Chicken Tinga
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Chicken Tinga is a delicious Mexican dish of shredded chicken tossed in a flavorful chipotle tomato sauce, served in tacos, burritos, or on tostadas. In this blog post, I’ll show you how to make a quick and easy version of this recipe using rotisserie chicken. I’ll also show you how to make it from scratch with chicken breasts or thighs in the oven, or in an Instant Pot!
Table of contents
Let me paint you a picture. You’ve just walked 1200 steps through Costco, purchased $500 of who knows what, survived leaving the parking lot, and now you’re home with all of your purchases. But what do you eat for dinner?
Luckily, you bought the best deal at Costco, the $4.99 rotisserie chicken and now you can make chicken tinga using this quick and easy recipe!
Almost every time I return home from Costco we make two meals with the rotisserie chicken, chicken tinga tacos and this bbq chicken salad. I love that I barely have to cook anything for either of these meals and they come together in just 20 minutes!
Now if you don’t have a rotisserie chicken laying around, you can make this with any shredded chicken. You can also cook chicken breasts or thighs in the chipotle tomato sauce, in the oven or an Instant Pot. Basically, I’m giving you three versions of this tasty chicken recipe, so you can make it any way you’d like!
Ingredients
- Chicken – if making the quick and easy version of this recipe, you’ll want to start with 3 cups of cooked, shredded chicken. This can come from a rotisserie chicken, or you can use this recipe for Instant Pot shredded chicken. If making this recipe from scratch, you’ll need 1 pound of raw chicken breasts or thighs.
- Olive oil – or another neutral flavored vegetable oil, like avocado oil or canola oil, to cook the onions and garlic.
- Onion – you’ll need one cup of diced onions for this recipe, approximately half of a large yellow onion.
- Garlic – I recommend fresh minced cloves for the best flavor.
- Mexican oregano – while there is a difference between Mexican oregano and traditional oregano, you can use them interchangeably in this recipe if you don’t have Mexican oregano on hand. Mexican oregano is a bit stronger in flavor, but their shared peppery flavor, means that you can use either one and end up with similar flavors.
- Ground cumin – this spice adds a warm, earthy layer of flavor to the dish.
- Salt – to season the sauce and bring out the bright acidity of the tomatoes and smoky, spicy flavors of the chipotle.
- Chipotle chilies in adobo sauce – these will be found in a can on the hispanic aisle of the grocery store. I always keep at least 2 or 3 cans of these chilies in my pantry at all times. They’re smoky, spicy and add so much flavor to any dish you add them to. For this recipe, we’ll use 2-3 chilies from the can and a tablespoon of the adobo sauce, which is the thick liquid in the can.
- Chicken broth
- Fire roasted diced tomatoes – if you don’t have a can of fire roasted tomatoes on hand, you can use a traditional can of diced tomatoes and add 1 teaspoon smoked paprika to give it a similar flavor as the fire roasted tomatoes.
Instructions
I’ve included step by step photos below to make this recipe super easy to follow at home. For the full detailed recipe instructions and ingredient quantities, scroll to the recipe card at the bottom of this post.
- Cook onions, garlic and spices. Heat olive oil in a large pan on the stove over medium-high heat. Once the oil is hot, add diced onions and cook for 4-5 minutes. Add minced garlic, cumin, salt and Mexican oregano to the pan and cook for an additional minute.
- Add chipotle peppers and tomatoes. Dice up 2-3 chipotle chilies. I like things on the spicier side, so I use three peppers. If you want a more mild spice, only use two. Add a tablespoon of the adobo sauce from the can of peppers. Add chicken broth and a can of fire roasted tomatoes to the pan. Stir and simmer for 7 minutes.
- Blend the tinga sauce. Transfer everything from the pan to a blender and blend the sauce until it’s smooth. Transfer the sauce back to the pan on the stove over medium heat.
- Add cooked, shredded chicken to the sauce. Toss until it’s completely coated in the sauce then simmer for 2-3 minutes.
Serve the chicken tinga in warm tortillas to make tacos, with guacamole, cotija cheese, cilantro and onions. Or refer to the next section below for more ideas on how to serve chicken tinga.
Ways to serve it
- Burrito bowls – make super flavorful burrito bowls by serving the chicken tinga with cilantro lime rice, or Mexican rice in a bowl. Add your favorite toppings like guacamole, cheese, salsa, cilantro, pico de gallo, or black beans.
- Tostadas – spread refried beans or guacamole on a tostada. Top it with chicken tinga, crumbled cotija cheese and cilantro to make a tasty tostada!
- Quesadillas (molitas) – in America, we call tortillas filled with cheese and meat quesadillas. In Mexico, a quesadilla is only filled with cheese. When meat is added to the cheese in the tortilla it’s called a molita. To make a chicken tinga molita, heat a large skillet on the stove over medium-high heat. Spray the skillet with cooking spray, then add a tortilla to the skillet. Top the tortilla with shredded cheese (like oaxaca or monterey jack), then add chicken tinga, more cheese and another tortilla. Cook for 3-4 minutes, flip and cook for an additional 3-4 minutes.
- Burritos – fill a large tortilla with cilantro lime rice, chicken tinga, and any of your other favorite burrito fillings. Wrap it up and you’ll have a delicious chicken tinga burrito!
- Nachos – spread tortilla chips in an even layer on a large rimmed baking sheet. Spoon the prepared chicken tinga evenly over the chips, then top the chips with shredded Oaxaca, Monterey jack, or pepper jack cheese. Preheat the broiler in the oven to high. Place the nachos on the middle rack of the oven for 1-2 minutes, or until the cheese is melted. Add your favorite nacho toppings, liked sliced jalapenos, fresh cilantro, sour cream, and diced avocado.
How to make it in the oven
If you want to make this recipe with raw boneless, skinless chicken breasts, or chicken thighs, follow the instructions below.
- Preheat the oven to 350°F.
- Prepare the sauce as instructed above.
- Heat a cast iron dutch oven, or large oven-safe skillet, on the stove over high heat.
- Add one pound of chicken breasts, or thighs, to the pot and sear on both sides for 1-2 minutes.
- Pour the sauce over the chicken in the pot. Cover and place the pot in the oven for 45 minutes.
- Remove the pot from the oven, use tongs to remove the chicken from the sauce and place it on a cutting board. Shred the chicken then toss it back in the sauce and serve.
How to make it in an Instant Pot
If you want to make the entire recipe in an Instant Pot, follow the instructions below.
- Add 1 tablespoon olive oil to an Instant Pot and turn on the “saute” function. When the Instant Pot is hot, add 1 pound chicken breasts or thighs, sear on all sides for 2 minutes per side.
- Remove the chicken from the Instant Pot and add another tablespoon of olive oil. Add the onion and cook for 4-5 minutes, add the garlic, ground cumin, salt and oregano and cook for an additional minute.
- Add the chopped chipotle chile and adobo sauce, chicken broth and fire roasted tomatoes to the Instant Pot, stir to combine and simmer for 7 minutes.
- Pour the sauce from the Instant Pot into a blender and puree. Add the seared chicken back to the Instant Pot and pour the sauce over the chicken.
- Cook on manual, high pressure for 10 minutes. Once the timer beeps, allow the Instant Pot to pressure down for 10 minutes, then move the pressure valve from “sealing” to “venting” to release any remaining pressure. Once all of the pressure has been released, remove the lid from the Instant Pot.
- Use two forks or tongs to remove the chicken from the Instant Pot and place it on a large cutting board. Use two forks or meat claws to shred the chicken. Toss the chicken back in the sauce in the Instant Pot, then serve.
Recipe notes
- Store leftover chicken tinga in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. You can reheat the chicken in a skillet on the stove over medium-high heat for 3-4 minutes.
- This recipe has a medium spice level. If you want to make it more spicy, add more chipotle peppers.
- This chicken tinga recipe is gluten free. Serve the chicken tinga in corn tortillas, or in a bowl with rice to make the entire meal gluten free.
More Mexican recipes
If you love these chicken tinga tacos, I guarantee that you’ll love the other 175+ Mexican recipes on the blog. Let’s start with these fan favorites, then work our way through the rest!
Chicken Tinga
Chicken Tinga is a delicious Mexican dish of shredded chicken tossed in a flavorful chipotle tomato sauce, served in tacos, burritos, or on tostadas. In this blog post, I'll show you how to make a quick and easy version of this recipe using rotisserie chicken. I'll also show you how to make it from scratch with chicken breasts or thighs in the oven, or in an Instant Pot!
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 cup yellow onion, diced
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano, Mexican oregano, if available
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 2 chipotle chilies in adobo sauce, chopped
- 1 tablespoon adobo sauce from the can of chipotle chilies
- ½ cup chicken broth
- 14.5 ounce can fire roasted tomatoes
- 3 cups cooked, shredded chicken, from a rotisserie chicken or using this recipe for Instant Pot shredded chicken
Instructions
- Heat a large skillet on the stove over medium-high heat. Add the olive oil.
- When the oil is hot, add the onion and cook for 4-5 minutes, add the garlic, ground cumin, oregano and salt to the skillet and cook for an additional minute.
- Add the chopped chipotle chile and adobo sauce, chicken broth and fire roasted tomatoes to the skillet, stir to combine and simmer for 7 minutes.
- Transfer the sauce to a blender and puree, then return the sauce to the skillet.
- Add the shredded chicken and stir to combine. Simmer the chicken in the sauce for 2-3 minutes over medium heat on the stove.
- Serve the chicken tinga in tacos, burritos, on tostadas, nachos, or in a burrito bowl.
Notes
- If serving the chicken tinga in tacos, wrap 12 small corn or flour tortillas in damp paper towels and microwave for 60 seconds. Spread guacamole in the middle of each tortilla, add the chicken tinga, then sprinkle cotija cheese, diced onions and fresh cilantro over each taco.
- For instructions on how to make this recipe in the oven, or in an Instant Pot, with raw, boneless, skinless chicken breasts or chicken thighs, refer to the blog post above.
- Store leftover chicken tinga in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. You can reheat the chicken in a skillet on the stove over medium-high heat for 3-4 minutes.
- This recipe has a medium spice level. If you want to make it more spicy, add more chipotle peppers.
- If you don’t have a can of fire roasted tomatoes on hand, you can use a traditional can of diced tomatoes and add 1 teaspoon smoked paprika to give it a similar flavor as the fire roasted tomatoes.
- This chicken tinga recipe is gluten free. Serve the chicken tinga in corn tortillas, or in a bowl with rice to make the entire meal gluten free.
Nutrition Facts
Calories 268kcal (13%)Carbohydrates 12g (4%)Protein 34g (68%)Fat 8g (12%)Saturated Fat 2g (10%)Polyunsaturated Fat 1gMonounsaturated Fat 5gCholesterol 90mg (30%)Sodium 1410mg (59%)Potassium 362mg (10%)Fiber 3g (12%)Sugar 5g (6%)Vitamin A 460mg (9%)Vitamin C 6mg (7%)Calcium 78mg (8%)Iron 3mg (17%)
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