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30-Minute Instant Pot Chicken Tinga makes for the best version of chicken tacos….EVER! Smoky chipotle flavor with a tangy tomato base creates the most flavorful shredded chicken. A meal that resembles restaurant quality, but comes together so quickly at home in the Instant Pot! 30 minutes is all you need! Low-carb, Keto, Paleo, Dairy-free and Whole30 friendly.
Chicken Tinga: A Must for Taco Tuesday!
Yes, these are the absolute best way to enjoy chicken tacos! Yes, they are ridiculously easy! And yes, I am obsessed with creating delicious taco recipes.
As a nutritionist, I also love creating shredded chicken recipes in my Instant Pot. Why? The Instant Pot absolutely makes it easy to cook tender, flavorful chicken with hardly any effort. They are such a healthy and nutritious way to meal-prep, and all of my shredded chicken recipes come together so quickly. Having shredded chicken on hand in the fridge is a game-changer for upping my protein throughout the day. I love building bowl recipes or salad recipes. A few of my favorites: Pulled BBQ Chicken and my Chicken Cacciatore.
And now….. This Quick and Easy 30-minute Chicken Tinga! Add this to your meal plan, or make it for your next party. This chicken is the perfect recipe for your allergy sensitive family and friends!
What is Chicken Tinga?
I’m glad you asked. Because honestly guys, this Mexican food loving girl born and raised in California didn’t even know what it really was until last month. Not going to hold anything back here. After a double header baseball game in Richmond, VA, we decided to eat out at the closest and authentic sounding/looking Mexican restaurant we could find.
But but. The best part about this gem of a restaurant? They had an entire section of “Mexican bowls”. Totally my jam. One of the dinner options was chicken tinga with lots of vegetables over a bed of rice. They also served you a nice portion of guacamole, and a Mexican salad.
I discovered after my first bite, that Chicken Tinga is a Mexican dish that is chipotle tomato infused braised pulled chicken. It originated in Puebla, Mexico. It’s an incredible, distinct flavor that I immediately fell in love with. And that if I had to name this recipe a few months ago, I would have called it: Instant Pot Shredded Chipotle Chicken.
But now I know better. It has a proper name. And it is everything you want for dinner!!!!
How to Make Instant Pot Chicken Tinga
Here are the Ingredients you need to make Chicken Tinga:
- Chicken breast or boneless skinless chicken thighs
- Avocado oil or olive oil (any neutral cooking oil)
- Small yellow onion
- Garlic cloves
- Chicken broth
- Chipotle chilis in Adobo sauce (see note below)
- Ground cumin
- Sea salt
- Fire roasted diced tomatoes
We’ll start by selecting sauté mode on the Instant Pot and adding oil once hot. Saute the onion and garlic for 3-4 minutes, then select cancel. Pour in the chicken broth to deglaze the pan and make sure all the browned bottom is clean. This helps to prevent the burn signal on your pressure cooker.
Dump the chicken broth and sautéed onion/garlic mixture into the blender. Add in chipotle chile peppers and a tablespoon of the sauce, cumin, sea salt, and diced tomatoes. Blend and create a sauce. Place the chicken in the Instant Pot and dump the sauce on top of the chicken. Secure the lid, set the valve to sealing and cook on high pressure for 9 minutes. Use a quick release when the cooking cycle is finished and shred the chicken with a fork.
Tips for Instant Pot Chicken Tinga
- To make this recipe have more of that chipotle flavor, use chipotle peppers in adobo sauce. I have yet to find one that is Paleo/Whole30 compliant because most brands contain trace amounts of sugar. BUT, you can easily swap with chipotle spice powder.
- The Instant Pot works wonders in this dish, giving you that pulled tender chicken in just 10 minutes!
- It tastes even more delicious after it sits for a day, which also allows the sauce to thicken (hello leftovers)
- DO NOT forget about all of the goodies: salsa, avocado, guacamole, fresh tomatoes, cilantro, etc.
Can you make this in the slow cooker?
Oh yes! Saute the onion and garlic in a regular saucepan before making the sauce, this helps to bring out more flavor. Now add this onion/garlic mixture to the blender with the rest of the sauce ingredients. You could cut the chicken broth to just 1/2 cup. Add the chicken breast to the bottom of the pot, then top with sauce. Cook on low for 6 hours, then shred with a fork.
Serving
There are SO many ways to enjoy Instant Pot Chicken Tinga. You could make your own burrito bowls or chicken tinga bowls with Cauliflower Spanish Rice or Cilantro Lime Cauliflower Rice, with black beans, cotija cheese, and any other toppings you love. A rice bowl is my one of the most versatile ways to enjoy it. It would also be delicious with tostadas, which are fried corn tortillas, with some refried beans, cheese, avocado slices, and a squeeze of fresh lime juice.
This chicken is also the perfect taco filling for instant pot chicken tinga tacos and a side of cooked rice. If you are feeling adventurous, toss the tortillas on the grill for a few seconds for a bit of a char! It is SO tasty.
I love to use the leftover chicken to make nachos for a fun snack. It is also perfect for taco salads, which is one of my favorite lunches!
Variations
The smoky flavor of the tomato-chipotle sauce is the key to delicious chicken tinga. You can feel free to play around with spices depending on your taste. The chipotle tomato sauce is packed with flavor as is frmo the chipotle chiles, but you can mix it up! Add a pinch of fresh-ground black pepper, some Mexican oregano, chili powder, cayenne, anything flavors you enjoy. You could even add a bay leaf while cooking to take the flavor intensity up a notch.
Storage
Store the leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to five days. You can also freeze this Instant Pot Chicken Tinga in the freezer for up to three months.
ENJOY!!
30-Minute Instant Pot Chicken Tinga
Ingredients
For the Chicken Tinga:
- 1 tbsp avocado oil or olive oil
- 1 small yellow onion
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 cup fire roasted diced tomatoes
- 2 chipotle peppers in adobo sauce*
- 1 tbsp adobo sauce*
- 1 tsp ground cumin
- 1/2 tsp sea salt
- 2/3 cup chicken broth
- 2 lbs chicken breast or thighs
For serving:
- 3 cups cauliflower rice**
- 1/2 cup chopped tomatoes
- 1 large avocado, sliced
- 1/4 cup diced red onion
- 1/4 cup fresh cilantro
Instructions
- Select the saute function on the Instant Pot. Once hot, coat the bottom of the pot with oil. Toss in onion and garlic. Saute for 3-4 minutes, or until fragrant. Select cancel. Transfer the onion and garlic mixture to a high powered blender or food processor. Clean the bottom of the pot (this will help to prevent a burn message when you bring the chicken to pressure).
- Now add the diced tomatoes, chipotle peppers, adobo sauce, ground cumin, salt, and chicken broth to the onion/garlic in the blender. Pulse until smooth.
- Pour the sauce into the Instant Pot. Add the chicken, and secure the lid. Select manual (or high pressure) and cook on high pressure for 9 minutes. Use a quick release.
- Once steam has been completely removed, remove the lid and take out the chicken. Dice or shred using a fork and knife. Return the chicken back to the pot. At this point you can select cancel, and let the sauce cool and thicken. Or serve immediately.
- Serve with rice or cauliflower rice, or tortillas. Top with tomatoes, avocado, onion, or fresh cilantro.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
This sounds yummy! Do you think you could start with frozen chicken (breasts)? If so, how long would you suggest cooking? Thank you!
This recipe is perfect! I’ve been trying to find one that really hit the spot like the chicken tinga I’ve enjoyed at restaurants. This is the real deal. Unbelievably simple and fast, and it really is delicious. I trimmed up my chicken breasts prior to cooking, so I could shred every morsel without getting bites of fat or tendon. And that was the toughest part.
I agree, just like the restaurant style! Glad you loved it.
Hello!
I’ve had my IP for a week and still feel a little intimidated so I love the way you write out your instructions! I can’t wait to check out the rest of your page.
Tinga is my daughter’s favorite. So excited to try it this way. I also appreciate your organization and how easy it is to figure out if its a W30 or IP recipe.
Keep up the amazing work!
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Thank you Guenda for your kind words!
I’ve made this many times and the whole family loves it! I leave out some chicken after we shred but before adding back into the adobo sauce and it’s just the right amount of flavor for the kids! I’ve shared your recipe a few times since so many people love it! Thanks for your hard work and a great recipe!
Thank you, Amanda!! Glad your whole family loves it!
We’ve made this recipe a few times, everyone loves it! We leave some chicken out after shredding but before we put back into the adobo sauce and it’s not too spicy for the kids. I’ve shared this recipe many times and everyone has loved it! Thanks for all your hard work!
So happy to hear that, Amanda!! Glad you love it.
Hi thanks for the recipe! When you say “adobo sauce” do you mean the sauce from the can of adobo chipotle peppers or a separate adobo sauce? We don’t have sauce but we do have Adobo powder seasoning so wondering if we can make a sauce out of that. Excited to make this tonight!
Yes! I mean the adobo from the can of chipotle peppers. If you don’t have that, you can use the powder seasoning with a little apple cider vinegar and tomato paste. Let me know if that helps!
This recipe freezes exceptionally well! Delicious and easy.
So happy to hear that!
In the pot right now!
Can’t wait for dinner ????
No instant pot but I love the flavor of chipotle peppers in adobo sauce! To convert to a slow cooker, just through everything in at once and cook on low for approx 6hrs? Thanks!
Yes! Also cut the broth to 1/3 cup.
Sounds so good! What level of spiciness would you say this is? Wanted to serve to the kiddos.
It’s medium spiced. With the chipotle powder in place of actual chipotle peppers, its very mild. You can cut the peppers to 1, and just about 1/2 tbsp of adobo sauce to make it mild. My kids love it!