Chicken tinga is shredded chicken in a spicy sauce with onions and can be made right in your slow cooker! Try something new this week with this easy Mexican recipe.
We have a fun Mexican meal every week instead of dining out. We like to pair this meal with Refried Black Beans.
Why this recipe works
Making chicken tinga in a slow cooker is a great way to save time and effort. Tinga is traditionally made with shredded meat, tomatoes, onions, peppers, and spices that are simmered together for hours. It can be served as an appetizer or main dish.
This recipe will show you how to make your own Slow Cooker Chicken Tinga so you can enjoy it anytime! The recipe only requires 10 minutes of prep work, so you have more time to enjoy your day.
What is chicken tinga?
- Tinga originates in Puebla, Mexico. It’s made with shredded chicken simmered in a tomato and chipotle chile sauce. Sometimes called Tinga de Pollo.
- This is a simple dish (though tastes very authentic) that you can customize with your favorite toppings.
- For this slow cooker recipe, we will be cooking the raw chicken in the sauce, then shredding it.
Recipe Ingredients
- Boneless skinless chicken breasts – Can use chicken thighs if you prefer.
- Chipotle peppers in adobo – These are whole smoked peppers in adobo sauce in a can. Or use the diced versions that are found in a jar in the Mexican food section of the store.
- Seasonings – Salt, pepper, dried leaf oregano.
- Vegetables – Minced garlic, sliced yellow onion, and canned fire-roasted tomatoes.
Step-by-Step Directions
Step One – Add the chicken breasts.
Step Two – Sprinkle over the salt, pepper, garlic, and oregano over the chicken. Spread over the chipotle peppers.
Step Three – Add the sliced onions.
Step Four – Pour over the canned diced tomatoes. Cook on HIGH for 4 hours or on LOW for 6-8 hours. Shred the chicken with two forks and serve!
How to serve:
Chicken Tinga can be served any time of the day!
- Breakfast – served over scrambled eggs and refried beans and warmed corn tortillas.
- Lunch – add some avocado slices and scoop the mixture with tortilla chips
- Dinner – enjoy as part of your Taco Tuesday plans or even serve on tostada shells. You can also serve it over rice or use it as a filling for chicken tinga burritos or quesadillas made with flour tortillas. Great with a squeeze of lime and Mexican crema.
How to store
Chicken tinga is an easy dish to prepare ahead of time. Simply cook it, allow it to cool, and then store it in the refrigerator or freezer for later use!
To freeze:
- Divide into family-sized portions (e.g., one serving per person) before freezing so that you can thaw individual servings as needed with minimal effort on your part.
- Place each portion in a sealable container with at least ¼ inch of headspace without any additional liquids added—label containers with name and date when frozen, so it’s easy to identify later. Or you can use freezer ziplock bags.
- Freeze for up to 3 months.
What toppings should I use?
It takes just ten minutes of prep time before you let the slow cooker do its magic! The juicy chicken is cooked until tender so all that’s left to make are the toppings!
- Pico De Gallo Salsa – My favorite recipe from Cookie and Kate
- Diced avocado
- Cilantro leaves
- Sour Cream
- Shredded Cheese – We like sharp cheddar or Monterey Jack cheese.
Recipe FAQs
You can use a whole chicken for chicken tinga. You will want to remove the chicken after cooking and remove the meat from the bones (this will be shredded meat). Add the chicken back to the sauce. You may want to degrease the sauce before serving, for a whole chicken can be greasy.
Yes, chicken tinga can be spicy due to the chipotle peppers. You can lessen the heat by cutting the peppers in half.
Chicken tinga is lower in carbs though it’s not entirely carb-free. The carbs in the recipe come from tomatoes and onions.
Yes, you can use an entire rotisserie chicken for chicken tinga. Add the chicken to the slow cooker with the remaining ingredients of the recipe. You will want to cook until the onions are soft. About three hours on high or five hours on low.
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Slow Cooker Chicken Tinga Recipe
Equipment Needed:
Ingredients:
- 2 lbs. boneless skinless chicken breasts
- 2 chipotle peppers in adobo, minced (these are found in a can in the Mexican section of the store)
- 1 tsp. salt
- 1/4 tsp. black pepper
- 1 tsp. dried leaf oregano (not ground) Use Mexican oregano if you have it.
- 2 garlic cloves minced
- 14.5 oz. can fire-roasted tomatoes
- 1 sweet yellow onion sliced (see photos, I don't do these very long, I cut the sliced onions in half again)
Instructions:
- Place the chicken breasts into the slow cooker.
- Spread over the chopped chipotle pepper in adobo over the chicken.
- Sprinkle over the salt, pepper, oregano and garlic.
- Pour over the fire-roasted tomatoes.
- Add the sliced onions.
- Place the lid on the slow cooker.
- Cook on HIGH For 4 hours or on LOW for 6-8 hours.
- When the cooking time is done, shred the chicken. Do this by taking two forks and pulling the meat. You can do this right in the slow cooker.
- Serve and enjoy!
How to Video:
Recipe Notes:
- Tacos
- Burritos
- Nachos
- Tostadas
- Quesadillas
- Pico De Gallo Salsa
- Diced avocado
- Cilantro leaves
- Sour Cream
- Shredded Cheese – We like sharp cheddar or Monterey Jack cheese.
Nutrition Information:
Nutrition info is auto-generated. This information is an estimate; if you are on a special diet, please use your own calculations.
I have chicken tender loins can I use the Satay Marinade .vegs in the bottom of slow cooker onions etc ,brown chicken and then put tenderloins plus vegs then a jar of Satay sauce do you think it will be ok .Thank you Sandra Olney
Yes, though that would be more of an Asain-style recipe.
My husband and I had this at a restaurant in Sedona, AZ. It was so yummy that I had to find the recipe on Pinterest. I found your recipe and it was so delicious. I made the mistake by adding jalapeño’s which made it a bit too spicy. The flavor is amazing. Thank you.
Is this very spicy)
Yes, chipotle peppers can be very spicy. You can cut them in half for less spice.
I’ll be making this later in the week and I have a jar of diced chipotles peppers in sauce. It’s 8.11 oz. so any idea on how much of this I would use? It’s a 40 minute drive to get anything else.
I would do about 2 tablespoons.
The ingredients list one yellow onion and one sweet yellow onion. Just want to make sure you use a total of two onions. Also steps 4 and 6 say add roasted tomatoes. Since the ingredients list shows only one can do you layer 1/2 a can then the other 1/2 or does it matter? Looks like a great recipe. Just want to make sure I make it correctly.
Thank you for letting me know! Just one onion and one fire-roasted tomatoes. You can really put it in any way, it will bubble together.
Absolutely excellent! Huge hit in my home! Used the chicken tinga to make tacos. Will definitely make again and again. Thanks for the recipe!
I have made these and my family loves them. I am definately making these again in the near future.