This delicious Chicken Tinga recipe has tender chicken in a bold, chipotle sauce. Use it for tostadas, tacos, enchiladas, burritos, loaded quesadillas and more.
Sauté Onion: Return the emptied pot to the stove over medium-high heat. Add oil and once hot, add whole tomatoes, cooking for 2 minutes. Add onion chunks and cook for 2-3 minutes.
Courtesy of Lauren Allen
Blend Sauce: Add tomatoes and onion to a blender, along with ½ cup reserved broth, 1 teaspoon chicken bouillon, 2 garlic cloves, adobo sauce and chipotle chile, oregano, and cumin and blend until smooth.
Courtesy of Lauren Allen
Simmer: Pour mixture back into pot over medium heat. Simmer for at least 5 minutes. Taste and add salt, additional adobo sauce, more seasonings, or reserved chicken broth, as desired, to taste. Shred chicken and add to sauce, tossing to coat.
To Serve as Tostadas: Spread tostada shell with a thin layer of refried beans. Add a scoop of chicken tinga on top. Top with lettuce, queso fresco, cilantro, avocado, and a drizzle of crema. Serve with a glass of horchata if you’d like!
Courtesy of Lauren Allen
Make Ahead and Freezing Instructions:
To Make Ahead: Prepare the chicken tinga and store in the fridge for up to 3-5 days. Heat when you are ready to use. These leftovers are delicious! See recipe notes for Slow Cooker or Instant Pot instructions.
To Freeze: Let the chicken cool completely then place in a freezer safe container or bag and keep in the freezer for up to 2 months. I love to make a big batch of this recipe and freeze half of it to use for chicken tinga tacos on a busy weeknight!
Recipe Variations:
To Use Rotisserie Chicken: Skip the first steps of cooking the chicken. Make the sauce, adding ½ cup chicken broth. Stir in shredded rotisserie chicken at the end.
Tinga Tacos: Serve in a warm corn or flour tortilla, topped with shredded lettuce, cotija, crema, cilantro and avocado.
Spice Level: The recipe as written is fairly mild, unless you add a very large adobo chile. Add more chiles, for more heat.
Slow Cooker: Make sauce as instructed in recipe. Place chicken in a slow cooker, and pour sauce on top. Cook on LOW for 5 hours, or on HIGH for 2 1/2. Shred chicken and toss in sauce, then serve.
Instant Pot: Make sauce as instructed in recipe. Pour sauce in the instant pot, then add fresh chicken breasts. Place lid on Instant Pot and cook on manual for 9 minutes, with a 5 minute natural pressure release. Remove chicken to shred, then place back in Instant Pot and toss with sauce.
Chicken Tinga Recipe
Servings: 4Calories: 193Cost: 6Prep: 15 MinsCook: 30 MinsTotal: 45 Mins
Ingredients
For the Chicken:
2 boneless skinless chicken breasts
1 small chunk onion
2 cloves garlic
1 bay leaf
½ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
For the Sauce:
4 roma tomatoes
1 Tablespoon olive oil
1 onion, cut into chunks
1 teaspoon chicken bouillon
2 cloves garlic
1 teaspoon adobo sauce,+ 1 chipotle chili
1 teaspoon dried oregano leaves
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
For Serving:
Refried Beans
Mexican crema or sour cream
Lettuce, finely shredded
Queso fresco, crumbled
Fresh cilantro
Avocado, sliced
limes
tostada shells, or corn tortillas
Instructions
Add chicken, onion, garlic, salt, pepper and bay leaf to a pot. Cover with water and bring to a simmer. Cook over medium heat for around 20 minutes or until chicken is cooked through; 165 degrees F. Scoop off foam that may rise to the top while cooking. Remove chicken to a plate to rest, and reserve 1 cup of broth from the pot (discard the rest).
Return the emptied pot to the stove over medium-high heat. Add oil and once hot, add whole tomatoes, cooking for 2 minutes. Add onion chunks and cook for 2-3 minutes.
Add tomatoes and onion to a blender, along with ½ cup reserved broth, 1 teaspoon chicken bouillon, 2 garlic cloves, adobo sauce and chipotle chile, oregano, and cumin and blend until smooth. Pour mixture back into the pot over medium heat. Cook for 5 minutes. Taste and add salt additional adobo sauce, more seasonings, or reserved chicken broth, as desired, to taste.
Shred chicken and add to sauce, tossing to coat.
To Serve as Tostadas: Spread tostada shell with a thin layer of refried beans. Add a scoop of chicken tinga on top. Top with lettuce, queso freso, cilantro, avocado, and a drizzle of crema.
To Serve as Tacos: Serve in a warm corn or flour tortilla, topped with shredded lettuce, cotija, crema, cilantro and avocado.
