Instant Pot Chicken Tinga

When you want restaurant-quality tacos at home, turn to this Instant Pot Chicken Tinga. It comes together fast, has the most amazing flavor, and is perfect in everything from tacos to burritos to salads to bowls.

Homemade Chicken Tinga Tacos

When I want to take our taco night up a notch, chicken Tinga is one of the first things I think of. It’s hard to beat deliciously tender shredded chicken in an irresistible homemade sauce of tomatoes, chipotle peppers, and spices.

After trying out many chicken Tinga recipes, including some that are pretty involved, this is the approach I return to time and again. It’s got a from-scratch sauce, chicken thighs that stay tender and flavorful, and cooks in the Instant Pot for a low-stress, super-fast cook time.

You’ll love that this Instant Pot chicken Tinga is:

• Delicious: The sauce derives bold, fresh flavors from simple ingredients.
• Versatile: Use the chicken in tacos, pile it high on tostadas, stuff it into burritos, or toss into your favorite salad or bowl. It also freezes well.
• Easy to make: No complicated steaming, boiling, or peeling here.

What is chicken Tinga?

Chicken Tinga is a popular Mexican dish with shredded chicken that swims in a homemade sauce made from tomatoes, onions, chipotle chiles in adobo sauce, and spices. It’s often served with crunchy tostadas, but it’s versatile and goes perfectly in tacos, burritos, bowls, and salads.

Ingredients & Common Substitutions

Here are a few notes and shopping tips about the ingredients you’ll need to make this, as well as possible substitutions. 

• Boneless, skinless chicken thighs: Chicken thighs stay tender and very flavorful, plus they can be more economical than chicken breasts. That said, you can easily use chicken breasts in this recipe instead. Simply reduce the cooking time by 1-2 minutes.
• Sweet onion: Substitute yellow onion or red onion if needed.
• Fire-roasted diced tomatoes: Using a can of fire-roasted diced tomatoes is a worthy shortcut. You get great flavor with the convenience of a pantry staple that requires no prep.
• Chipotle chiles in adobo sauce: This is what will give the chicken heat and is the ingredient to adjust to your tastes. Don’t worry about buying a can and only using a little bit — these last a really long time in the refrigerator or freezer and can be used for lots of other Mexican recipes.
• Chicken broth.
• Garlic.
• Dried oregano, ground cumin, and kosher salt.
• Olive oil.

You’ll also need some flour or corn tortillas for tacos, along with any toppings you like. The chicken is extremely flavorful, so feel free to keep it simple with some cheese, cilantro, avocado, and fresh lime.

How To Make Chicken Tinga in the Instant Pot

You’ll need to blend the sauce, but otherwise the pressure cooker makes this recipe pleasingly hands off.

1. Blend sauce in a blender until smooth.
2. Sauté onion, then add sauce and chicken to the Instant Pot. Another reason I like making this in my pressure cooker: you can still get the tender, sweet flavor of the sautéed onion without needing to use a separate pan.
3. Seal the lid and cook on high pressure for 8 minutes, with a 5 minute natural pressure release.
4. Shred chicken and thicken sauce. Another example of the Instant Pot’s sauté function coming in handy: you can thicken the sauce as much as you like by leaving it on sauté for just a minute or two while you shred the chicken, or longer if you prefer it to be thicker and more concentrated. It’s easy and there are no extra pots to wash!

I have tried skipping the step of blending the sauce ingredients, but the flavors just never meld quite the same way. It’s a small but mighty extra step.

Nestling the chicken thighs down into the mixture of tenderized onion and the blended sauce means they will absorb maximum flavor despite the short cooking time.

Shred the chicken, return to the sauce, and you’re done!

Can I make this in the slow cooker?

Yes! If at all possible, quickly cook the onion and garlic small skillet. Add those to the bowl of your Crockpot along with the blended sauce. Nestle in the chicken, then cook on low for 6-7 hours. Shred and enjoy.

What’s the easiest way to shred chicken?

The simplest way to shred chicken is by using two forks: one to hold the chicken thigh or breast in place, while the other, in your dominant hand, literally pulls small pieces off one at a time. This can be done inside of a pot, slow cooker, or Instant Pot, or you can remove the chicken to a cutting board and shred there: whatever you find more comfortable.

If the meat is cooked properly, it should be very tender and this will be very easy to do. You might need to try pulling at the chicken in a couple of places to find the direction where it’s easiest to get those long shreds. Once you get it, you can move very quickly.

An alternative way to shred chicken is to place the cooked breast into the bowl of your stand mixer and run it on low speed. I find this creates slightly smaller pieces than I prefer for tacos, but it is a very quick and easy method.

How to quickly thaw chicken?

The easiest way to thaw frozen chicken is simply to place it in the refrigerator, but this can take 18-24 hours, and sometimes we’re in a hurry! The Kitchn has tested several methods for rapid thawing, and found the best way is to submerge frozen chicken, still in its packaging, in a bowl of cold water. Change out the water every 30 minutes so it stays very cold. The chicken should thaw in about one hour.

Need it even faster? The microwave defrost function is there for you, but watch closely and turn frequently to minimize uneven thawing or premature cooking on the edges.

Serving Suggestions

This chicken Tinga recipe makes delicious tostadas or tacos with any of your favorite toppings: our favorite combo is a bit of Cotija cheese, slaw or red cabbage, and chopped avocado. A sprinkling of cilantro or extra salsa is a great fresh finishing touch.

This is also fabulous paired with homemade enchilada sauce for an easy yet impressive meal. Pile it into burritos for a tasty treat, pile it into a taco salad, or serve alongside your favorite rice for the best burrito bowls you’ve ever had. It also makes incredible nachos!

A few of other Mexican favorites:

• Easy Homemade Flour Tortillas – so easy and SO good!
• 5 Minute Blender Salsa
• Perfect Guacamole
• Homemade Pico de Gallo – irresistibly fresh!
• Chipotle Street Corn Dip – always a huge hit at parties
• Mexican Chocolate Cake – the perfect dessert!

Storage and Freezing

• Storage: Refrigerate leftover chicken in an airtight container for up to 5 days. Reheat as much as you need at a time in the microwave or in a small saucepan.
• Freezing: Chicken Tinga freezes very well. Store in an airtight container for up to 3 months. Defrost overnight in the refrigerator, or defrost quickly in the microwave on 50% power, stirring frequently. I love having some of this stashed away for emergency tacos or enchiladas!

More Easy Taco Recipes

Tacos always hit the spot! You’ll also love these healthy fish tacos, simple black bean tacos, or fresh Baja chicken tacos made on the stovetop. Instant Pot devotee? These Instant Pot ground beef tacos are an easy, delicious, classic, and Instant Pot carnitas with pineapple salsa are hard to beat.

If you try this Instant Pot Chicken Tinga, don’t forget to rate the recipe and leave a comment below. I love hearing how recipes turn out in your kitchen, and it helps other readers, too.

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5 from 3 votes

Instant Pot Chicken Tinga

Prep Time: 15 minutes mins

Cook Time: 20 minutes mins

Total Time: 35 minutes mins

Servings: 6 servings

When you want restaurant-quality tacos at home, turn to this Instant Pot Chicken Tinga. It comes together fast, has the most amazing flavor, and is perfect in everything from tacos to burritos to salads to bowls.

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Ingredients

• 1 (14.5 ounce) can fire-roasted diced tomatoes
• 1/2 cup chicken broth
• 3-4 cloves garlic
• 2 chipotle chiles in adobo sauce add more or less to taste
• 1 and 1/2 teaspoons dried oregano
• 3/4 teaspoon cumin
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 Tablespoon olive oil
• 1 small sweet onion chopped
• 1.5-2 pounds boneless skinless chicken thighs

Instructions

• Blend tomatoes, broth, garlic, chipotle chiles, oregano, cumin, and salt together in a blender until mostly smooth.
• Warm olive oil in the Instant Pot set to sauté. Add onion and cook for 2-3 minutes, until beginning to soften. Pour in the mixture from the blender and stir, scraping the bottom well to remove any stuck-on bits. Nestle the chicken thighs into the sauce and cook on high pressure for 8 minutes. Allow a 5 minute natural pressure release, then open the Instant Pot.
• Use two forks to pull the chicken apart into shreds, and turn the Instant Pot back to the sauté setting to thicken the sauce as much as desired. Stir chicken into the sauce and serve when ready.

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Notes

• Chiles and adobo: This is what will give the chicken heat and is the ingredient to adjust to your tastes. If you want a pretty mild chicken, you may want just 1 or 1.5 chiles and not much extra sauce. If you want more smoky kick, go up to 3 chiles or even more, and add 1-2 teaspoons of the adobo sauce in which they are packed. When I use 2 chiles and about 1 teaspoon of sauce, I find the chicken perfect for adults and adventurous kids. I drop it down for my actual children.
• Make ahead: This can stay in the Instant Pot on the keep warm setting for at least an hour. It can be stored in the fridge and reheated easily, as well, either on the stovetop or in the microwave.
• Slow cooker instructions: If at all possible, quickly cook the onion and garlic small skillet. Add those to the bowl of your Crockpot along with the blended sauce. Nestle in the chicken, then cook on low for 6-7 hours. Shred and enjoy.
• The nutrition estimate is an approximate one based only on the chicken and sauce; it does not include taco shells or toppings.

Nutrition Estimate

Calories: 175 kcal, Carbohydrates: 5 g, Protein: 25 g, Fat: 6 g, Saturated Fat: 1 g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 1 g, Monounsaturated Fat: 3 g, Trans Fat: 0.01 g, Cholesterol: 73 mg, Sodium: 337 mg, Potassium: 519 mg, Fiber: 1 g, Sugar: 3 g, Vitamin A: 47 IU, Vitamin C: 5 mg, Calcium: 31 mg, Iron: 1 mg

Author: Monica

Course: Dinner, Main

Cuisine: Mexican, Tex-Mex

Keyword: instant pot chicken tinga, instant pot chicken tinga tacos