Pot Crock Chicken Al Pastor Tacos

These Crock Pot Chicken Al Pastor Tacos are sweet, smoky, and incredibly flavorful! An straightforward slow cooker dinner made with juicy shredded chicken, fresh pineapple, chipotle peppers, and warm spices for a lighter, protein-packed dinner.

These Crockpot Chicken Al Pastor Tacos are everything you keep about classic al pastor, but made effortlessly in the slow cooker with chicken instead of pork! Sweet pineapple, smoky chipotle peppers, warm spices, and juicy, tender meat all simmered low and slow in a vibrant from-scratch al pastor sauce until it is fall-apart tender. Finished with fresh pineapple, crunchy onion, crea

Absolutely! The chicken actually tastes even better the next day after the flavors have had more time to develop.

What goes in

• 2 lbs boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• 1 cup pineapple chunks, plus 1/2 cup pineapple juice
• 3 chipotle peppers in adobo sauce
• 2 tablespoons adobo sauce
• 3 cloves garlic
• 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
• 2 tablespoons tomato paste
• 1 tablespoon honey
• 2 teaspoons chili powder
• 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
• 1 teaspoon cumin
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
• 12 small flour tortillas (street taco size)
• Finely diced pineapple
• Finely diced white onion
• Small diced avocado
• Fresh cilantro, finely chopped
• Lime wedges
• Crumbled cotija cheese

How it comes together

1. Blend the sauce. In a high-powered blender, combine the pineapple chunks, pineapple juice, chipotle chiles, adobo sauce, garlic, apple cider vinegar, tomato paste, honey, chili powder, smoked paprika, cumin, oregano, salt, and black pepper. Blend until completely smooth.
2. Add to the crock pot. Place the chicken breasts into the bottom of a 6-quart slow cooker. Pour the blended al pastor sauce over the chicken, making sure each piece is well coated.
3. Slow cook. Cover and cook on LOW for 5–6 hours or HIGH for 3–4 hours, until the chicken is cooked through and easily shreds with two forks.
4. Shred the chicken. Transfer the chicken to a cutting board or large bowl and shred using two forks. Return the shredded chicken to the crockpot and stir it into the flavorful sauce so every bite is coated.
5. Broil in the oven. For the best texture, spread the shredded chicken onto a baking sheet in an even layer. Broil for 3–5 minutes until the edges become slightly caramelized and lightly crackly. This extra step mimics the crackly edges of traditional al pastor cooked on a vertical spit.
6. Assemble the tacos. Warm the tortillas and fill each one with the shredded chicken. Top with fresh pineapple, diced onion, avocado, cilantro, cotija cheese, and a generous squeeze of fresh lime juice.