This taco chicken bowls recipe is definitely “slow-cooker 101”. It’s probably one of the first recipes that most people learn to make in their slow cooker. In fact, some version of Slow Cooker Taco Chicken Bowls is probably included in that little mini recipe book that comes with the slow cooker when you buy it. BUT, I had to post it because I know there are probably a lot of you who haven’t made it yet and I can’t bear the thought of you missing out.
This post contains some affiliate links, which means that we make a small commission off items you purchase at no additional cost to you.
Set it and forget it…
Taco Chicken Bowls are great for bachelors, students, or the chronically busy because it’s a “dump and heat” recipe. All you do is dump all of the ingredients together in a pot, and let it cook.
How to Serve Taco Chicken Bowls
Of course, you’ll need to make the rice separate but even if you’re one of those people who can never get rice right, there is still hope. Just stuff the chicken mixture inside of a tortilla with a little cheese and roll it up for a quick burrito, or fold it over in a tortilla and crisp it up in a skillet like a quesadilla. Presto. Easy, delicious, cheap food.
Taco Chicken Bowls are Freezer Friendly
Oh, also, this taco chicken bowls recipe freezes well. Cheese and all. Then just nuke and stir for a couple minutes until hot. Instant freezer meal!
What Size Slow Cooker to Use
I use a 6 quart Hamilton Beach Slow Cooker and this recipe fills it about halfway. I would suggest using a 4-quart or larger slow cooker.
Okay, one more thing. If you for some strange reason need this taco chicken bowls recipe to be even easier or you don’t have a well-stocked spice cabinet, just substitute a packet of taco seasoning for all of the spices and herbs that I used below.
More Slow Cooker Dinners: Slow Cooker Chicken Tikka Masala, Slow Cooker Italian Chicken and Peppers, Slow Cooker White Chicken Chili, and Slow Cooker Beef Stew.
Taco Chicken Bowls
Servings 6 (1 cup chicken mixture, 1 cup rice, plus toppings)Ingredients
- 1 1/2 lbs. chicken breasts ($2.60*)
- 1 16oz. jar salsa ($2.15)
- 2 cloves garlic, minced ($0.16)
- 1 15oz. can black beans ($0.69)
- 1/2 lb. frozen corn ($0.73)
- 1 Tbsp chili powder ($0.30)
- 1/2 Tbsp ground cumin ($0.15)
- 1/2 tsp dried oregano ($0.05)
- 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper ($0.03)
- Freshly cracked black pepper ($0.03)
- 6 cups cooked rice ($0.60)
- 8 oz. shredded cheddar ($2.59)
- 3 green onions, sliced (or fresh cilantro) ($0.23)
Instructions
- Place the chicken breasts in the bottom of a 5 quart or larger slow cooker. Drain the black beans and add them to the slow cooker along with the salsa and corn. Add 1/4 cup water, plus the minced garlic, chili powder, cumin, oregano, cayenne, some freshly cracked pepper (about 10-15 cranks of a pepper mill).
- Give the ingredients a brief stir to distribute the spices. Secure the lid on your slow cooker and cook on low for 8 hours or high for 4 hours.
- After 8 hours on low or 4 hours on high, carefully remove the lid of the slow cooker. Stir with a fork to shred the chicken (it should be very tender and will shred easily). Taste the chicken mixture and add salt if needed.
- To build the bowls, place one cup of rice in the bottom of a bowl and top with 1 cup of the shredded chicken mixture. Top with a little cheddar cheese and a sprinkle of sliced green onions.
See how we calculate recipe costs here.
Equipment
- Slow Cooker
- Measuring Cups Spoons
Notes
Nutrition
Have you tried this recipe?Mention @budgetbytes or tag #budgetbytes on Instagram!This is definitely one of my favorite meals to keep in the freezer for busy days!
How to Make Slow Cooker Taco Chicken Bowls – Step by Step Photos
Place two large chicken breasts (about 1.5 lbs.) in the bottom of a slow cooker. I always buy my chicken breasts in large packs on sale, then individually wrap and freeze them for later.
Drain one 15oz. can of black beans and add them to the slow cooker along with a 16oz. jar of salsa and 1/2 pound of frozen corn (no need to thaw the corn first–the small kernels thaw quickly once the slow cooker is turned on. Do not, however, use frozen chicken breasts because they may take too long to come up to a safe temperature in the slow cooker.)
I usually just use a generic salsa for this dish, but I like generic salsa just fine. The type of salsa you use will greatly impact the flavor the of the overall dish, so make sure you use one that you like. This time around I found a “fire roasted” generic salsa, so I got that for a little extra smokey flavor. :)
Add 2 cloves minced garlic, 1 Tbsp chili powder (mild), 1/2 Tbsp cumin, 1/2 tsp dried oregano, 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper, and some freshly cracked pepper (about 10-15 cranks of a pepper mill).
Add about 1/4 cup of water to help the ingredients combine when you stir. Briefly stir to distribute the spices.
Secure the lid on your slow cooker and cook on high for four hours or low for eight hours. This is after 4 hours on high–doesn’t look much different!
BUT by this time the chicken is SO tender that just stirring the mixture will make it fall apart. Stir the pot or use two forks to shred the chicken.
When all the chicken is shredded it’s time to eat! You can taste the mixture and add salt if needed (this will depend on the salt content of your beans and salsa. I didn’t add any this time.)
To build the taco chicken bowls, place one cup of cooked rice in the bottom of a bowl and top it with one cup of the chicken mixture. Sprinkle a little shredded cheddar cheese on top followed by a few sliced green onions. Done! How easy is that?
Or you can eat the Taco Chicken Bowls not as a bowl, but as an actual taco. Just stuff the chicken mixture into a tortilla, top with cheese or sour cream, and you’re good to go!
The whole family loved this recipe. The chicken was so tender. I used a lot less of the spices because we can’t eat really spicy food. The flavor was delicious and will definitely make again.
For those who don’t already have all the spices at home and don’t want want to buy all of them a low cost alternative is to get a packet of low sodium taco seasoning and mix it in.
Hey Beth!
Love your blog and your recipes! Your taco chicken bowls and spicy chicken rigatoni were one of the first “meals” I learned to make. So thank you! I noticed that you’ve updated your recipe maybe. In the past, frozen chicken breasts were used and now you don’t recommend it. I’ve made it with frozen and never had an issue. Can I ask why the change? Thank you!
Hi Harnoor! Nope, I never suggest using frozen chicken breast because that is a big food safety hazard. I have a background in microbiology and food safety, so that’s not something I would have ever recommended. The reason is that slow cookers take far too long to heat the frozen chicken to a safe temperature and it ends up staying in the “temperature danger zone” of 40F to 140F far too long. This gives bacteria an opportunity to feed on the meat and produce toxins that are left in the food even after the bacteria are finally killed once it reaches a higher temperature. You’re not guaranteed to get sick, but the probability definitely increases. I hope that helps it makes sense! :)
To get more veggies in there, what do you think about serving on a bed of shredded lettuce instead of rice? I may try it!
Yes, that’s a good option! Just make sure the chicken mixture isn’t too hot so it doesn’t wilt your lettuce. :)
Could I do it in an instapot?
Yes, slow cooker recipes convert very well to pressure cookers. I’d probably use the poultry setting for this.
Did this work well in the instantpot? Gonna try it tonight.
I made this tonight and it was fantastic, I finished my plate in less than 15 minutes! I’ve never actually cooked a meal from fresh ingredients before – I always buy prepared food, rely on my mums cooking, or order copious amounts of takeout. I imagine it would go really well with some nachos or in a tortilla wrap which I might try next! Thank you for posting these recipes for us to enjoy.
What is your suggestion as to the sides and desserts?
I honestly wouldn’t even bother with a side dish for this one because it’s a full meal in one bowl (rice, meat, vegetables) and it’s VERY filling. As for dessert, I would maybe choose something chocolate. Chocolate goes so well spicy flavors. :)
I’ve made this many times before- it’s always satisfying and super easy. Most recently, I needed to use up about half of a rotisserie chicken, so I combined it with all the ingredients listed and heated it all up in a skillet. Swapped the black beans for cannellini beans, and the green onions for diced yellow onion, as that’s what I had on hand. It turned out fantastic!
This recipe was shockingly good. I’m usually skeptical of these kinds of recipes where you just dump a bunch of ingredients in with chicken breast, because the breast usually turns out dry and the dish overly watery. However, after 8 hours of cooking the chicken was very tender and moist and all of the liquid from the salsa and other ingredients has reduced into a sort of flavorful sauce to coat the chicken when it shreds. She’s also not lying when she says it freezes well-I threw the leftovers in the freezer and they’ve been reheating with essentially no change in texture or flavor. Highly recommend for an easy dinner!!!
Can I use frozen chicken breasts for this?
I don’t suggest putting frozen meat into a slow cooker because it takes too long to come up to a safe temperature, but you can thaw them first and then use them. :)
ZI made this Yesterday. Put it on a about 10am, Went to Eye Doctor then grocery shopping, Gone 5hrs. Came home to wonderfully smelling house, put rice in the microwave, and 30mi later had a great tasting dinner. Made Quesadillas for lunch today. It was great with a dollop of Sour Cream and Onion greens.
I just wanted to share that I made this in my Instant Pot tonight and it came out really great.
I did 10 minutes at high pressure with a 5 minute natural release then quick release to release the rest of the pressure. I shredded the chicken using a hand mixer right in the instant pot and it cut the shredding time to about a minute.
Thank you so much for this comment. You saved dinner!
Thank you for the information!
This is what I came here looking for! Thank you!
Thank you! This is the info I needed because I no longer own a slow cooker. Looking forward to making this tonight!
I just made this last night and it was delicious! Everyone loved it! I will definitely be making this again.
This one of our favorite meals. We serve it with the lime tortilla chips. Just curious, would it be considered gluten free meal?
Yep! As long as there isn’t some sneaky gluten that made its way into your jarred salsa (there usually isn’t) then it should be fine.
Most packets of taco seasonings have gluten, if you go that route, so read your labels. I *think* salsa is usually gluten free. Double check all the food labels and you should be good. 👍
I’ve never seen taco seasoning with gluten in it. We are a gluten free household.
If it’s not labeled gluten-free, it may be processed on equipment that also processes gluten products. McCormick’s actually makes a gluten-free (labeled) taco seasoning that I, in the past, have found on occasion at Walmart. I always use Beth’s homemade taco seasoning from her “Crispy Baked Beef and Black Bean Tacos” recipe. It’s really better than the packaged stuff anyway and you know exactly what’s in it.
How would you tweak this so it would bony include meat? 🙂 I want to substitute the chicken for something else but I’m not sure. I’m not vegetarian but I love trying new recipes. I’ve made this plenty of times and it never fails but chicken all the time does get old
Can you rephrase? I think there’s a typo in there so I’m not sure exactly what you’re asking. Are you asking for a different kind of meat or no meat?
Oops. I didn’t even notice my typo. Either or. Have you tried this with a different protein? Or substituting with a vegetarian friendly meat. I do not eat much meat but love seafood so I’ll usually opt for no meat or eat seafood.
Gotcha. :) I haven’t tried it with a different meat, but I bet it would be good with pork or beef! If you’re doing a meat substitute you probably won’t need to slow cook it, just heat everything through really quickly on the stove top (slow cooking just makes the chicken tender and shredable). Without meat it’s basically just a burrito bowl, which is always fast, easy, and you can add all sorts of goodies! Here’s my post about basic burrito bowls with a list of all the fun things you can put in it.
I made this today in my 5 qt. crock pot. Tweaked a few items, sliced yellow onion, handful of chopped green bell pepper, added 3 tblspns taco seasoning with 6 breast cutlets, can of drained/rinsed black beans, drained can of whole kernel corn, added about 10 chopped pickled jalapeno ring slices, granulated garlic, 2 tblspns cajun seasoning & 1 can rotel tomatoes with chilies (not drained). Cooked on low for 6 hrs, we ate it with sliced avocado and tortilla chips – was great & seasoning was SPOT-ON. Leftovers tomorrow will be even better, will do with soft flour tortillas & queso, then hard shell tacos, if any left after that….Watched a football game while eating this – perfect!! This was so easy!! Thanks!
Wow! I’m so gonna try this. Thanks for sharing!
Made this tonight and it was delicious! Served it with sour cream. Will be making this again.