Slow Cooker Chicken Tinga Tacos

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These chicken tinga tacos use our slow cooker chicken tinga recipe for a quick and easy taco night that you can enjoy any night of the week. We like them best when served with fake guac (avocado, lime, and salt), pickled peppers, and a little crumbled queso fresco. Oh, and homemade corn tortillas of course. 

In the summer, we’re all about slow cooker proteins. Turning the crockpot on in the morning, then coming home to a flavorful, saucy shredded chicken for dinner is honestly the best after a long day of summer fun.

While we usually enjoy chicken tinga tostadas the most, we’ve been using our favorite crockpot chicken for tacos lately and they’re giving the tostadas a run for their money. The chicken tinga is so flavorful on its own, we don’t need any fancy toppings to dress these up – just some mashed avocado, queso fresco, and maybe a few pickled peppers.

And in the summer, simple dinners truly are the best dinners!

Key Ingredients

• Homemade chicken tinga – Our slow cooker chicken tinga is saucy, smokey, a little spicy, and packed with flavor. Thanks to just 5 minutes of prep and 4 hours cooking in the crockpot, these tacos are super easy to throw together when it’s time for dinner. 
• Anaheim peppers – We quick pickle rings of anaheims to top our tacos for a hint of heat, a little acidity that makes the other flavors pop, and a bit of crunch to compliment the other textures. Alternatively, you can use jalapenos or you can skip the peppers entirely. 
• Fake guac – Mashed avocado, a little lime juice, and some salt makes for a creamy, fresh, and flavorful addition to these simple tacos. 
• Queso fresco – Really any Mexican cheese works here like a simple Mexican blend or some grated cotija, but we like the mild-yet-salty flavor of queso fresco the most. 
• Corn tortillas – We always make corn tortillas from scratch because they’re so much better than any store-bought options. Homemade tortillas always make taco night better.

See the recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities.

How To Make Chicken Tinga Tacos

Step 1: Make the chicken tinga ahead of time. It takes about 4 hours in the slow cooker. Full details are in our crockpot chicken tinga recipe!

Step 2: Make the fake guac by combining mashed avocado with lime juice and sea salt. Then make the quick pickled peppers by tossing pepper wheels with a little lime juice and sea salt. 

Step 3: Assemble the tacos by layering a little fake guac, a pile of chicken tinga, a couple pepper wheels, and a sprinkling of crumbled queso fresco. 

Variations

Chicken tinga tacos are extremely versatile. Here are some of our other favorite toppings and fillings to add:

• Refried beans
• Pico de gallo
• Pickled red onion
• Lime crema

When building chicken tinga tacos, we like to add something creamy (like avocado or refried beans), something acidic (like pickled peppers or lime crema), and something with a little salt (generally the mashed avocado or crema can also cover this). The combination of them makes the flavors in the chicken tinga pop while also standing up to its bold flavors instead of getting lost.

Serving Suggestions

• Easy taco Tuesday – Keep dinner easy with a simple side of guacamole (or make extra fake guac to enjoy both in the tacos and with chips) and Mexican bean dip.
• Make it a taco party – Serve guests the full spread of all our best Mexican recipes like our slow cooker street corn dip, cottage cheese queso, and a pitcher of pineapple coconut margaritas!
• Taco date night – Friday night dinner for two at home? Spice up date night with a round of spicy mezcal margaritas and a side of homemade fire roasted salsa.