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Author:
Isabel
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Chicken Tinga is a classic Mexican dish that combines tender chicken with a smoky tomato sauce made with chipotles in abodo. It’s great for serving in tacos, tostadas, burritos, sopes, enchiladas, and more!
You Need This Chicken Tinga
If you’re looking for a saucy shredded chicken recipe that is quite literally finger-licking good, chicken tinga is for you!
The depth of flavor that comes from roasting and charring tomatoes and onions, and then blending them with smoky chipotle peppers in adobo sauce is simply the best.
It’s also an easy weeknight dinner recipe that can be made even easier and faster with a few shortcuts that I’ve outlined in the recipe. This is a staple Mexican dish that you’ll come back to again and again.
Here’s why I love this recipe:
- It’s versatile: This chicken tinga can be used in so many ways. I like to make a batch and then turn it into tacos one night, burritos the next, and top it on tostadas for a quick lunch.
- Great make-ahead recipe: This tinga can be easily made using any leftover shredded chicken you have in the fridge. The sauce can also be made up to a week ahead of time and then cooked together in a skillet with the shredded chicken right before serving.
- Budget-friendly: This dish is made with staple pantry ingredients and is very low-fuss. Tomatoes, onions, canned chipotle peppers in adobo sauce, garlic. It doesn’t require complicated ingredients or techniques – just blend, cook, and it’s ready!
What Is Chicken Tinga?
Chicken Tinga is a traditional Mexican dish that features juicy shredded chicken cooked in a flavorful smoky sauce made from roasted tomatoes, onions, garlic, and chipotle peppers in adobo sauce.
It’s typically served on crispy tostada shells, but is also used as a filling in tacos, enchiladas, sopes, quesadillas, burritos, and more!
Ingredients
- Tomatoes: You’ll need 4 large Roma tomatoes that you roast under the broiler or over an open flame.
- Chipotle peppers in adobo sauce: These peppers give the tinga sauce its signature smoky and spicy flavor. If you want to add more of that flavor, double the amount of chipotles.
- Garlic and onion: Another signature ingredient of chicken tinga is lots of onion. This recipe uses a whole white onion that gets roasted and charred. Garlic also adds lots of great flavor.
- Spices: I used a combination of salt, pepper, cumin, and Mexican oregano. Mexican oregano is more bright and floral than regular or Italian oregano. However if you can’t find Mexican oregano, you can use regular oregano.
- Chicken: You’ll need 1 1/2 – 2 pounds of boneless skinless chicken breasts or thighs. Once cooked in water, you shred the chicken and reserve some of the broth to use in the tinga sauce. This process takes about 20 minutes. If you want to a shortcut, you can buy a store-bought rotisserie chicken and shred it at home.
How to Make Chicken Tinga
Add the chicken, onion, garlic, bay leaf, salt, and water to a large pot or Dutch oven. Bring a to a boil, reduce heat to simmer, then cover and cook for 15-20. Reserve some of the broth, remove the chicken from the pot, and shred it.
Roast the tomatoes and onion under the broiler or over an open flame under blackened and charred.
Blend the roasted tomatoes, onion, chipotle peppers in adobo sauce, garlic, oregano, salt, cumin, and chicken broth in blender until completely smooth.
Cook the sauce. In a large skillet, add the oil and heat over medium heat. Once the oil is heated, add the sauce and cook for 10 minutes. Cooking the tinga sauce helps develop the flavor and cooks out the raw onion taste.
Add the shredded chicken and stir to combine until evenly coated. Cook for an additional 10 minutes. The tinga sauce will begin to thicken and reduce.
Serve in tacos with warm corn tortillas, cotija cheese, onion, cilantro, and diced avocados, or on crunchy tostadas.
Tips
- Reserve the broth. Don’t forget to set aside 1 cup of the chicken broth to stir into the tinga sauce. You’ll use 1/2 cup for the sauce. The other 1/2 is only needed in case it sauce thickens too much.
- Save time by using cooked shredded chicken. You can use 4 cups of shredded chicken instead of making it from scratch. Shredding a store-bought rotisserie chicken is a great option, or you can use any leftover chicken you have in the fridge.
- Spice level: This recipe has a mild spice level. For more head, add 2 additional tablespoons of chipotle peppers in adobo sauce.
- Don’t have fresh tomatoes? Use canned. You’ll need 1 (15-ounce) can of fire-roasted diced tomatoes instead of roasting from fresh.
Recipe Variations
- To make this in the slow cooker, make the sauce as instructed except use 1 cup of chicken broth instead. Then add the chicken to the slow cooker, pour the sauce on top, cover, and slow cooker on low for 5-6 hours or on high for 3 hours. Shred the chicken, stir it into the sauce, and serve.
- To make this in the Instant Pot, make the sauce as instructed except use 1 cup of chicken broth instead. Then add the chicken to the Instant Pot, pour the sauce on top, and cover. Set the pressure valve to the seal position, turn on Manual or High Pressure, and pressure cook for 10 minutes. Quick release the pressure, carefully shred the chicken, stir it into the sauce, and serve.
Make Ahead and Storage
Chicken tinga can be stored in airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days or in the freezer for up to 3 months. To reheat, heat in a large skillet over medium-high heatuntil warmed through, about 8-10 minutes.
The tinga sauce can be made up to a week ahead of time and then cooked with the shredded chicken right before serving.
More Mexican Recipes
- Chile Verde
- Authentic Mole Sauce
- Birria
- Carnitas
- Tamales
- Picadillo
5 from 4 votes
Chicken Tinga
servings: 6 servings
Print Pin Review Save
Prep: 10 minutes minutes
Cook: 55 minutes minutes
Total: 1 hour hour 5 minutes minutes
Chicken Tinga is a Mexican dish made from tender chicken in a smoky tomato sauce made with chipotles in adobo. Great for tacos and tostadas!
Ingredients
For the chicken
- 1 ½ – 2 pounds boneless skinless chicken breasts or thighs (see notes for using shredded chicken)
- ¼ large onion
- 2 cloves garlic
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- Water, as needed
For the sauce
- 4 large Roma tomatoes
- 1 large white onion, halved
- 2 tablespoons chipotle peppers in adobo sauce
- 2 cloves garlic
- 1 teaspoon dried Mexican oregano
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
For Serving
- Warm corn tortillas
- Cotija cheese
- Diced white onion
- Chopped cilantro
- Diced avocado
Instructions
Make the chicken: Add the chicken, onion, garlic, bay leaf, and salt to a large saute pan or Dutch oven. Cover the chicken completely with water, plus an additional inch. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to simmer, cover, and cook for 15-20 minutes until the chicken is cooked through and the internal temperature reaches 165˚F.
Reserve 1 cup of the broth and set aside. Transfer the chicken to a cutting board and let it rest until cool enough to handle, about 5 minutes. Shred the chicken with 2 forks, your hands, or mix it in a stand mixer using the paddle attachment and set aside.
Make the sauce: Spray a large baking sheet with nonstick cooking spray or grease with oil. Place the tomatoes and the onion halves on the baking sheet and place under the broiler. Broil on high for 10 minutes, flipping over halfway through, until blackened and charred in some spots.
Add the roasted tomatoes, onion halves, chipotle peppers, garlic, oregano, salt, cumin, and ½ cup of the reserved broth into a blender or food processor. Blend until smooth.
Heat the olive oil in a large saute pan or Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add the tinga sauce, cover, and cook for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Combine: Add the shredded chicken and stir to combine to evenly coat the chicken. Cook for an additional 10 minutes while the sauce thickens and reduces. If the sauce reduces too much, stir in a splash or two of reserved broth.
Serve the tinga in warm corn or flour tortillas with cotija cheese, onion, cilantro, and diced avocado.
Notes
- Chicken: You can use 4 cups of shredded chicken instead of making it from scratch. Shredding a store-bought rotisserie chicken is a great option, or you can use any leftover chicken you have in the fridge. If using shredded chicken, you’ll need about ½ cup chicken broth.
- Chipotles: This recipe has a mild spice level. For more spice, add 2 tablespoons of chipotle peppers.
- Tomatoes: To save even more time, you can use 1 (15-ounce) can of fire-roasted diced tomatoes instead of roasting from fresh.
- Mexican oregano: If you don’t have this, you can use regular oregano instead.
- To make this in the slow cooker: Make the sauce as instructed, except use 1 cup of chicken broth instead. Then add the chicken to the slow cooker, pour the sauce on top, cover, and slow cooker on low for 5-6 hours or on high for 3 hours. Shred the chicken, stir it into the sauce, and serve.
- To make this in the Instant Pot: Make the sauce as instructed, except use 1 cup of chicken broth instead. Then add the chicken to the Instant Pot, pour the sauce on top, and cover. Set the pressure valve to the seal position, turn on Manual or High Pressure, and pressure cook for 10 minutes. Quick release the pressure, carefully shred the chicken, stir it into the sauce, and serve.
Nutrition Information
Serving: 1serving, Calories: 181kcal (9%), Carbohydrates: 7g (2%), Protein: 25g (50%), Fat: 6g (9%), Saturated Fat: 1g (5%), Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g, Monounsaturated Fat: 3g, Trans Fat: 0.01g, Cholesterol: 73mg (24%), Sodium: 917mg (38%), Potassium: 599mg (17%), Fiber: 2g (8%), Sugar: 3g (3%), Vitamin A: 390IU (8%), Vitamin C: 10mg (12%), Calcium: 30mg (3%), Iron: 1mg (6%)
Author: Isabel Orozco-Moore
Category: Mexican
Photography by Ashley McLaughlin.
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Theresa Honkisz
I’ve yet to make this for my family, making the tinga this weekend bc it’s a favorite of my husbands, I can’t get the recipe from his mom bc of vacation for her, but this comes super close i believe. So prayers on if he likes it lol
Reply
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