Crockpot Chicken Tacos with Avocado-Cilantro Sauce

These slow cooker chicken tacos are super hands off and easy but so tender and full of flavor! Perfect for an easy weeknight dinner or for a crowd, they’re topped with a quick avocado-cilantro sauce. Healthy with paleo, Whole30, low carb options.

Simple boneless skinless chicken breasts grow up and become tender, shredded Mexican chicken, stuffed into tortillas or lettuce cups, topped with an easy avocado-cilantro sauce. You’re officially the queen of Taco Night!

Who knew that chicken breasts and salsa would do this if you left them alone for most of the day? I had no idea.

This is seriously life-altering information, isn’t it?

OK, but shredding chicken breasts is like not my favorite way to spend my time, either. I see you, and I understand you, lady. Luckily, I have a super simple and efficient hack for all of that, making these maybe, just maybe, the easiest chicken tacos in the world. In the world(!!)!

Why These Tacos Are So Good

• The slow cooker Mexican shredded chicken uses only three ingredients and is made entirely in the Crockpot.
• My hack for shredding the chicken breasts makes these quite possibly the easiest chicken tacos in the world.
• The avocado-cilantro sauce levels these Crockpot chicken tacos up, with tons of flavor from the garlic, fresh jalapeño, creamy avocado, and cilantro.
• You can skip the avocado-cilantro sauce altogether and go with a multitude of other options, like the chipotle aioli from my Fish Taco Bowls.
• They’re super versatile: you can top them with cheese, pico de gallo, guacamole, cilantro, and onion, or anything else you might imagine!

How to Easily Shred Chicken Taco Meat

It’s something of a secret that you can shred chicken breasts with a hand mixer, but this recipe is even cooler:

To shred the chicken taco meat, simply beat the chicken breasts in the Crockpot after cooking. That’s it! Beat on low and press the beaters against the chicken to be really efficient, but that’s all it takes.

Learn more tips and tricks over at my recipe for 3 Ingredient Slow Cooker Mexican Shredded Chicken.

That Avocado Cilantro Sauce, Though

This avocado-cilantro sauce is so dang good, and I really, really want you to make it. It’s a bit garlicky, rich and creamy from the avocado, brightened by the vinegar, and super flavorful thanks to the cilantro.

Best of all, it’s made entirely in the food processor or blender, so it’s really perfectly quick and easy.

You can skip it or use another sauce, like my avocado crema from my Chicken Tacos in Lettuce Wraps, or my chipotle aioli from my Fish Taco Bowls.

How to Make It

Start by combining the chicken breasts, taco seasoning, and salsa in the Crockpot. Stir and cover. Cook on high for 3 hours or low for 5 hours.

Shred the chicken: beat on low speed with a hand mixer or shred with two forks. Return shredded chicken to the Crockpot and cook uncovered on low for 30 minutes or on high for 60 minutes. Get more info about the chicken taco meat over at my recipe for 3 Ingredient Slow Cooker Mexican Shredded Chicken.

Meanwhile, make the avocado-cilantro sauce. Combine all the ingredients in a food processor or blender and blend until totally smooth. Season with more salt to taste.

Warm your tortillas. By microwave: Wrap them in a couple of very lightly damp paper towels and microwave for about 20 seconds. By skillet: Heat a large or medium skillet over medium heat. Add the tortilla and warm through until a few small brown dots appear about 15-20 seconds. Flip and repeat. Repeat the process, warming on both sides, with the rest of the tortillas.

Use tongs to portion shredded chicken in warmed tortillas. Top with avocado-cilantro sauce and crumbled queso fresco or other toppings. Enjoy!

Topping Suggestions

• Avocado-cilantro sauce, of course
• Diced red onions
• Diced tomatoes
• Fresh pico de gallo
• Guacamole
• Sliced avocado
• Shredded cheese
• Crumbled queso fresco
• Chipotle aioli, from my Fish Taco Bowls recipe
• Mango salsa, also from my Fish Taco Bowls recipe
• Thinly sliced radishes
• Diced white onion and chopped cilantro

Make Them Whole30, Paleo, or Low Carb

Instead of tortillas, use lettuce cups. I love Bibb lettuce cups, grown hydroponically, as the leaves are so soft! If paleo, you can use cassava flour tortillas or other options by Siete Foods, but you can’t eat those on Whole30. If low carb, you can also use low carb tortillas. Lots of options!

Other Recipes You’ll Love

• 3 Ingredient Slow Cooker Mexican Shredded Chicken
• Avocado Salsa
• Healthy Mexican Chicken Meal Prep (Whole30, Paleo, Keto)
• Mexican Chicken Stuffed Sweet Potatoes (Whole30, Paleo, Instant Pot)

Hey – you’ve made it this far, and now we’re best friends! If you make this recipe, I’d love for you to give it a star rating ★ below. Make sure you follow me on Instagram, Pinterest, and Facebook, too!

Hey – you’ve made it this far, so now we’re basically best friends! If you make this recipe, I’d love for you to give it a quick review & star rating ★ below. Make sure you follow me on Instagram, Pinterest, TikTok, and Facebook, too!

5 from 8 votes

Crockpot Chicken Tacos with Avocado-Cilantro Sauce

Prep:5 minutes

Cook:4 hours

Total:6 hours 5 minutes

Simple, perfect Crockpot chicken tacos topped with an easy and flavorful avocado-cilantro sauce. Awesome for a weeknight dinner or for a crowd.

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4 servings

Ingredients

Crockpot Chicken Taco Meat

• ▢ 3 boneless skinless chicken breasts
• ▢ 1 cup salsa
• ▢ 2 tablespoons taco seasoning
• ▢ salt if your taco seasoning doesn't contain it

Avocado-Cilantro Sauce

• ▢ 1 avocado peeled and seeded
• ▢ 1 medium jalapeno stemmed and quartered
• ▢ 1/2 cup cilantro leaves
• ▢ 1/2 cup water
• ▢ 2 cloves garlic peeled
• ▢ 2 teaspoons white vinegar
• ▢ salt to taste

Toppings

• ▢ 8 tortillas flour or corn
• ▢ queso fresco crumbled
• ▢ red onion diced
• ▢ fresh cilantro chopped
• ▢ avocado sliced or diced
• ▢ other toppings as desired

Instructions 

• In a Crockpot, combine all ingredients and stir. Don't add water. Cover. Cook on low for 5 to 6 hours, or cook on high for 3-3 1/2 hours.
• Shred the chicken breasts with a hand mixer or with two forks. Return the shredded chicken to the Crockpot if you shredded it by hand. See Note for more detail.
• Stir shredded chicken together with the sauce. Cook uncovered on high 30 minutes or on low 60 minutes.
• Make the avocado-cilantro sauce: combine all ingredients in a food processor or blender and process until very smooth with additional salt to taste.
• Heat tortillas. By microwave: wrap all tortillas in a couple of very lightly damp paper towels and microwave about 20 seconds or until warm. By skillet: heat a medium or large skillet, preferably cast iron, over medium heat until warm. Working one at a time, add a tortilla and cook until light brown spots appear on the bottom side, about 15 seconds. Flip and repeat, cooking about 15 seconds. Repeat with remaining tortillas, covering in a clean kitchen towel to keep warm.
• Make tacos: use tongs to portion shredded chicken into warm tortillas. Drizzle avocado-cilantro sauce over. See Note for drizzle suggestions. Top with crumbled queso fresco or shredded cheese, chopped red onions, or other toppings, as desired.

Notes

Make your own taco seasoning. Try this recipe.

To drizzle avocado-cilantro sauce, fill a plastic sandwich bag with prepared sauce. Snip off the corner and drizzle over chicken in tacos.

To make Whole30, simple replace tortillas with lettuce cups and omit the cheese. Make your own taco seasoning and ensure your salsa used for the shredded chicken is compliant.

To make paleo, try cassava flour or other grain-free tortillas.

To make gluten-free, use gluten-free tortillas or lettuce cups.

To make low-carb, use lettuce cups or low-carb tortillas.

Nutrition Information

Calories: 382kcal, Carbohydrates: 40g, Protein: 24g, Fat: 13g, Saturated Fat: 2g, Cholesterol: 54mg, Sodium: 1075mg, Potassium: 844mg, Fiber: 6g, Sugar: 5g, Vitamin A: 700IU, Vitamin C: 13mg, Calcium: 96mg, Iron: 2.9mg, Net Carbs: 34g

Number of total servings shown is approximate. Actual number of servings will depend on your preferred portion sizes.

 

Nutritional values shown are general guidelines and reflect information for 1 serving using the ingredients listed, not including any optional ingredients. Actual macros may vary slightly depending on specific brands and types of ingredients used.

 

To determine the weight of one serving, prepare the recipe as instructed. Weigh the finished recipe, then divide the weight of the finished recipe (not including the weight of the container the food is in) by the desired number of servings. Result will be the weight of one serving.