Easy Chicken Tinga Tacos

Course: Entree

Cuisine: Mexican / TexMex

Keyword: easy chicken tinga tacos recipe, how to make chicken tinga, Mexican cuisine recipe

Prep Time: 15

Cook Time: 35

Total Time: 50

Servings:

Calories: 491kcal

Author: Kris Longwell

Chicken Tinga Tacos are so easy to prepare and perfect for a weeknight taco dinner as well as a fun taco party. The poached chicken thighs are wonderful, but you could also go with a rotisserie chicken from the store, just be sure to grab some chicken broth, too.

Print Recipe

Equipment

1 large (12-inch) skillet
Blender

Ingredients

For the Poached Chicken and Broth

6 chicken thighs bone-in, skin-on
1 large onion roughly cut up
4 cloves garlic pressed, or minced
1 tsp Kosher salt
Water

For the Chicken Tinga Tacos

1 tbsp olive oil
1 cup onion chopped
3 cloves garlic minced
1 tsp oregano dried, preferably Mexican
½ tsp ground cumin
1 14.5 oz. can fire-roasted diced tomatoes with juices
1 cup chicken broth reserved from the poaching, or purchased
2 tbsp chipotle peppers chopped with some of the seeds removed
2 tbsp adobo sauce from the chipotle can
1 tsp Kosher salt
6 flour tortillas or corn, heated over a gas flame and then covered
½ cup Cotija cheese crumbled, for topping (optional)
¼ cup cilantro fresh, chopped, for topping (optional)
½ cup red onion chopped, for topping (optional)
hot sauce for topping (optional)

Instructions

Poach the Chicken with Broth

Place the chicken, roughly cut onion, pressed garlic, and 1 tsp salt in a large skillet. Add enough water to just cover the chicken.
Bring to a boil and then lower to a simmer. Cover the pan and simmer for 20 to 25 minutes. Use a slotted spoon to remove the chicken to a platter. Let rest until cool enough to handle. Use your fingers, or two forks, to remove the skin and then pull the meat from the bones and roughly shred it. Set aside.
Carefully strain the broth through a colander into a heat-proof bowl and remove 1 cup of the broth to use for cooking the tinga chicken. Save the remaining broth for another use. (It freezes perfectly!).

Make the Chicken Tinga Tacos

In a large skillet (can be the same one use poached the chicken in), heat the oil over medium heat. Add the onions and cook until soft, about 4 to 5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook, stirring often, for another 30 seconds.
Stir in the oregano and cumin. Cook, stirring, for about 1 minute.
Add the tomatoes (with juice), chicken broth, peppers, and adobo sauce. Stir in the salt and add the bay leaves. Let simmer for about 15 minutes.
Remove the bay leaves, and then carefully transfer the tinga sauce to a blender (a ladle helps). Purée for about 1 minute until smooth. Add the puréed sauce back into the skillet. Stir in the chicken and cook, stirring often, until fully heated through, about 5 minutes.
Serve at once with warmed tortillas (see NOTES), cheese, cilantro, red onions, and hot sauce, if desired.

Notes

See the video near the top of the blog post for visual guidance. If you liked the video, please subscribe to our YouTube Channel.

If you use rotisserie chicken, then you'll need to grab some chicken broth. In a pinch, you could just add 1 cup of water to the sauce.

We love to place each tortilla over a gas flame on our stove and lightly char the edges. Then place them on a plate with a dampened kitchen towel to steam them. You could also do this on your grill. Or, just heat them in damp paper towels in the microwave.

The tinga sauce can be made up to 48 hours in advance. Reheat in a large skillet and stir in the chicken.

Leftovers will keep for up to 5 days in the fridge. Reheat in a medium skillet over medium heat (you may need to add a little more broth). Leftovers can be frozen for up to 2 months.

Nutrition