Authentic Chicken Tinga is a classic Mexican dish made with shredded chicken, onions and tomatoes in an adobe-tomato sauce.
This quick Tinga version is flavorful and versatile that I like to serve on tostadas, as tortas & tacos, and you can also use as empanadas filling or as a main dish along with some rice & beans. Yum!
Have you had Chicken Tinga before?
If not, we MUST change this asap! This must be one of the my favorite flavorful dishes to make since it's the perfect weeknight dish as it comes together in about 30 minutes!! Using rotisserie chicken saves a lot of time!
I used to add chorizo and boiled potatoes, as it is a common addition to tinga in Mexico, but I decided to keep this version light with less fat and calories.......It's good to reserve some of those calories for delicious toppings like avocado or crema right?
Make it with these simple ingredients
- Onion and roma tomatoes
- Chile chipotles *
- 2 rotisserie chicken breast - use the big rotisserie chicken like the ones you buy at Costco.
- Low sodium chicken stock
- Salt, pepper and olive oil.
*The chipotle pepper is one of the key ingredients for this recipe and would not recommend trying to find an substitute. Any brand that you can find at your grocery store will work. You can even find them at Amazon.
Suggested toppings
- Avocado
- Radishes
- Mexican crema or this Cilantro Lime Ranch Crema
- Crumbled queso fresco
- shredded lettuce
Serve on
- Corn tortillas for tacos
- Bolillo bread for tortas
- Along with rice and bean
- Fill your quesadillas with this mixture
- Use for empanada filling
- Use for tamales filling
How to make Chicken Tinga
Step 1 - Over medium-high heat, cook the onions for about a minute until they start to soften up. Add the tomatoes and cook for another minute.
Step 2 - Add the shredded chicken, chicken stock, chile chipotle, salt & pepper.
Step 3 - Cover and simmer for 20 minutes. All the flavors will come together at this time!
This is one of those dishes that I like to make a little extra to save some for lunch the next day. It usually tastes better as the spices get more time to marinate the chicken. Just like Chili does!
Speaking of Chili, have you made my White Chicken Chili? If you like the sound of this recipe you would love my white chicken chili!
If you make this recipe, 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
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1/2 onion sliced
- 8 oz chicken breast (about 2 breasts) cooked & shredded (I use rotisserie)
- 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 medium skillet, add 1 tablespoon of olive oil and heat over medium-high heat.
- Add the onions and cook until soft. About 2 minutes.
- Add the shredded chicken, broth, tomatoes, chile chipotle, salt & pepper. Cover and simmer for 15 minutes.
- If needed, add more salt & pepper according to taste.
- Serving suggestions: Use it for burritos, tortas, tostadas, or corn tortillas for tacos.
- Top with avocado, radishes, lettuce, Mexican crema, cilantro lime ranch crema, queso fresco, hot sauce.
Notes
Nutrition
This recipe was originally published in January 2016 and was updated in May 2019 to include newer photos and more instructions.
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!