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Slow Cooker Queso Chicken Tacos

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Queso Chicken Tacos will elevate your family taco night to a whole new level! The chicken will be tender, juicy, and flavorful after slowly cooking in the crockpot all day. Just toss the 5 simple & easy ingredients in and let the crockpot work it’s magic. At dinnertime, you can use the queso chicken for tacos, burritos, salads, wraps, or bowls or simply serve over rice or noodles!

Slow Cooker Queso Chicken

Queso Chicken Tacos will elevate your family taco night to a whole new level!

The chicken will be tender, juicy, and flavorful after slowly cooking in the crockpot all day.

Just toss the 5 simple & easy ingredients in and let the crockpot work it’s magic.

At dinnertime, you can use the queso chicken for tacos, burritos, salads, wraps, or bowls or simply serve over rice or noodles!

We love Mexican food at our house, and eat a Mexican themed meal at least once or twice each week.

These Slow Cooker Queso Chicken Tacos are a family favorite, in frequent menu plan rotation.

They are SO easy to make with only 5 main ingredients and taste so good! 

The queso chicken mixture is not only great in tacos but also inside of burritos, on top of taco salads, as a lunch wrap, in a taco bowl, as a nachos topping, on top of baked potatoes, or served over rice or noodles!

Slow Cooker Queso Chicken

The 5 Simple & Easy Ingredients needed to prepare Queso Chicken are:

Boneless, Skinless Chicken Breasts – This is the type of chicken my family prefers, although Boneless, Skinless Chicken Thighs will work also and provide additional flavor.

Taco Seasoning – You can use your preferred Taco Seasoning for this recipe. Homemade Taco Seasoning works great, as does any brand of Taco Package from the supermarket. For homemade seasoning, 3 Tablespoons should equate to one package of store seasoning. If your family prefers a stronger flavor, you can double the seasoning. 

Chicken Broth – I tend to use reduced sodium chicken broth because we are monitoring our sodium intake. Regular chicken broth or even vegetable broth will work just fine. 

Diced Tomatoes and Diced Green Chilies – One small can of Rotel is what I use for this recipe. I prefer the mild, my family prefers the HOT. I usually compromise with Original, but any of the varieties will work. Other brands are also fine, especially with the shortages still happening in many stores, I’ve used whatever they have. If I can’t find together, you can buy diced tomatoes and diced chilies separate, or eliminate one or the other. Salsa also works as a substitution.

Queso or Velveeta Cheese – We live in Texas and Queso has been a hot commodity at the supermarket during Quarantine. This recipe is versatile enough that any variety will work. We prefer the H-E-B house brands of queso, found in the refrigerated cheese section of the store. Any of the queso in glass jars in the potato chip aisle will work as well. When visiting family in Memphis, I stock up on Panchos Cheese Dip (if you know, YOU KNOW, haha!) and bring it home in a cooler and use it. During the recent winter storms I bought some from our local Chuy’s Mexican Restaurant and used it (SO GOOD!). Velveeta Cheese is what I used in the pictures because it’s commonly found nationwide and also works really well in the slow cooker. 

*Feel free to add black beans, too, especially for burritos or burrito bowls!

Slow Cooker Queso Chicken

To begin, place the chicken breasts in the bowl of the slow cooker. PRO-TIP: Use Slow Cooker LINERS for easier cleanup!

Combine the chicken broth and taco seasoning in a small bowl.

Pour the mixture over the top of the chicken.

Slow Cooker Queso Chicken

Pour the diced tomatoes with chilies over the top of the chicken.

Slow Cooker Queso Chicken

Place the cubed Velveeta (or queso) on top of the tomatoes.

Slow Cooker Queso Chicken

Place the lid on the slow cooker and cook on low for four hours or high for two hours.

Before serving, remove the chicken from the slow cooker and shred with a fork.

Place the chicken back in the slow cooker and stir to combine the ingredients.

Serve with flour tortillas, crunchy taco shells, lettuce, and tomatoes and any other preferred chicken taco toppings.

Slow Cooker Queso Chicken
 

Is it better to cook chicken on high or low in crockpot?

This is personal preference in my opinion, I’ve cooked it both ways. Boneless, Skinless chicken can turn out tougher and drier when cooked on high in the crockpot too long. I tend to cook mine on low simply because it sometimes needs to cook for a bit longer than the 4 hours. If I’m really short on time and don’t want to use the Instant Pot (see instructions at end of post), I have cooked it on high for 2 hours, but I always check the temperature and stop the cooking as soon as it reaches a safe eating temperature. 
 

Do you need to add liquid to chicken in slow cooker?

I always do, especially with fresh chicken breasts. Just a bit of water or chicken broth enhances the recipe in my opinion. If using frozen chicken breasts you can use less liquid because it will provide some as it thaws and cooks.
 
Slow Cooker Queso Chicken
 

What to Serve with Queso Chicken Tacos

When serving as tacos, I serve with Mexican Rice and Refried Beans.

When serving as Burritos, I add black beans with the Rotel and let them cook in the slow cooker. I will serve with Mexican Rice or add the rice inside the burritos. Top with extra shredded cheese or queso.

This also works well served over the top of rice, pasta, cauliflower rice, etc.

Can you turn Queso Chicken into a Freezer Meal?

I have frozen the cooked, shredded queso chicken and unthawed later to serve as a freezer meal. Simply label the freezer bag with the date & contents, unthaw overnight in the refrigerator and reheat in the oven at 350 degrees until the desired temperature is reached.

Should I use soft tortillas or crispy taco shells? 

The choice is up to you, this is really personal preference. Both work really well!

 

Yield: 5

Slow Cooker Queso Chicken

Slow Cooker Queso Chicken
Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 4 hours
Total Time 4 hours 5 minutes

Ingredients

  • 3 frozen boneless, skinless chicken breasts
  • 1 cup chicken broth
  • 1 package taco seasoning
  • 1 can diced tomatoes with chilies
  • 1 16-ounce package Velveeta cheese, cubed
  • Flour tortillas, lettuce, and diced tomato for serving

Instructions

    1. Place the chicken breasts in the bowl of the slow cooker.
    2. Combine the chicken broth and taco seasoning in a small bowl.
    3. Pour the mixture over the top of the chicken.
    4. Pour the diced tomatoes with chilies over the top of the chicken
    5. Place the cubed Velveeta on top of the tomatoes.
    6. Place the lid on the slow cooker and cook on low for four hours or high for two hours.
    7. Before serving, remove the chicken from the slow cooker and shred with a fork.
    8. Place the chicken back in the slow cooker and stir to combine the ingredients.
    9. Serve with flour tortillas, lettuce, and tomatoes.

    Did you make this recipe?

    Please leave a comment below & if you recreate this recipe, be sure to share a photo on Instagram. Tag me @when.is.dinner and hashtag #whenisdinner!

    How to cook Queso Chicken in an Instant Pot:

    A frequent question I get on slow cooker/crock pot posts is how to prepare the recipe in an Instant Pot.

    I’ve also adapted and tested this recipe in my Instant Pot.

    To prepare Instant Pot Queso Chicken Tacos, you will need the same ingredients listed above, just the preparation will be different.

    The cooking time WILL VARY depending on the type of chicken you use.

    Frozen chicken breasts require more cooking time than fresh chicken breasts and larger chicken breasts require more cooking time than smaller chicken breasts.

    To begin, place your chicken breasts into the Instant Pot.

    Sprinkle your homemade taco seasoning or taco seasoning packets over the top of the chicken breasts.

    Top with water and can of Rotel (see substitutions above, if needed).

    Cover Instant Pot and secure the lid.

    Make sure valve is set to sealing.

    Set the manual/pressure cook button to 15 minutes for thawed chicken or 18 minutes for frozen chicken.

    When the time is up let the pot sit for 10 minutes and then move the valve to venting.

    Remove the lid.

    Move chicken to a cutting board.

    Shred with forks or diced with a chef’s knife.

    Turn Instant Pot to sauté. 

    Add in the queso cheese. 

    Return the shredded or diced chicken to the Instant Pot and combine with the queso. 

    Serve the chicken and queso sauce with soft tortilla shells, crunchy taco shells, tortilla chips, or over rice/noodles. (See additional ideas above).

    Top with cilantro and diced fresh tomatoes, if desired.

    To use Rotisserie Chicken instead, – I would use 4 cups of pulled chicken for my family, then just pressure cook for 3 minutes to reheat before adding the queso cheese.

    These are a few items I find helpful in my own kitchen when preparing this Slow Cooker Queso Chicken Tacos Recipe:

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