30-Minute Instant Pot Chicken Tinga

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

1. 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.
2. The Instant Pot works wonders in this dish, giving you that pulled tender chicken in just 10 minutes!
3. It tastes even more delicious after it sits for a day, which also allows the sauce to thicken (hello leftovers)
4. 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!!