My favorite recipes fit three criteria: they are easy, they are versatile, and my family will eat them without complaint. This Crock Pot Chicken Ranch Tacos recipe checks all of those boxes, making it a winner at our house.

I have several versions of slow cooker shredded chicken recipes because I love chicken, and I love easy recipes that can be tailored to multiple dishes. There is my basic shredded chicken, the ever popular Mississippi Chicken, and this tasty Buffalo chicken slider recipe.

Sometimes when I make shredded slow cooker chicken, I throw a slotted spoon in the slow cooker and put out whatever fixings I have on hand, like corn tortillas, flour tortillas, shredded lettuce, diced tomatoes, shredded cheese, salsa, sour cream, salsa, olives, or black beans, and let my family go to town. Often, everyone will make something different, which is totally fine by me.

My kids are eight and ten, and I’ve spent many years teaching and encouraging them to be self-sufficient, and it’s really paying off these days. I mean, sure, there is always food on the floor and scattered around the counter, but they’re still a work in progress.

I could write all day about how important I think it is to teach kids at an early age to do things for themselves, and my essay in my newest book, But Did You Die?, is all about this very topic. If setting the parenting bar low is your style, if you just like to laugh, or if you want to read how my lazy parenting is actually paying off, the latest installment in the New York Times bestselling I Just Want to Pee Alone series is for you!

You can throw this Crock Pot Chicken Ranch Tacos recipe together and relax with one of my funny books while your slow cooker does all the work. Winner, winner, easy chicken for dinner!

The cast of characters:

• 4 chicken breasts (approx. 2 lbs)
• 1 (1.25 oz) packet taco seasoning (or 1/4 cup taco seasoning if you have a big ol’ container like I do)
• 1 (1 oz) packet ranch dressing mix
• 1 (4 oz) can diced green chiles
• 1 small onion, diced (about 1/3 cup)
• 1/2 cup water

1 Place the chicken in the slow cooker. A regular oval Crock Pot is great, but I like to use my casserole-sized Crock Pot whenever I have the chance because I think it’s adorable.

2. Sprinkle taco seasoning on chicken.

3. Do the same with the ranch packet.

4. Add diced onion.

5. And diced green chiles.

6. Finish with 1/2 cup water. The chicken breasts need a little liquid because they won’t release much liquid when cooking. I put the water around the chicken, rather than on top, so the spices have a chance to cook into the chicken.

7. Cover and cook on low for about 5 hours, or until chicken shred easily.

8. Shred chicken in slow cooker with two forks. Sneak a few bites of tasty chicken. 

9. Cover and cook another 30 minutes or so. If there is too much liquid, leave lid off for the last half hour.

10. Serve in tacos, burritos, quesadillas, on nachos, over rice, or on top of a salad. You could even put it on a bun for a chicken ranch taco sandwich! Really, the options are endless, which is one of my favorite things about slow cooker shredded chicken.

On this day, my 10 year old son and I had chicken tacos, my daughter had a bowl of chicken with cheese and sour cream, my husband had a chicken and black bean burrito, and we used the leftovers to make a chicken quesadilla. I’ll bet the leftovers, if you have any, would be excellent in a chicken soup!