Description
Make authentic, smoky Chicken Tinga with minimal effort using a slow cooker. This shredded chicken simmers in a rich chipotle-tomato sauce, perfect for tacos or tostadas.
Ingredients
Scale
- 2 lbs boneless, skinless chicken breasts or thighs
- 1 (14.5 oz) can diced tomatoes, undrained
- 1 (8 oz) can tomato sauce
- 1 medium white onion, thinly sliced
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 chipotle peppers in adobo sauce, minced (use 3 for more heat)
- 1 tablespoon adobo sauce from the can
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
Instructions
- Place the chicken breasts or thighs in the bottom of your slow cooker.
- In a separate bowl, mix the diced tomatoes, tomato sauce, sliced onion, minced garlic, minced chipotle peppers, adobo sauce, oregano, cumin, salt, and pepper.
- Pour the sauce mixture over the chicken in the slow cooker.
- Cover and cook on low for 6 to 8 hours or on high for 3 to 4 hours, until the chicken is fully cooked and tender.
- Remove the chicken from the slow cooker and place it on a cutting board. Shred the chicken using two forks.
- Return the shredded chicken to the slow cooker and stir it well to coat it completely with the sauce.
- If the sauce seems too thin, remove the lid and cook on high for the last 30 minutes to allow some liquid to evaporate.
- Serve hot over tortillas for tacos or on crispy tostadas.
Notes
- For a quicker version, cook the sauce ingredients on the stovetop until the onions soften, then transfer everything to an Instant Pot and cook on high pressure for 12 minutes, followed by a natural pressure release for 10 minutes.
- Serve with toppings like avocado, crumbled cotija cheese, sour cream, and fresh cilantro.
- This recipe makes excellent meal prep; the flavor deepens overnight.
- Prep Time: 15 min
- Cook Time: 6 hr
- Category: Main Course
- Method: Slow Cooking
- Cuisine: Mexican
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 cup shredded chicken with sauce
- Calories: 320
- Sugar: 7
- Sodium: 450
- Fat: 10
- Saturated Fat: 2
- Unsaturated Fat: 8
- Trans Fat: 0
- Carbohydrates: 15
- Fiber: 3
- Protein: 42
- Cholesterol: 110