Spicy, Smoky and Super Easy, Our Quick Chicken Tinga Recipe is a Weeknight Keeper!
Let us just say right away that this is NOT an authentic Mexican chicken tinga recipe. This chicken tinga recipe is inspired by the smoky, peppery flavors that we love so much in chicken tinga, but it’s built for busy weeknights. We take nearly every shortcut in the book, and while the methods and results are absolutely inauthentic, they’re also absolutely tasty! And as far as meals that are ready in under 30 minutes go, it’s hard to beat this super easy chicken tinga recipe.
An Easy Chicken Tinga In Just 7 Ingredients
Brick red and inviting, chicken tinga is simply chicken that’s flavored with smoky chipotle peppers, tomatoes and onions. Beyond that basic formula, tinga recipes vary quite a bit! Often, chorizo is added to double down on that spicy, smoky flavor, but like we mentioned, this chicken tinga is all about keeping things as simple as can be. With deeply flavorful ingredients like chipotle peppers in adobo sauce—and yes, you’ll definitely want to use all of the heady, spicy, smoky adobo sauce that’s left in the can—and taco seasoning, you’ll end up with a dish that’s bursting with boldness, despite the short cook time. Here’s everything you’ll need to make chicken tinga:
Cooked chicken (this can be leftover poached chicken, or use the meat from a grocery store rotisserie chicken.)
Onion
Garlic
Chipotles in adobo sauce
Taco seasoning
Fire-roasted canned tomatoes
Chicken bouillon (cubed bouillon is fine, or you can use a jarred version like Better Than Bouillon.)
How To Make Our Easy Chicken Tinga Recipe
If you have poached chicken breast—maybe you prepped it over the weekend, or its leftover from another meal—use those. But a store-bought rotisserie chicken will work, too. If you opt for the rotisserie chicken method, you can use thigh or leg meat, too, for an even heartier chicken tinga. Our chicken tinga recipe is as easy as:
Sauté the onions for a bit until they’re soft, then add the garlic for a few more minutes to
Blend the onions, garlic chipotles in adobo, taco seasoning, tomatoes bouillon until you’ve got a nice, smooth, brick red sauce.
Pour the sauce into a skillet with the shredded, cooked chicken and simmer to let the chicken absorb all of that saucy goodness! And you’re done!
How To Serve Chicken Tinga
Chicken tinga tostadas are maybe our favorite way to enjoy chicken tinga! Just grab some store-bought tostada shells, load them up with your quick homemade chicken tinga and garnish as you please!
Chicken tinga tacos are another classic.
The sky’s the limit! Chicken tinga is so juicy and flavorful, it’s great on just about anything. Top a salad with it to turn that leafy bed into a complete meal, or mound it into a burrito with beans and rice for an ultra-filling dinner.
Tools You’ll Need:
What To Serve With Chicken Tinga
Weeknight Deliciousness, In Just 30 Minutes!
With mostly pantry ingredients, it just doesn’t get much more “throw it together” than this chicken tinga recipe! This is the kind of recipe that you just know is going to swoop in and save you on some night when dinner needs to come together fast and you’ve got to make do with whatever is in the cupboard. If you make this ultra easy version of chicken tinga, let us know how you like it! Share a photo and tag us on Instagram using @themodernproper and #themodernproper so that we can see your stuff! Happy eating!
