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If you love Mexican food or spicy foods, you have come to the right place. Here you will find an Easy Chicken Tinga recipe which will tickle your taste buds and leave you hungry for more!
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What Is Chicken Tinga?
Chicken tinga, or tinga de pollo, is a Mexican dish which hails from the Puebla region in Mexico. Puebla is famous for many dishes including mole poblano, chiles en nogada, and chalupas poblanas. It's also where the Cinco de Mayo celebration is mostly celebrated in Mexico.
This flavorful dish includes shredded chicken in a chipotle tomato sauce. The sauce includes chipotle chiles in adobo sauce combined with crushed tomatoes, and seasoned with salt, pepper, and oregano. Other ingredients include white onion and garlic.
There is a wonderful smoky flavor to this dish that is irresistible!
Why You Will LOVE This Easy Recipe
You'll fall head over heels for this versatile recipe because:
- It's DELISH! There's so much flavor and it's a huge crowd pleaser!
- Tinga de pollo is incredibly versatile. Enjoy it in tacos (as I demonstrate here in this recipe). Or in many other ways, as described below!
- It's easy to make and it uses mostly fresh and easy to find ingredients.
- If you have a busy weeknight you can count on this to make a delicious family dinner ready in about 40 minutes (less if you use leftover or purchased cooked and/or shredded chicken)!
🥘 Ingredients
This recipe uses mostly fresh ingredients and canned chipotle chiles to create one of the most mouthwatering Mexican recipes you will enjoy!
Here's what you'll need:
- Boneless skinless chicken breasts - we'll cook and shred the chicken; you can also use rotisserie chicken if you prefer
- Olive oil
- Fresh garlic
- White onion
- Chipotle peppers in adobo sauce (affiliate link)
- Salt
- Black pepper
- Oregano (can also use Mexican oregano)
- Crushed tomatoes
- Flour tortillas (can sub corn tortillas or tostada shells)
- Lime (optional ingredient but highly recommended!)
- Cotija cheese (can sub queso fresco) - optional garnish
- Fresh cilantro - optional garnish
So gather your ingredients together and let's have fun making this delicious Mexican dish!
🔪 Instructions
Start with pre-purchased cooked shredded chicken or if you need to cook and shred your chicken then follow these instructions. Place the chicken breasts in a skillet and cover with water. Bring to the boil, and then simmer for 15 minutes or until the chicken is cooked through. Remove the chicken from the water, and then shred it using forks. Or if you have a stand mixer, use the flat beater to shred the chicken on a low speed.
Place your skillet on a medium heat and add the olive oil. Fry the sliced white onion for around 5 minutes until it is softened, and then add the minced garlic and saute for 2 more minutes.
Add the tomatoes, salt, pepper, oregano, and chopped chipotle peppers with some of the adobo sauce to the onion and garlic mixture and stir.
Now place the shredded chicken in the skillet and stir well to combine. Bring this mixture to the boil, and then cover and simmer on a low heat for 20 minutes. Taste and add additional salt, pepper, or oregano if desired.
Your chicken tinga is now ready to enjoy!
Suggestions For Serving
My favorite way to enjoy this chicken dish is to make chicken tinga tacos. Piling the tender chicken tinga into warm tortillas and garnishing with cilantro, cotija cheese with a generous squeeze of lime juice is a pure delight!
You could also top tostadas with the mixture to make chicken tinga tostadas, or make delicious chicken tinga burritos or burrito bowls with it as well!
I also love pairing this simply with some white rice topped with some sour cream for an easy meal when I have busy weeknights.
My hope is that this Tinga de pollo recipe will become one of your favorite recipes! Buen provecho!
💭 Top tip
Use leftover or purchased cooked and/or shredded chicken to save time! You'll have dinner ready in less than half an hour this way!
FAQ
Tinga sauce is made of chipotle chiles in adobo sauce combined with crushed tomatoes, and seasoned with salt, pepper, and oregano. Other ingredients include white onion and garlic.
Chicken Tinga hails from Mexico! In Spanish it is called Tinga de pollo, and it comes from the state of Puebla in Mexico which is close to Mexico City.
Store any leftover chicken tinga in an airtight container in your refrigerator, and consume within 3 days. I'll bet it doesn't last that long though!
Some Other Recipes You May Enjoy!
Here are some other recipes that you may enjoy:
- Easy Ghost Pepper Salsa Recipe
- Easy and Scrumptious Pork Carnitas Tacos
- Easy Cheesy Vegetarian Quesadilla Recipe
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Cheers!
Grace
Easy Chicken Tinga Recipe
Equipment
- 1 stand mixer this is optional, but sure helps making the task of shredding chicken so easy!
- 1 Skillet with a cover
Ingredients
- 1 lb chicken breast you can also purchase chicken that has already been shredded to save time, or use rotisserie chicken
- 1.5 tablespoon olive oil
- 4 cloves garlic minced
- 1 white onion thinly sliced
- 5 each chipotle peppers in adobo sauce chopped; I'll recommend 5 of the chipotle peppers to use, but feel free to reduce this number or add the whole can! Be sure to also add some of the adobo sauce to your skillet when cooking
- ½ ts salt plus additional to taste
- ½ ts pepper plus additional to taste
- ½ ts oregano can sub Mexican oregano; plus additional to taste
- 15 oz crushed tomatoes
- 12 flour tortillas I am assuming 2 tacos per person for 6 servings; can sub corn tortillas or tostadas if you prefer.
Optional But Oh So Good Garnishes!
- ½ lime sliced
- cotija cheese can sub queso fresco
- cilantro
Instructions
- Start with pre-purchased shredded chicken or if you need to shred your chicken then follow these instructions. Place the chicken breasts in a skillet and cover with water. Bring to the boil, and then simmer for 15 minutes or until the chicken is cooked through. Remove the chicken from the water, and then shred it using forks. Or if you have a stand mixer, use the flat beater to shred the chicken on a low speed.
- Place your skillet on a medium heat and add the olive oil. Fry the sliced white onion for around 5 minutes until it is softened, and then add the minced garlic and saute for 2 more minutes.
- Add the tomatoes, salt, pepper, oregano, and chopped chipotle peppers with some of the adobo sauce to the onion and garlic mixture and stir.
- Now place the shredded chicken in the skillet and stir well to combine. Bring this mixture to the boil, and then cover and simmer on a low heat for 20 minutes. Taste and add additional salt, pepper, or oregano if desired.
- Your chicken tinga is now ready for your tortillas! Add some of the tinga mixture to your tortillas and garnish with cilantro, cotija cheese, and squeeze a generous amount of lime juice over. Buen provecho!
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