Chicken Tinga is a traditional Mexican dish made of shredded chicken onions and tomatoes in a tomato adobo sauce plus a couple of secret ingredients. It’s the perfect weeknight dish as it all comes together in about 30 minutes!

A medium saucepan with shredded chicken in a tomato and onions sauce.

**This recipe was originally published on Jan 2016. It has been updated to be more helpful.

Tinga De Pollo

This Tinga recipe is jam-packed with flavors to serve as tacos, tostadas, tortas & more!

This is one of those dishes that I like to make a little extra and save for lunch the next day. It usually tastes better as the spices have more time to marinate with the chicken. Just like Chili does.

The secret ingredients are a little bit of Mexican chorizo and cooked potatoes. You won’t find these in most common Chicken Tinga recipes out there, but I guarantee these two ingredients take the recipe from good to AMAZING!

Let me show you how easy it is to make and the different ways you can serve it.

Two tinga tostadas on a plate garnished with lettuce and slices of radishes.

The Ingredients

  • A large russet potato peeled and cubed
  • ¼ cup (100 grams) mexican chorizo
  • 1/2 onion sliced
  • 8 oz chicken breast (about 2 breasts – rotisserie chicken preferable for extra flavor) cooked & shredded
  • 1 cup low sodium chicken broth
  • 2 roma tomatoes chopped
  • 1 chile chipotle finely chopped
  • Salt & pepper

The chipotle pepper is a key ingredient for this recipe. I do not recommend using a substitute. Any chipotle pepper in can from your grocery store will work.

The ingredients for this recipe on a blue background.

How to make Chicken Tinga

This is a visual overview of the steps to make this recipe. See the detailed list of ingredients & instructions in the recipe card below.

Cooking cubed potatoes in a medium pot.

Step 1 – In a small pot, add the potatoes and enough water to cover them. Boil over medium heat for about 10 minutes or until tender. Drain and set aside.

Sauteing chorizo on a medium pot.

Step 2 – While the potatoes are cooking, start cooking the chorizo in a medium skillet or wide pan over medium-high heat.

Sauteing tomatoes and onions in a medium pot.

Step 3 – When the chorizo is cooked halfway add the onions and cook until soft. About 4 minutes. Stir once in a while.

Sauteing tomatoes, chipotle peppers and onions in a medium pot.

Step 4 – Add the shredded chicken, stock, tomatoes, chile chipotle, salt & pepper. Cover and simmer for 15 minutes.

A medium saucepan with shredded chicken in a tomato and onions sauce.

Step 5 – Add the cooked potatoes and gently mixed all the ingredients making sure the potatoes don’t get all mushy. Remove from heat and serve while hot. If needed, add more salt & pepper according to taste.

Serving Suggestions

Start with good toppings:

Need more ideas what to do with Tinga leftovers?

  • Serve along with rice and beans to make a great looking plate.
  • Fill quesadillas with this mixture
  • Use as a filling for empanadas or tamales.
  • Make burrito bowls or as a topping for salads

Chicken Tinga Tacos

Corn tortillas or flour tortillas work great with this recipe. Add avocado, pickled onions and Mexican crema to make great tacos!

Two tinga tacos on a plate garnished with pickled onions.

Tinga Tostadas

Make tostadas de Tinga and top with crunchy lettuce, Mexican crema, radishes, avocado & queso fresco. They are so good everyone will be begging for more!

Two tinga tostadas on a plate garnished with lettuce and slices of radishes.

Make a Tinga Torta

  • First you toast the bolillo or a roll with some butter.
  • Add some Chipotle Crema to the roll and top with Chicken Tinga, avocado, pickled onions and pickled jalapeños. Sooo good!
A Mexican torta made with shredded chicken.
An icon of a plate with a fork and knife.
Enjoy…..

More Mexican Recipes

As you can see, the possibilities are endless when it comes to this recipe. I hope you get to make it! If you do, don’t forget to rate it and leave me a comment below! I would LOVE to hear what you think of it.

Xo, Ana

A medium saucepan with shredded chicken in a tomato and onions sauce.

Authentic Chicken Tinga Recipe

Servings 6 people
Ana Frias
5 from 28 votes
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
Total Time 30 minutes
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Chicken Tinga is a traditional Mexican dish made of shredded chicken onions and tomatoes in an adobe-tomato sauce plus a couple of secret ingredients. It’s the perfect weeknight dish as it all comes together in about 30 minutes!
6 people

Ingredients  

  • 1 large russet potato peeled and cubed
  • ¼ cup (100 grams) mexican chorizo
  • 1/2 onion sliced
  • 8 oz chicken breast (about 2 breasts – rotisserie chicken preferable) cooked & shredded
  • 1 cup low sodium chicken stock
  • 2 roma tomatoes chopped
  • 1 chile chipotle finely chopped
  • 1 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
  • 4 Tostadas, bolillo bread or corn tortillas for serving
Suggested toppings
  • Avocado
  • Radishes
  • Mexican crema
  • Crumbled queso fresco
  • shredded lettuce

Instructions 

  • In a small saucepan, add the potatoes and enough water to cover them. Cook over medium heat for about 10 minutes or until tender. Drain and set aside.
  • While the potatoes are cooking, start cooking the chorizo in a medium skillet over medium-high heat.
  • When the chorizo is cooked halfway add the onions and cook until soft. About 4 minutes.
  • Add the shredded chicken, stock, tomatoes, chile chipotle, salt & pepper. Cover and simmer for 15 minutes.
  • Add the cooked potatoes and gently mixed all the ingredients making sure the potatoes don't get all mushy. Remove from heat and serve while hot.
  • If needed, add more salt & pepper according to taste.
  • Serving suggestions: Use it for burritos, tortas, tostadas, or corn tortillas for tacos.
  • Toppings suggestions: avocado, radishes, lettuce, Mexican crema, queso fresco, hot sauce.

Muy Delish Notes:

This recipe is great for leftovers for when you need a quick meal or lunch the next day. Just double the recipe!  
The noted calories are just for the Chicken Tinga only. Toppings have not been calculated as that can vary according to taste. 

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Nutrition

Calories: 240kcal | Carbohydrates: 4g | Protein: 30g | Fat: 10g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 80mg | Sodium: 682mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 2g

The nutritional information and US conversions are calculated automatically. I cannot guarantee the accuracy of this data. If this is important to you, please verify with your favourite nutrition calculator and/or unit conversion tool.

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Recipe Rating




31 Comments

  3. 5 stars
    Excelente, deliciosa y nutritiva receta !! Lista para prepararla !! Muchas Gracias Ana por compartir!! 🙌⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

    Reply

  6. 5 stars
    It turned out amazing! This Chicken tinga is now my favorite…the potatoes added a surprising texture which I loved! Can’t wait to make it again.

    Reply

  7. 5 stars
    This was amazing! Everyone loves this (picky 3 & 5 year olds included)! It was super easy to make. I had a chicken breast on hand so I just pan fried that and shredded it. Just the regular recipe was enough for all of us. My 5 year old even had thirds! This was my first recipe from this site and I’m excited to try more.

    Reply

  8. As always, another fantastic Ana recipe!!!

    Everything comes together perfectly.

    Delicious and healthy. You need your own TV show!!!

    Reply