Chicken Tinga

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

Print Pin

3.76 from 83 votes

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.

Course Main Dish

Cuisine Mexican

Keyword chicken tinga recipe, tinga de pollo recipe, tinga recipe

Prep Time 20 minutes

Cook Time 50 minutes

Total Time 1 hour 10 minutes

Servings 4 servings

Calories 109kcal

Author Douglas Cullen

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.

Reheating

• Reheat in the microwave or in a saucepan with a splash of water so that it doesn’t dry out and stick.

Storage

• 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

More Chicken Recipes

• Tomatillo Chicken
• Chicken Fajitas
• Chicken Tacos with Avocado Salsa