Tinga De Pollo (Tacos, Tostadas, Tortas)

ByAna Frias Published Last Updated
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Authentic Tinga De Pollo (Chicken Tinga) jam-packed with flavors to serve as tacos, tostadas, tortas & more!

It’s made with 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!!

A white plate with three chicken tacos topped with sliced red onions and aovcados
Chicken Tinga Tacos, a delicious and authentic Mexican recipe

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.

Tostada with Tinga De Pollo topped with lettuce, avocado and queso fresco
Tostadas De Tinga are easy to serve and make a delicious meal!

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 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) cooked & shredded
  • 1 cup low sodium chicken stock
  • 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 from your grocery store will work.

Ingredients in small bowls: shredded chicken, chorizo, onions, tomatoes, chipotle pepper and cubed potatoes

How to make Tinga De Pollo

Step 1 – 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.

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

  • Cubed potatoes in a small saucepan with water.
    Boil the potatoes
  • Cooked chorizo in a white pot
    Sautee 100 grams Mexican chorizo

Step 3 – When the chorizo is cooked halfway add the onions and cook until soft. About 4 minutes.

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

  • Sliced onions and tomatoes in a saucepan.
  • In a saucepan, mixing tomatoes, onions and chicken in broth with a spatula

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.

A medium saucepan with Tinga De Pollo ready to serve

Serving Suggestions

Start with good toppings:

Make Tinga Tacos

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

Two tacos in a white plate
Tinga – An authentic mexican chicken recipe

Tostadas De Tinga

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!

A tostada topped with Chicken Tinga, lettuce, radishes and avocado
Delicious tostada topped with Chicken Tinga, lettuce, radishes and avocado.

Make a Mexican 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 Tinga De Pollo torta with avocados and sliced red onions
Mexican Torta with Chicken Tinga

Need more ideas?

  • Serve along with rice and beans to make a great looking plate.
  • Fill quesadillas with this mixture
  • Use for empanada filling
  • Use for tamales filling

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 saucepan with shredded chicken in tomato broth

Tinga De Pollo (Make Tacos, Tostadas, Tortas)

Servings 6 people
Ana Frias
5 from 17 votes
Prep Time 10 mins
Cook Time 20 mins
Total Time 30 mins
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Authentic Tinga De Pollo (Chicken Tinga) full of flavors to serve as tacos tostadas, tortas & more!
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.

*Ana’s 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.

This recipe was originally published in January 2016. It has been updated to include newer photos and to be more helpful. 

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Recipe Rating




26 Comments

  2. 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

  3. 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

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

    Everything comes together perfectly.

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

    Reply