Name: Slow Cooker Shredded Chicken Nachos Recipe
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 360 min
Total time: 370 min
Ingredients: 6 boneless, skinless chicken breasts; 1 Tablespoon chili powder; ½ teaspoon garlic powder; ½ teaspoon onion powder; ½ teaspoon salt; ½ teaspoon pepper; 1 Tablespoon brown sugar; 2 cans Rotel tomatoes with green chiles (undrained); Tortilla Chips; shredded cheddar cheese; sliced jalapeno (optional); sliced olives (optional); sliced tomato (optional); salsa (optional); sour cream (optional)

Recipe Ingredient Notes

To make our slow cooker shredded chicken nachos, you need the following ingredients:

Boneless, skinless chicken breasts

Chili powder

Garlic powder

Onion powder

Salt

Black pepper

Brown sugar

Rotel tomatoes with green chiles undrained

Tortilla Chips

Shredded cheddar cheese

Sliced jalapeno (optional)

Sliced olives (optional)

Sliced tomato (optional)

Salsa (optional)

Sour cream (optional)

A tray of loaded nachos topped with shredded chicken, melted cheese, sliced jalapeños, black olives, cherry tomatoes, green onions, and drizzled with sour cream.

How to Make Our Slow Cooker Shredded Chicken Nachos

When you are ready to make this simple weeknight dinner, start by placing the chicken breasts in the bottom of the slow cooker.

Then, in a small bowl, combine chili powder, garlic powder, onion powder, salt, pepper, brown sugar, and both cans of Rotel tomatoes.

Mix it all together to combine and make the seasoning.

Then just pour the sauce over the chicken.

Now, place the cover on top and cook the chicken on low for 6-8 hours or high for 3-4 hours.

After the chicken is cooked, shred the chicken with two forks until you get your desired consistency.

Once that is done, serve the chicken over the tortilla chips and top with your favorite toppings.

A close-up of nachos topped with melted cheese, sliced jalapenos, cherry tomatoes, black olives, shredded chicken, and drizzled with white sauce.

Recipe Notes

There are so many topping options for these nachos. Some of our favorite toppings include the following: diced jalapeños, diced tomatoes, guacamole, sour cream, cheese, salsa, black olives, shredded lettuce, and avocados. Please note that toppings are not included in the nutritional information.

Make your own nacho bar. You can cook the chicken in the slow cooker and serve it with the nachos and have all the toppings in separate bowls, letting everyone tops the nachos with what they like and enjoy. You can get crazy with it and line your table with some aluminum foil and spread the tortillas, chicken, cheese, and all the toppings on the nachos, and go to town!

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Questions & Reviews

Mara says:

I Googled "slow cooker shredded chicken" and your site popped up first. I made the recipe yesterday (just the chicken), but was unable to try it until this evening. The resulting quesadilla was AMAZING! The chicken was absolutely perfect. I've been looking for a good shredded chicken recipe for years, and this is the one I'm keeping--it's super easy and delicious. Thanks!
julia says:

Hey! I can't wait to try these! Above, you mention that you can use thawed or frozen chicken breasts. I can really throw frozen chicken breasts in the crockpot like above? Would cooking time be different? Thanks!!!!!
Ginny says:

I love this idea! I always have a ton of shredded chicken on hand - and this is perfect!
Christine says:

Oh no! I don't have any Rotel on hand. Do you think I could mix a 14.5 oz can of petite diced tomatoes and a 4 oz can of diced green chili peppers and that would work? It would end up with 1.5 oz less of liquid but other than that, do you think the flavor would be the same? Maybe mix in some onion too?
Mamacash says:

I do not have brown sugar. Can I sub white sugar?
Shannon says:

I had been craving Nachos for weeks when I came across this recipe. Everyone in my house LOVED them and we fought over the left overs. I am making them again today and am doing a double batch so we will have lots of left overs. We assembled our individual nachos on a tin foil square on a cookie sheet and then put them in the oven for about 10 minutes to get the cheese nice and melted. This will be a regular meal in my house from now on!
Mary says:

I found this recipe and I am so glad I did. My family and I absolutely love it! We use it for tacos instead of nachos. The chicken is so flavorful. I didn't have the two cans of tomatoes so I substituted it with a cup of salsa. Still a great recipe! Thanks.
Nicole J says:

Hello Sisters! I too was looking great chicken nacho recipe and this perfect! This is a staple in my home and I make it almost every Sunday for football. I put it all in the crock pot in the morning and by the afternoon games, I have a meal that will last us all day! I didn't have all of the spices on hand so I substituted 1-2 packs of taco seasoning and it comes out perfect. Thank you again, Sisters!
Nicole J says:

Hi there, yes you can use frozen. I put my chicken in straight from the freezer and there is no Change in time. I put my crock pot on high for the three to four hours like the recipe says and the chicken is still delicious. Hope this helps!
Lisa R says:

Have made this a few times. A new family favorite!
Cooking says:

Hi, This recipe looks great! The recipe calls for cheese. Do you mix the cheese to melt it with the chicken in the crockpot, or do you just add it as a cold topping on the tortilla chips? Thank you.
Cyd says:

Add it at the end as one of the toppings. We love to be generous with the cheese! Mmmmmmm!
Judith C says:

Chicken breasts come in many different sizes. Do you have an approximate weight for the chicken?
Bobbi @ Six Sisters says:

I would estimate each breast at about 6 ounces each as this is the average size of a chicken breast. Being off by a couple of ounces won't make or break this recipe. It's very forgiving!