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    Chicken Tinga

    August 24, 2024

    A few canned ingredients—like smoky chipotles in adobo and fire-roasted tomatoes—and a rotisserie chicken make this easy chicken tinga recipe a weeknight go-to.

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    chicken tinga served on corn tortillas topped with shredded cabbage, radishes, cotija and sliced avocado
    Photography by Gayle McLeod

    Our super easy chicken tinga recipe is inspired by the smoky, peppery flavors that we love so much in chicken tinga, but it’s built for busy weeknights. We take nearly every shortcut in the book, because when the tinga craving hits, it hits hard. If you need an incredibly yummy, Mexican-inspired dinner ready in 30 minutes, it’s hard to beat chicken tinga tacos. Use a rotisserie chicken to make it ultra speedy, or use our Easy Shredded Chicken recipe. Check out our round up of Shredded Chicken Recipes, for even more easy chicken dinner ideas.

    ingredients to make chicken tinga in prep bowls with beans and rice for serving

    What is Chicken Tinga?

    Brick red and inviting, chicken tinga is a richly savory Mexican chicken stew made of shredded chicken that’s flavored with smoky chipotle peppers, tomatoes and onions. Beyond that basic formula, chicken tinga recipes vary! Often, chorizo is added to double down on that spicy, smoky flavor, but our one-pot chicken tinga recipe is focused on ease and simplicity so we skipped the chorizo. With deeply flavorful ingredients like chipotle peppers in adobo sauce—and yes, you’ll definitely want to use all of the heady, spicy, smoky adobo sauce that’s left in the can—and taco seasoning, you’ll end up with a dish that’s bursting with boldness, despite the short cook time.

    cooked onion, garlic, chipotle pepper, taco seasoning, roasted tomatoes, bouillon and salt in a blender
    onion, garlic, chipotle pepper, taco seasoning, roasted tomatoes, bouillon and salt blended into a sauce in the blender

    Easy Chicken Tinga Ingredients

    • Cooked, shredded chicken. This can be leftover Shredded Chicken, or use the meat from a grocery store rotisserie chicken. A combination of chicken breast and thigh meat is great, or all thigh or all breast works, too.

    • Chipotles in adobo sauce. So much flavor in one little can! Smoky and rich, this adds tons of flavor to our tinga recipe. Chicken tinga is a little spicy, but you can decide how spicy it is based on how much of the adobo sauce you add to your chicken tinga. More sauce = more spicy.

    • Fire-roasted canned tomatoes. They really need to be fire-roasted, so that you get even more smokey flavor into your tinga!

    • Onion & garlic. Of course!

    • Taco Seasoning. We make huge batches of our Taco Seasoning and use it year round, but it’s totally fine to use a store-bought blend if you need to.

    • Chicken bouillon. Even more savory richness. Using a cubed bouillon is fine, or you can use a jarred version, like Better Than Bouillon.

    shredded chicken being added to a pot of tinga sauce
    a pot of chicken tinga made with onion, garlic, chipotle pepper, taco seasoning, roasted tomatoes, bouillon and salt

    How To Make Chicken Tinga

    1. Sauté the onions and garlic.

    2. Make an easy, smoky tinga sauce! Blend the onions, garlic chipotles in adobo, taco seasoning, tomatoes and bouillon until you’ve got a nice, smooth, red tinga sauce.

    3. Combine the tinga sauce with the shredded chicken and simmer to let the chicken absorb all of that saucy goodness!

    4. Dinner is served!

    a pot of chicken tinga made with onion, garlic, chipotle pepper, taco seasoning, roasted tomatoes, bouillon and salt

    Chicken Tinga Serving Ideas

    • Chicken tinga tacos are a really classic way to enjoy chicken tinga! So easy, and so yummy — just lay out some little tortillas, maybe some avocado or shredded cabbage, and dig in.

    • Chicken tinga tostadas are maybe our favorite way to enjoy chicken tinga! Just grab some store-bought tostada shells, load them up with your quick homemade chicken tinga and garnish as you please!

    • However you want! Chicken tinga is so juicy and flavorful, it’s great on just about anything. Top a salad with tinga to turn that leafy bed into a complete meal, or mound it into a chicken tinga burrito with beans and rice for an ultra-filling dinner.

    chicken tinga surrounded by bowls of rice, beans, shredded cabbage, radishes, cotija and sliced avocado
    chicken tinga served on corn tortillas topped with shredded cabbage, radishes, cotija and sliced avocado

    More Easy Recipes With Shredded Chicken

    More Delicious, Quick Weeknight Dinners

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    Chicken Tinga

    Updated on August 24, 2024

    • Serves:  8
    • Prep Time:  10 min
    • Cook Time:  20 min
    • Calories:  176
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    Ingredients

    For Serving (optional)

    • 8 tostada shells
    • 16 corn tortillas, warmed
    • 3 cups Mexican Rice
    • 3 cups Refried Beans
    • 3 cups shredded green cabbage
    • ½ cup thinly sliced, radishes
    • ½ cup crumbled cotija or queso fresco
    • 1 avocado, sliced

    Method

    1. Add the oil to a large skillet over medium-high heat. Once the oil is glistening, add the onions and cook, stirring, until softened, about 6 minutes. Reduce the heat to medium. Add the garlic and cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 1 minute longer.

      onion and garlic being cooked in olive oil in a skillet

    2. Transfer the onion mixture to a blender. Add the chipotle pepper, adobo sauce (see Note), taco seasoning, tomatoes and bouillon. Blend the sauce on high until smooth, about 1 minute.

      onion, garlic, chipotle pepper, taco seasoning, roasted tomatoes, bouillon and salt blended into a sauce in the blender

    3. Transfer the sauce back to the skillet, bring to a smiler over medium heat and cook until slightly thickened, about 8 minutes. Add the chicken to the sauce and stir until the chicken is warmed through. Season with salt, more taco seasoning or adobo sauce, if desired.

      shredded chicken being added to a pot of tinga sauce

    4. Serve the chicken tinga warm, alongside tostada shells, tortillas or over rice. Garnish with cabbage, radishes, cotija and avocado.

      chicken tinga served on corn tortillas topped with shredded cabbage, radishes, cotija and sliced avocado

    Notes

    Adobo sauce is the purée of tomato, vinegar, garlic, and other spices found in the can along with the Chipotle Peppers. Use 1-3 teaspoons of adobo sauce in this Chicken Tinga recipe depending on how spicy you would like the final results to be.

    Instant Pot Method:

    1. Set the Instant Pot on the sauté mode. Add the oil and heat until glistening. Add the onions and cook, stirring until softened, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook stirring, until fragrant, about 1 more minute.

    2. Transfer the onion mixture to a blender. Add the chipotle pepper, adobo sauce (see Note), taco seasoning, tomatoes and bouillon. Blend the sauce on high until smooth, about 1 minute.

    3. Place the (raw) chicken breasts in the instapot. Pour the tinga sauce over the chicken.

    4. Secure and lock the lid in place making sure the vent is in the sealed position. Set on ‘manual’ or ‘pressure cook’ mode for 10 minutes. Let naturally release for 10 minutes, before manually releasing the remaining pressure.

    5. Transfer the chicken to a cutting board and shred it using two forks. Transfer the chicken back to the sauce, stir to combine. Season with salt, more taco seasoning or adobo sauce, if desired.

    6. Serve the chicken tinga warm, alongside tostada shells, tortillas or over rice. Garnish with cabbage, radishes, cotija and avocado.

    Nutrition Info

    • Per Serving
    • Amount
    • Calories 176
    • Protein 18 g
    • Carbohydrates 6 g
    • Total Fat 8 g
    • Dietary Fiber 2 g
    • Cholesterol 51 mg
    • sodium 397 mg
    • Total Sugars 3 g

    Chicken Tinga

    Questions & Reviews

    Join the discussion below.

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    • Stephanie

      Do you have an instapot adaptation for this recipe?

      We don't currently, we will add it to our list this week to test and get that method added! Thanks for the request Stephanie!

    • Baylee

      LOVE this recipe. I've made it several times for my family and my husband requests it frequently. So fast and delicious and healthy, as pretty much all your recipes are!

      Thanks Baylee, we are so happy your family loves our recipes!

    • Jessica

      So flavorful and easy!

      Thanks Jessica, we are so happy you loved it!

    • Hayley

      I made these tonight and WHOA - what a return on investment! Flavor power punch in every bite and SO easy to throw together. Love love love!

      Thanks for the great feedback! We are so happy you enjoyed it!