A Great Taco Filling or Tostada Topping
Chicken Tinga, a classic shredded chicken taco or tostada filling prepared with sliced onions and a tomato chipotle sauce is a full-flavored crowd pleaser. It has a smoky flavor with just enough heat from the chipotle.
Tinga is served throughout Mexico. There is also a beef version. This recipe is so good that you may want to make a double batch to keep in the freezer.
How to Make
Gather your ingredients.
- 1 pound whole boneless chicken breast
- 4 plum tomatoes
- 1 ¼ large white onions
- 3 cloves of garlic
- 2 tablespoons canned chipotle
- 1 teaspoon Mexican oregano
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- 1 cup chicken broth
- 3 tablespoons cooking oil
- Salt to taste
HOW TO MAKE CHICKEN TINGA | 1-MINUTE VIDEO
Start by making the shredded chicken.
- In a large saucepan cover the chicken with an inch of water.
- Bring water to a boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer for 20 minutes.
- Remove chicken from the cooking water. Save the broth.
- Allow chicken to cool to the touch.
- Finely shred the chicken. Cut the chicken into 1″ pieces then pull apart with your fingers.
Prepare the chipotle tomato sauce while the chicken is cooking.
- Clean, seed, and chop the tomatoes.
- Add tomatoes to your blender.
- To your blender, add 2 tablespoons canned chipotle, 1 clove of garlic, 1 teaspoon Mexican oregano, ¼ teaspoon black pepper, and 1 cup of the reserved chicken broth.
- Blend until smooth. About 1 minute.
Prepare the tinga.
- Thinly slice 1 large white onion. Yields approximately 1 ½ cups.
- Slice 2 cloves of garlic.
- Preheat a large frying pan over medium-low heat and add 3 tablespoons of cooking oil.
- Add the sliced onions to the pan. Cook until the onion starts to become translucent in about 4 minutes. Do not allow the onion to brown.
- Add the sliced garlic to the pan cook for 1 more minute.
- Turn the heat to medium and slowly pour the sauce into the pan with the onions and garlic. Cook for 5 minutes. The sauce will start to reduce.
- Turn the heat to low.
- Add the shredded chicken to the pan and mix well with the sauce.
- Cover the pan and allow to simmer for 20 minutes. During this time the sauce will reduce even more and coat the chicken and onion.
- Salt to taste.
How to Serve
Tinga makes a great filling for the following:
- Tinga tacos – You can make chicken tinga tacos with either corn tortillas or flour tortillas. My favorites are tacos made with corn tortillas but tacos made with flour tortillas are still excellent.
- Tinga tostadas
- Tinga burritos
Chicken Tinga Recipe
Chicken Tinga [teen – GA], a shredded chicken taco or tostada filling prepared with sliced onions and a tomato chipotle sauce is a full-flavored crowd pleaser. It has a smoky flavor with just enough heat from the chipotle.
Servings 4 servings
Calories 109kcal
Ingredients
- 1 pound whole boneless chicken breast
- 4 plum tomatoes
- 1 ¼ large white onions
- 3 cloves of garlic
- 2 tablespoons canned chipotle
- 1 teaspoon Mexican oregano
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- 1 cup chicken broth
- 3 tablespoons cooking oil
- Salt to taste
Instructions
- SHREDDED CHICKEN
- In a large saucepan cover the chicken with an inch of water.
- Bring water to a boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer for 20 minutes.
- Remove chicken from the cooking water. Save the broth.
- Allow chicken to cool to the touch.
- Finely shred the chicken. Cut the chicken into 1″ pieces then pull apart wth your fingers.
- CHIPOTLE TOMATO SAUCE
- Clean, seed and chop the tomatoes.
- Add tomatoes to you blender.
- Add 2 tablespoons canned chipotle to blender. Use 3 tablespoons of chipotle if you prefer it spicier.
- Add 1 clove of garlic, 1 teaspoon Mexican oregano to blender jar, ¼ teaspoon black pepper to blender.
- Then add 1 cup of the reserved chicken broth.
- Blend until smooth. About 1 minute.
- PREPARATION
- Thinly slice 1 large white onion. Yields approximately 1 ½ cups.
- Slice 2 cloves of garlic.
- Preheat a large frying pan over medium-low heat and add 3 tablespoons of cooking oil.
- Add the sliced onions to the pan. Cook until the onion starts to become translucent about 4 minutes. Do not allow the onion to brown.
- Add the sliced garlic to the pan cook for 1 more minute.
- Turn the heat to medium and slowly pour the sauce into the pan with the onions and garlic.
- Cook for 5 minutes. The sauce will start to reduce.
- Turn the heat to low
- Add the shredded chicken to the pan and mix well with the sauce.
- Cover the pan and allow to simmer for 20 minutes. During this time the sauce will reduce even more and coat the chicken and onion.
- Salt to taste.
- Serve as a taco or tostada filling.
Notes
Preparation
- This chicken tinga recipe calls for canned chipotle in adobo sauce. You should be able to find them in nearly any market in the chile and salsa section or the Hispanic section.
- Reheat in the microwave or in a saucepan with a splash of water so that it doesn’t dry out and stick.
- It will keep well for 3 days in the refrigerator.
- Chicken Tinga freezes very well. Make a double batch and keep it on hand for when you need a quick meal.
Nutrition
Serving: 1/2 cup | Calories: 109kcal | Carbohydrates: 4g | Protein: 14g | Fat: 4g | Sodium: 225mg | Sugar: 2g
Difficulty – Easy
Don’t be intimidated by what appears to be a great number of steps in the recipe. Preparation is divided into 3 simple parts: preparing the shredded chicken, making the sauce, and assembling the dish.
Equipment Needed
- Cutting board
- Knife
- Kitchen spoon
- Large saucepan
- Large frying pan
- Blender
Other Taco Fillings You Might Like
- Our cactus salad and rajas con queso are great options for vegetarian taco fillings.
- Shredded beef
Jeff Stern says
I am a big fan of chicken tinga. I have seen it both with and without potatoes. Is this a gringo addition or do you regularly see it made with potatoes too? Thanks and keep up the great work!
Douglas Cullen says
Potatoes and/or carrots are a common addition to tinga in Mexico. Cheers!
Samantha says
Thank you for the recipe. Was very easy to make. I’d used it in chicken tortilla soup and came out great.
Peggy Smith says
It is excellent with Mexican crumbling cheese and Mexican table cream over it
Len says
Great recipe, but ingredient list and prep instructions need some clarification. Ingredient list says 1 cup of chicken broth, but prep instructions say to cook chicken in water. Which is it? Water or chicken broth?
Cecilia says
I believe its the broth the chicken makes when boiling in water
Lorna says
awesome reciepe. I have made this twice and we love it. I did supplement it just a bit by adding cilantro to the tinga sauce. It gave it a nice tartness.
Mia says
I Love this recipe I tried It with My children Its So yummi.
Mia says
You should Post More
Taco Lover says
Excellent recipe. Really great base. I added an extra tomato, 1 tbsp of lime juice and a pinch of ground cumin for extra tartness and spice. This was a great hit with my family. I even used the left over chicken in my enchiladas. I will be making these again for sure!!!
Karly says
Great recipe! Can’t wait to try this! Thanks for sharing.
Narda Escobedo says
Why do you seed the tomatoes?
Anthony says
I substitute the tomatoes for tomato sauce. Less work
kt says
Hi, I have whole chipotle peppers in adobo sauce. Do I just use the sauce or do I use the sauce and peppers? If I use the peppers do I chop them up to make 2 Tbs?
Lee Morrell says
Great recipe! I prepared it in a crock pot and it was fantastic. Made the sauce following the recipe and added the onions to the whole chicken breasts in the crock pot. Low for 7.5 hours. Shred the chicken, put back into the sauce. High for 30 minutes delicious.
Noemy says
I really like the adding of lime juice and less oregano. A little bit of chicken bouillon makes taste better than the salt. For the tostada, I used regular corn tortillas and fry them myself for better taste than the commercial ones. I made it for p my relatives and they loved it.
Susie says
The only thing I’d do differently is decrease the amount of Mexican oregano, as it really overpowered the sauce. I used a powdered version. This may have been the trouble. Also because this is not prime tomato season, I used organic canned diced tomatoes and that worked really well. I took a chance and guessed at the amount of chipotles in adobo sauce to add, and put in 2.5 for a double recipe. It was the perfect amount of spicy for me, but a tad much for my teen. Again, to make it palatable for her, I did not double the amount of onion, and it still tasted very good. Oh, one more thing I did is add a few tablespoons of tomato paste. This brightened the color and gave it a little sweetness.
I’m really glad I took the recipe’s advice to double the sauce. I also doubled the chicken, by breaking down a whole bird, and skinning but not deboning the pieces before poaching, including thighs, legs, and breasts. It’s a good use of a whole chicken.
Amelia Martinez says
This recipe is great! So easy and delicious. I will definitely try it at home. I tested it at Senor Burrito Restaurant and the test was awesome.
Jacqueline Perdomo says
I understand I’ll see some ads but this is ridiculous. It’s been a while and I’m still trying to get to the recipe. Guess what?Not worthy. There are tons of recipes somewhere else. Bye!
Glen Spencer says
Hello Patrick when following your recipe would it be okay to cook cilantro flakes in it or coriander also I made up a spice blend of chili powders oregano cumin in some lime and chili mix but it’s still lacking something and I’m wondering if what if I put coriander in it is it going to make it taste a little more like it has cilantro in it thank you any advice is good
Brian says
Do you have a newsletter? If so, do you send out blog posts like these to your list? I would be interested in signing up if you do.
Valerie says
I really love this recipe! I’m Hispanic but never learned to cook Hispanic food and this taste just like homemade I’m used to eating growing up! Recipe is super easy. I’m not the greatest cook and I completed this no problem and even got compliments from my husband. Thanks for sharing!
Miguel says
Es bueno
Rob Perr says
Hello Douglas.
My wife followed your recipie and in its direction she achieved perfection. DELICIOUSNESS IN EVERY BITE. Authentically performed. And taste that makes neurons spark. Flavor in it’s pure essence. In my wifes words “Your moms gonna choke on this for ever telling me i dont cook for you!!” “Tragga!!” … Love you too babe.
Douglas Cullen says
That’s fantastic! We’re glad you loved the recipe. Cheers!
Sakura says
Please don’t boil meat. It denatures the proteins. *Simmer*
JT says
A friend of mine directed me to this recipe. She suggested using Tostada shells. Drizzle Mexican Crema over shell, follow with refried beans, then Tinga mix. Absolutely delicious! Sprinkled cilantro and a squeeze of lime. Can’t wait to make it again!
Mindy T. says
Really good! We will make this again and again. I used boneless skinless thighs because they didn’t have any boneless breasts at the store when I shopped (crazy, right?). I also used canned organic diced tomatoes, and they worked perfectly, but we have lots of tomatoes ripening in our garden, so in the future we’ll use the real deal.
We served the tinga with tostada shells, refried beans, cotija cheese, guacamole, and sour cream (because the store also didn’t have Mexican crema – maybe I need to start going to a different store, eh?). It was delish and so satisfying! This is definitely going in our rotation. We ended up with a lot of extra sauce, but we have some ideas for how to use it up, yum.
Douglas Cullen says
Glad you liked the recipe! How do you plan to use the extra sauce? It’s really versatile. Cheers!
Mindy T. says
I think we are going to make a version of huevos rancheros and top it with the tinga sauce (there are a few pieces of the yummy shredded chicken in there too). My husband also asked me to make some more! We have more tostada shells, so we kinda have to, LOL.
Douglas Cullen says
The sauce will go great with eggs. It will be delicious!
Carla Smalley says
Oh my goodness!!! Made this for dinner tonight and it was delicious. Will definitely make it again and again
Douglas Cullen says
Glad the recipe worked for you!
jeanie short says
Hi Douglas Cullen,
chicken Tinga is one of my favourite dishes and i only eat it at my favourite Mexican restaurant called “Playa cabana ” in Toronto Ontario. Now in your recipe it calls for 2 tablespoons of chipotle but here in Canada in the tin it’s either whole chipotle in a sauce or chipotle sauce which choice do you use in this recipe, it calls for 2 tablespoons of the chipotle. I cook and eat a lot of authentic Mexican dishes i usually buy my corn tortillas at a Mexican store in Kensington Market down town Toronto its a great area. I’m excited to try your recipe. cheers jeanie short.
Bill says
Same here in the US. Just pull a some of the whole peppers out of the tin and chop them up to get the tablespoon measurement right.
Meghan says
Pretty good recipe. We used whole can of chipotle and a few fresh peppers. Gave it some good spice. Only complaint is the nutrition facts. They are way off.
Alex says
I thought this dish was very bland. The sauce is simple and watery. An extra 20 minutes is added just so you can use your chicken boiling water as broth.