Crisp homemade taco cups hold slow-cooked chicken rich with spice and flavor. Add fresh toppings and you have an tasty appetizer, Cinco de Mayo dish, or Taco Tuesday treat.
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There are clever taco serving dishes, with ridges to make the overflowing tacos stand up. They're very handy for tacos that would otherwise flop over on your plate, spilling their contents. But what if you don't have any of these silly plates? This was the dilemma that inspired homemade taco cups that stay up all on their own.
Fill these cups with tender and spicy shredded chicken and set them out for family or guests to fill along with fresh toppings. There's no need for those fancy, pricey taco serving dishes. (Actually they are plastic and cheap... but anyway, you won't have to buy any!)
Why you'll love this recipe
While you're working or out or busy about the house, the chicken for the taco cups simmers away in the slow cooker with a zesty Mexican spice blend. This makes it an easy dinner or appetizer to pull together.
Slow Cooker Chicken Taco Cups are a fun twist for your Taco Tuesday (or Wednesday or Saturday.) They're easy to set our for a party as an app, or for your kids' next pre-sleepover supper.
My recipe lists several toppings, but feel free to add in your favorites: sliced black olives, crumbled queso blanco, diced jalapeño, crema, or a crunchy, spicy slaw.
🔪 How to make this recipe
Step 1: Prepare the chicken
Add the chicken to the slow cooker along with chicken stock, lime juice, and spices like cumin and oregano. Set the slow cooker to low and allow the chicken to cook for about 8 hours. It will be fall-apart tender when done.
Step 2: Make the taco cups
Turn a muffin pan upside-down. Microwave a small stack of corn tortillas to warm them through and make them flexible. Brush both sides with olive oil and fit them into the spaces between the muffin wells. Bake the tortillas to create the taco cups.
Step 3: Shred the cooked chicken
Use a fork to pull the chicken apart into shreds. Pile the chicken into a serving bowl. Add in a few spoonfuls of the cooking liquid and toss it through the shreds.
Step 4: Assemble the taco cups... and eat!
Set out the bowl of shredded chicken and the baked taco cups, along with bowls of toppings like sour cream, salsa, shredded or crumbled cheese, diced tomato, lettuce - anything you'd like to pile onto those tacos!
Notes
- This recipe calls for chicken thighs, which are great for a long, slow simmer in the slow cooker.
- These taco cups are pretty easy to make, and don't take too long. You can make them a day or two in advance and seal them in an airtight container
These taco cups make a tasty appetizer for a Cinco de Mayo party at your place - just add some Mexican beer, or better yet have your guests bring the beverages. If you're making them for dinner, round out the meal with a side of seasoned rice or refried beans.
Whether you make these for friends, family or both, don't forget to switch on some music to set the mood - a mariachi music station on Pandora perhaps, or play your Herb Alpert and The Tijuana Brass records!
The recipe is below. Here are a few more Mexican-inspired dishes you can try:
🔪 How do you like these Chicken Taco Cups? Scroll down to leave a star rating, and tell me what you think in the comments!
Slow Cooker Chicken Taco Cups
Ingredients
- 2 pounds boneless chicken thighs
- ½ cup chicken stock
- Juice from 1 lime
- ½ cup extra-virgin olive oil
- 2 tablespoons cumin
- 1 tablespoon chili powder
- 2 teaspoons garlic powder
- 1½ teaspoons salt plus extra for sprinkling
- 1 teaspoon oregano
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- ½ teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 20 small corn tortillas (6-inch)
Optional Toppings:
- Roma tomatoes, seeds removed and diced
- Shredded iceberg lettuce or small spring greens
- Diced scallions
- Mexican-blend shredded cheese or crumbled queso blanco
- Sour cream
- Salsa
Instructions
Prepare the chicken:
- Pour the chicken stock, lime juice and 1 tablespoon of the extra virgin olive oil into the bottom of a slow cooker or crock pot.
- In a small bowl, whisk together the cumin, chili powder, garlic powder, salt, oregano, black pepper and red pepper flakes.
- Rub this blend all over the chicken thighs. Place the chicken in the liquid in the slow cooker and cover.
- Cook the chicken on the low setting for about 8 hours until it is very tender and pulls apart easily.
Prepare the taco cups:
- Preheat the oven to 375° F. Have a 12-cup regular-size muffin pan ready and flip it upside down.
- Place a stack of 6 corn tortillas on a microwave-safe plate, and microwave them for about 20 seconds until they are very soft and warm. Brush both sides of all the tortillas with the remaining olive oil.
- Tuck one of the warmed tortillas into the space between the muffin wells to create a cup. Tuck the other 5 tortillas in the other spaces. Sprinkle a little salt over the cups.
- Place the pan in the oven and bake the tortillas for 15-18 minutes, until the cups are crisp but not too browned. Remove the taco cups to a cooling rack. Repeat the previous warming, oil and baking steps with the rest of the tortillas until all the tortillas are baked.
Shred the chicken
- When the chicken is done in the slow cooker, remove it to a cutting board: reserve ½ cup of the liquid from the slow cooker and discard the rest.
- Once the chicken is cool enough to handle, use a a fork to shred it.
- Place the chicken back in the slow cooker and toss it with the reserved liquid. Set the slow cooker to Warm and cover, until you are ready to serve the taco cups.
Serve the tacos
- Pile the warm chicken into a bowl. Set it out along with the taco cups.
- Set out bowls of your other toppings: chopped tomatoes, lettuce or greens, chopped scallions, shredded cheese, salsa and sour cream - and any other toppings you like.
- Have your guests serve themselves, filling the taco cups with chicken and any toppings they desire.
Notes
- This recipe calls for chicken thighs, which are great for a long, slow simmer in the slow cooker.
- These taco cups are pretty easy to make, and don't take too long. You can make them a day or two in advance and seal them in an airtight container so they're ready to go on taco night.
Nutrition
Post was first published in 2017. Recipe and post updated February 2020.
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