Easy Chicken Tinga Tacos

Name: Easy Chicken Tinga Tacos
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 20 min
Total time: 30 min
Ingredients: 1 15-ounce can fire roasted diced tomatoes; 2 tablespoons chipotle peppers in adobo sauce; 1 large white onion, (roughly chopped); 2 cloves garlic; 1 teaspoon dried oregano; 1 teaspoon salt; 1 tablespoon olive oil; 2 pounds shredded chicken ((about 5 1/2 to 6 cups)); corn tortillas, flour tortillas or lettuce cups; queso fresco, cotija cheese or feta cheese; diced onions; chopped cilantro

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By: IsabelPosted: 9/12/18

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These Easy Chicken Tinga Tacos feature shredded chicken in a smoky chipotle sauce that’s ready in only 30 minutes! (gluten free, low carb, paleo)

Chicken tinga tacos! I bet you can’t say that five times fast without getting hungry. It’s nearly impossible. I’ve tried.

Okay, so now that you’re officially hungry, let’s talk about these babies.

What is chicken tinga?

Chicken tinga is a Mexican dish from Puebla made from shredded chicken cooked in a smoky and slightly spicy tomato-based sauce. It’s can be served in corn tortillas, flour tortillas or paleo tortillas as tacos, but can also be used in quesadillas, tostadas and even burrito bowls.

This recipe is a super quick and easy version of the traditional chicken tinga. If I were making everything in this recipe 100 percent authentically, I would probably roast my own tomatoes and cook a few of the ingredients separately before combining them to make the sauce. But by the time dinner rolls around and everyone is home and ready to eat, I’m usually tired and don’t have the energy to do that.

Instead, I’m taking a few shortcuts and using canned fire roasted tomatoes and my blender to help make this chicken tinga as flavorful as can be without having to spend lots of time in the kitchen. Here’s what I do.

How to make quick and easy chicken tinga tacos

First, make the sauce by adding the diced tomatoes, chipotle peppers, oregano, garlic, salt and onion into a large blender. Blend until smooth.
Next, fry the sauce in a large skillet or (SAUCEPAN?) over medium-high heat with a little olive oil. This will help deepen the flavors and fully cook the raw onion and garlic in there.
Lastly, add in some shredded chicken and toss it with the sauce until the chicken is fully coated. Reduce the heat to low and cook it for 10 more minutes to help all the flavors meld with the chicken. This will also reduce and concentrate those flavors, which is always a good thing.

Tip: If you don’t have shredded chicken on hand, you can use store-bought rotisserie chicken and shred it yourself of you can make your own following this recipe here. I love making a double or triple batch of shredded chicken so I can have it on hand to use in recipes like these chicken tinga tacos or in quick lunch salads or breakfast omelets.