This authentic Chicken Tinga Recipe, or Tinga de Pollo is made with tender, shredded chicken cooked in a delicious tomato sauce with a spicy kick from chipotle chiles in adobo. It is perfect for tacos, enchiladas, burritos, tostadas, quesadillas and more.
The dish is part of my collection of Mexican cuisine recipes, which also include Bistec Encebollado, Mexican Pork Tinga(Tinga Poblana), Chicken Fajitas, Ensalada de Nopales, Mexican Red Rice (Arroz A La Mexicana), or Capirotada, just to name a few.
I've always loved good food, but it was during my time living and working in Mexico City that I truly fell in love with the bold, unforgettable flavors of Mexican cuisine. Friends and family generously shared their favorite traditional recipes with me—like this authentic tinga de pollo, which remains one of the best I’ve ever tasted.
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What is Tinga?
Tinga, a Mexican delicacy, originated in Puebla's colonial era. It has Spanish and Mexican influences and it is a popular and beloved main course.
This dish combines onions and garlic for a flavorful base, enriched by a tomato and stock-based sauce. Cooked meat such as chicken, beef, pork, or chorizo adds another layer of taste, while canned chipotle peppers provide a spicy kick, showing the essence of Mexican cuisine.
Why You Will Love This Tinga Recipe
- Real, Authentic Mexican Flavors: This Tinga de Pollo is the real deal, rich, bold, and full of the classic tomato and chipotle flavors that make Mexican cuisine unforgettable.
- Super Versatile: You can pile it on tostadas, stuff it into tacos, wrap it up in burritos, or make a killer torta. One batch gives you a ton of different meal options, which is always a win in my book.
- Quick and Easy: Whether you use the Instant Pot, slow cooker, or just a regular stovetop, this easy tinga recipe comes together without any fuss. From start to finish, you’ll have dinner on the table in under an hour.
NOTE: Chicken tinga is a unique stew that is very different from moles. While mole recipes require you to grind all the ingredients together, tinga sauce blends only the tomatoes and chiles, while onions and garlic are sliced and sautéed separately.
Ingredients For Chicken Tinga
Before we get to the recipe, here are a few notes about our ingredients.
Ingredients for cooking the chicken
Ingredients to make tinga sauce
- Chicken: The traditional Mexican recipe uses boneless, skinless chicken breast, but chicken thighs are also great. Rotisserie or leftover chicken works beautifully for shortcuts. If you happen to have pre-cooked chicken or rotisserie chicken handy, feel free to use it to speed up the process.
- Onions: White onions are typically used in most Mexican recipes. They are milder and sweeter than regular yellow or red onions. Use what is available.
- Tomatoes: Tomatoes and chipotles form the base of any tinga sauce. You can use fresh tomatoes, but canned tomatoes, like fire-roasted or crushed, work well, especially in the off-season.
- Vegetable Oil or Lard: Both types of fat are very popular.
- Seasoning: Salt, pepper, oregano, thyme, whole garlic cloves, marjoram, and bay leaf are the perfect chicken tinga seasoning. If possible, use traditional Mexican oregano; omit marjoram and thyme if they're not your preference.
- Chipotle Peppers in Adobo: A chipotle is essentially a ripe, red jalapeño pepper that has been sun-dried, smoked, rehydrated, and preserved in a tangy adobo sauce, which consists of vinegar and various spices. You can find them in any supermarket with a Mexican food section or buy them online. If cans are not available, use dried chipotle.
- Chicken Stock: Use low-sodium chicken stock instead of water.
For the entire list of ingredients, please consult the printable recipe card at the bottom of this article.
Video Recipe
How to Make Tinga De Pollo
- Cook the chicken in salted water with onions, garlic, bay leaves, and oregano. Cook until the chicken is done, and remember to skim off any foam that forms during cooking.
- Simmer the tomatoes covered with water in a saucepan until softened but still holding their shape. After cooking, use a blender or a food processor to combine the cooked tomatoes, salt, pepper, and 2-3 chipotle chiles from the can.
- Sauté the sliced onions and garlic in a skillet with oil for 5-6 minutes until they become soft and translucent.
- Add the blended tomatoes to the sautéed onions. Add the oregano, marjoram, and thyme. Simmer the mixture gently over low heat. Be cautious of steam and bubbling. Cook partially covered until the sauce deepens in color and thickens. Be sure to stir occasionally.
- Remove the chicken from the pot and pull it apart into shredded pieces.
- Another option is using two forks to shred it.
NOTE: Keep the broth that you cooked the chicken in. It's great for preparing flavorful Mexican rice to pair with this dish, or you can freeze it to use later in other recipes.
- Add the shredded chicken to the tinga sauce and mix together.
- Taste and adjust the salt or pepper as needed. Let it simmer briefly to allow the flavors to mingle and intensify.
Expert Tips
- Do not skip chipotle peppers. Chipotle peppers are essential for tinga; without them, it's just chicken stew.
- Adjust chipotle to taste. The original chicken tinga recipe uses a whole can of chipotle, which may be too spicy for some. It is easier to add spice than remove. If you want more heat, use the whole can, then taste and season the blended sauce. Set aside.
- Using canned tomatoes and rotisserie or cooked chicken are two easy ways to save time making tinga!
- Do not blend the tomatoes with the onions. The onions are cooked separately and then added to the sauce, giving it more texture.
- Don't waste the liquid from cooking the chicken. You can save it to use for cooking rice or soups.
How to Serve
The traditional way to eat this easy chicken tinga is with Mexican rice as a meal. However, this recipe is perfect for any gathering - think a picnic, a potluck, or even tailgating, as you can prepare it beforehand and serve it warm from a slow cooker.
Tinga de pollo is a versatile filling for various quick Mexican dishes and is perfect for Taco Tuesday or Cinco de Mayo.
- Tostadas: Make classic chicken tinga tostadas with refried beans and tinga de pollo, then add shredded lettuce, avocado, or radish, cheese, crema, and salsa on top.
- Tortas: Use it to make these Mexican sandwiches on bolillos, a French-style bread. Fill up the bread with beans, chicken tinga, cheese, avocado, tomatoes, and pickled jalapeños.
- Burritos: Stuff a large flour tortilla with rice, refried beans, tinga, pico de gallo, and your choice of cheese. Serve with sour cream and guacamole.
- Chicken Tinga Bowl: Use leftover tinga and add it to cooked rice and Mexican beans. Top with cilantro, scallions, crumbled cheese (queso fresco, cotija, feta, or goat cheese) and lime wedges.
- Chicken Tinga Tacos: Warm corn or flour tortillas in a skillet or over a gas flame. Fill with chicken tinga, sliced avocados, lettuce, and your favorite toppings.
- Tingadillas: Spread tinga and meltable cheese between flour tortillas to make elevated quesadillas. Cook until golden on each side. Slice it into triangles and serve with guacamole.
How to store tinga
Leftovers can be refrigerated in an airtight container for up to 4 days or frozen in a freezer-safe container for up to 3 months. When ready to serve, reheat leftover tinga on the stovetop or in the microwave.
You can make the sauce ahead of time and freeze it for up to three months. Then, when you're ready to serve it, cook the chicken and the onions and add them to the sauce.
More Delicious Mexican Recipes to Love
- Sopa Seca De Fideos (Mexican Dry Soup)
- Pork In Chile Verde Recipe
- Authentic Pico De Gallo Recipe
- Mexican Picadillo
📖 Recipe
Authentic Chicken Tinga ( The Best Tinga De Pollo)
Equipment
Ingredients
To cook the chicken:
- 1 ½ pounds chicken , about 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts or thighs
- 2 garlic cloves
- 1 small onion cut in quarters
- 2 bay leaves
- ¼ teaspoon dried Mexican oregano
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 cups water or low sodium chicken stock or more to cover the chicken
To cook the onions:
- 5 tablespoons vegetable oil , like sunflower, canola, or olive oil
- 2 large onions , thinly sliced (use either sweet onion, white onion, yellow onion or red onion)
- 2-3 cloves of garlic
For the Chipotle sauce:
- 4-5 Roma plum tomatoes , or 1 can (28 ounces) of crushed tomatoes
- 7 ounces can of Chipotle chiles in Adobo sauce (use less if you like it less spicy)
- 1 ½ teaspoon salt or to taste
- ¼ teaspoon Mexican oregano
- ¼ teaspoon dried thyme
- ¼ teaspoon dried marjoram
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
Instructions
Cook the chicken:
- Bring a pot of salty water to a boil and add the chicken breast to cook. Add the onion cut in quarters, garlic cloves, bay leaves, oregano, and salt. If you use chicken stock, go easy on salt. Let the chicken simmer until it is cooked through. It could take between 12-15 minutes.
- Make sure you skim the foam that forms on top of the water as it starts boiling. When the chicken is cooked, set aside.
Prepare the salsa:
- While the chicken is cooking, place the tomatoes in a medium saucepan, cover with water, bring to a simmer over medium-high heat and cook for 8 to 10 minutes, or until the tomatoes are soft and mushy but not falling apart. Note: If you use canned tomatoes, skip this step.
- In a blender, place the tomatoes (or the can of crushed tomatoes if you use one), salt, pepper, and 2-3 chiles from the can.
- After blending the ingredients, taste for salt and pepper and adjust if necessary.
Cook the tinga sauce:
- Slice the onions and garlic cloves thinly. Heat the oil in a large pan(skillet) and add the onion and garlic. Cook until the onions are soft and translucent, about 5-6 minutes.
- Pour the salsa over onions. Add oregano, marjoram, thyme, and pepper. (Be careful as the sauce will steam and bubble).
- Simmer the sauce, occasionally stirring, until the sauce deepens in color, becomes darker and less soupy, about 7-8 minutes.
Shred chicken and add it to the sauce:
- Take the chicken out of the broth, and with two forks, shred the meat.
- Add it to the sauce and mix well to incorporate the chicken.
- Let it simmer for only a minute and serve over rice or on warm tortillas.
Video
Notes
- Don't waste chicken stock: Save it for rice, soup, or other dishes.
- Freezing Sauce: Make the sauce, allow it to cool, then freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw in the refrigerator before use. Cook onions and chicken, and add thawed sauce. Avoid raw chicken in the salsa; cook first. Rotisserie chicken works, too.
Bonus:
Instant Pot Tinga De Pollo:- Add oil to the Instant Pot and select the Saute function. Cook onions until soft and translucent for 4-5 minutes. Cancel the Saute function.
- Prepare the spicy tomato sauce as directed and pour it over the onions.
- Add raw chicken, secure the lid, and pressure cook on high for 12 minutes. Manually release the pressure.
- Shred the cooked chicken, mix it with the sauce, and serve.
Ben says
Pretty good recipe. I suggest not skimping on the chipotle peppers in adobo. Tinga is supposed to be a spicy dish, and not adding a good amount of these peppers will make it lack flavor. Otherwise, very simple weeknight dish if you are craving Mexican!
Jeff Baumgartner says
One of my favorite dishes to eat. When my wife makes it, the kitchen smells wonderful and I can’t wait to eat this amazing dish!!
Sara Goldman says
Delicious!
Gabriela says
Thank you, Sara!