Chicken Tinga is Mexican style pulled chicken dish. It’s perfect for tacos, burrito bowls, tostadas, you name it. We love making it in the Instant Pot to reduce the cooking time and clean up! We typically prep this on a Sunday and use it for our lunches all week long.
What is Chicken Tinga?
The dish is thought to originate from the Pueblo, Mexico. There are many different variations and takes on it but essentially the base is made with tomatoes, chipotle peppers, and onion. Some additional spices and herbs help add more flavor. The chicken is then cooked in this sauce slowly until tender, and then shredded with fork.
We prefer using boneless skinless chicken thighs but this can also be done easily with chicken breast. Additionally, we keep it simple in this recipe with just some salt and pepper for seasoning, but you can add some additional spices for a kick such as cayenne or chili powder. We omitted those to avoid having it be too spicy for our little one to enjoy.
Ideas for Serving Chicken Tinga:
What is so great about this recipe is the versatility of the completed dish. It’s perfect for meal prepping, particularly if you get a little bored of eating the same thing every day. This is because you can create SO many different dishes using this one base. For example:
- Chicken Tinga Tacos
- Chicken Tinga Burritos
- Chicken Tinga Salad Bowl
- Chicken Tinga Tostadas or Nachos
- Chicken Tinga Quesadillas
We recommend making a larger batch so you can utilize in different ways all week long. You can even mix up your toppings on the salad bowls or nachos to keep things interesting. I opted for making some simple pickled red onions and bought a little Cotija cheese to use for toppings on my bowls and tacos for the week.
For the Kids:
Fortunately, the chipotle peppers are not super spicy, so this dish does work well for younger kids too. You can always use a little sour cream or Mexican crema to tone it down a little if your child is sensitive to spices. Because the chicken is shredded so easily, it should make it easier for younger toddlers to eat, particularly in a taco or quesadilla.
Instant Pot Chicken Tinga
Ingredients
- 2 Tbsp Canola or Avocado Oil
- 2½ Pounds Boneless Skinless Chicken Thighs
- 1 Yellow Onion Diced
- 3 Cloves Garlic Minced
- 15 ounce Can Tomato Sauce
- 7 ounce Can Chipotle Peppers in Adobo
- 2 Cups Low Sodium Chicken Stock
- 1 Tsp Kosher Salt
- ½ Tsp Black Pepper
Instructions
- Put the Instant Pot into saute mode and add the canola oil.
- Sear the chicken for 4-5 minutes on each side until lightly browned. Then remove from the pot and set aside.
- Next, add in the onions and cook for about 5 minutes until tender, scraping the brown bits at the bottom as you go.
- Next, add in the garlic and cook for about 1 minute.
- Add the tomato sauce, chipotle peppers, and chicken stock and allow to reach a boil.
- Blend the sauce using an immersion blender (or traditional blender), then add the chicken back into the sauce.
- Cook at high pressure for 20 minutes. You can use natural or manual release of the pressure once done.
- Once it has cooled slightly, shred the meat using a fork. Serve immediately or refrigerate for meal prepping.