These easy chicken tinga tacos are made with tender and juicy shredded chicken that’s simmered in a bold and smoky chipotle sauce! The chicken is perfect in tacos, burritos, enchiladas, nachos, and more!
This is one of my Mexican-inspired recipes I know you’ll want to keep on hand!
With Cinco de Mayo coming up quickly, I knew I had to share this recipe with you asap!
Chicken tinga is shredded chicken that’s been simmered in an ultra-flavorful sauce made with chipotles in adobo, which gives the chicken a bold smoky flavor.
It’s great for tacos, tostadas, burritos, enchiladas, chimichangas, nachos, bowls, and more!
I’ve shared with you how we like to make our chicken tinga tacos, but feel free to add any of your favorite toppings… these are your tacos 🙂
Why you’ll love this recipe!
- One pan – everyone loves a one pan/one skillet meal, since there’s significantly less dishes to wash afterwards!
- Festive – great for Cinco de Mayo, Taco Tuesday, or pretty much any time.
- Versatile – the shredded chicken is perfect in just about any tex-mex-style meal, and also freezes great!
What do I need to make this recipe?
- Olive oil – this is just to cook the veggies, and you can use any other neutral oil, such as avocado.
- Onion – I like to use yellow onion, but white onion also works well.
- Garlic – if you don’t have fresh garlic cloves, you can use about 2 tsp of garlic paste, or about 1/2 – 1 tsp of garlic powder.
- Chipotle peppers in adobo – these aren’t something that can be replaced in chicken tinga, but look for the cans in the Hispanic foods aisle of your grocery store.
- Adobo sauce – this is just some of the smoky tangy sauce from inside the can of chipotle peppers.
- Tomatoes – I love the added flavor of the fire-roasted diced tomatoes, but a can of regular diced tomatoes will also work well.
- Oregano/Cumin – the spices are kept to a minimum here, to allow the chipotle flavor to really shine. These spices add an herby extra smokiness to the sauce.
- Chicken – I use boneless skinless chicken breasts, but if you’d prefer to use boneless skinless chicken thighs, that will also work. The cooking time might be changed a bit, so just check for doneness with an internal thermometer (you’re looking for at least 165°F).
- Tortillas – my family prefers flour tortillas, but I know they’re not traditional. So if you’d rather use corn tortillas, you certainly can!
How to make chicken tinga tacos:
This is just an overview; the full ingredients and directions are in the recipe card toward the bottom of this post.
- Cook aromatics. Just cooking them for a few minutes will soften them and deepen the flavor.
- Add sauce ingredients.
- Add chicken and cook. The chicken slow simmers in the sauce.
- Shred. After a quick shred, the chicken is simmered another few minutes, then it’s ready to serve.
Helpful Tip!
If you’ve ever tried to make a taco with a cold/room temperature tortilla, you know they have a tendency to split. You can avoid this by warming them up. I love to char mine over my gas stove (just right on a burner), and use metal tongs to flip them. However, you can also fold the tortillas up into a damp paper towel and microwave them for about 20 seconds or so.
Variations of this recipe
- Chicken – if you would rather use chicken thighs, you can definitely do that. Just know that this may alter the cooking time, so you’ll need to check with an internal thermometer to make sure the chicken is cooked through.
- Milder – if you prefer a more mild heat level, I would use less peppers and only about 1 Tbsp of the adobo sauce.
- Spicier – feel free to use more chipotle peppers and more adobo sauce for a higher heat level.
- Additional spices – if you’d like to add more spices to this chicken, some more traditional options would be to add a bay leaf as the chicken is simmering. If you want to veer off of the traditional route, you could try some ancho chile pepper, chili powder, or a pinch of dried thyme.
FAQ’s
Nope, this is just how I like to make this chicken for my family. I don’t make any claims of authenticity when it comes to this recipe.
Making chicken tinga ahead of time
This shredded chicken is perfect to make ahead!
As far as reheating goes, I like to do this in a skillet over MED heat and a bit of oil so the edges can get a little crispy.
Storage
Leftover meat should be refrigerated in an airtight container and enjoyed within 4-5 days.
Freezing
The cooked chicken tinga can definitely be frozen for longer storage!
Just add the meat to a freezer-safe container and freeze for up to 3 months.
Thaw in the refrigerator, then reheat in a skillet over MED heat (or in the microwave).
Other Cinco de Mayo Recipes:
My Favorite Skillet!
While you can certainly use any large skillet you have, if you’re in the market for a new one, I highly recommend an enameled cast iron one. It has everything you love about cast iron (the longevity, the even heat, great searing, oven-safe, etc), with none of the extra fuss with seasoning the skillet!
Did you make this? Be sure to leave a review below and tag me @the_chunky_chef on Facebook and Instagram!
Ingredients
- 1 Tbsp olive oil
- 1 small yellow onion diced (about 1 cup)
- 4 cloves garlic minced
- 3 chipotle peppers in adobo sauce chopped
- 2 Tbsp adobo sauce from the can
- 15 oz can fire-roasted diced tomatoes UN-drained!
- 1 tsp dried Mexican oregano traditional oregano will also work
- 1 tsp ground cumin
- sprinkle of kosher salt and black pepper
- 1 lb. boneless skinless chicken breast
- small flour tortillas
Instructions
Cook aromatics
- Heat a large skillet over MED heat. Once hot, add 1 Tbsp olive oil, and 1 small yellow onion.
- Cook 3-4 minutes, stirring occasionally, until softened.
- Add 4 cloves garlic and cook for about 30 seconds or so, stirring often.
Make sauce and cook chicken
- Add 3 chipotle peppers in adobo sauce, 2 Tbsp adobo sauce from the can, 15 oz can fire-roasted diced tomatoes,1 tsp dried Mexican oregano, 1 tsp ground cumin, and a sprinkle of kosher salt and black pepper. Stir well.
- Nestle 1 lb. boneless skinless chicken breasts into the skillet with the sauce.
- Reduce heat to MED LOW, cover skillet, and simmer for 15-18 minutes, or until the chicken is cooked through to 165°F.
Shred chicken
- Remove chicken to a bowl and shred using two forks (or whichever method you like to use for shredding meat).
- Return chicken to the skillet (along with any juices accumulated in the bowl), stirring well to coat it in the sauce.
- Simmer, uncovered, for another 2-4 minutes to thicken the sauce slightly.
Make tacos
- Warm small flour tortillas (either in a new skillet, over the flame of a gas burner, or in the microwave).
- Assemble by adding some chicken tinga to the center of a tortilla. Top with your favorite toppings (I like avocado, crumbled queso fresco or cotija cheese, diced onion, cilantro, and a squeeze of lime).
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Chef Tips
- I’ve estimated this recipe serves about 4, but the exact number of servings and the serving size are up to you.
- I consider this recipe a medium heat level, but that’s extremely subjective, so use caution if you’re very sensitive to spice.
- Since the amount of liquid in the can of diced tomatoes can vary, if it doesn’t look like enough liquid, feel free to add a generous splash of chicken broth or even water.
- If your pan won’t scratch, feel free to shred the chicken right in the skillet (one less dish to wash!).
Nutrition Disclaimer
The Chunky Chef is not a dietician or nutritionist, and any nutritional information shared is an estimate. If calorie count and other nutritional values are important to you, we recommend running the ingredients through whichever online nutritional calculator you prefer. Calories can vary quite a bit depending on which brands were used.
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