Perfect Chicken Tinga Tacos

Chicken Tinga Tacos are going to be your new go to dinner! If you've never heard of or made Tinga before, it's a Mexican dish made with shredded chicken with a sauce made from tomatoes, tomatillos, chipotle chilis in adobo, and onions. Chicken Tinga is perfection and serves a crowd.

Why I Love This Recipe

Shredded chicken cooked in the most crazy delicious spiced sauce on the planet and then stuffed in a taco…. Ummm yes please. This Chicken Tinga is out of this world. You’ll want to slather it on top of everything – serve it over rice, toss it into an enchilada style bake, use it in a taco salad, you name it, it works on just about everything! But when it’s folded up in taco and topped with some lime and avocado to balance the sauce, it’s absolute perfection. I made this a few weeks ago and my 3 year old requested it in her lunch for 3 days straight!

Ingredients & Substitutions

• Olive oil
• Boneless skinless chicken thighs
• Yellow onion
• Garlic
• Tomatillo
• Dried oregano
• Ground cumin
• Fire-roasted tomatoes
• Chipotles plus the adobo sauce
• Cchicken stock
• Bay leaf

How to Make

Heat oil in a Dutch oven or large pot over medium-high heat until it shimmers. Add chicken thighs and cook until well browned, about 6 minutes. Flip thighs and continue to cook until the other side is lightly browned, about 3 minutes. Transfer chicken to a plate, leaving fat in the pan, and set aside.

Add onions and garlic to the same Dutch oven and cook, stirring occasionally, until onions have browned around the edges, about 5 minutes. Add tomatillo and cook until browned around the edges, about 4 minutes. Add oregano and cumin and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add tomatoes, chipotle, and adobo sauce and stir to combine. Remove from heat.

Transfer sauce to a blender and puree until smooth. Pour sauce back into pan, stir in chicken stock and bay leaf, and bring to a boil over medium heat. Nestle chicken thighs in sauce, reduce to a simmer, and cook until chicken is fully cooked and easily shredded, about 15-20 minutes. Transfer chicken to a plate and let sit until cool enough to handle. Remove sauce from heat and discard bay leaf.

Pull chicken meat into strips. Stir chicken into sauce and cook over medium heat until warmed through, about 3 minutes. Remove from heat and season with salt to taste.

Warm the tortillas over an open flame to char, prep the white onion, avocado chopped cilantro, sliced scallions, crumbled cotija cheese, and lime wedges for serving

Spoon chicken into warm tortillas and top with avocado, onion, cilantro, and cotija cheese. Serve with lime wedges

Tips & Tricks

This Chicken Tinga is a beautiful recipe to prep ahead. You can make it and store it in the fridge for up to 5 days. Or freeze it in individual portions for months on end.

FAQ's

Similar Recipes

Chicken Tinga Tacos

Author: Gaby Dalkin

4.8 from 5 votes

Shredded chicken cooked in the most crazy delicious spiced sauce on the planet and then stuffed in a taco is absolute perfection.

Print Recipe Pin Recipe Review Recipe

Prep Time 15 minutes mins

Cook Time 40 minutes mins

Total Time 55 minutes mins

Course Dinner

Cuisine Mexican

Servings 8 people

Cook ModePrevent your screen from going dark

Ingredients

  

1x2x3x

• ▢ 1 tablespoon olive oil
• ▢ 1.5 pounds boneless skinless chicken thighs
• ▢ 1 yellow onion small dice
• ▢ 2 cloves garlic roughly chopped
• ▢ 1 large tomatillo husk removed, rinsed, and roughly chopped
• ▢ ½ teaspoon oregano
• ▢ ¼ teaspoon ground cumin
• ▢ 14.5 ounces fire-roasted tomatoes
• ▢ 2 tablespoons chipotles in adobo roughly chopped, plus 2 tablespoons of the sauce
• ▢ ½ cup low-sodium chicken stock
• ▢ 1 bay leaf
• ▢ Kosher salt

Toppings

• ▢ Corn or flour tortillas
• ▢ Avocado diced
• ▢ 1 white onion diced
• ▢ Cilantro roughly chopped
• ▢ Scallions sliced
• ▢ Cotija crumbled
• ▢ Lime wedges

Instructions

 

• Heat oil in a Dutch oven or large pot over medium-high heat until shimmering. Add chicken thighs and cook until well browned, about 6 minutes. Flip thighs and continue to cook until other side is lightly browned, about 3 minutes. Transfer chicken to a plate, leaving fat in pan, and set aside.
• Add onions and garlic to the same Dutch oven and cook, stirring occasionally, until onions have browned around the edges, about 5 minutes. Add tomatillo and cook until browned around the edges, about 4 minutes. Add oregano and cumin and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add tomatoes, chipotle, and adobo sauce and stir to combine. Remove from heat.
• Transfer sauce to a blender and puree until smooth. Pour sauce back into pan, stir in chicken stock and bay leaf, and bring to a boil over medium heat. Nestle chicken thighs in sauce, reduce to a simmer, and cook until chicken is fully cooked and easily shredded, about 15-20 minutes. Transfer chicken to a plate and let sit until cool enough to handle. Remove sauce from heat and discard bay leaf.
• Pull chicken meat into strips. Stir chicken into sauce and cook over medium heat until warmed through, about 3 minutes. Remove from heat and season with salt to taste.
• Warm the tortillas over an open flame to char, prep the white onion, avocado chopped cilantro, sliced scallions, crumbled cotija cheese, and lime wedges for serving
• Spoon chicken into warm tortillas and top with avocado, onion, cilantro, and cotija cheese. Serve with lime wedges.

Notes

The avocado will contrast nicely and tone down the spices. You can also add sour cream to your taco.

Nutrition Information

Calories: 142kcal | Carbohydrates: 5g | Protein: 17g | Fat: 5g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 3g | Trans Fat: 0.01g | Cholesterol: 81mg | Sodium: 160mg | Potassium: 258mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 2g | Vitamin A: 235IU | Vitamin C: 3mg | Calcium: 31mg | Iron: 1mg

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Photo by Matt Armendariz / Food Styling by Adam Pearson / Recipe by What’s Gaby Cooking