Cafe Rio Chicken Tacos

Published April 18, 2012. Updated February 22, 2024

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Cafe Rio Chicken Tacos start with the perfectly spiced and shredded chicken that you love, tossed with the fresh produce of lettuce and tomatoes, sprinkled with cheese, and folded into a soft tortilla. Enjoy that delicious Cafe Rio flavor without leaving home or paying for delivery! 

Cafe Rio Chicken Tacos you can make at home! I will admit it, I’m a Cafe Rio addict.  I rarely go more than a week without eating at one of the two. All their entrees are so full of exciting flavors that they keep me coming back for more.

Since I eat there so frequently I thought maybe it’s time to create another copycat recipe. One of my favorite things to get there is the shredded chicken salad or shredded chicken tacos, so here is my version of that chicken.

Cafe Rio Chicken TacosCafe Rio Chicken Tacos

This chicken is SO easy to make! If you haven’t noticed, I love my slow cooker. You simply toss in a few ingredients along with some spices, and then allow it to cook low and slow all day while the flavors meld together and voila! It almost seems too good to be true, doesn’t it? It does all the hard work for you.

This Shredded Chicken recipe is not only to be used as a taco filling but also for burritos, enchiladas, salads, quesadillas, taquitos, etc. So, if you don’t use it all the first night you make it you can use the leftover chicken to make a different entree the next night, bonus! This is the perfect recipe to use for meal prep.

I hope you love this amazing shredded chicken that is so incredibly tender and filled with the perfect blend of flavors and spices. May it be your go-to chicken filling for many of your favorite Mexican dishes! Enjoy!

Cafe Rio Copycat Chicken Tacos

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5 from 3 votes

Chicken Tacos (Cafe Rio Shredded Chicken Copycat Recipe)

Deliciously bright and flavorful well seasoned chicken taco mixture made in the slow cooker that's perfectly tender.
Servings: 7
Prep10 minutes
Cook5 hours 20 minutes
Ready in: 5 hours 30 minutes

Ingredients

Instructions

  • Place chicken breast halves in the slow cooker. In a mixing bowl whisk together remaining ingredients. Pour mixture over chicken in slow cooker, cover slow cooker with lid. 
  • Cook chicken on low heat 4 to 5 hours. Shred chicken, then cook shredded chicken in broth in slow cooker an additional 20 minutes on low. Drain broth from chicken. 
  • Serve warm in tacos, burritos, enchiladas, quesadillas, taquitos etc. Note: for taco filling ideas and how to cook corn tortilla shells see this post here.
Nutrition Facts
Chicken Tacos (Cafe Rio Shredded Chicken Copycat Recipe)
Amount Per Serving
Calories 206 Calories from Fat 45
% Daily Value*
Fat 5g8%
Saturated Fat 1g6%
Cholesterol 104mg35%
Sodium 585mg25%
Potassium 654mg19%
Carbohydrates 3g1%
Fiber 1g4%
Sugar 1g1%
Protein 35g70%
Vitamin A 603IU12%
Vitamin C 3mg4%
Calcium 17mg2%
Iron 1mg6%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.
Nutrition values are estimates only. See full disclaimer here.

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56 Comments

  • Loudoun Travel

    Just wanted to stop by and say thank you for this delicious recipe. We had it tonight and it was a big hit. I consider myself a nitwit in the kitchen and my family is very picky about what they eat. I’m happy to say that this recipe was EASY–even for us nitwits and it was so good that even my picky family ate it up and asked for seconds/thirds. THANK YOU for sharing this!!!

  • Jaclyn

    Anonymous – you’re very welcome =)! I’m so glad you enjoyed it and used it for a variety of entrees. I love the versatility of this chicken. They use it at Cafe Rio (River =) to make salads, burritos, tacos, enchiladas and quesadillas. That’s one thing I love about it, it can be used for more than one meal and you don’t have to eat the same thing the next night by switching it up. You should also try the Shredded Beef Tacos on my site, also another versatile delicious recipe. Thanks for the comment!

  • Anonymous

    I am a single Dad and need ideas the kids will eat. They all love chicken so made this and used it to make enchiladas, quesadillas and taquitos over the weekend. Great, easy recipe. Thanks so much for posting! I have no idea what Cafe Rio is but it must be good! (and on a river!)

  • Jaclyn

    Anonymous – I’ve been considering buying a pressure cooker for that reason =). What should take hours to cook in a slow cooker can be cooked much less time in a pressure cooker. Glad to know this recipe worked well in a pressure cooker. Thanks for your comment!

  • Anonymous

    Used my pressure cooker instead of crock pot for instant satisfaction and it turned out wonderful.

  • Jaclyn

    Anonymous – it probably could (I’ve never tried) but I would recommend making it fresh because fresh is always better. I’ve even done this overnight if you need it for lunch. You could just cook it for the 8 hours overnight then turn it to warm in the morning until lunch time. The great thing about this dish though is it’s minimal efforts, really you just throw it all in the slow cooker then basically forget about it while it does all the hard work so it is a great meal to serve a party =). Hope you enjoy.

  • Anonymous

    hi, can this be made ahead of time and frozen for a party?

  • Ann Sanders

    I made this last Saturday. Only thing that I added was a 7 oz. can of Salsa Verde, otherwise, made as written. Such a BIG hit. Got lots of compliments. Enough left over for chicken enchiladas on Cinco de Mayo!. Thanks for the recipe.