Mexican · Main · Easy
Chicken Tinga Tacos
Smoky shredded chicken simmered in tomato chipotle sauce, piled into warm corn tortillas. Weeknight taco royalty.
The whole recipe in 60 seconds
Chicken Tinga Tacos, in 5 ideas
- Chicken thighs stay juicy when shredded. Breasts dry out fast in this sauce.
- Char the tortillas. A little blackening adds real taco truck flavor.
- Control the heat with the chipotles. Two is medium, one is mild, three is brave.
- The tinga keeps 4 days in the fridge and the flavor deepens overnight.
- Double the batch and freeze half. Future you will be grateful.
What you need
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 lbs boneless skinless chicken thighs
- 1 onion, half sliced and half diced
- 3 garlic cloves
- 1 can (14 oz) fire roasted tomatoes
- 2 chipotle peppers in adobo, plus 1 tbsp sauce
- 1 tsp dried oregano
- 1/2 tsp cumin
- 1 cup chicken broth
- 2 tbsp vegetable oil
- 1 tsp salt
- 12 corn tortillas
- Diced onion, cilantro, and lime wedges, for serving
How to make it
Directions
- Simmer the chicken thighs in the broth with the halved onion and 2 garlic cloves for 15 minutes, until cooked through. Shred the meat and save the broth.
- Blend the tomatoes, chipotles with adobo sauce, oregano, cumin, and the remaining garlic until smooth.
- Heat the oil in a skillet over medium high. Cook the diced onion until soft, then pour in the blended sauce.
- Simmer the sauce 5 minutes until it darkens slightly. Add the shredded chicken and 1/2 cup of the reserved broth.
- Cook 10 minutes, stirring, until the chicken soaks up the sauce. Season with salt.
- Warm the tortillas directly over a gas flame or in a dry skillet. Fill with tinga and top with onion, cilantro, and lime.
Buy a big can of chipotles in adobo and freeze the leftovers in ice cube trays. You will use them constantly.