Slow Cooker Chicken Fajitas

Published October 14, 2019. Updated May 17, 2023

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Easy Chicken Fajitas made in the slow cooker! Still all the delicious flavors of traditional fajitas without all the extra hassle! Just dump everything into the crockpot and let it simmer to tender well seasoned perfection.

Great for busy days where you can come home to dinner ready to eat!

Crockpot Chicken Fajitas

Slow Cooker Chicken Fajitas

For almost 5 years these Slow Cooker Chicken Fajitas have been one of the most popular recipes on my blog. Because we all love an easy delicious recipe don’t we? This is real life and we are busy people.

With this simplified recipe you get to skip marinating, and you also get to skip sauteing veggies and chicken in batches (and therefor tending to it). Instead here, the crockpot does most of the work.

And not only that, cooking it in the slow cooker allows plenty of time to for the flavors to meld together and really soak into the chicken and veggies, plus it will leave you with perfectly tender chicken every time.

It’s a delicious family friendly recipe and it makes plenty so you may be lucky enough to have left overs for lunch the next day!

Then for the days you didn’t plan ahead for a slow cooker dinner try my Sheet Pan Chicken Fajitas, everything cooks together on one sheet pan. So easy and so good!

Watch the Video!

Crockpot Chicken Fajita Ingredients

Crockpot Chicken Fajita Ingredients:

  • Boneless skinless chicken breasts – I like to stick with chicken breasts here because thighs will just shred apart.
  • Canned diced tomatoes with green chilies – if you can’t find them with green chilies you can use plain diced tomatoes and add a 4 oz. can of green chilies or just skip the green chilies.
  • Bell peppers – I like to use a trio of red, yellow and green but really any color will work.
  • Yellow onion and garlic – you can also use a red onion if that’s what you have on hand.
  • Chili powder, cumin, paprika, coriander, salt and pepper – these spices give the fajitas that classic Tex Mex flavor, if you don’t have coriander you can substitute Oregano (a much different flavor but also common in fajitas).
  • Lime – use fresh lime juice for best flavor.
  • Honey – this just balances the acidity of the lime and tomatoes but you can omit it if preferred.
  • Tortillas and toppings – toppings are optional but don’t forget the tortillas!

Steps to making chicken fajitas in the slow cooker

How To Make Slow Cooker Chicken Fajitas

  • Add half of the tomatoes, peppers, onions and garlic to a 6 or 7 quart slow cooker.
  • Top with chicken breasts.
  • Mix together seasonings and sprinkle over both sides of chicken.
  • Top with remaining tomatoes.
  • And remaining bell peppers, onions and garlic.
  • Set the slow cooker and let cook through, then cut or shred the chicken.
  • Toss in honey and lime mixture. Serve warm over tortillas with toppings.

Two chicken fajitas on a wooden plate.

Tips And Variations:

  • If you like the bell peppers tender crisp and not soft, wait until about the last 30 minutes to add them.
  • Cook near lesser times if you’d like to slice chicken vs. shredding.
  • For an extra boost of flavor serve topped with sour cream, salsa, sliced avocados or guacamole, or Mexican hot sauce.
  • Use corn or flour tortillas for serving. Warm them first.
  • Or try serving fajita mixture over rice or quinoa and make a burrito bowl instead.
  • Add more or less chili powder according to preference. Be sure to use mild chili powder.
  • Store leftovers in the fridge for up to 3 days.

More Delicious Tex Mex Recipes to Try:

16 Quick & Easy 30 Minute Recipes! (plus weekly recipe updates)

4.89 from 80 votes

Slow Cooker Chicken Fajitas

All the delicious flavors of traditional fajitas without all the extra hassle! Just dump everything in the slow cooker and let it simmer to tender well seasoned perfection.
Servings: 6 servings
Prep15 minutes
Cook6 hours 10 minutes
Ready in: 6 hours 25 minutes

Ingredients

For serving:

  • 12 6-inch flour tortillas
  • Cilantro, sour cream, salsa, guacamole or sliced avocados, shredded Mexican cheese (optional)

Instructions

  • Pour half of the canned tomatoes into the bottom of a slow cooker and spread into an even layer. Top with half of the peppers** and half of the onions. Sprinkle garlic in. Top with chicken breasts.
  • In a bowl whisk together chili powder, cumin, paprika, coriander, salt and pepper. Evenly sprinkle half of the seasoning over chicken breasts then flip chicken and sprinkle in remainder. Top with remaining half of the tomatoes, then layer in remaining peppers and onions.
  • Cover and cook on HIGH heat about 2 - 3 hours or low heat 4 - 6 hours, until chicken has cooked through and veggies are tender.
  • Remove chicken, and cut into strips, or shred. Ladle out 1 cup of the broth in slow cooker (mostly tomato liquid) and discard.Β 
  • In a small bowl whisk together lime juice and honey and add to slow cooker along with chicken and season with additional salt to taste if desired (I sometimes like to add 1/4 cup chopped cilantro too here but this is optional). Gently toss. Serve warm in warmed tortillas optional toppings.

Notes

  • *Oregano can be substituted for coriander. Much different flavor but another delicious option for fajitas.
  • **If you like the bell peppers tender crisp and not soft, wait until about the last 30 minutes to add them.
  • Extra toppings not included in nutritional estimate.
Nutrition Facts
Slow Cooker Chicken Fajitas
Amount Per Serving
Calories 432 Calories from Fat 72
% Daily Value*
Fat 8g12%
Saturated Fat 1g6%
Cholesterol 96mg32%
Sodium 1007mg44%
Potassium 1082mg31%
Carbohydrates 48g16%
Fiber 5g21%
Sugar 13g14%
Protein 34g68%
Vitamin A 3380IU68%
Vitamin C 125.2mg152%
Calcium 123mg12%
Iron 4.5mg25%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.
Nutrition values are estimates only. See full disclaimer here.
Recipe originally published January 2015, photos have been updated.

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497 Comments

  • Michelle

    I would like to know what the nutritional information is on this meal . Please .

  • Damian

    Great recipe, the only thing I added was a layer of Jalapenos on top of the peppers and onions which added a small kick.

    If you shred the chicken as we did a little corn flour may be required to stop the wraps leaking with every bite.

    Great tasting and will be doing this again.

  • Marta

    I made these last night. Great recipe!!! I used 3 peppers, 1 onion, 5 garlic cloves, some taco mix, some classic fajita skillet sauce by Frontera, salt and pepper only ( that’s all I had on hand) in addition to 1-2 pf. of chicken breast.
    Next time I will marinade the chicken in a simple marinade – lemon juice, lime juice or white wine + olive oil and salt. Just to β€œkill” the meat taste which comes alive when you reheat the meat. I personally can not take that β€œraw meat” taste of non marinated meat.
    The meat in this recipe tastes like cooked/ boiled meat, however by shredding the chicken, returning it to the pot and cooking for few more minutes allows the meat to mix with all the juices & gives the meat more flavor. I served the fajitas with rice and the juices kept it moist.
    I think that anyone who cooks realizes that coking, grilling or frying the meat will end up with different texture, flavor and look, so that should be taken into consideration while making this recipe.
    Other than that I like the dish, and the fact that could be prepared in the crockpot.

  • Britt

    I thought the recipe was great. Although i did take it out and Sautee the veggies in oil with little pieces of chicken. Everyone thought it was bomb. Used homeade salsa instead of tomatoes. Maybe that’s why Tim’s tasted boiled. Too much water.

  • Tim

    Well folks

    This was a BUST. I make the BEST fajitas, but I alwaya SEAR the peppers, onions and chicken in a cast iron pan. I thought, what the hell, how could this be bad… well… I was so wrong. It was like BARF :-(

    Searing caramelizes the individual items β€˜caramelizes *browns* and brings out the flavor, enhancing and eventually combining the wonderful flavors. Using the crock pot was like eating boiled food. PICTURE Cooking a nice Filet Mignon or Ribeye steak and eating is… or β€˜boiling’ that same steak and expecting it to be just as good.

    Don’t waste your time with THIS CrockPot recipe… it was a monumental disappointment!

  • Lisette

    These were so yummy! I didn’t have enough time to put them in the crock pot, so I sauteed up the peppers and onions seasoned with garlic, cumin, chili powder and s&p. I cut up the chicken and put it in a separate pan with the tomatoes and green chilies with more spices. Combined when done and topped with avocado and sour cream. DELISH! I made more dishes, :( but it was still simple. Thank you for posting this recipe.

  • Jes

    I would like to make this for a party, but will likely need to double the recipe. Think a 5qt crockpot can handle double and that it’ll still come out good?

    • Jaclyn

      Jaclyn Bell

      I wouldn’t double it for that size a 7 or 8 quart would probably be needed to double it. I just recommend borrowing a second from someone else if you can.

  • Jen

    Delicious and so easy to make! Followed the recipe exactly except I used plain diced tomatoes, whole cardamom instead of ground, and omitted the honey. Opted for the HIGH setting on 4 hours and the meat was still easy to shred. I think it could use a bit of kick so I will add chilli peppers next time.