Cheesy hawaiian bbq chicken taquitos made in your crockpot! They are so good your family will beg you to make them again and again!
Oh do I have a stellar recipe for you today. A super simple, insanely delish, 110% family-friendly meal. And what’s better? It’s a crockpot recipe. Have I mentioned that I’m in love with my slow cooker? I use it all. year. round. Summer, winter, rain or shine, it mattereth not. It’s Thursday, I should use the slow cooker. Hey there’s a bank holiday coming up, I should bust out the slow cooker. It’s a bad hair day (um, I say this everyday…) I should definitely comfort myself with some slow cooker goodness.
I wouldn’t go so far to say that I’m obsessed but . . . yeah actually I’m a little obsessed.
These taquitos are out-of-this-world good. The bbq sauce is so simple and SO lip-smackin’ good that you’ll want to put it on anythingandeverything. It goes into the slow cooker with the chicken for a grand total of just 5 ingredients. FIVE measly ingredients make this juicy, sweet and sassy hawaiian bbq chicken stuff?? You betcha. Then you add a little cheese, some pineapple salsa, and a whole lotta ranch and you’re about to be the happiest taquito-eater in the history of ever.
If you’re short on time or don’t feel up to making the pineapple salsa, don’t. Seriously, it’s a amazing and you will love it but these taquitos are so good you will adore them just straight up plain without any extras. Of course I highly recommend the ranch for dipping because odds are that you have half a bottle chillin’ in your refrigerator door and everything, I repeat, everything is better with ranch. Am I right? Of course I am. It’s just a fact of life.
What people are saying about these Slow Cooker Hawaiian BBQ Chicken Taquitos
“I found this recipe on Pinterest yesterday and made it today. That never happens!!! and it’s a HUGE success!! … I’m definitely making this again when my MIL comes to visit for Labor Day. And to bring to my friend who just had a baby. And to my meal swap next month. It’s easy, DELICIOUS, and refreshing!!! Thanks for such a hit!” – Kristine
“Thank you so much for the recipe! My husband and I loved these (he ate almost the whole batch). This was easy, refreshing, and absolutely scrumptious!” – Michaela
“Just wanted to let you know that I tried these for the first time yesterday (i had pinned it forever ago and forgot about it). These were so yummy. My husband said I could make them again and he even liked the salsa! Which surprised me. Thanks for the great recipe idea!!” – Leslie
Made these tonight. Omg they were soo delicious and soo easy to make. Love it love it! Thank you!” – Pamela
Slow Cooker Hawaiian BBQ Chicken Taquitos
Ingredients
- 3 large boneless skinless chicken breasts
- 1 cup original flavor bbq sauce
- 1 tablespoon garlic powder
- ½ cup pineapple juice
- 1 tablespoon liquid smoke
- 16 taco-sized soft tortillas - (corn or flour)
- 1 – 1 ½ cups shredded mexican-style or mozzarella cheese
- optional: ranch dressing for dipping
Pineapple
- 1 cup diced pineapple
- ½ red pepper - diced
- ½ red onion - diced
- ¼ cup cilantro leaves - roughly chopped
- juice of 1 lime
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
Instructions
- In a small bowl whisk together bbq sauce, garlic powder, pineapple juice, and liquid smoke until smooth.
- Place chicken breasts in the bottom of your crockpot. Pour bbq sauce mixture over chicken. Cover and cook on high 3 hours or low 6 hours (if using frozen chicken breasts, you may need to increase the time by an hour or so)
- Combine all salsa ingredients in a bowl and stir to combine. Cover and chill until ready to serve.
- About 20-30 minutes before serving, shred chicken in the crockpot (I use two forks to shred) and stir the shredded chicken so it soaks up any remaining juices in the pot.
- Preheat oven to broil and grease a baking sheet with cooking spray.
- Lay tortillas out on a flat surface. Sprinkle about 2-3 tablespoons of shredded cheese in line down the middle of each tortilla. Top cheese with about 3-4 tablespoons shredded chicken. Tightly roll up tortillas and place them on prepared baking sheet 1 inch apart.
- Spray rolled taquitos heavily with cooking spray. Cook in the oven (on high broil) for 5-8 minutes or until cheese is melty and tortillas are crisp (if you’re worried about them burning you can broil them on low for a little longer, 10-15 minutes). Serve warm with pineapple salsa and ranch if desired.
Is there a substitute for the liquid smoke, or can it be omitted?
Hi Joi,
Liquid smoke can be found at most grocery stores for $1-3 but in a pinch you can substitute smoked paprika if you have it or you can leave it out – it won’t have the same smoky flavor but it will still be VERY yummy! 🙂
Thank you so much for the recipe! My husband and I loved these (he ate almost the whole batch). This was easy, refreshing, and absolutely scrumptious!
I am so glad you liked these Michaela!! 🙂
Hi, recipe looks amazing! Wondering if I can prepare as directed then freeze to be re-heated later?
Hi Shelly! I haven’t tried it myself but I do think that if you prepare them completely and then freeze the taquitos, they would probably cook up nicely in the oven or even in the microwave later on. Good luck! 🙂
I found this recipe on Pinterest yesterday and made it today. That never happens!!! and it’s a HUGE success!! The bbq sauce (Sweet Baby Ray’s) with the pineapple juice, liquid smoke and garlic powder is going to be my new “secret” recipe! Wow! I used the already shredded rotisserie chicken from Costco mixed with the bbq sauce so I didn’t have to mess with the slow cooker. I bought pineapple tidbits and strained it to get the pineapple juice. Then sliced up the tidbits one time for the salsa. I was nervous about the cumin and garlic powder in the salsa but it was soooo good! I’m definitely making this again when my MIL comes to visit for Labor Day. And to bring to my friend who just had a baby. And to my meal swap next month. It’s easy, DELICIOUS, and refreshing!!! Thanks for such a hit!
Kristine! Thank you for such sweet comments and wonderful feedback on my taquito recipe! It’s a BIG favorite at our house – the flavor just can’t be beat! I love that you used rotisserie chicken – brilliant! 🙂
Great idea with the shredded chicken. Makes it super simple for a weeknight dinner.
I tried this recipe last night and loved it! But… what is your trick for not getting the corn tortillas to crack when folding them up to broil? I used Mission gluten free and when I rolled mine up they would start to crack and then as I was folding up the rest they’d rip all the way through so they looked like corn tortilla sandwiches instead of tacquitos. I’m not sure what I did wrong lol
Hi Holly! Did you try microwaving the tortillas for 15-20 seconds before rolling them up? I always do this and it always helps to make them more pliable 🙂
I didn’t lol, and realized earlier today when looking at another recipe that I probably should have. Oh the things a sickness can do to your brain not functioning properly. Thank you!