Chicken Tinga Recipe My super quick and easy homemade chicken tinga recipe is inspired by the smoky, peppery flavors that I love about chicken tinga tacos, but built for busy weeknights. This flavorful recipe takes every shortcut in the book because when the tinga tacos craving hits, it hits hard. If you need a yummy Mexican-inspired dinner in 30 minutes, make these chicken tinga tacos! 

Use a rotisserie chicken to make it ultra speedy, or use our easy shredded chicken recipe. Chicken Tinga Recipe Check out our roundup of shredded chicken recipes for even more easy chicken dinner ideas. You might also love our easy Tostada recipe. 

What is Chicken Tinga?

Chicken tinga is a richly savory Mexican chicken stew made with shredded chicken, smoky chipotle peppers, tomatoes, and onions. Beyond that, chicken tinga recipes vary. Often, chorizo is added for a spicier, smoky flavor. My one-pot chicken tinga recipe is focused on ease, so I skip the chorizo. With deeply flavorful ingredients like chipotle peppers in adobo sauce and taco seasoning, you’ll end up with chicken tinga that’s bursting with boldness, despite the short cook time! 

Also Read: Ground Beef Taco Recipe: Easy & Flavorful Dinner

Easy & Quick Chicken Tinga Ingredients

Shredded chicken. Use leftover shredded chicken, or use the meat from a grocery store rotisserie chicken. You can use thigh meat or breast meat, or a mixture of both. 

Chipotles in adobo sauce. You can decide how spicy it is by how much adobo sauce you add to your chicken tinga. More adobo sauce = more spicy. Store any leftover Chipotle peppers in adobo in a small sealed jar or container. They’ll keep in the refrigerator for months.

Fire-roasted canned tomatoes. They really need to be fire-roasted, so that you get even more smoky flavor into your tinga! 

Onion & garlic. Of course! 

Taco Seasoning. We make huge batches of our taco seasoning and use it year-round, but it’s totally fine to use store-bought if you need to. 

Chicken bouillon. Even more savory richness. Using a cubed bouillon is fine, or you can use a jarred version. I like Better Than Bouillon.

How To Make Chicken Tinga

• Sauté the onions and garlic. 
• Make tinga sauce! Blend the onions, garlic, chipotles in adobo, taco seasoning, tomato, and bouillon. 
• Combine the tinga sauce with the shredded chicken. 
• Simmer the chicken in the tinga sauce. 
• Dinner is served! 

How To Use Chicken Tinga 

Make chicken tinga tacos: Lay out some little tortillas, avocado, and shredded cabbage, and dig in. 

Chicken tinga tostadas are maybe my favorite way to enjoy chicken tinga! Just grab some store-bought tostada shells, load them up with your chicken tinga, and garnish as you please!

Make chicken tinga quesadillas with tortillas and your favorite cheese (Jack cheese works well). 

Use the tinga on nachos

Make tinga bowls with rice (try cilantro-lime rice), chicken tinga, and other toppings like beans, guacamole, and salsa. 

However you want! Chicken tinga is so juicy and flavorful, it’s great on just about anything. Top a salad with tinga, or mound it into a chicken tinga burrito with beans and rice for an ultra-filling dinner.

How To Store + Freeze

You can store any leftover chicken tinga in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. Freeze in a freezer-safe container that’s well-labeled for up to 3 months. Store sauce and chicken separately if making ahead. Warm the chicken tinga gently in a skillet over medium-low heat for the best results. 

Also Read: Cottage Cheese Recipes: 15 Healthy & Easy Meal Ideas

Conclusion 

The Chicken Tinga Recipe: Easy, Smoky & Flavorful Tacos serves as an ideal solution for hectic evening meals that require authentic, mouthwatering dishes that need less than three hours of preparation time. Chicken Tinga Recipe The recipe provides a 30-minute cooking time, which produces delicious results through its combination of smoky chipotle peppers and fire-roasted tomatoes, and tender shredded chicken. The recipe shows its highest potential through its ability to create tacos, tostadas, quesadillas, nachos bowls, and burritos according to your specific food desires.

The product maintains its quality during storage and freezing, which makes it an ideal choice for preparing multiple meals. Chicken Tinga Recipe This chicken tinga recipe offers simple yet delicious flavors that combine with its ability to transform into various dishes to create a meal you will prepare multiple times.