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Slow Cooker Chicken Tacos Recipe

written by Ashley Fehr

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5 from 8 votes
Prep Time 10 minutes
Total Time 3 hours 10 minutes
Servings 8 servings

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Last updated on April 9, 2024

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These Slow Cooker Chicken Tacos are an easy, healthy, weeknight dinner! Just dump everything in the crockpot and forget about it.

slow cooker chicken tacos in taco shells on plate piled with toppings

Table of Contents

Crockpot Chicken Tacos are one of our favorite meals for a few reasons!

First, they’re delicious!

Second, they’re a well rounded meal — pile up this sweet and spicy chicken in a flour or corn tortilla, and add veggies, salsas, sour cream and cheese of your choice.

Third, the slow cooker does all the work!

Chicken Tacos are the perfect dump and go slow cooker meal — there’s no chopping required and the ingredients take just a couple minutes to throw together.

They’re perfect for a busy day!

(P.S. got leftovers? Throw your chicken taco meat in this Chicken Tortilla Soup!)

sweet and spicy chicken taco meat shredded in crockpot with metal tongs

Dump ‘n’ Go slow cooker recipes (<– find 20 more of my favorites!) are about the most that we can handle here most days, with three girls and the chaos that comes with chasing them around 😉

We love serving this chicken in hard taco shells, tortillas, or even over rice or as a taco salad (<– a great way to get in even more veggies!).

You can definitely adjust the seasonings to suit your family’s tastes. Check out my tips on swapping out the ingredients below!

You can even swap out the beef for this taco chicken in this Dorito Taco Salad or use the leftovers in the filling for these Chicken Taquitos!

overhead image of crockpot chicken tacos and toppings in bowls

Ingredients and Substitutions:

  • Chicken breasts: I like to use chicken breasts for this recipe because it’s what we usually have on hand. If you prefer, you can use boneless, skinless chicken thighs without changing any of the recipe.
  • Mango or pineapple juice: I love the sweetness juice adds! Mango and pineapple are my preferred kinds (we love serving these tacos with Mango Salsa!), but you can sub in low sodium chicken broth or even orange juice in a pinch.
  • Seasoning: If you’re in a hurry, feel free to swap all of the spices and seasonings for a package of low sodium taco seasoning.
  • Garlic powder and onion powder: If you prefer, you can add minced garlic and finely diced onion to the slow cooker and leave out the garlic and onion powders.
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Tips and Tricks for Making these Slow Cooker Chicken Tacos:

  • Chicken breasts don’t need all day to cook in the slow cooker. I know this can make things a little more difficult if you work from home 8 or 9 hours a day, but cooking chicken breasts just until they are done will result in the juiciest chicken tacos
  • I like to use my 2.5 quart slow cooker for recipes like this — it’s the perfect size and heats up quickly! (Plus, you want your slow cooker around 1/2-¾ full to cook properly, so you don’t want to use one that’s too big!)
  • I always start with my tacos fairly mild and then people who like extra heat can add jalapenos, a spicy salsa, or some sriracha sauce. Feel free to add some cayenne pepper or red chili flakes to the slow cooker as it cooks to take things up a notch!
  • Got leftovers? Use the leftover chicken in this Chicken Quesadilla recipe.
hand holding crockpot chicken taco in soft tortilla

Love Tacos? Try these recipes:

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Sweet & Spicy Slow Cooker Chicken Tacos Recipe

written by Ashley Fehr

5 from 8 votes
These Sweet & Spicy Slow Cooker Chicken Tacos are an easy, healthy, weeknight dinner! Just dump everything in the crockpot and forget about it. Step by step recipe video.
slow cooker chicken tacos in taco shells on plate piled with toppings
Review
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Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 3 hours
Total Time 3 hours 10 minutes
Cuisine Mexican
Course Main Course
Servings 8 servings
Calories 308cal

Ingredients

  • 4 boneless skinless chicken breasts
  • 1 cup mango or pineapple juice no sugar added
  • 2 teaspoons garlic powder
  • 2 teaspoons chili powder
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons cumin
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon onion powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon paprika
  • pinch of black pepper
  • 16 hard taco shells
US Customary – Metric

Instructions

  • Place chicken in a 2.5-4 quart slow cooker.
  • In a medium bowl or large measuring cup, whisk together juice, garlic powder, chili powder, cumin, salt, onion powder, paprika, and pepper. Pour over chicken in slow cooker.
  • Cover and cook on low for 3-4 hours or high for 2-3 hours. Shred with two forks in the juices.
  • Serve in taco shells or small tortillas with diced tomatoes, shredded cheese, lettuce, salsa (I love using mango salsa!), lime wedges or avocado slices as desired.

Nutrition Information

Calories: 308cal

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Meet Ashley

My name is Ashley Fehr and I love creating easy meals my family loves. I also like to do things my way, which means improvising and breaking the rules when necessary. Here you will find creative twists on old favorites and some of my favorite family recipes, passed down from generations!

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Comments

  1. April says

    I just had to come back and comment about your recipe. It’s rare I find a recipe all four of us like. This one was a hit with all of us. Even my kids both agreed on it. Thanks so much for sharing!

    Reply

  3. Cathy says

    I am not a great cook bay any means and I never have enough time to cook due to busy schedule. Not only was this recipe easy to make but it was delicious… thank you so much! Am looking forward to making it again.

    Reply

  4. Marleen Sustronck says

    Hi Ashley,
    thank you for this great recipe, this is just what I need today, is on my week menu Tuesday’s Taco’s .
    Just opened my mailbox to check your recipe’s and “voila” ,recipe waiting for me!
    I can get the gluten free tortillas, but is also very nice with Boston lettuce as a lettuce wrap.

    Reply

  5. Cathy Cunningham says

    (FYI…prep time is 10 minutes, and total time 10 minutes)
    This sounds great. My daughter had street tacos that were phenomenal and asked the Mexican lady what she did different to the chicken because it tasted so very good….her secret? Orange juice!!! Thanks for this, i’m thinking I’ll try the pineapple juice next!

    Reply

  7. Danielle says

    I love dump and go recipes. They are just so easy, and it’s awesome to come home from work and have your food be (mostly) ready. I have a slow cooker with a timer, so I just set it for a certain amount of time (usually less than the recipe calls for due to continued cooking after it shuts off) and not worry too much about over cooking. Love this recipe for healthy weeknight dinners!

    Reply

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