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.
Table of Contents
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
What is chicken tinga made of?
Chicken tinga is made of shredded chicken cooked in a smoky and spicy tomato and tomatillo-based sauce, typically flavored with chipotle peppers, onions, garlic, and various spices.
Is Chicken Tinga spicy?
The recipe below, no! My 3 year old ate this for dinner and then requested it in her lunch the following day. If you want to tone down the spice, you can omit or reduce the chipotles in adobo.
Why is it called Tinga de Pollo?
Tinga de Pollo is called so due to its traditional Mexican origins and the cooking method used to prepare it. The term tinga refers to a dish that typically includes shredded meat, and pollo specifies that the meat used is chicken.
Similar Recipes
Chicken Tinga Tacos
Ingredients
- 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
Nutrition Information
Photo by Matt Armendariz / Food Styling by Adam Pearson / Recipe by What’s Gaby Cooking
Made last night with chicken breasts (sliced them thinner) and put over nachos! To say this chicken is amazing is an understatement! My kids loved it too, which is a hard feat these days hah.
These are just as great leftover as they are the night of! Will definitely be making them again and again!
This is my new favorite way to eat tacos! Soooo yummy! I will definitely add this in regular rotation for dinner. What's Gabby Cooking never disappoints!
This chicken was delicious- I haven’t cooked a lot with tomatillos but making this sauce was pretty easy- I enjoyed it nice and smooth from the blender. The process of browning the thighs and then braising and shredding made it very moist- just enough spice from the smoky adobo. It’s nice to add your own toppings, so everyone got just what they wanted! I’ll make again for sure. I did use 2 packs of chicken and doubled it. Also had a skinny margarita to go with it.
Hey Gaby! Making these tonight for Cinco de Mayo, but I don't have tomatillo. Could I just throw a little salsa verde in at some point as a replacement?
totally
Hi! If I’m using chicken breasts instead of chicken thighs would you still brown them first or do you think they will dry out?
you can skip browning them off first! Would still be delish
Any tips for preparing this in advance? Hosting a taco night and was hoping to make these in advance...just wondering how far in advance? Would they freeze well?
yes they freeze great!!
Yum,yum,yum, These are so delicious. I am afraid they will be gone by the time my kids get home. Everything I have cooked on your site has been amazing. I am obsessed with your food,
How long do you recommend letting the chicken cook in the sauce?
15-20 minutes
I made this recipe tonight and it is so good! That sauce is amazing, definitely will be on repeat!
I made these over the weekend and they were a hit! I increased the amount of chicken thighs because the recipe makes a lot more sauce and I wanted to balance out the sauce to chicken ratio. I also added a little extra cheese 🙂 - this is a great make-ahead meal and I will be making this again and again. Thank you Gaby
yay!! love it
Best chicken tacos I've ever made!
I recently discovered your blog and I really love it! You have so many recipes that I can't wait to try. Thanks for all of the hard work!
Yummmm! Any ideas on how to convert this to a slow-cooker process?
This looks delicious! Do you think it'd work in the slow cooker?
yes!