time of year, but now I am going to have to!

    xo katie // a touch of teal

  26. I love putting chicken in the slow cooker, it’s awesome. I also like chicken taco’s. I don’t eat a lot of red meat anyway. These look so good, thanks for sharing!

  27. I love Mexican food, It looks so delicious! I have to make these tacos someday. Pinning!