Try Chicken Tinga Nachos! Add in extra ingredients like refried beans, black beans, sour cream or Mexican crema, extra sliced roasted jalapenos, shredded cheese, all your favorites. What is Chicken Tinga? Chicken Tinga is a classic Mexican dish of shredded chicken that cooks low and slow in a tomato-based sauce seasoned with chipotle peppers, onion, garlic, and other spices. The resulting chicken is smoky and spicy and everyone loves it. It’s a versatile dish, too, as you can serve it up however you’d like. Use it to fill warmed corn or flour tortillas for tacos. Spoon it over crispy tortillas for easy chipotle tostadas. Fancy a burrito? Or a Mexican torta? Enchiladas? Chicken Tinga has you covered. It also freezes wonderfully, so make extra and keep in the freezer for quick and easy lunch or dinner meals throughout the week. Let’s talk about how to make chicken tinga, shall we? It’s super easy, which I love. Brown the Chicken. Season some chicken thighs with salt and pepper, then add them to the pan. Give them a nice sear on each side, a couple minute each. Chicken breasts work here as well, too. Blend until smooth. Next, pour the mixture into the pan, covering the chicken. Simmer the Chicken Tinga. Bring the mixture to a quick boil, then reduce the heat and simmer for 30 minutes, or until the chicken is cooked through and easily pulls apart. Shred, then Simmer the Chicken. Remove the chicken and shred it with a couple of forks. Return the chicken to the pan and simmer in the sauce another 5 minutes to let the flavors develop and meld with the chicken. If your sauce is too thick to your liking, you can thin it out with a bit of water or chicken broth. Boom! That’s it, my friends! Looks delicious, doesn’t it? This tinga chicken is so moist and flavorful and it is HUGE on flavor. It’s going to be one of your favorites. No lie. It will be distributed through the overall chicken tinga dish, however, so it may not be as spicy as you think. I add in extra jalapenos to up that heat factor, and finish with spicy chili flakes as well. Feel free to use hotter peppers and flakes, or a nice hot sauce to finish. FOR INSTANT POT: Add all of the ingredients to your Instant Pot or pressure cooker and pressure cook it together for 15-20 minutes. Do natural release and then shred up the chicken and mix it all together. Consider it for chicken tinga tacos, burritos, flautas, topping tostadas, chicken tortas, even over rice with other fixings for a satisfying burrito bowl with your favorite toppings like avocado, queso fresco, chili flakes, tomatoes, onions, and more. Got any questions? Ask away! I’m happy to help. If you enjoy this recipe, I hope you’ll leave a comment with some STARS. Also, please share it on social media. Don’t forget to tag us at #ChiliPepperMadness. I’ll be sure to share! Thanks! — Mike H. You can freeze tinga chicken in vacuum sealed bags or freezer containers for 3 months or longer. NOTE: This recipe was updated on 5/12/23 to include new information, photos and video. It was originally published on 1/4/19.
