Chicken Tinga Tacos
If dinner feels impossible, make these smoky tacos and call it solved.
Make these on a tired weeknight when you want something that feels like real dinner without a lot of thinking. Chicken tinga is a great answer when you can’t decide because it uses familiar ingredients, one skillet, and flexible toppings you probably already have. The chicken simmers in a smoky tomato-chipotle sauce until it shreds easily, then you pile it into warm tortillas. Expect bold flavor with very little effort, not a fancy spread: this is a fast, dependable taco night, not a project. If you can chop an onion and stir a pot, you can make this.
Ingredients
- 1.5 lb boneless skinless chicken thighs — or chicken breasts
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 unit yellow onion — thinly sliced
- 3 unit garlic cloves — minced
- 1 cup crushed tomatoes
- 2 tbsp chipotle peppers in adobo — finely chopped, plus 1 tbsp adobo sauce
- 1 tsp ground cumin
- 1 tsp dried oregano
- 0.5 cup chicken broth
- 1 tsp kosher salt — plus more to taste
- 0.25 tsp black pepper
- 8 unit corn or flour tortillas — warmed
- 1 cup shredded cabbage — optional topping
- 0.5 cup crumbled queso fresco — optional
- 0.25 cup chopped cilantro — optional
- 1 unit lime — cut into wedges
Method
- 1 Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the onion and cook for 4 to 5 minutes, stirring, until softened. Add the garlic and cook for 30 seconds.
- 2 Stir in the crushed tomatoes, chipotle peppers, adobo sauce, cumin, oregano, broth, salt, and pepper. Nestle in the chicken. Bring to a simmer, cover, and cook for 15 to 18 minutes, turning once, until the chicken is cooked through.
- 3 Transfer the chicken to a plate and shred it with two forks. Return it to the skillet and simmer uncovered for 3 to 5 minutes, stirring, until the sauce coats the chicken.
- 4 Warm the tortillas, then fill with the chicken tinga. Top with cabbage, queso fresco, cilantro, and a squeeze of lime.
Variations
- Vegetarian swap — Swap the chicken for 2 cans of drained pinto beans or black beans; simmer just long enough to thicken the sauce and heat the beans through.
- Faster swap — Use shredded rotisserie chicken and simmer it in the sauce for 5 to 7 minutes instead of cooking raw chicken.
- Substitutions — Use flour tortillas instead of corn, or skip queso fresco and top with avocado, sliced radish, or sour cream if that is what you have.
Notes
Taste the sauce before serving and add a little more salt or adobo if you want more punch. If the sauce seems thin, simmer it uncovered for a few extra minutes. Leftover tinga keeps well and reheats nicely for tacos, bowls, or quesadillas.
Equipment that helps
- Large skillet with lid — It lets the chicken simmer in one pan and keeps the sauce from splattering while it cooks.
- Two forks — They make shredding the chicken quick and easy without needing a mixer or extra tools.
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