Slow Cooker Chicken Tacos with Apples and Cranberries

Slow Cooker Chicken Tacos are juicy and tangy with fresh cranberries, apples and rosemary, and topped with a sweet and spicy cranberry salsa. If you're looking to change up your holiday menu, you'll love these festive tacos! They come together easily in the crockpot and instant pot instructions are also included in the recipe.

This post was originally published in October 2017 and has been updated to include minor adjustments to the recipe, as well as new text and photos.

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These slow cooker chicken tacos with apples and cranberries are a Christmas tradition in our house. It might sound a bit strange, but we started a holiday taco night a few years ago, and it was a hit with my husband's family, so we do it every year now.

We still get our fill of turkey, ham and cranberry sauce, but tacos are a great way to change things up from the normal holiday menu. They're easy to pull together and perfect to feed a crowd.

In addition to these apple cranberry chicken tacos, we also make pulled pork and spicy ground turkey tacos. With those options, along with some chips, salsa, guacamole, rice and a green salad, there's something for everyone.

Ingredients for the chicken tacos

• Boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• Extra virgin olive oil
• Salt and pepper
• Fresh cranberries
• Granny Smith apple (chopped)
• Chicken broth
• Apple juice
• Apple cider vinegar
• Garlic
• Fresh rosemary
• Cranberry salsa (see below)
• Hard and/or soft shell tacos
• Other toppings of your choice

How to make these chicken tacos in the slow cooker

• Step 1: Grease the inner container of your slow cooker with cooking spray and add the chicken. Drizzle on some oil and add the salt and pepper.
• Step 2: Add the remaining ingredients (not the salsa) to the slow cooker and cook on high for 3-3.5 hours or low for 6-7 hours.
• Step 3: Once cooked, remove what remains of the rosemary sprigs. The apple chunks and cranberries will be very soft and the chicken should be at an internal temperature of 165F.
• Step 4: Using two forks, shred the chicken along with the cranberries and apples. As you shred it all together, the chicken will absorb most of the remaining liquid in the slow cooker.

• Step 5: Set the oven to broil and using a slotted spoon, scoop the chicken out of the slow cooker (leaving the juices behind) and spread it out on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
• Step 6: Broil the chicken for 5-10 minutes, or until the edges and tips are browned. Don't broil for too long as the chicken will dry out. (If you prefer, you can skip this step. Just drain the chicken from the slow cooker and serve chicken as is. Just note the chicken will be very juicy).

Make the spicy cranberry salsa

While you can top your chicken tacos with a tomato-based salsa, guacamole or sour cream, I think they work best with a cranberry salsa. The heat from the jalapeños and tartness from the cranberries makes it the perfect topping for tangy tacos.

The recipe I'm sharing is adapted from Mel's Kitchen Café's recipe for Yummy Fresh Cranberry Salsa. I tweaked the recipe slightly, reducing some of the sweetness and increasing a few of the ingredients such as onions and peppers.

This salsa is super simple to make and can be made a few days in advance. It also makes a large batch so be sure to buy extra chips.

Ingredients for the salsa

• Fresh cranberries
• Granny Smith apple, chopped with skin on
• Jalapeño pepper, seeded and chopped (for extra heat use the seeds)
• Red or green pepper, seeded and chopped
• Red or yellow onion, chopped
• Apple sauce
• Cilantro
• Cane sugar
• Lime juice
• Salt and pepper

While the chicken is cooking, add all of the salsa ingredients to a food processor and pulse until finely chopped. Don't pulse too many times as the salsa will get watery. If you want a chunkier salsa, just pulse a few times. Store the salsa in an airtight glass container in the refrigerator until ready to use. It will keep for 4-5 days.

Can you make these tacos in advance?

Yes, you can make these tacos the day before you want to serve them. And you can do this in two ways:

• Once the chicken is cooked in the slow cooker, broil it as outlined above and then place in an airtight glass container in the refrigerator. When ready to serve, re-heat in the microwave.
• Or, when the chicken is cooked, shred it and place it in a large glass container with the juices and store in the refrigerator. When ready to serve, drain the juices and broil as outlined above.

Leftover chicken will keep in the refrigerator for 3-4 days.

Can you freeze slow cooker chicken with cranberries and apples?

Absolutely. This recipe makes a large batch (enough for about 12-14 tacos), so I often freeze it in batches for quick and easy meal prep.

Before freezing the chicken, I recommend shredding it, draining the juices and broiling. Then transfer the chicken to an airtight glass dish to cool completely in the refrigerator. Once cooled, place the desired amount of chicken in a freezer safe container or resealable bag and place in the freezer. If stored properly, it should last in the freezer for up to 3 months.

When ready to enjoy, thaw in the refrigerator overnight and then re-heat in the microwave.

Recipe tips

• You can slow cook the chicken in the crockpot for 3-3.5 hours on high or for 6-7 hours on low. Just make sure your chicken is at a safe internal temperature of 165F and shreds apart easily.
• Chicken shreds best when it is warm, so I wouldn't recommend waiting for it to cool before shredding.
• I used a 6-quart slow cooker to allow the chicken to be arranged in a single layer. If you have a smaller slow cooker, you can half the recipe.
• This recipe can easily be made in the Instant Pot too. Just pressure cook for 15 minutes using a natural release. Further details are included in the recipe below.

If you make this recipe, I'd love to hear what you think in the comments below!

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The cranberry salsa recipe is adapted from Mel's Kitchen Café.

📖 Recipe

Slow Cooker Chicken Tacos with Apples and Cranberries

Slow Cooker Chicken Tacos are juicy and tangy with fresh cranberries, apples and rosemary, and topped with a sweet and spicy cranberry salsa. They come together easily in the crockpot or instant pot.

5 from 12 votes

Print Pin

Prep Time: 30 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 6 hours hours

Total Time: 6 hours hours 30 minutes minutes

Servings: 12 tacos

Author: Leanne

Ingredients

For the chicken:

• ▢ 5 boneless skinless chicken breasts
• ▢ 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
• ▢ ½ teaspoon kosher salt
• ▢ ⅛ teaspoon ground black pepper
• ▢ 1 cup fresh cranberries
• ▢ 1 Granny Smith apple, cored and chopped (skin on)
• ▢ ¾ cup no-salt added chicken broth
• ▢ ⅓ cup pure apple juice, not from concentrate
• ▢ 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
• ▢ 2 cloves garlic, minced
• ▢ 2 sprigs fresh rosemary

For the cranberry salsa:

• ▢ 3 cups fresh cranberries
• ▢ 1 Granny Smith apple, cored and chopped (skin on)
• ▢ 1 jalapeño pepper, seeded and chopped (use the seeds for extra heat)
• ▢ 1 small red or green bell pepper, seeded and chopped
• ▢ 1 small red or yellow onion, chopped
• ▢ ½ cup unsweetened apple sauce
• ▢ ⅓ cup fresh cilantro, stems removed
• ▢ 5 tablespoons cane sugar
• ▢ 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• ▢ ⅛ teaspoon ground black pepper
• ▢ 1 lime, juiced

For the tacos:

• ▢ 12 soft or hard taco shells
• ▢ additional toppings of choice

Instructions

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Prepare chicken - slow cooker instructions:

• Grease the slow cooker insert with cooking spray and arrange the chicken in a single layer. Drizzle on the oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper.
• Add the remaining ingredients to the slow cooker and cook for 3-3.5 hours on high or 6-7 hours on low.
• Once cooked, remove what is left of the rosemary sprigs and use two forks to shred the chicken along with the cranberries and apples. The chicken should absorb most of the remaining liquid in the slow cooker.
• Set the oven to broil and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Using a slotted spoon, scoop the chicken out of the slow cooker (leaving any juices behind) and onto the baking sheet.
• Spread the chicken out and broil for 5-10 minutes, or until the edges and tips are browned. Don't broil for too long as the chicken will dry out.

Prepare chicken - Instant Pot instructions:

• Grease the Instant Pot insert with cooking spray and arrange the chicken in a single layer. Drizzle on the oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper.
• Add the remaining ingredients to the Instant Pot, lock the lid in place and turn the valve to seal. Pressure cook for 15 minutes and naturally release the pressure for 5 minutes.
• Once cooked, remove what is left of the rosemary sprigs and use two forks to shred the chicken along with the cranberries and apples. There may still be a lot of liquid left but that's okay.
• Set the oven to broil and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Using a slotted spoon, scoop the chicken out of the Instant Pot (leaving juices behind) and onto the baking sheet.
• Spread the chicken out and broil for 5-10 minutes, or until the edges and tips are browned. Don't broil for too long as the chicken will dry out.

Make cranberry salsa:

• While the chicken is cooking, add the salsa ingredients to a food processor and pulse until the ingredients are finely chopped. If you want chunkier salsa, just pulse it a few times. Store the salsa in an airtight glass container in the refrigerator until ready to use. It will keep for 4-5 days.

Notes

1. I used a 6-quart slow cooker which was large enough for the chicken to be arranged in a single layer. If you have a smaller slow cooker, you can half the recipe.
2. This recipe calls for no salt added chicken broth. If you use low sodium or regular chicken broth you may wish to reduce the amount of salt you add to the chicken.

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Nutrition Facts per Serving

Calories: 225kcal | Carbohydrates: 32g | Protein: 13g | Fat: 5g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 2g | Trans Fat: 0.01g | Cholesterol: 30mg | Sodium: 577mg | Potassium: 336mg | Fiber: 4g | Sugar: 13g | Vitamin A: 125IU | Vitamin C: 16mg | Calcium: 58mg | Iron: 2mg

Disclaimer

Nutrition information is an estimate only and will vary depending on the substitutions made and the brands used.

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