• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
Big Delicious Life
  • Home
  • About
  • Recipes
  • Videos
  • Shop
  • Lifestyle
  • Contact
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • YouTube
menu icon
go to homepage
search icon
Homepage link
  • Home
  • About
  • Recipes
  • Videos
  • Shop
  • Lifestyle
  • Contact
×

Chicken Tinga Tacos

Published: Mar 15, 2021 · Modified: Jul 21, 2022 by Jessica · This post may contain affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. 10 Comments

  • Facebook1
  • Print
Jump to Recipe Print Recipe

Chicken Tinga Tacos are filled with spicy, saucy, smoky chipotle chicken, served on warmed tortillas with your favorite toppings. This delicious Mexican “tinga de pollo” is full of flavor, and easy to make in about 30 minutes.

Chicken tinga tacos open flat on a sheet pan lined with parchment paper.
Chicken Tinga Tacos will quickly become one of your favorite recipes.

I love Mexican cuisine and consider myself a taco connoisseur and this is my absolute favorite chicken tacos recipe. Authentic chicken tinga (or “tinga de pollo” in Spanish) is a traditional Mexican dish made with shredded chicken in a spicy chipotle tomato sauce.

This classic dish originated in Puebla, Mexico, the state where the famous “Cinco de Mayo” battle took place in 1862 when the Mexican army defeated the French armada.

This recipe is my adapted version, using ingredients that you probably already have on hand. A restaurant quality dish that comes together in about 30 minutes, and a guaranteed taco night crowd pleaser!

Jump to:
  • Why you’ll love this recipe
  • Ingredients for Chicken Tinga
  • Method
  • How to freeze chicken tinga for meal prep
  • Tips for serving chicken tinga
  • More Mexican-inspired recipes you will love
  • Chicken Tinga Tacos

Why you’ll love this recipe

  • It’s a quick and easy recipe for busy weeknights.
  • You can make it on the stovetop or in your Instant Pot or slow cooker.
  • It’s a great recipe to make in a big batch for entertaining.
  • It’s super freezer friendly!
  • The ingredients are simple and there’s so much flavor!
Ingredients for chicken tinga in small bowls on a wood cutting board with a white plate of raw boneless skinless chicken breasts.
An adapted version of an authentic Mexican chicken recipe.

Ingredients for Chicken Tinga

  • Chicken – I use poached boneless skinless chicken breasts. You can also use boneless skinless chicken thighs. To make this recipe even faster, pull the meat off of a rotisserie chicken.
  • Onion – sweet onion, yellow onion or white onion.
  • Garlic
  • Chipotle chiles – canned chipotle peppers in adobo sauce. This is what gives the spicy sauce that wonderful smoky flavor. I use two chipotle peppers because I like it spicy. If you want to make it less spicy, use one.
  • Fire roasted diced tomatoes – I always keep these in my pantry for so many recipes. You can also use fresh tomatoes and roast them or cook them down in a saucepan.
  • Oregano – Mexican oregano if you have it.
  • Cumin
  • Chicken stock – or veggie. If you’re poaching chicken for this recipe, you can use a bit of the poaching liquid in place of chicken broth.
  • Lime
  • Olive oil
  • Salt
  • Tortillas and your favorite toppings – flour or corn tortillas, cotija cheese or queso fresco, diced onions, pickled red onion, mashed avocado or fresh guacamole, cilantro, lime wedges.
Close up of chicken tinga taco with avocado mash, topped with diced red onion, crumbled cotija cheese and fresh cilantro leaves.
A real crowd pleaser.

Method

This chicken tinga recipe comes together easily on the stovetop or you can make it in your Instant Pot or slow cooker.

Stovetop Instructions

To poach chicken, heat a large pot of water (or use broth) and a few crushed garlic cloves. You can also add onion scraps, slices of lime or even a bay leaf. Bring the liquid to a boil, then add the chicken in a single layer. Allow it to come back to a boil, cover and remove from heat and let it stand for 20 minutes (or up to 45 minutes). Remove from poaching liquid and shred the chicken on a cutting board with two forks.

To make the tinga sauce, roughly chop the onion and mince the garlic. Heat olive oil in a large skillet or sauté pan over medium heat. Add onion and cook for 5-6 minutes until very soft and translucent. Add in the garlic, oregano, cumin, salt and roughly chopped chipotle peppers and cook for an additional 1-2 minutes until fragrant. Pour in crushed tomatoes and broth and let it simmer for 8-10 minutes.

Transfer the sauce to a blender and blend until smooth. Always take extra care in blending hot liquids. Either let it cool slightly or vent the top and cover with a kitchen towel to prevent splatter.

Blended tinga sauce in a blender.
Simmer the sauce then blend.
Shredded chicken and tinga sauce in a skillet.
Mix together cooked chicken and blended sauce and warm through.

Add the cooked chicken and pureed sauce back to the skillet to warm through. Stir in fresh lime juice and season with more salt to taste. Serve in warm tortillas with your favorite toppings.

Instant Pot or Slow Cooker Instructions

This recipe easily adapts for your pressure cooker or crockpot.

For the Instant Pot, simply blend all of the sauce ingredients until smooth. Add the sauce to the pot and nestle in the raw chicken breasts. Cook on high pressure for 10 minutes. Quick release and carefully open the top away from your face. Use two forks to shred the chicken right in the sauce.

Tinga sauce in an instant pot with raw boneless skinless chicken breasts.
Easily adaptable for the Instant Pot or slow cooker.

For the slow cooker, blend the sauce ingredients until smooth. Pour sauce into the slow cooker and add in the raw chicken breasts. Cook on high for 1-2 hours or low for 3-4 hours. Use two forks to shred the chicken right in the sauce.

How to freeze chicken tinga for meal prep

This is a great recipe for freezer meal prep.

Make the sauce and add it to an airtight, freezer safe container with raw chicken breasts. When you are ready to cook, thaw and add the contents to your Instant Pot or slow cooker and follow the instructions above.

To freeze leftovers with cooked chicken, add it to an airtight, freezer safe plastic or silicone bag. Press out all of the air to prevent freezer burn.

Freeze for up to three months. To enjoy, defrost in the refrigerator and reheat or add frozen contents to a saucepan and defrost over low heat.

Chicken tinga tacos with avocado mash, topped with cotija cheese, diced onions and cilantro leaves on a rimmed baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
Spicy, smoky, saucy, these chicken tacos are full of flavor.

Tips for serving chicken tinga

For the tacos, I suggest warming corn or flour tortillas. Spread avocado mash or fresh guacamole on the tortillas, add chicken tinga filling and then top with fresh cilantro, cotija cheese or queso fresco, finely diced onion and a sprinkling of fresh cilantro leaves.

You can also make chicken tinga burritos or burrito bowls, pile the filling on top of a crispy tostada shell, make nachos, taco salad, quesadillas – there are endless ways to enjoy this favorite chicken tinga tacos recipe.

Branded pinterest template with a closeup photo of a chicken tinga taco.
Save this pin to make this recipe later!

More Mexican-inspired recipes you will love

Sweet Potato and Black Bean Quesadillas

Instant Pot Salsa Verde Pulled Chicken

Sheet Pan Shrimp Fajitas

Fiesta Salad

If you make this recipe, please leave a rating and/or comment! Tag me on Instagram @bigdeliciouslife so that I can see your snaps. For more Big Delicious Life, follow along on Instagram, Pinterest, and Facebook, or subscribe to my YouTube channel!

Chicken tinga tacos open flat on a sheet pan lined with parchment paper.

Chicken Tinga Tacos

Jessica
Chicken Tinga Tacos are filled with spicy, saucy, smoky chipotle chicken, served on warmed tortillas with your favorite toppings. This delicious Mexican "tinga de pollo" is full of flavor, and easy to make in about 30 minutes.
5 from 10 votes
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Prep Time 10 mins
Cook Time 20 mins
Total Time 30 mins
Course dinner, Main, Main Course, Mains
Cuisine American, Mexican
Servings 6 servings
Calories 240 kcal

Ingredients
  

  • 1 ½ pounds chicken breasts poached and shredded or about 3 cups rotisserie chicken
  • 1-2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 1 medium onion 1 cup diced
  • 3 cloves minced garlic
  • 2 chipotle peppers in adobo sauce roughly chopped
  • 1 tablespoon adobo sauce from canned chipotle peppers
  • 1 ½ teaspoons dried oregano
  • 1 teaspoon cumin
  • ¼ teaspoon salt
  • ¾ cup fire roasted diced tomatoes
  • ¼ cup chicken or veggie broth
  • juice of half a lime

For serving:

  • Tortillas
  • Avocado
  • Queso fresco or cotija cheese
  • Finely diced onions
  • Chopped cilantro
  • Lime wedges

Instructions
 

Stovetop:

  • Poach the chicken (see recipe post)
  • Heat olive oil in a large skillet or sauté pan. Add onion and cook for 5-6 minutes until soft and translucent.
  • Add minced garlic and cook another minute until just fragrant.
  • Stir in oregano, cumin, salt, chipotle peppers and adobo sauce and cook for one more minute.
  • Add in tomatoes and broth. When it's bubbling, turn the heat down and simmer on medium-low for 8-10 minutes.
  • Transfer sauce to a blender (venting the top) and blend until smooth.
  • Pour sauce back into sauté pan over low heat. Add in cooked, shredded chicken and heat for a few minutes until sauce thickens and coats chicken. Check for seasoning and add more salt to taste. Finish with a squeeze of lime and a sprinkle of fresh cilantro leaves. Serve in warmed tortillas with desired toppings.

For the Instant Pot:

  • Add olive oil, onion, garlic, oregano, cumin, salt, chipotle chilis, adobo sauce, broth and fire roasted tomatoes to a blender and blend until smooth. Do not sauté first.
  • Pour sauce into Instant Pot with stainless steel liner. Nestle whole raw chicken breasts in the sauce.
  • Place the lid on, make sure the valve is pointed to sealing, set to manual high pressure for 10 minutes.
  • Allow to natural release for at least five minutes. Carefully release remaining pressure, shred chicken with two forks right in the sauce and finish with a squeeze of lime and sprinkling of cilantro leaves.

For the slow cooker:

  • Follow the exact same instructions as the Instant Pot and cook on high for 1-2 hours or low for 3-4 hours.

Notes

This recipe is spicy! To reduce the spice level, use one instead of two chipotle peppers in adobo sauce. I find that two is the perfect amount of heat.
My favorite way to enjoy Tinga de Pollo is in tacos but this chicken is also great for burritos, bowls, tortas and nachos!

Nutrition

Calories: 240kcalCarbohydrates: 5gProtein: 24gFat: 13gSaturated Fat: 3gPolyunsaturated Fat: 3gMonounsaturated Fat: 6gTrans Fat: 0.1gCholesterol: 73mgSodium: 228mgPotassium: 295mgFiber: 1gSugar: 2gVitamin A: 508IUVitamin C: 2mgCalcium: 40mgIron: 2mg
Keyword Chicken tinga, chicken tinga instant pot, chicken tinga recipe, chicken tinga tacos, Easy Chicken Recipe, easy instant pot chicken recipe, pollo tinga, tacos, tinga, tinga de pollo, tinga de pollo recipe, tinga tacos
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!
« Creamy Potato, Leek & Cauliflower Soup (Dairy-Free)
Sheet Pan Shrimp and Asparagus in Garlic Lemon Butter »
  • Facebook1
  • Print

Filed Under: Gluten Free, Mains, Party food, Recipes, Uncategorized Tagged With: chicken, easy, Gluten free, mexican, tacos, weeknight

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Jazz

    December 14, 2022 at 6:58 pm

    5 stars
    I made your chicken tinga tacos for lunch last week to break up all the holiday foods and they were so delicious! Perfectly tender chicken and the flavors were on point.

    Reply
  2. Taneisha

    December 14, 2022 at 3:21 pm

    5 stars
    This recipe has everything I love — flavour and texture!! Loved everything about this east recipe!

    Reply
  3. Michelle Lee

    December 13, 2022 at 12:58 am

    5 stars
    This is madness. How is this simple recipe so amazing? It’s possible to make with a toddler “helping” and other kids arguing. That’s how simple. And then the FLAVOR. I can’t even. Make this for dinner or lunch or breakfast or a snack. You need it right now.

    Reply
  4. Robin

    December 11, 2022 at 11:33 pm

    5 stars
    Of course you had me at chicken tacos! The flavors you extracted here were simply magnificent – we enjoyed them immensely.

    Reply
  5. Nija Clark

    December 11, 2022 at 1:04 am

    5 stars
    I made this with the kiddos for taco tuesday. they love the spicy pop of flavor! so good.

    Reply
  6. Linda

    December 10, 2022 at 5:48 am

    5 stars
    Thanks, Jessica, for the recipe because I have a reason to make tacos. 30 minutes dinner, please count me in.

    Reply
  7. Marta

    December 07, 2022 at 11:35 pm

    5 stars
    I’d been craving tacos for two weeks and finally got fed up after seeing the pictures for your chicken tinga tacos. I made them. I devoured them. I love them. I’m no longer a brat to my family. You are my hero.

    Reply
  8. Elizabeth Pesce

    April 25, 2021 at 11:41 pm

    5 stars
    Made this for dinner tonight using the instant pot. It was ridiculously easy and tasted delicious: smoky and spicy. We made tacos and have leftovers to make salads, bowls, burritos, hash, etc.

    Reply
  9. Hayley

    April 12, 2021 at 11:30 pm

    5 stars
    This recipe delivers!!! Smoky but not too spicy, made with typical pantry staples and everyone’s favourite weeknight protein, boneless skinless chicken breasts, what’s not to love?! We enjoyed this in a lower-carb “taco bowl” form but however you taco, definitely add this recipe into the Taco Tuesday night rotation! So delicious!

    Reply
  10. Erika

    March 19, 2021 at 1:39 am

    5 stars
    This was so good and very quick and easy. I used precooked, shredded rotisserie chicken and pre chopped onions and it was an easy week night meal. Loved it and will make again!

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recipe Rating




Primary Sidebar

about me

Welcome! I love creating delicious, healthy-ish food at home with simple, whole food ingredients. I’m self-taught and spending time in the kitchen is my creative release.

Follow along

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • YouTube

search


The essential tools for a simple, well equipped kitchen and the must have ingredients for a well stocked pantry, fridge and freezer.

Footer

↑ BACK TO TOP

Search

Recipes

  • Appetizers
  • Breakfast
  • Main Dishes
  • Salads

AS AN AMAZON ASSOCIATE I EARN FROM QUALIFYING PURCHASES.

Copyright © 2023 Big Delicious Life | Privacy Policy | Disclaimer

  • 1