This Slow Cooker Taco Meat recipe is the easiest taco meat you'll ever make. I use it for chicken tacos but any shreddable meat works great. With just 4 ingredients and minimal effort, your taco Tuesday will never be the same!
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Why You’ll Love This Chicken For Tacos Recipe
When I was growing up, taco night meant ground beef mixed with a packet of taco seasoning. And it was delicious- taco night has always been a favorite! But once I started making this chicken taco recipe, I never looked back (well almost never, except for these amazing Baked Tacos).
I’ve been making this for so long, I don’t even know where I even found the recipe to begin with. But this shredded chicken taco recipe is not only crazy easy to throw together, it makes the most deliciously satisfying taco meat that everyone in our family goes crazy over!
Here’s why you’ve got to try this:
- Minimal work
- Options for Instant pot and slow cooker
- Simple ingredients
- Delicious savory flavor
- Awesome leftovers
- Very easy to make
Ingredient Information And Substitutions:
- Chicken Breasts- The main character in this recipe is boneless skinless chicken breasts. But you can totally use a different cut of meat if that’s your preference. Just make sure if you use something larger like chuck roast, you cut it into chunks the same size as a chicken breast so you can keep the cook times the same.
- Rotel- The flavors and textures from a can of Rotel adds a wonderful tomato base. If you’re cooking for kids, you may want to use the Mild variety of Rotel unless your kids enjoy food that’s a bit spicy, since the original variety has a nice kick to it.
- Taco Seasoning- One taco seasoning packet ads a nice kick of flavor.
- Liquid- I use a combination of olive oil and water- both ¼ cup to make it saucy without being soupy.
How To Make Chicken Tacos (The Easy Way!)
Step 1: Place ingredients into the pot and cook
Place chicken, Rotel, taco seasoning packet, oil and water to the slow cooker. Cover and cook on high for 4-6 hours.
Step 2: Shred the chicken
Once cooked, open the slow cooker and use two forks to gently shred the chicken and mix it with the sauce inside the pot.
Step 3: Make tacos!
Place the taco meat into taco shells with your choice of toppings and dig in!
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes- either combine before cooking or cool and freeze after cooking.
Yes, I’ve used a 2-3 pound chuck roast and and a half pork butt before with great results. Either cut larger pieces of meat to the size of chicken breasts or extend the cooking time by an hour or two.
I like to top mine with lettuce, tomatoes, shredded cheese, cilantro, sour cream but the world is your oyster!
Yes! I love to use it as my primary protein for rice bowls (I add cauliflower rice to make it more veggie-forward) and it tastes great over a salad or in quesadillas or burritos.
Yes- Place ingredients into the instant pot, cook on Manual high pressure for 12-15 minutes and do a 15 minute natural release before shredding and serving.
Tips For Making Taco Chicken
- Dump and go- you don’t even have to stir everything once it’s in the pot. It’s a true dump-and-go recipe.
- Change the meat- The key to using a different protein is cutting it the size of chicken breast if you want to keep the cooking time the same. The other option is to keep a larger cut whole and add an hour or two to the cooking time.
- Feed a crowd- This recipe can easily be doubled or tripled if feeding a crowd.
- Prep ahead- this makes an excellent base for weekly meal prep for lunches.
- Storage and leftovers- Leftovers last 3-4 days covered in the refrigerator. I reheat this in the microwave, in individual portions, but in a fry pan over medium heat works as well.
What To Serve With Slow Cooker Shredded Taco Chicken
A few great recipes to round out and complete this meal would be:
Other Delicious Taco-Inspired Recipes:
Love this recipe? Please leave a 5 star ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ rating in the recipe card below ⬇️ and/or a review in the comment section further down. Check out my Amazon Store for all my favorite tools, including those used in this recipe. And follow @thelifejolie on Instagram and TikTok!
Slow Cooker Taco Meat
Ingredients
- 3 large boneless skinless chicken breasts
- 1 packet taco seasoning
- 1 10 ounce can Rotel
- ¼ cup water
- ¼ Tablespoons olive oil
Instructions
Crockpot Instructions:
- Place chicken into crockpot.
- Place remaining ingredients over the top of the chicken (don't even bother stirring it).
- Cover and cook on high for 4-6 hours.
- Shred chicken with two forks (it will shred very easily and quickly) and stir to mix juices. Serve immediately in tacos, over salad, over nachos or in quesadillas.
Instant Pot Instructions:
- Place chicken into Instant Pot.
- Place remaining ingredients over the top of the chicken (don't even bother stirring it).
- Cover and set Instant Pot to manual high pressure for 15 minutes.
- When the time is up do a natural release for 15 minutes.
- Shred chicken with two forks (it will shred very easily and quickly) and stir to mix juices. Serve immediately in tacos, over salad, over nachos or in quesadillas.
Video
Notes
- Dump and go- you don’t even have to stir everything once it’s in the pot. It’s a true dump-and-go recipe.
- Change the meat- The key to using a different protein is cutting it the size of chicken breast if you want to keep the cooking time the same. The other option is to keep a larger cut whole and add an hour or two to the cooking time.
- Feed a crowd- This recipe can easily be doubled or tripled if feeding a crowd.
- Prep ahead- this makes an excellent base for weekly meal prep for lunches.
- Storage and leftovers- Leftovers last 3-4 days covered in the refrigerator. I reheat this in the microwave, in individual portions, but in a fry pan over medium heat works as well.
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