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!
**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.
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.
How to make Chicken Tinga
This is a visual overview of the steps to make this recipe. Get a detailed list of ingredients & instructions in the recipe card below.
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.
Step 2 – While the potatoes are cooking, start cooking the chorizo in a medium skillet or wide pan over medium-high heat.
Step 3 – When the chorizo is cooked halfway add the onions and cook until soft. About 4 minutes. Stir once in a while.
Step 4 – Add the shredded chicken, stock, tomatoes, chile chipotle, salt & pepper. Cover and simmer for 15 minutes.
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:
- Avocado or guacamole
- Radishes
- Pickled Onions
- Chipotle crema or Cilantro Lime Ranch Crema
- Crumbled queso fresco or cotija cheese
- shredded lettuce
- Refried beans on the side
Need more ideas what to do with Tinga leftovers?
Chicken Tinga Tacos
Corn tortillas or flour tortillas work great with this recipe. Add avocado, pickled onions and Mexican crema to make great tacos!
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!
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!
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
Authentic Chicken Tinga Recipe
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
- 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:
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Nutrition
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.
Another delicious recipe! Soooo good! Love it!
Esta tinga esta deliciosa!!!! el chorizo le quedo perfecto.
Gracias Malena! Me da mucho gusto que hayas disfrutado esta receta de Tinga. Saludos!
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.
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.
As always, another fantastic Ana recipe!!!
Everything comes together perfectly.
Delicious and healthy. You need your own TV show!!!
Thank you so much Diane! This is one of my favorites to make for its flavor and easiness. Have a great day!
I love this recipe! These are insanely delicious!
Right? That’s the best part!!!
I think I’ll be making these instead of tacos next time! They look incredible!
Yay! Is time to make #TostadaTuesday a thing right? Enjoy!
I ate so many of these in Mexico. So delicious.
Glad to hear that Dannii! It’s not a very common dish in the U.S. but we must change that!
This recipe was great, loved all the flavors! Will be making again
This is music to my ears Noelle! I’m so glad you liked it! Thanks for the feedback!
Have heard about Tinga tacos. I am sure my sister will love this.
She will! It’s flavorful but not spicy. Or you can make it as spicy as you want. 🙂 Enjoy!
Like the tip to make it quicker using rotisserie chicken, and the flavors look so tasty. Those tacos look like one yummy meal!
I’m so happy to have a Costco/Sam’s club nearby just for their chicken. I use them so much!
This looks incredibly flavorful! I love that its easy to make, perfect for busy evening dinners!
Exactly! I’m always busy so these are perfect! Thanks Denise!
Made tortas with this recipe. YUM!
Yes in Tortas is the best! Topped with avocado…yum!
Que rica Ana !!!!
Gracias Maria!
I tried your recipe before with the potatoes and it was so good! Need to try it now. Yum!
Yes I like it with Potatoes too. Soo good!