These Chicken Tinga Tacos are an absolute crowd pleaser with smoky chipotle chicken, refried beans, fresh, crisp veggies, and the creamiest cotija sauce.
Mexican cuisine is one of my favorites and these Chicken Tinga Tacos live up to their expectation. This recipe is loaded with flavor and textures, super versatile on protein and veggie combos and incredibly easy to put together. Plus, this is perfect for a taco bar where everyone builds their own tacos!
What is Chicken Tinga?
Chicken Tinga is a traditional Mexican dish characterized by shredded chicken that is cooked in a tangy and savory chipotle sauce.
To make Chicken Tinga, cooked chicken breasts or thighs are simmered in a sauce prepared with pureed tomatoes, chipotle peppers in adobo sauce, and spices. It is commonly served as a filling for tacos, tostadas, burritos, and tortas.
Why Should you make this recipe
These tacos have the most incredible smoky chipotle flavor.
Versatile: There are plenty of options to customize these Chicken Tinga tacos. Any protein and any veggie combo will rock. The base of refried beans is chef's kiss! If you're craving a more Mediterranean fusion, replace the refried beans with hummus or tahini!
Convenient: These tacos come together in 20 mins and are also perfect with any leftovers. Got some chicken curry in the back of your fridge? Toss it into the chipotle sauce!
Crowd Pleaser: This is the ultimate party dish to serve up that is hassle-free. Simply arrange the shredded chipotle Chicken Tinga in a bowl along with the beans of your choice and all the fixings chopped and shredded so everyone can build their own taco, tostada or sope.
Popular Substitutes
Chicken is always the popular choice in my kitchen but you can use any protein of your choice. Additionally, incorporating seasonal vegetables like bell peppers, zucchini, or corn can add a burst of freshness and color to your dish
Watch how to make Chicken Tinga Tostadas
How to Make the Best Chicken Tinga
Ingredients List:
Protein: Keeping it classic, I'm using chicken.
Sauce: Peeled tomatoes, chipotle peppers in adobo sauce (from a can), chicken broth.
Spices: Ground cumin, chicken bouillon powder, black pepper, Mexican oregano and salt to taste.
Toppings: Refried black or pinto beans, pickled red onion, shredded lettuce, radishes, avocado, Cotija cheese
Preparation:
- Boil the Chicken: Put the chicken breast in a pot with 4 cups of water. You can make the broth taste better by adding onion, black pepper, bay leaf, and garlic. Optionally, you can cook the chicken in store-bought chicken broth.
- Shred the Chicken: Once the chicken is cooked, take it out of the pot and use two forks to shred it into small pieces. Time-saving Kitchen hack: Run the cooked and tender chicken in your stand mixer until the mixer attachment starts pulling apart the chicken. Keep the shredded chicken aside for later.
- Make the Tinga Sauce: Put the tomatoes, chipotle peppers, and ¼ cup of the chicken broth in a blender. Blend them together until they form a smooth sauce. Then, in a saucepan with a little bit of oil, pour in the sauce you just made.
- Add Spices and Simmer: Sprinkle in the cumin, chicken bouillon, oregano, and black pepper into the sauce. Let the sauce simmer for about 10 minutes. If you can, let it cook even longer to deepen the flavor. Slowly pour in more chicken broth while it cooks.
- Mix in the Chicken: Once the sauce is ready, add the shredded chicken into the saucepan. Stir everything together so the chicken gets coated in the tasty sauce.
- Assemble the Tostadas: First, toast your tostadas until they're nice and crispy. Then, spread some refried black beans on each tostada. Next, spoon some of the chicken Tinga on top of the beans. Finally, add the pickled onions, shredded lettuce, sliced radishes, cotija cheese, avocado slices, and cilantro on top. For a finishing touch, drizzle some crema or my Cotija sauce over everything.
Serving Suggestions and Pairings
For an authentic touch, serve your Chicken Tinga with traditional sides like fresh salsa such as pico de gallo and guacamole.
Chicken Tinga Tostadas
Ingredients
- 1 chicken breast boiled in chicken stock and shredded
- 3-4 peeled tomatoes
- 3-4 chipotle peppers in adobo sauce
- ¼ cup reserved chicken broth
- ½ teaspoon ground cumin
- ½ teaspoon chicken bouillon powder
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- ½ teaspoon Mexican oregano
- Salt to adjust
Toppings
- Refried black or pinto beans
- Cilantro chopped
- Pickled red onion
- Lettuce shredded
- Radishes sliced
- Avocado sliced
- Cotija cheese
Cotija Dip
- ¼ cup Greek yogurt or sour cream
- 1 tablespoon mayo
- 1-2 teaspoon Cotija cheese
- Lemon juice
- Salt to taste
Instructions
- Boil chicken breast with 4 cups of water. Add onion, black pepper, bay leaf, garlic head for a flavorful broth.
- Shred the chicken and keep aside.
- For the Tinga sauce, in a blender, puree tomatoes, chipotle peppers in adobo sauce, and ¼ cup of the stock. In a saucepan with a teaspoon of oil, pour in the puréed sauce.
- Add the spices (cumin, chicken bouillon, oregano, black pepper) and simmer the sauce for about 10 mins or longer if you have patience. Add the reserved broth slowly (I add about a cup more).
- Add in the shredded chicken and mix well.
- To assemble, toast your tostadas, smear refried black beans, top with chicken Tinga, pickled onions, shredded lettuce, radishes, cotija cheese, avocado and cilantro. Drizzle the crema or my Cotija sauce and enjoy.
Leave a Reply