Name: Home-style Crockpot Shredded Chicken for Chicken Tacos
Prep time: 5 min
Cook time: 4 h
Total time: 4 h 5 min
Yield: 6
Ingredients: 3 large or 4 medium chicken breasts; 1/4 cup roasted green chiles chopped; 1/4 cup taco seasoning; 4 garlic cloves; 1/8 tsp liquid smoke; 1/4 cup taco sauce; Flour tortillas or crunchy shells; Your favorite taco toppings lettuce, tomatoes, avocado, etc.

crockpot chicken tacos on a white plate with toppings

Life has been… hectic. Chaotic. Crazy. Rushed. Busy. You name it. Owning your own business has it’s perks, don’t get us wrong, but oh man, when they say it’ll run you down, they weren’t wrong. For those of you who don’t know, our husband and we own a security products company (we'd rather not go into the technical details of what we do) with his aunt and uncle. Although being busy is a good problem to have, some days it flat out makes us want to pull all of our hair out. It means being completely exhausted, no social life, 24/7 access to customers, and nonstop working, planning, marketing, and hustling.

Like we said, it definitely has it’s perks and we love what we do, but lately we'd love to take a breather! We're spending at least one weekend a month in New Mexico with family and the other three 50% working and 50% working on the house. We started acupuncture almost 2 months ago and boy has that made a difference! We can actually fell our mind slowing down when we're at our appointments. Even if you’re afraid of needles, we highly encourage it! We rarely ever feel the needle. When we say feel, it’s not even a prick or poke. It’s a sensation in the area it is in similar to your foot/hand/arm falling asleep. Our acupuncturist is a pretty nice guy too so we know that helps. We went in with insane allergies & the beginnings of a migraine a few weeks back and left feeling 100% back to normal.

Anyway, the original point of our rambling was that life has been busy. Busy meaning that our crockpot is getting used and abused. This meal came from a morning where we were headed off to appointments and knew that there wouldn’t be time to make dinner that night. As much as we enjoy that we’ve moved back into the city and having food delivery so readily available, our bank account and our waistline don’t appreciate it! We plan on doing a lot of freezer meals soon and we will post those up here as we go.

Shredded Chicken Tacos Crock Pot Ingredients

Chicken breasts – This recipe calls for chicken breasts, but it can also be made with boneless, skinless chicken thighs or a combination of both chicken breasts and thighs.
Roasted green chile – you can find these jarred or canned in your local grocery store usually near the canned enchilada sauce
Taco seasoning – store-bought or From-scratch Both work well
Garlic – fresh garlic will give you excellent flavor in this
Liquid smoke – liquid smoke is sold in the store near the Worcestershire sauce and barbecue sauce. It gives it a nice smoky flavor similar to being grilled
Taco sauce – Use your favorite taco sauce for this. It gives it extra flavor!
Tortillas – we prefer a soft chicken taco so we opt for flour tortillas, but this filling is great on both corn tortillas and crispy shells as well.
Toppings – Go crazy with the toppings! You can top them with cheese, lettuce, tomatoes, sour cream, guacamole, or any other taco toppings you love.

How to cook Shredded Chicken for Tacos (in the crock pot)

Place all of the ingredients in the crockpot.
Turn the crockpot on low for 4-6 hours. You’ll want to cook it for 4 hours if the chicken is thawed, and 6 hours if the chicken is frozen.
Once it has cooked, remove the lid and shred it with two forks. The meat should fall apart easily.
Serve in a warm tortilla or shell topped with your favorite taco toppings!

How to Shred Chicken

To shred crockpot taco chicken, you can use one of two methods:

Two forks: Take two forks and pull in opposite directions. The chicken will begin to shred easily.
Stand Mixer: Place the chicken breasts in the bowl of a stand mixer. With the paddle attachment, turn the mixer on low until the chicken is shredded.

Best Toppings for Shredded Chicken Tacos

The great thing about tacos is that you can easily customize them with your favorite toppings. Here are some suggestions:

Lettuce
Tomatoes
Cilantro
Onions
Beans
Sour cream
Salsa
Guacamole
Chile con queso
Shredded cheese
Pico de gallo
Corn salsa
Avocado slices
Avocado cilantro sauce
Taco sauce
Jalapenos

How to Serve Crockpot Shredded Chicken Tacos

Crockpot Shredded Chicken Tacos are served inside of tortillas or crispy shells. Top them with your favorite toppings.

Great sides for this include:

Chili Lime Rice
Beans
Chips & Salsa
Guacamole

How to keep Chicken for Chicken Tacos

Leftover crockpot taco chicken should be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator up to 3 days.

Can you freeze leftover crockpot shredded chicken?

Leftover crockpot shredded chicken freezes well. Place the chicken in a freezer-safe ziptop bag and lay it flat.

Press all of the air out of the bag and close the bag. Place it in the freezer and it will keep fresh for up to 6 months.

Frequently Asked Questions

Prep 5 minutesCook 4 hoursTotal 4 hours 5 minutesMakes 6

Ingredients

3 large or 4 medium chicken breasts
1/4 cup roasted green chiles chopped
1/4 cup taco seasoning
4 garlic cloves
1/8 tsp liquid smoke
1/4 cup taco sauce
Flour tortillas or crunchy shells
Your favorite taco toppings lettuce, tomatoes, avocado, etc.

Method

Place all ingredients in the crockpot .
Turn crockpot on low for 4-6 hours (4hrs if chicken is thawed, 6 if frozen)
Once cooked, remove the lid and shred with two forks. The meat should fall apart easily.
Serve in a warm tortilla or shell topped with your favorite taco toppings!