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ATK Slow Cooker Shredded Chicken Tacos

Good morning to you, readers! I’m pleased to say that my head has unfogged itself and I’m feeling a lot more like myself today. Exxxxxxcellent.

So, as promised, here’s the recipe for the slow cooker shredded chicken tacos.

I didn’t exactly take step by step photos, but this isn’t hard.   You microwave spices in oil to bloom them.

bloom spices in microwave

Dump ’em in your slow cooker along with tomato sauce and a bit of sugar.

Then salt and pepper some deskinned bone-in chicken breasts (the skin would make your dish greasy, so take it off.)

salt and pepper bone-in chicken breasts

Put the chicken in the slow cooker, turn it over to coat it in the sauce, and cook for 3 hours on low.

And then you’re pretty much done, except for the actual shredding of the chicken.

You can eat these as tacos (duh) but I also discovered that any leftover chicken is awfully good eaten as a taco salad, which would be perfect for those of you who don’t eat grains.

And the chicken is pretty darn tasty on its own in a bowl, topped with plenty of avocado. 😉

IMG_7867

Shredded Chicken Tacos

For the chicken

1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 tbsp chili powder
1 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp ground cumin
4 cloves of garlic, minced
1 tsp finely chopped chipotle chili in adobo sauce
1 C canned tomato sauce
2 tsp granulated sugar
2 bone-in split chicken breasts, skin and ribs removed and trimmed of all visible fat
1 tbsp lime juice
Salt and pepper
Flour or corn tortillas

For the pineapple salsa

2 C  ¼ inch pineapple pieces
4 tbsp fresh lime juice
 ¼ C finely chopped red onion
2 tbsp chopped fresh cilantro

Combine oil, chili powder, coriander, cumin, garlic, and chili in a small bowl and microwave for 30 seconds; scrape spice mixture into slow cooker.   Stir in tomato sauce and sugar.

Season the chicken with salt and pepper and place in slow cooker, turning to coat with sauce.   Cover and cook on low for 3 hours on low, or until chicken registers 160 °F.

Remove chicken from crockpot, let cool slightly, and shred into bite-sized pieces.   Add tablespoon of lime juice to sauce, then return chicken to sauce, stirring to coat.   Season with salt and pepper to taste.

To make salsa, just combine salsa ingredients.

Serve chicken on corn or flour tortillas, with salsa on on top (and/or lettuce, cheese, sour cream, guacamole, etc.)

This recipe is from America’s Test Kitchen’s recent book, The Healthy Slow Cooker Revolution.

America's Test Kitchen Healthy Slow Cooker Revolution

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Barb Ferguson

Thursday 26th of February 2015

What's the weight on the 2 chicken breasts? Looked for the recipe on ATK, I guess I don't have access to new cookbooks, just everything else. Bought Sam's Club flat of chicken breast and I believe they may be "super sized", but I do want to make more than one recipe. These could be as much as 8-12 oz. each (or maybe more). Want to use them before freezing, in the next day or two, if you can answer. Help.

Kristen

Friday 27th of February 2015

The recipe says they'd each be 12 oz. Sorry I didn't include that!

Randi

Thursday 26th of February 2015

Love that book. We made the shredded BBQ chicken and the pork tenderloin( teriyaki). Both great.

Diane C

Wednesday 25th of February 2015

I had everything on hand, so this was dinner for Taco Tuesday tonight. I used three boneless chicken breasts and there was plenty of sauce, but no leftovers :-( I hate it when people say I added this and that and my version is so much better, blah, blah, blah, BUT, I live in California where it just isn't considered salsa unless it has freshly chopped jalapeno in it. Alas, none of that left either, boo hoo. This one will be added to the rotation, but next time it will be at least doubled. Thanks, Kristen! Glad you're feeling better, too.

Kristen

Wednesday 25th of February 2015

Oh, bummer you didn't have any left over!

I think adding a jalapeno is a great idea. Joshua and I like spicy food, so I sometimes set aside a little portion of whatever I'm making and add more spice to it just for him and me. ;)

Barb Ferguson

Tuesday 24th of February 2015

Quick comment on chipotle in adobo: 1st time I used it, I ended up throwing unused remainder in trash :-( Now, I put 1- or 2-tsp. plops onto a piece of parchment and freeze. Them pop into Ziploc for future--no waste!!! I usually freeze 2 t. portions because of the recipe for which I buy it. This one sounds like a good one to try, though

Kristen

Tuesday 24th of February 2015

Yep, I freeze mine too! It comes in small cans, but geez, who could possibly use a whole can of those at once? Someone with an iron tongue (and stomach!)

Cari

Tuesday 24th of February 2015

Thanks! Sounds easy and yummy. Glad you are feeling better.

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