Description
Chicken Tinga is a flavorful Mexican dish featuring tender shredded chicken simmered in a smoky, spicy tomato sauce made with chipotle peppers in adobo. Perfect for tacos, tostadas, or as a main dish, it combines smoky chipotle heat with savory spices and fresh toppings for an authentic, delicious meal.
Ingredients
Scale
For the chicken
- 1 ½ – 2 pounds boneless skinless chicken breasts or thighs
- ¼ large onion
- 2 cloves garlic
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- Water, as needed to cover
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
- Cook the chicken: Add the chicken, onion, garlic, bay leaf, and salt to a large sauté pan or Dutch oven. Cover completely with water plus an additional inch. Bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer, cover, and cook for 20 minutes or until the chicken reaches an internal temperature of 165˚F.
- Prepare chicken: Reserve 1 cup of the broth and set aside. Transfer the cooked chicken to a cutting board and let rest until cool enough to handle, about 5 minutes. Shred the chicken using two forks, your hands, or a stand mixer paddle attachment, then set aside.
- Roast the vegetables: Spray a large baking sheet with nonstick cooking spray or grease with oil. Place the Roma tomatoes and white onion halves on the sheet and broil on high for 10 minutes, flipping halfway through, until blackened and charred in spots.
- Blend the sauce: In a blender or food processor, combine the roasted tomatoes, onion halves, chipotle peppers, garlic, dried oregano, salt, cumin, and ½ cup of the reserved broth. Blend until smooth.
- Cook the sauce: Heat olive oil in a large sauté pan or Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add the blended sauce, cover, and cook for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Combine chicken and sauce: Stir the shredded chicken into the sauce to coat evenly. Cook an additional 10 minutes, allowing the sauce to thicken. If the sauce reduces too much, add small splashes of the remaining reserved broth to loosen it.
- Serve: Serve the chicken tinga in warm corn tortillas topped with cotija cheese, diced white onion, chopped cilantro, and diced avocado for garnish.
Notes
- You can substitute 4 cups of pre-shredded chicken or use shredded rotisserie chicken with ½ cup chicken broth instead of cooking chicken from scratch.
- For a spicier dish, increase chipotle peppers to 2 tablespoons or to taste.
- To save time, use 1 (15-ounce) can of fire-roasted diced tomatoes instead of roasting fresh tomatoes.
- If Mexican oregano is unavailable, regular oregano is a suitable substitute.
- Slow cooker adaptation: prepare sauce as directed (use ½ cup water instead of broth), add chicken and sauce to slow cooker, cook on low for 5-6 hours or high for 3 hours, shred and combine before serving.
- Instant Pot adaptation: prepare sauce as directed (use ½ cup water), add chicken and sauce to Instant Pot, cook on high pressure for 10 minutes with quick release, shred and combine.
