Slow Cooker Southwestern Chicken Tacos
These Slow Cooker Southwestern Chicken Tacos are quick, easy and delicious…the perfect comfort food for a cold winter day!
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Well, here we are. The holidays are over. Your decorations are (probably) put away until next year. The New Year’s resolutions have already been broken. But that’s ok. Life is returning to a slower, more normal pace. For us here in New York, that means dodging snow storm after snow storm. We got lucky last year with a pretty mild winter last year. I think I only had to pull the snow blower out once…and I probably could’ve gotten away with a shovel, but there’s something kinda fun about throwing snow 40 feet into the air!
I know it might be strange, but I actually look forward to these big storms. It is so darned peaceful outside when it’s snowing! Sometimes I just go out on the back porch and stand there watching the snow fall. Then I get cold and come inside to the warm fireplace! In our pre-Robbie days, we’d just curl up on the couch with a good book on these stormy days. Or perhaps we’d watch The Sopranos or Breaking Bad on Netflix.
Now we just chase the little man around the house…and then watch tv and read our books while he naps. (Or we do the dishes because as anyone with a baby knows, household chores often get pushed aside while they’re awake.)
My Mom is visiting later this week, and I’m excited to just sit back and catch up with her. She lives down in Nashville, so we only get to visit a couple of times a year. The plan is to hang out by the fireplace, play with Robbie and just generally relax a bit. And that’s where the slow cooker comes in! The last thing I want to be doing is standing in the kitchen all day while my Mom is here. But that doesn’t mean we have to have boring food. Nope. These Slow Cooker Southwestern Chicken Tacos are anything but boring!
These Slow Cooker Southwestern Chicken Tacos are nice and easy to make. Just some chicken, enchilada sauce and a couple cans of beans, corn and chilies. Turn that slow cooker on low and let it cook away all day. (Note: After about 4+ hours, your kitchen will start to smell amazing. Your stomach might start rumbling. I speak from experience!) But there’s a fun little twist to these tacos. I used Flatout flatbreads to make the taco shells themselves.
I’ve joked before that Laura can turn any of our leftovers into tacos. Well this time I actually made tacos…so the leftovers are already in taco form! Cheers!
Slow Cooker Southwestern Chicken Tacos
Ingredients
For the Chicken
- 4 boneless skinless chicken breasts
- 1 10-oz. can red enchilada sauce
- 1 4.5-oz. can green chilies
- 1 15.25-oz. can whole kernel corn, drained
- 1 15-oz. can black beans, drained
- 2 Tbsp taco seasoning
- ¼ cup water
- 4 Tbsp lime juice divided
For the Tacos
- 1 package Flatout Flatbreads 7 flatbreads
- avocado sliced
- salsa
- Mexican-blend cheese shredded
- sour cream
- fresh cilantro chopped
Instructions
For the Chicken
- Place chicken breasts in slow cooker. Add enchilada sauce, green chilies, corn, black beans, taco seasoning, water and 2 Tbsp of lime juice. Flip chicken to coat. Cover and cook on low for 6-7 hours.
- Once cooked, remove the chicken breasts to a plate and shred with 2 forks. Remove cooking liquid from slow cooker. Return shredded chicken to slow cooker along with ~½ cup of cooking liquid and remaining 2 Tbsp of lime juice; stir. (Note: Reserve the remaining cooking liquid for soups, rice, or other recipes.)
For the Tacos
- Preheat oven to 375°F.
- Cut flatbreads in half (widthwise) and brush both sides with the reserved cooking liquid. Hang flatbreads over oven rack (see video in post). Bake for 12-15 minutes, or until crispy. Remove shells and let cool.
- Assemble the tacos with shredded chicken, avocado, salsa, Mexican cheese and sour cream. Garnish with fresh cilantro before serving.
This Slow Cooker Southwestern Chicken Tacos post was sponsored by Flatout Flatbread, but the recipe and opinions are entirely my own.
Thank you for supporting the brands that support Spiced!
As sad as it is taking decorations down, it definitely is nice to get things back to normal. And as for snow…I don’t particularly care for it, but I do know what you mean about it looking peaceful (especially when I’m snuggled up toasty warm inside, lol ). The thing is about snow with me is that if we are going to have snow, I think it’s just as well to have a lot of it than just a little bit to make a mess, ya know?
Those Flatout Flatbreads can be turned into anything, can’t they? I love tacos and love using my slow cooker any time of year, so these look perfect to me and I would totally eat one for breakfast right now! Pinned! Hope you have a fantastic time when your mom visits 🙂
Yeah, I’m right there with ya on that boat, Dawn. We took down all of our decorations this past weekend…we usually leave them up until the first weekend of January. (Gotta squeeze all of the time out of them that we can until next year!) At first, I was super sad about it…but as we continued to put things away, it felt nice to be clean and uncluttered again.
Flatout flatbreads really are so much fun to experiment with! I mean these taco shells turned out so rustic and cool. 🙂 Thank you so much!
Slow Cooker dishes are always the best.. It will have all the flavors loaded.. Yummy Share David 🙂
I totally agree, Sharmila! Nothing beats turning on the slow cooker and walking away. 🙂
Dude – that video of those upside down hangy flatouts used for taco shells is pretty darn brilliant! In fact, the whole upside down hangy flatout bread baked to be a taco shell is brilliant! Add in that cooking liquid from the Slow Cooker Southwestern Chicken Tacos and I think I’d just be happy munching on the taco bits and wouldn’t need anything else! Though the idea of that amazing smell permeating my kitchen and house while that chicken simmers is making me rethink the whole eating only taco shells bit!
BTW, You aren’t kidding about chores pilling up when you have a kiddo – but hey, they grow up and you get to tackle that 18 year pile of dishes! Kidding kidding!
Hope y’all have a blast with your mom, David – and hope y’all stay warm!
Tell me about it, Shashi! I love using Flatout’s flatbreads to cook up all sorts of fun things. These taco shells were totally fun. They turned out all rustic-like, and each one was different. But that was part of the fun of it!
Oh, and I think the smell permeating the house is one of my favorite things about using the slow cooker. I really need to pull it out and get something else cooking today! Haha…18 year pile of dishes. It’s not that bad around here. Yet. 🙂
I smiled at throwing snow 40 feet in the air. I had a snow blower hooked up to my John Deere garden tractor each winter when we lived in New Hampshire. Some days it was a challenge keeping the snow where you blew it, if there was the slightest wind it would end up with me being covered in a coating of snow as the wind whipped it backwards. Your tacos sound great…perfect when you want to spend time with your mother instead of hours in the kitchen cooking.
Oh man, I totally wanted to get the snow blower that hooked up to our riding mower! (Well, to be honest, I just wanted the plow on the front. Can you imagine riding down the driveway just plowing everything away while your neighbors stood there with a shovel? Haha!) The first time I used our snowblower, I think I laughed for about 5 minutes straight. It was so much fun! Now it’s not so much fun anymore…but still way better than a shovel! Thanks so much, Karen! 🙂
I got stuck in a blizzard last year, and I enjoyed every minute of it, we ate yummy food, watch movies, put together a puzzle and I even Knitted a few scarfs. The best part about that Blizzard is the day I flew back home to California where is was a balmy 65 degrees 🙂 This is totally Slow Cooker Season, and you are making me proud with this Southwestern chicken taco recipe.
There is something kinda cool about getting stuck in a blizzard. Same goes for hurricanes (I’ve done 4-5 of those)…although not near as cool since the damage is usually greater. But the point remains that you have to hunker down and find creative ways to entertain yourself. It’s fun…in a strange way! Pull out that slow cooker and pretend that it’s snowing outside today, Mary! Haha!
Harry Potter…I mean, Dave Potter and his magic with the infamous Flatouts again. I remember those bowls (and the ice cream too!) and this sounds perfect- Although you should totally try cooking them over the fire lol. although 40 ft of snow…
Enjoy time with mama Dial!
Hey, those Flatouts are indeed magical! In fact, I bet I could cut them into thin strips and turn them into wands. Edible wands with magical powers! 🙂 Good memory on the ice cream cones, my friend. I am impressed! So I’m tempted to try your cooking over the fire idea, but then I remember that it’s about 10 degrees (F) outside right now. Not sure what that is in Celsius, but I can assure you that it is cold. Very cold.
That is a clever taco shell! Love it 🙂 I do like the big storms too and I especially love a snow day! 🙂 Just one of the benefits of working in a school. Of course there’s also dealing with snow balls during recess time….just is a natural draw for kids! These tacos would be perfect for throwing together in the morning and coming home to in the evening! My kind of meal! 🙂
Oh man, I totally miss snow days when I was a kid. (Granted, we lived in the south…so snow days were few and far between!) And then again when I was teaching. Laura used to get so jealous when I’d get a snow day as a teacher! 🙂 I’m all about letting dinner cook itself while you’re working…and these tacos are a winner, Kathy! Thank you!
OMG I AM SEEING CHICKEN EVERYWHERE this morning. I need me some chicken ASAP! Ha! The craving is REAL!
Haha…the chicken is stalking you this morning, GiGi! 🙂 Might want to check in the closet and underneath your bed before going to bed tonight. (Just kidding…sorta!)
What a fun idea!! I will have to try this taco shells asap, great pics; and yes sadly, we are all back to reality! Cheers my friends.
Yup, back to reality! All the fun has to come to an end at some point…but then that just means it will be that much more fun when the holidays roll around again, right? 🙂 These tacos are a super fun dinner idea, Gaila. Give them a shot!!
David, your post breaks my diet! I’m on a carb break, especially after a long holiday and I can’t stand this one. Looks sooo good! Happy new year to you and stay warm! Lucky that you don’t have a big storm as we are experiencing rainy days this week.
Oh no!! What is this carb break you speak of, Linda?? Haha…hang in there! You can do it. And when it’s all said and done, come back and make some tacos! Hope the rain isn’t too bad out there. It’s been all over the news here. 🙁
Wishing you a Happy New Year, David. That looks ridiculously DELICIOUS! Definitely going to have to try it out this week.
Thank you so much, Rahul! Tacos are always a winner around here. 🙂 Happy New Year to you and your wife, too!
I do love snow. But I also prefer to love it when I’m at home. When I need to commute, it’s much less fun especially with our Canadian winter when weather might change few times throughout the day. Like yesterday, it was snowing all the morning and afternoon (Which is probably why our Christmas trees weren’t’t picked up. Btw, do you need a tree? Almost new! Absolutely free). It was indeed enjoyable to walk while the fresh snow was falling. However, by night this snow changed to the rain…nope, downpour. It wasn’t enjoyable to commute back anymore! This pulled chicken looks amazing (and so the whole dish), David. I’ve been planning try it for a year now, and this post is just screaming to hurry up:)
Yeah I totally agree, Ben. I actually don’t mind a big snowstorm…but only if I’m able to just stay at home and not go out. Those are the best days to just put dinner in the slow cooker (like these tacos!) and curl up on the couch with a good book. Oh, and speaking of that tree, I’ll take it! I was sad to see our tree go this year…so send that one down please. With some treats, too. 🙂
Just the other day when I went to walk my neighbors dog she had her slow cooker going. I texted her about how good it smelled and she said it was chicken tacos. And then I stumble upon this recipe! Is it a sign that I must make chicken tacos this week? My magic 8 ball says all signs point to yes! I’m pinning this for Taco Tuesday!
Yes! I think the universe is clearly telling you to make slow cooker chicken tacos, Theresa! 🙂 I gotta say…they’re crazy easy and crazy delicious. So it’s a win-win for sure! Thanks so much, and happy Taco Tuesday!
The Flatout taco shell idea is great and I’d smack down a couple with Sriracha or your way. I’m always on the lookout for new Slow Cooker chicken dishes so thanks for this one Dave. Although I think it would be nice to have Laura take a pic of you with the snow blower. I have never seen one in action. 🙂
Slow cooker chicken tacos is the best way to roll on these cold winter days, Kevin! They’re crazy easy to make, and they taste so darned good! 🙂 Also, I do indeed have a photo (or maybe even a video?) of the snowblowing in action. I’ll have to dig it out and include it in a future post!