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    Home ยป Recipes ยป Main Dishes ยป Slow Cooker Shredded Chicken Taco Meat (for a crowd)

    LAST UPDATED: February 4, 2022 โ€ข FIRST PUBLISHED: February 3, 2017 By Toni Dash 67 Comments

    Slow Cooker Shredded Chicken Taco Meat (for a crowd)

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    This post may include affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

    Slow cooker Shredded Chicken Taco Meat title image

    Slow Cooker Shredded Chicken Taco Meat is perfect for large gatherings or to freeze for other meals. A simple trick makes the shredding of the chicken breasts effortless too!

    Slow cooker Shredded Chicken Taco Meat title image
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    Slow cooker Shredded Chicken Taco Meat title image

    Is there anyone who doesn’t love Mexican food? It’s my favorite! Whenever I’m not sure what to make for dinner I whip something up in that direction.

    I love that it’s so relaxed and unpretentious but mostly those gorgeous, earthy, spicy flavors!

    This Slow Cooker Shredded Chicken Taco Meat recipe is a great way to cook up a large batch of succulent, spicy shredded chicken for a taco party, for salads, or soups,

    Perfect for a Mexican-themed meal or Cinco de Mayo.

    A simple trick shreds the chicken in about 30 seconds with no effort from you.

    It’s an easy recipe and makes a ton of savory, taco meat perfect for meal prepping, party taco buffet OR to freeze and pull out when you need something quick to make for dinner (tostadas, on taco salad, etc.).

    If you use an Instant Pot try this Mexican Shredded Chicken recipe too!

    Slow Cooker Mexican Chicken Taco Meat on corn tortillas

    Crockpot Chicken Tacos – Ingredients

    The shredded chicken taco recipe is very easy. It uses:

    • skinless boneless chicken breasts
    • chicken stock
    • a can of spicy diced tomatoes
    • spices that create a homemade taco seasoning

    That’s all it takes to make mouthwatering meat for shredded chicken tacos!

    Mexican Chicken Taco Meat in slow cooker

    Which Diced Tomatoes to Use

    A few notes on the ingredients. We are so fortunate that canned food producers have dialed in on all the uses for canned diced tomatoes and do the work for us.

    For this recipe, I use diced tomatoes with some sort of spicy flavor that works with tacos (and the can juices).

    Homemade Taco Seasoning

    Prepared taco seasoning is convenient but often overly salty.

    Though it takes a few minutes longer using a blend of spices creates flavors that are on point.

    Well-rounded seasonings that create mouthwatering meat that’s spicy enough and not overly salty (if you LOVE salt, you can add more but this way it doesn’t highjack the natural flavors in the recipe).

    shredded chicken tacos

    A TRICK for Making Shredded Chicken Taco Meat

    Use our favorite trick to shred this chicken found here Moist Homemade Shredded Chicken Breasts.

    I have a little trick I use to shred chicken: I put it in my standing mixer!

    In about 30 seconds the meat is wonderfully shredded with no pulling it apart with forks. You can watch a video of it shredding chicken.

    shredded taco chicken, tortillas and toppings for soft tacos

    A TIP About this Shredded Chicken Taco Meat

    The beauty of a slow cooker is that the liquid does NOT evaporate (as well as you can fix it and forget it).

    During cooking it may appear there is too much liquid. Toward the end of the cooking, the chicken is shredded and returned to the slow cooker to cook a bit longer and drinks in the savory spicy broth.

    It keeps the shredded chicken taco meat moist with some juices but certainly not more than is needed.

    On the other hand, if you are a person who loves lots of juice in their meat, add an extra ½-1 cup of broth when you begin!

    A plate of food on a table, with Chicken Tacos

    Perfect for a Shredded Chicken Taco Bar

    Thinking of the Big Game this weekend, this pot of Slow Cooker Shredded Chicken Taco Meat would be great to set up on a buffet with all the taco fixings.

    Set up the slow cooker with the shredded chicken taco meat along with:

    • Hard taco shells OR soft corn tortillas (for soft tacos or tostadas)
    • Shredded iceberg lettuce
    • Chopped fresh tomatoes
    • Shredded cheddar or Mexican cheese blend (you can buy this already prepared in the dairy section of the grocery store)
    • Salsa
    • Sour Cream
    • Lime wedges

    It’s a perfect make-your-own meal situation. It will stay warm for people to nosh throughout the day.

    How to Freeze Shredded Chicken Taco Meat

    If you are making this shredded chicken taco meat for yourself or your family, it makes a ton!

    Leftovers can be packaged up in freezer-safe containers and saved for another meal or prepped for salads for the week. So many options!

    chicken toastada

    Recipe

    shredded taco chicken, tortillas and toppings for soft tacos

    Slow Cooker Mexican Chicken Taco Meat

    This has to be one of the most versatile recipes ever. Great for a large party where the shredded chicken can be kept warm in the slow cooker for a taco bar (or other Mexican-themed buffet meal). The meat is fantastic on salads, and in soups or sandwiches. It makes a large batch to leftovers may be individually bagged up and frozen for future meals too.
    5 from 102 votes
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    Course: Main Course
    Cuisine: Mexican
    Prep Time: 10 minutes minutes
    Cook Time: 6 hours hours
    Total Time: 6 hours hours 10 minutes minutes
    Servings: 10 cups shredded Mexican chicken meat
    Calories: 239kcal
    Author: Toni Dash
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    Ingredients

    • 2 cups Low Sodium Chicken Stock
    • 1 14.5-ounce can Fire Roasted Salsa-Style Tomatoes with can juices (or another diced tomatoes flavors with Mexican-themed flavors)
    • ¼ cup Chili Powder
    • 2 tablespoons ground Cumin
    • 1 tablespoon Smoked Paprika (regular not hot)
    • 2 teaspoons Crushed Red Pepper
    • ¼ teaspoon Cayenne Pepper
    • 1 ½ teaspoons Kosher Salt
    • 1 ¼ teaspoon Garlic Powder
    • 1 ¼ teaspoon Onion Powder
    • 1 ¼ teaspoon Oregano
    • 1 teaspoon freshly ground Black Pepper
    • 4 pounds Boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts , rinsed and patted dry with paper towels

    Instructions

    • Add the chicken stock, tomatoes and spices to the insert of a 6 quart or larger slow cooker; stir to mix together. Add the chicken breasts; flip each to coat with the liquid. Place the lid on the slow cooker and cook for 5 1/2 hours on LOW.
    • At 5 1/2 hours, remove the chicken breasts from the slow cooker and place them into the bowl of a standing mixer (note: do this in batches with about 3 breasts maximum at a time). Process on a slow speed, increasing to shred the chicken (about 30 seconds). Place the shredded chicken back into the slow cooker and stir into the sauce. Allow to cook 30 additional minutes.

    Nutrition

    Calories: 239kcal | Carbohydrates: 5g | Protein: 40g | Fat: 5g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 116mg | Sodium: 641mg | Potassium: 890mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 2g | Vitamin A: 650IU | Vitamin C: 6.4mg | Calcium: 44mg | Iron: 2.5mg
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    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Linda S Peterson says

      April 16, 2025 at 1:26 pm

      how many servings does this make

      Reply
      • Toni Dash says

        April 16, 2025 at 3:09 pm

        As noted in the recipe card it makes 10 cups. Since it can be used in so many ways we felt that was a better way to quantify the volume the recipe makes.

        Reply
    2. Karen says

      April 12, 2025 at 1:12 pm

      5 stars
      I was surprised how good this is. It will definitely be added to my rotation.

      Reply
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    5 from 102 votes (91 ratings without comment)

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    Welcome! Iโ€™m Toni Dash. Iโ€™m a Certified Nutrition Coach and the professional writer/blogger, photographer, recipe developer and creator of Boulder Locavoreยฎ. Iโ€™m so glad you are here!

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