These Chicken Tinga Tacos are without a doubt a crowd pleaser. They are incredibly flavorful, stuffed with good veggies and have a tiny bit of heat. Plus, they look impressive in my opinion :).
“Tinga de pollo” in Spanish means the “quarrel of the chicken,” but in this case, it’s just very juicy, shredded chicken. The Tinga sauce varies, but from my research it looks like it usually boils down to a few key ingredients: onion, tomatoes and chipotle chilies in adobo.
I prep my chicken in the slow cooker because I LOVE a slow cooked chicken. You’re chicken will never come out dry in the slow cooker, and it soaks up its own juices. However, if you do not have one, simply roast your chicken in the oven. I would suggest cooking your chicken breasts at 350 degrees for 40-45 minutes, or until golden brown.
If you do have a slow cooker, plop the chicken in there and add some cumin, oregano, salt and pepper. I added some chicken broth and a bit of apple cider vinegar which made the chicken extra moist. After four hours, it falls apart like butter!
How to make Chicken Tinga Tacos
The sauce is very easy. Sauté some yellow onion, dump in a standard can of crushed tomatoes, and then some chipotle adobo sauce. For this sauce, you could use a variety of brands. Some cans have whole or chopped chilies in the sauce, and some can are labeled as “chipotle salsa.” It will be a dark shade, sort of like barbecue sauce. If it has any of those key words on it, you are probably in the right ballpark. I used the San Marcos brand “Chipotle salsa” and it was delicious.
Now it’s important to blend this sauce up because this will be the main coating for our chicken. I had to do it in two batches (because I have a NutriBullet) but it should blend in a flash.
Chipotle Copy Cat Salsa
Okay, I’LL ADMIT IT – I Googled what was in the Chipotle corn salsa. That sounded really good on these tacos! And it was. One whole roasted poblano pepper, a can of corn, red onion, cilantro, lime juice and salt. Mix it all together and it is pretty much the same thing. I didn’t read exactly how they make the salsa but it can’t be much different than that.
Assemble the tacos!
Char your tortillas on the stovetop and you are good to go! I love having a gas stove for this reason: you can plop a corn tortilla right on the burner, let it heat for 20 seconds and then flip it. You will have beautifully scorched tortillas that are warm and crispy – but be careful!
Have fun with your toppings! I used shredded cheddar cheese and sour cream, but avocado and hot sauce would be great too. All done!
If you liked this recipe and want to explore more, try my Salmon Tacos with Slaw and Peppers!
Chicken Tinga Tacos
Equipment
- slow cooker
- Large fry pan
- Small baking sheet
- blender or food processor
- tongs
Ingredients
For the chicken
- 1.5 lbs lean chicken breast
- 1½ tsp cumin
- 1 tbsp oregano
- ¼ cup chicken broth
- 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
- ½ a yellow onion diced
- 14 oz can of crushed tomatoes
- 7 oz can of chipotle salsa (or chipotles in adobo sauce)
- 1 tbsp thyme
- salt to taste
- pepper to taste
- ½ tbsp olive oil
For the corn salsa
- 15 oz can of corn drained
- ¼ cup red onion diced
- 1 poblano pepper roasted and chopped
- 2 tbsp cilantro chopped
- 1 lime
- pinch of salt
Additional ingredients
- 12 corn tortillas warmed
- ⅓ cup white cheddar cheese shredded
- avocado for serving
- sour cream for serving
Instructions
- In a slow cooker, add the chicken breast, 1 teaspoon of cumin, the oregano and a large pinch of salt and pepper. Add in the chicken broth and apple cider vinegar. Cover and cook on high for 4 hours.
- When there is less than 1 hour left, preheat the oven to 400°F. Halve your poblano pepper and take out the core and seeds. Place the pepper (with the insides facing down) on a baking sheet. Roast in the oven for 20 minutes. Remove and set aside.
- Just as the chicken is finishing up, prepare the tinga sauce. In a medium fry pan, add ½ tablespoon of olive oil and the diced yellow onion. Sauté for 2 minutes over medium heat. Then add the canned tomato, the chipotle salsa, thyme and remaining cumin. Mix together and simmer over medium low heat for 5 minutes. Remove from the heat and let cool for a couple minutes. Transfer the sauce to a blender and blend the sauce until smooth. Then pour the sauce back into the pan.
- Shred the chicken in the crockpot with two forks – it should fall apart easily. Transfer the chicken to the pan and mix it together with the sauce until well combined and coated. Set aside.
- To make the corn salsa, chop up the poblano pepper and place it in a bowl. Add the can of corn, cilantro, red onion, juice of a lime, and a pinch of salt. Mix together with a spoon.
- Finally, warm the tortillas. If you have a gas stove, place a tortilla directly on a burner over medium low heat. Let it heat for 10-20 seconds, and then flip it carefully with tongs. Heat until both sides have a few dark scorch marks and the tortilla is crispy (don't heat them for more than 30 seconds per side). Remove from the heat and repeat with the rest of the tortillas.
- Assemble! Place a large spoonful of chicken in a tortilla, top with corn salsa and add shredded cheddar on top. If you'd like, add sliced avocado and sour cream. Enjoy!
