Chicken Tinga is a Mexican dish with spicy, smoky chicken cooked in onions, tomatoes, and chipotle peppers in adobo sauce. Served on warm tacos or tostadas, topped with crunchy purple cabbage, radishes or red onions, creamy avocado, and crumbly cheese it makes a perfect meal.
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Note: The original recipe posted in May 2017 has been updated with detailed step by step photos.
These Instant Pot Chicken Tinga Tacos are our family favorite. The best part is that we can make the shredded chicken ahead of time since the flavors only get deeper and earthier over time.
Serve these Chicken Tinga Tacos with crunchy, colorful toppings such as shredded purple/green cabbage, corn, red onions, and cilantro, and a generous sprinkle of favorite Mexican cheeses: pepper jack, cotija, or queso fresco. Then, add a dollop of creamy guacamole or this incredibly delicious Cilantro Jalapeno Sauce from my favorite blogger - Palak Patel. This addicting & versatile sauce needs a few basic ingredients and is ready in under 5-mins. Check out more recipes using this sauce on The Chutney Life.
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What is Tinga
Tinga is a traditional dish originating from the state of Puebla, home of the battle that Cinco de Mayo commemorates. It is made with shredded chicken in a sauce made from tomatoes, chipotle chilis in adobo sauce sliced onions, and garlic. Often, it is served on a tostada and accompanied by a layer of refried beans, and you can top it with avocado slices, shredded lettuce, crumbled cheese, sour cream, and salsa.
Why you will love this delicious Chicken Tinga
- Quick & EASY to make in the Instant Pot and can be made-ahead
- Crowd pleaser, no-fail recipe
- Gluten-free with corn tortillas
- Can be made low carb by serving over chopped romaine
Note: Although I LOVE making this Chicken Tinga recipe in the Instant Pot, it will also work great in a slow cooker or stovetop. Just adjust the timings so that the chicken is cooked soft and can be easily shredded!
Step-by-step recipe with photos
- Puree quartered tomato, garlic, and half a can of chipotle peppers with adobo sauce and set aside. Tip: Double up all the ingredients here, so you can use the full 7 ounces can of Chipotle peppers in adobo, 2 tomatoes, and 8 garlic cloves. This will make a little over a cup of sauce. Use half and freeze half for later or add more sauce for extra heat in the end!
- Turn the Instant Pot to Sauté mode and heat oil. Add sliced onions and cook for a minute with a glass lid on, followed by diced tomatoes, chicken breasts, broth, and salt. Then, pour the pepper puree over the chicken breasts. Following this, select the Manual/Pressure Cook (HI) option and adjust the cooking time to 8 minutes.
- Allow 10 minutes of natural pressure release. Next, open the Instant Pot, take the chicken out and shred it using two forks. Afterward, put the shredded chicken back in the pot and turn the Instant Pot to Saute mode. Cook for 5 mins or until the sauce thickens to the desired consistency. Adjust salt and add cayenne pepper to taste.
How to Serve Chicken Tinga
To serve, cook the corn tortilla directly over medium flame until it gets a few charr marks. You can also cook the tortillas on a cast-iron skillet. Serve with cabbage, red onions, cilantro, guacamole, cheese, and a squeeze of fresh lime!
Mexican Cheeses to serve with Tinga Tacos
- Cotija - Aged cheese made with cow milk, is mild, salty, and crumbly
- Queso Fresco - Fresh cheese made with cow milk is similar to feta and has a salty-sour kick
- Pepper Jack - Semi-soft cheese with peppers and chilies with a creamy, delicate taste
- Check out more on different Mexican Cheeses at Bon Appetit
More Mexican-Inspired Recipes
- Spinach and Mushroom Quesadilla
- Chicken Tortilla Soup
- Chicken Enchilada Quinoa
- Black Bean & Corn Quesadilla
Recipe
Instant Pot Chicken Tinga
Recipe Video
Ingredients
Sauce
- ½ can chipotle peppers in adobo
- 1 large tomato quartered
- 4 garlic cloves
Other Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons oil
- 1 large yellow onion thinly sliced
- 2 tomatoes diced
- 2 pounds chicken breasts
- ½ cup low sodium chicken broth
- 2 teaspoons kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper optional to taste
To serve:
- 12 corn tortillas
- ½ cup cilantro chopped
- 4 radishes thinly sliced
- 1 cup cabbage shredded (purple or green)
- 1 avocado mashed
- ½ cup pepper jack cheese or cotija or queso fresco (optional)
- 1 lime cut in wedges
Instructions
- Puree quartered tomato, garlic, and half a can of chipotle peppers with adobo sauce and set aside.
- Turn the Instant Pot to Saute mode and heat oil. Add sliced onions and cook for a minute with a glass lid on. Add diced tomatoes, chicken breasts, broth, and salt. Pour the pureed sauce over the chicken breasts. Pressure Cook for 8 minutes.
- Allow 10 minutes of natural pressure release. Open the Instant Pot, take the chicken out, and shred it using two forks. Put the shredded chicken back in the pot and turn the Instant Pot to Saute mode. Cook for 5 mins or until the sauce thickens to the desired consistency. Adjust salt and add cayenne pepper to taste.
- To serve: Cook the corn tortilla directly over medium flame until it gets a few charred marks. Serve with cabbage, red onions, cilantro, avocado, cheese, and a squeeze of fresh lime.
Notes
Nutrition
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thesnowwoman says
Looks amazing!
Archana says
Thank you!
Jessica says
Really easy and tasty! Even my picky 5 year old liked it (and liked helping make it).
annika says
Your dishes always look so good dear!
Archana says
Thank you Annika!
Michelle says
Yummy! I diced the onion instad of slicing just so the kids wouldn't notice them :P. Wonderful flavor and will make again and again 🙂
Archana says
Thank you for teh feedback. My children love this recipe too.
Darshini says
Hello! Do you think this would work with paneer or tofu?!
Archana says
Absolutely! I would lessen the spice paste and just cook everything on sauté or on stove top. No need to pressure cook
Darshini says
Thank you!!
Archana says
You are welcome
Lori says
I am still pretty new at this instant pot thing and I don’t own a glass lid “yet”. Can I make it without a lid?
Archana says
Yes you absolutely can. Just sauté for a minute and follow the rest of the recipe as is. BTW, that glass lid is from my existing stovetop pot that happens to fit the Instant Pot.
Natasha says
Tried this out for dinner tonight, and although it was too spicy for my young kids i thought it was delicious!! Ill definitely try making this again and maybe only add a little less chipotle in adobo.
Archana says
Yes reduce the chipotle chili. You can reserve some of that sauce and then add more later
Salma says
Does the carb content include the corn tortilla? I am keto and want to use a cabbage leaf as a wrap to keep it low carb. Would this change the carb count you have listed here?
Thanks!
Archana says
Yes! The carb content is from the tortillas used for serving. You can substitute that with leafy greans for low carb option.
SR says
Awesome recipe! Made this for dinner tonight and it was a hit. Thank you!
Amanda Davies says
We absolutely loved these. Made with the cilantro sauce and it will definitely be a regular in our house. Thankyou
Archana says
Thank you for the feedback
Komal says
Just finished slurping this for dinner. Such an easy and flavorful recipe. I left everything in the instant pot, went to work and only had to shred the chicken and dry the sauce a bit when I came back. Happy tummy.
Archana says
Exactly, super easy for busy weeknights
Cat says
Best 'chicken taco meat' recipe I've tried so far. I even made some subtitutions based on what I had on hand and it was still delicious. Crushed tomatoes instead of fresh,chipotle chili powder instead of chiles in adobo,and beef broth instead of chicken. Going to make this often!! Thanks!
Archana says
Thank you so much!
Sonali says
Hi Archana! Does the chicken need to be thawed?
Archana says
You can add frozen chicken.
Mindy T. says
This looks fantastic, can’t wait to try it! I only have chicken legs/thighs, is there anything to consider before using them in place of chicken breasts? I realize the shredding part will be a little more labor intensive, but any other adjustments that should be made? Many thanks!
Archana says
Same exact cook time, may be reduce the broth by 1/4 cup as thighs have more water in them. It will come out delish!
Hetal says
I finally decided to try it and it was amazing and so easy! This will be my go to recipe for chicken tacos. I didn’t have chicken breast so I used chicken tenders and cooked it for 4 minutes and released pressure at 6 minutes and they were cooked perfectly!
Archana says
Thank you Hetal
Shreya says
Thanks so much for helping out with times for chicken tenders!
Shalika says
Needed new ways of making chicken breast, I tried this today and my family really enjoyed it! They said it’s repeatable!! Thankyou Archana for another family favorite dinner!
Tatiana lozada says
I want to try this but is there anything I can substitute the chipotle for like jalapeños?
Archana says
yes you can use any other spice chili
RD says
Just made this tonight and it was delicious!!! What dreams are made of. Hard to get good mexican in London, but I had found a can of chipotle in adobo sauce last year at an American grocery store in London and this was an amazing use of it. Finger licking good!
Archana says
Thank you for taking time to rate the recipe and your lovely feedback.
Fal says
All your recipes are so awesome and easy to follow 🙂 just what I need !!! Thanks for sharing your wonderful recipes this Tinga is perfect
Dana says
I’m perpetually confused with the sealing and venting variable of an instant pot. During the manual pressure cooking, should I be sealing or naturally venting?
Archana says
Hi Dana, So you seal the Instant Pot when you are ready to do manual pressure cooking. Once the pressure cooking cycle completes, some recipes will call with quick release (QR) which means you turn the pressure release knob from sealing to venting and let all the pressure out. Or some recipes call for Natural Pressure release (NPR). NPR can be 5 mins, 10 mins or full NPR. If its 5 min NPR you release any pressure once the Instant Pot shows L0:05 or 00:005 which means its 5 mins since the pressure cooking was done. If it's full NPR you let the pressure release gradually and the pin will drop in 5 to 20 mins. Then you are ready to open the Instant Pot. I hope this helps.
MD says
5* ratings as my kids loved this recipe too. I just add more sour cream to take some heat off the Crack sauce for kids.
Laura says
My family loved this recipe. The chicken was so tender, shredding it with a fork was very easy. The sauce was nice- zesty and flavorful. We used Embassa chipotles in adobo, which I think is the best one of the market. And, if you have leftovers of the chicken, like we did, they made great enchiladas later in the week, and it actually gives the chicken and sauce to meld their flavors a bit more. Great recipe. I will use this one again!
Shreya says
Hi! Although I looove so many of your recipes, I think this one might top the list. The dish is absolute perfection. Thank you so much for this recipe. Would love to see more recipes using the chipotle peppers in adobo sauce.
Archana says
Thank you! I will def try!