Description
Chicken Tinga is a flavorful Mexican dish featuring tender shredded chicken simmered in a smoky chipotle tomato sauce. Perfect for tacos, tostadas, or bowls, this recipe balances mild spice with smoky depth and fresh toppings like cotija cheese, onion, cilantro, and avocado.
Ingredients
Units
Scale
For the Chicken
- 1 1/2 - 2 pounds boneless skinless chicken breasts or thighs
- 1/4 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 a simmer, cover, and cook for 20 minutes until the chicken is cooked through and the internal temperature reaches 165˚F.
- Shred the chicken: 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 two forks, your hands, or a stand mixer using the paddle attachment, then set aside.
- Prepare the sauce: Spray a large baking sheet with nonstick cooking spray or grease with oil. Place the tomatoes and onion halves on the baking sheet and broil on high for 10 minutes, flipping halfway through, until blackened and charred in spots.
- Blend the sauce: 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.
- Cook the sauce: Heat the olive oil in a large saute pan or Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add the blended sauce, cover, and cook for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Combine chicken and sauce: Add the shredded chicken and stir to coat evenly. Cook an additional 10 minutes while the sauce thickens and reduces. If the sauce thickens too much, stir in a splash or two of the remaining reserved broth.
- Serve: Spoon the chicken tinga onto warm corn tortillas and top with cotija cheese, diced white onion, chopped cilantro, and diced avocado.
Notes
- You can use 4 cups of pre-shredded chicken, such as store-bought rotisserie chicken, instead of cooking chicken from scratch. Use about ½ cup chicken broth if using pre-cooked chicken.
- For a spicier dish, increase the chipotle peppers to 2 tablespoons.
- Use 1 (15-ounce) can of fire-roasted diced tomatoes as a shortcut instead of roasting fresh tomatoes.
- If Mexican oregano is unavailable, substitute with regular oregano.
- To make in a slow cooker: prepare the sauce as directed but substitute ½ cup water for broth, then add chicken and sauce to slow cooker. Cook on low for 5-6 hours or high for 3 hours, shred, and mix before serving.
- To make in an Instant Pot: prepare sauce as directed using ½ cup water instead of broth. Add chicken and sauce to Instant Pot, seal, and cook on high pressure for 10 minutes. Quick release, shred chicken, stir, and serve.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 serving
- Calories: 320 kcal
- Sugar: 5 g
- Sodium: 700 mg
- Fat: 10 g
- Saturated Fat: 2 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 7 g
- Trans Fat: 0 g
- Carbohydrates: 15 g
- Fiber: 4 g
- Protein: 40 g
- Cholesterol: 90 mg
