This Mexican Chicken Tinga Recipe (tinga de pollo) is a great filling for tacos, tostadas, burritos, sopes, enchiladas, taco bowls, or taquitos. It features shredded chicken simmered in a chipotle tomato sauce that’s smoky with a bit of heat. It’s great for Taco Tuesday – or any night you’re looking for an easy meal filled with bold and delicious flavors.
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Is it just me or does a hearty plate of Mexican food always hit the spot? We’re definitely spoiled here in our household – when my husband is on dinner duty, he makes the dishes he grew up on. Arroz rojo, entomatadas, sopes, albondigas, elote and arrachera (in the summer), and chilaquiles are all on regular rotation in our house, and I’m not complaining.
Juan, who is from Tamaulipas, didn’t grow up eating this classic Mexican dish, which originated in Puebla and can be found throughout central Mexico. That means, I’m actually the one who makes this dish most often in our house. The most traditional Mexican Chicken Tinga Recipes use fresh Roma tomatoes, but usually I rip open a can of crushed tomatoes and thin it out with chicken broth or water and call it a day. Most Mexican abuelitas probably would not approve, but hey, I also live in a state that’s buried in snow 6 months out of the year, so tomatoes aren’t usually in season, either.
Ingredients
- Chicken: This is a great recipe for chicken breasts because it won’t be tough or dry, but you can also use dark meat like chicken thighs for this dish.
- Tomatoes: A 28 ounce can of crushed tomatoes, for the base of the tinga sauce.
- Chipotle in Adobo Sauce: Fun fact: Chipotles are smoked, dried jalapeno pepper. This gives you a deep earthy flavor, heat and that signature smoky flavor in chipotle dishes. My recipe calls for 2 chipotle chiles but you can adjust based on your personal preference for spice. If you like spicy food, expect to increase this up to 3 or even 4 chiles.
- Chicken stock or water: If you poach your own chicken, you can use the poaching liquid.
- Onion: White or yellow both work here
- Garlic cloves
- Other seasonings: dried oregano (you could use Mexican oregano if you can source it, otherwise regular oregano is fine), ground cumin, salt and freshly ground black pepper.
- The Fixins: chicken tinga tacos: corn tortillas (flour tortillas or even a tostada shell also work), avocado, crema, queso fresco (or any crumbly cheese), slices of radish or diced white onion, salsa, cilantro, etc.
How To Make This Delicious Chicken Tinga Recipe
This is such an easy recipe, it comes together in just 3 easy steps:
- Heat 1-2 tablespoons of olive oil in a large saute pan on medium heat. Once hot add onion and saute for about 5 minutes, until it starts to soften.
- Then add garlic, oregano, cumin, dried marjoram, and black pepper. Stir to combine.
- Add the ingredients for the tomato chipotle sauce to the pan and then add the chicken and stir to coat the chicken. Add more broth if needed and then bring it all back to a low simmer and cook for another minute or two until the chicken is warm and the sauce has thickened slightly. Turn off the stovetop and remove the pan from the heat.
Tips and Tricks
- Use this shortcut. This recipe is a great way to use up leftover rotisserie chicken. Heck, sometimes I buy rotisserie chicken so that I can use it for recipes like this.
- Season your poaching liquid. If you poach your chicken, season the water with salt, pepper, bay leaves, and a quarter of an onion.
- Save your poaching liquid and use it for other sauces, to turn into a light broth, or to make Mexican rice.
- Adjust the spice level. You can use more or less chipotle depending on how much heat you like. Serve this with crema, sour cream, and avocado or guac for a nice cooling contrast to the heat.
- Sauce it up! I like a saucy tinga. To achieve this, you need to thin the tinga out with some broth or water. Depending on how long you simmer it for or how hot your burner, you may need to add a bit more water as it evaporates.
- Warm corn tortillas to accompany. If you have a gas stove you can heat tortillas the way we do, directly over the flame, where it gets slightly charred. OR, you can heat a large skillet and lay down a few tortillas in a single layer until softened on one side, 1-2 minutes. Flip and repeat. If you don’t have a tortilla warmer, you can pile them on a clean dry kitchen towel that you fold over the tortillas to keep them warm as you heat more up.
FAQs
What kind of chicken should I use in this recipe?
You can use white or dark meat here. The most traditional option would be bone-in and skin-on, and it would give you a nice flavorful broth to use for your chipotle tomato sauce. However, the fastest option is to poach boneless, skinless chicken.
Can I freeze chicken tinga?
Yes, you can! Just make sure you cool it completely and store in an airtight container and it will keep for up to 3 months. Simply defrost in your microwave and reheat.
What goes well with chicken tinga?
You can serve chicken tinga as the filling for a chicken tinga burrito, tacos or enchiladas, the topping for tostadas or sopes, or as part of a taco bowl. In tacos it’s great with some guac, salsa, crema or sour cream, diced onion, and fresh cilantro. You can serve this with arroz rojo or refried beans.
Looking for More Mexican Meal Inspiration?
Try some of our family’s favorite recipes:
- Coctel de camaron: The perfect appetizer during the holidays or summertime dinner
- Entomatadas: Like enchiladas but no baking required
- Albondigas: Enjoy this year round for a kid-approved, budget-friendly meal.
- Coconut shrimp tacos: Not traditional, but when a meal is this good, who cares?
📖 Recipe
Mexican Chicken Tinga
Ingredients
- 1 white onion diced
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 2 teaspoons Mexican oregano
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- ¼ teaspoon dried marjoram
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- 1 can 28 ounces of crushed tomatoes
- 2-3 Chipotle Chiles in Adobo sauce use less if you like it less spicy, finely minced into a paste.
- ½ -1 cup chicken broth or water
- 1 ½ teaspoon salt or to taste
- 3 cups shredded chicken rotisserie chicken works great here, or you can poach 2-3 chicken breasts in salt water with a bay leaf or two
Instructions
- Heat 1-2 tablespoons of oil in a large saute pan on medium heat. Once hot add onion and saute for about 5 minutes, until it starts to soften.
- Then add garlic, oregano, cumin, dried marjoram, and black pepper. Stir to combine.
- Add the tomato sauce. Then add the shredded chicken and stir to coat. Add ½-1 cup of broth and then bring it all back to a simmer and cook for another minute or two until the chicken is warm and the sauce has thickened slightly. Turn off the stovetop and remove the pan from the heat.
