Tuesday, November 4, 2014

Crockpot Taco Chicken

recipe, slow cooker, burritos, tacos, beans

When it comes to dinner there's little easier than a meal in the crockpot. I mean, it does all the work for you. I've posted varieties of this recipe before but I hesitate to call it salsa chicken since we don't use salsa anymore to make it in our house. What we use is taco sauce. So here you have it ... Easy Taco Chicken in the Crockpot.

Or just call it Crockpot Taco Chicken. Honestly, call it whatever you want - just make some - it's delicious.

Sidebar: How does one come up with a "name" for their recipes these days? Everyone seems to make the same sort of thing - you'll see it on Pinterest 100x over - and then you try to share your own, hoping that your recipe, your pictures, your pin might take off like wildfire!

Honestly? I just love this recipe and really wanted to finally share it with some easy to follow images. So yes, it's Pin-worthy now, but it's also really good - so stay with me.

You'll need:

* 2-3 chicken breasts
* 1 jar taco sauce
* 1 can corn (drained)
* 1 can beans (drained and rinsed)
* 1/2 block cream cheese (optional)

This recipe is so flexible you can pretty much make whatever changes you need to.

The chicken breasts can be fresh or frozen. You can probably make this with tenderloins or thighs, depending on your preference, but this recipe and cooking time are based on using chicken breasts.

Your taco sauce can easily be changed out to salsa, but we like a mild taco sauce. Use the entire jar as it helps keep the chicken from drying out.

If you don't have taco sauce on-hand you can always make your own with the packets of taco seasoning. Add them to some chicken broth and though they won't be of the same consistency they'll work for the flavor.

The corn is the easiest ingredient on the list. It can be canned corn or grab a bag of frozen. You can use white, yellow, niblets, whatever you have on-hand or prefer.

Beans can be fresh, as well - but you'll have to figure out how to cook those on your own. I've never made dry beans into edible ones from scratch. I normally prefer using black beans but in this recipe I used pinto beans because we were out of black. It's a good idea to rinse your canned beans in a colander to get off some of that grime and help reduce the sodium. Or so someone told me once upon a time.

The cream cheese is completely optional, but it will thicken the recipe and give it a really good flavor and consistency. I tend to use neufchâtel cheese as it has less fat and you honestly can't taste the difference in a recipe like this one.

Place the first four items into the crockpot as demonstrated below.
Taco Chicken in the crockpot.
Let this cook for about 5-6 hours, or until the chicken is fork tender and you can shred it with regular utensils. Shred the chicken up into the rest of the ingredients. About a half an hour before serving add the 1/2 block of cream cheese to the crockpot. Be sure to break it up into small chunks to ensure that you're able to stir it easily and it will melt into the recipe.

cream cheese tacos, slow cooker

This is one of the few times you'll be told to stir whatever is in your crockpot.

Again, the cheese is optional, I just like it because it thickens the meal and makes it easier to serve in the tortillas we tend to use.

You can opt to go with soft tortillas or hard shells, you can serve with tortilla chips, you can even spoon it over rice if you're looking to make it a serve-in-a-bowl kind of meal.

It's so easy and everyone loves it, so I strongly suggest adding it to your meal plan for next week!

list of ingredients, taco chicken

* There are some affiliate links in this post which means if you buy some of the non-perishable ingredients through me you'll help fund my Starbucks habit for the winter - so thanks in advance.

23 comments:

  1. This looks so yummy! Perfect for a busy evening. Thank you! I pinned this so I can make it soon.

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  2. Nothing easier than a good crockpot prepared meal. I love them. Pinning this one to my collection to try. Thank you for sharing it. Cathy

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  3. I always need more crock pot recipes! This is great!!

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  4. Oh-ho!! I've done something similar with chicken & salsa, but I've never added cream cheese. That sounds like a taco night revolution.

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  5. Cream Cheese! Never would have thought of that. LoOks like a family favorite right there, though. I will try it. Thanks!

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  6. I tried Nichole's chicken with salsa meal and it is similar (and so good.) This looks divine. And easy. Going to try it on a future week! (I've already planned dinners this week.)

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  7. So easy! And it looks delicious. The cheese must made it really creamy, and cut the heat. Thank you for a great idea. :-)

    Kelly
    www.alovelylifeindeed.com

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  8. This looks and sounds yummy---and so easy! The crockpot is my best friend this time of year. So glad you shared this recipe---I know what I'm making this weekend!

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  9. Mmmm, this sounds like a delicious burrito filling! I am loving all these crockpot recipes my Southern ladies are popping out! <3

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  10. I knew I would like this recipe when I saw there was cream cheese in it! Plus, it's so easy to mix it up and let it cook in the crock pot while I get other things done.

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  11. I am thinking I am making this tonight for dinner! Question. I don't have taco sauce, but do you think tomato sauce with taco seasoning would work?

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  12. The crock pot is my best friend! And I'm always adding to my collection of slow cooker recipes. This one sure looks like a keeper to me! I know my family will love it.

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  13. I've been meaning to use my crockpot more and this inspired me. Thanks!

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  14. What a great one pot meal!! Perfect for the cooler weather coming our way :)

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  15. Looks yummy and I love the addition of cream cheese!

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  16. This looks sooooo good! I have a crockpot at home but it is a little too small so now I'm looking for a bigger size one. Crockpot cooking will save me so much time in the evenings.

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  17. Oh this looks so good! I wish I had a crockpot! :)

    http://neatly-packaged.com/

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  18. This looks really good. I will try it. I need easy weeknight meals.

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  19. I just discovered crockpot cooking, and I have no idea what took me so long! This looks delicious -it's definitely next on my list of quick slow-cooked recipes!

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  20. This sounds and looks so delicious! My family loves taco anything, and I love being able to make it in the crockpot.

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  21. I love crockpot meals! I have one cooking right now :) Thank you for the recipe. I will have to try this next time because tacos are a staple in our diet LOL.

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  22. I love taco anything! The cream cheese look like a yummy twist!

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  23. I love Mexican food and the crockpot only makes it that much better. Totally pinning! :)

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