This Slow Cooker Queso Chicken Tacos recipe can easily be prepared in 10 minutes and then cooks itself in the crockpot until you’re ready to enjoy your Mexican meal. Tender shredded chicken is simply combined with flavorful seasonings, diced tomatoes and green chiles, smothered in salsa con queso, and served in tortillas.
Slow Cooker Queso Chicken Tacos
Slow Cooker Queso Chicken Tacos are so quick and easy to make because the crockpot does all the cooking!
It’s as simple as prepping the chicken in the pot with seasonings and a few cans of diced tomatoes and green chiles, letting it slow-cook until the chicken is fall-apart tender and shreds with two forks, then mixing it with salsa con queso, loading it into tortillas, and topping it with your favorite taco fixings.
The chicken is so versatile and can be served in plenty of ways throughout the week: use this cheesy chicken to top your Sheet-Pan Nachos, serve it over Spanish Rice, add it to your Burrito Bowl, sandwich it into Crockpot Queso Chicken Quesadillas, or simply scoop it with chips.
This cheesy, rich, and creamy creation is a perfect way to feed a crowd at football parties, fiestas, or as a Cinco de Mayo meal.
Love Tex-Mex? Be sure to check out our famous Taco Spaghetti! Your family will love it!
Why We Love This Crockpot Queso Chicken Tacos Recipe
- Quick and easy to prepare and the slow cooker does the rest.
- Made with simple ingredients that you can serve inside flour tortillas or crunchy tacos.
- Recipe lets you set-it-and-forget-it in the Crock Pot.
- Shredded cheesy chicken can be used for tacos, burritos, wraps and bowls.
- Family-friendly Mexican meal that is versatile and customizable with all your favorite taco toppings.
- Perfect part of the main menu for game days, fiestas, or anytime dinner.
Ingredients
- 2-3 pounds boneless skinless chicken breasts (4 medium-sized chicken breasts)
- 1 (1-ounce) package mild taco seasoning or use homemade taco seasoning
- 1 (10-ounce) can mild diced tomatoes and green chilies, with juice
- 1 (4-ounce) can diced green chiles
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon cracked black pepper
- 1 (15-ounce) container salsa con queso
- Street taco size flour tortillas
- Shredded lettuce, sour cream, diced tomatoes and chopped cilantro (optional garnish)
Substitutions and Additions
- Taco Toppings: Top your tacos with shredded lettuce, shredded Mexican blend cheese, chopped onion, jalapeños, sour cream, guacamole, fresh lime, diced tomatoes, chopped cilantro, hot sauce, diced avocado, corn salsa, or any of your favorites.
- Change The Cheese: You can use a jar of nacho cheese or Velveeta cheese for the salsa con queso.
- Salsa Swap: You can substitute a container of pico de gallo or my Easy Homemade Salsa for the diced tomatoes and green chiles.
How to Make Slow Cooker Queso Chicken Tacos
this shredded Queso Chicken makes an easy, cheesy topping for tacos, burritos, nachos, or salads. Quickly prepared in the crock pot, this set-it-and-forget-it Mexican meal is delicious!
- Place chicken in the bottom of the prepared slow cooker. Sprinkle the taco seasoning, salt, and pepper over the chicken.
- Pour the can of diced tomatoes and chiles and the can of green chiles over the seasoned chicken and cook on high for 4 hours.
- Use 2 forks to shred the cooked chicken.
- Pour the salsa con queso over the top of the shredded chicken and stir to combine.
- Serve in the flour tortillas, and garnish with your favorite fixings.
Tips
- It’s important not to overcook the chicken so it doesn’t dry out. The chicken is ready when the internal temperature reads 165 degrees F.
- You can use any level of heat for the 4 ounce can of green chiles.
- You can use any level of heat for the 10-ounce can of diced tomatoes and green chiles.
- You can adjust the amount of cheese dip depending on your preference. You can cut back to half the jar of cheese to be mixed into the shredded chicken and allow the other half of the cheese to be used for individual additions.
Storage Tips
- To Store: Store any leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
- To Freeze: Allow the chicken mixture to cool completely then transfer to a freezer-safe ziploc bag. Freeze for up to 2 months and thaw in the fridge overnight.
- To Reheat: Leftovers can be reheated in the microwave until warmed through.
Frequently Asked Questions
If you prefer hard taco shells, you can serve the chicken mixture in them instead of the soft tortillas for a satisfying crunch.
You can even serve your cheesy chicken filling with both kinds of taco shells and let everyone decide which they like best.
The easiest way to shred chicken breasts is by using two forks, one in each hand. You can also use a food processor or stand mixer.
Yes, you can put raw chicken in a slow cooker! The slow cooker functions as a low-temperature oven, and so it is completely safe for cooking raw and thawed foods.
Be sure to check the internal temperature near the end of cooking time to ensure it has reached an appropriate level. If it hasn’t, continue cooking until you get a safe reading for your protein type.
Yes, you can use your favorite recipe or try my homemade taco seasoning instead of using a packet of seasoning.
Other Easy Crock Pot Recipes
- Slow Cooker Teriyaki Chicken
- Crock Pot Mac and Cheese
- Slow Cooker Butter Chicken
- Crockpot Lasagna
- Slow Cooker Olive Garden Chicken Alfredo Pasta
- Crockpot Spaghetti
- Crockpot Taco Spaghetti
- Crockpot Coca Cola Pulled Pork
Slow Cooker Queso Chicken Tacos
Ingredients
- 2-3 pounds boneless skinless chicken breasts (4 medium-sized chicken breasts)
- 1 ounce package mild taco seasoning or use homemade taco seasoning
- 10 ounce can mild diced tomatoes and green chilies with juice
- 4 ounce can diced green chiles
- 1 tsp kosher salt
- ½ tsp cracked black pepper
- 15 ounce container salsa con queso
- Street taco size flour tortillas
- shredded lettuce, sour cream, diced tomatoes and chopped cilantro optional garnish
Instructions
- Lightly spray the inside of a 5-6 quart slow cooker with nonstick spray.
- Lay the boneless skinless chicken breasts in the bottom of the prepared slow cooker.
- Sprinkle the taco seasoning, kosher salt and cracked black pepper over the chicken breasts.
- Pour the 10-ounce can of diced tomatoes and chiles and the 4-ounce can of green chiles over the seasoned chicken breasts. Cook on high for 4 hours.
- Once the chicken has finished cooking, use 2 forks to shred the chicken breasts.
- Pour the container of salsa con queso over the top of the chicken and stir to thoroughly combine. (you can use less if you prefer)
- Serve in the flour tortillas, and garnish with shredded lettuce, tomatoes, chopped cilantro and sour cream.
Jenn’s Notes
- To Store: Store any leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
- To Freeze: Allow the chicken mixture to cool completely then transfer to a freezer-safe ziploc bag. Freeze for up to 2 months and thaw in the fridge overnight.
- To Reheat: Leftovers can be reheated in the microwave until warmed through.
- It’s important not to overcook the chicken so it doesn’t dry out. The chicken is ready when the internal temperature reads 165 degrees F.
- If you choose to use frozen chicken breast, be sure to drain the chicken after cooking and before shredding.
- You can use any level of heat for the 4 ounce can of green chiles.
- You can use any level of heat for the 10-ounce can of diced tomatoes and green chiles.
- You can adjust the amount of cheese mixture depending on your preference. You can cut back to half the jar of cheese to be mixed into the shredded chicken and allow the other half of the cheese to be used for individual addition.
This is so easy to make. It turned out really good.
Winner winner queso chicken dinner! So delicious and a surprising hit even with my pickiest eater!
I made this tonight and we all loved it! I actually used some to make nachos and it was delicious. Thanks for such a tasty, easy recipe.
trying this recipe this evening. already smells good. 🙂
What is a serving size?
Has anyone tried this recipe in a pressure cooker? My crockpot is at a family members house that I lent it to for thanksgiving, but I wanted to try this today! Thank you!
Can it be cooked 8 hrs on low?
that is what i want to know too. i would like to make this for dinner but i wont be able to do it on 4 hours and eat at a decent time
Just wondering if your recipe is spicy?
Do you drain the juices from cooking the chicken etc or just add the cheese sauce to the crockpot?
Im wondering the same. Mine is very watery.
Couple of things – it could depend on the amount of chicken you used. A typical package of chicken could range a lot as can the size of a chicken breast. If the 4 breasts were closer to the 2 pound range, the cheesy sauce may not absorb as much. Also, if you put the breasts in frozen, that can produce some water, so you would want to drain it before mixing it in with the sauce.
Also, you can cut back to half the jar of cheese to be mixed into the shredded chicken and allow the other half of the cheese to be used for individual additions to each persons taco with their lettuce, tomato, sour cream. This would give individuals control over the amount of cheese mixed into the whole batch and maybe it was too much cheese for your liking?
This looks yummy. One question…in the directions it says to cook on high for 4 hours, but in your notes it mentions that low and slow is best. Which did you mean?
Yes! I’m wondering that too.
Sorry – that was an error on my part. It should be cooked on high for 4 hours.
Thank you!