Tinga de pollo (Chicken Tinga) is the perfect recipe for a hearty, flavorful, and quick meal! The Instant Pot makes this shredded chicken tinga a weeknight friendly meal, cutting the stewing time in half! Cooked in a flavorful chipotle and tomato broth, this chicken is anything but boring!
Pair this dish with Spicy Mexican Rice, cilantro lime brown rice, Chile Corn Salsa or Roasted Tomato Salsa. For extra options, protein options, make a batch of homemade Chipotle-copycat carne asada! This chicken makes the perfect filling for Chicken Tinga Quesadillas and Enchiladas Poblanas, too! For a similar chipotle flavor, my Mexican brussels sprouts are the perfect addition to your dinner spread, and this Mexican Cochinita Pibil is a pork dish you will want to try!
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👩🏽🍳Why This Recipe Works
Quick and easy: This tinga de pollo recipe gets a quick and easy twist by coming together in the Instant Pot. This makes it just the meal to make on busy weeknights. It's the perfect, hearty meal with tons of savory, smokey flavor! If you're looking for more ways to use your Instant Pot, this Instant Pot Shredded Italian Chicken is another must-try.
Variety of options: While you can eat this great recipe as is, you can also grab corn tortillas and have fun making chicken tinga tacos, the same way I make my pollo asado tacos. You can also use the shredded chicken on burrito bowls by adding it on top of some rice!
Low effort: You do not need to slave over a hot stove to make this flavorful sauce/broth for the chicken. Throw all the ingredients into a blender, and you're set! This el pollo loco citrus chicken is another great option!
🥘Ingredients
- Chicken breasts, boneless, skinless - White meat has more substance when it is shredded in the instant pot and will still retain more moisture because of the pressure cooking!
- Roma tomatoes - I like to use roma tomatoes because they are not too seedy-perfect for blending into a sauce!
- Chicken broth - I like to use reduced sodium chicken broth so I can control the salt content. It is also helpful to use reduced sodium, as the tomato bouillon is also packed with savory flavor.
- Chipotle peppers in adobo - Chipotle peppers are dried jalapeño peppers. These peppers add a smokey flavor, a little bit of spice, and savory notes with adobo sauce.
- Caldo de tomate powder - Caldo de tomate, or tomato bouillon powder, is chicken bouillon powder infused with the tomato flavor, can be found with most common Mexican ingredients in the grocery store.
A full list of ingredients with measurements is located on the recipe card, below.
📖Substitutions
- Chicken breasts: You can easily opt to use chicken thighs instead. They work well for shredded chicken, and will be extremely juicy!
- Roma tomatoes: You may also use hot house or vine ripe tomatoes for the broth.
- Chicken broth: You can also use chicken bouillon concentrate paste instead of the broth. Add water to the blender instead of the broth, to ensure that the sauce is still thin in consistency.
- Caldo de tomate powder: You can try powdered chicken bouillon instead.
🔪Variations
- Spicy chicken - Is this recipe not spicy enough for you? Feel free to add red pepper flakes or add more chipotle chiles to amp up the heat. If you are feeling super adventurous, you can add in some habanero pepper too!
- Chorizo: Brown some chorizo in the Instant pot before adding the chicken and broth, for another layer of meaty goodness!
⏲️ Step-by-Step Instructions
Prep Work Before Cooking
Collecting all your ingredients - This will make cooking so much easier. Gather all the spices you will need, and keep them nearby.
Add all the sauce ingredients to a blender. Blend on high powder until the tomatoes, onions, and all other ingredients have become a liquid and there are no large chunks. [photos 1 & 2]
Add the chicken breasts to the Instant Pot, and cover with the tomato mixture. Move the chicken around to ensure that there is some broth/sauce at the bottom of the pot. Cover with the lid, put the vent into the sealing position, and pressure cook on HI for 20 minutes. [photo 3]
Once the pressure cooking time has elapsed, allow the Instant Pot to naturally release for 10 minutes. If there is still any residual pressure in the pot, vent it until it is safe to open.
Remove the chicken breasts carefully, with tongs, and place on a plate or a cutting board. Put the Instant Pot on sauté mode on HI, to allow the broth to come to a boil and thicken.
Shred the chicken using two forks, and return to the broth in the Instant Pot. Turn the Instant Pot off once the broth has evaporated to your liking. [photo 4]
Serve in tacos, quesadillas, or even as a protein on a burrito bowl. Enjoy your shredded Mexican chicken tinga!
💭 Expert Tip
Always over-season! When cooking in the instant pot, I always recommend over-seasoning your food, to avoid the common complaint of bland food in the Instant Pot.
Reserve some of the broth! I recommend reserving some of the broth to store the chicken in. This will keep the chicken moist and juicy if you are reheating it.
Use a stand mixer or a hand mixer to shred the chicken! If you are not a fan of using forks to shred your chicken, or better yet, you are making a larger batch of this recipe, try shredding the chicken with the paddle attachment of your stand mixer, or an electric hand mixer works too!
🍽 Make Ahead & Storage
Make Ahead Instructions
You can make the tomato mixture the day before if you'd like, and store in an airtight container.
The pulled chicken tinga can also be made up to 2 days in advance, as long as it is stored in an airtight container with some of the cooking broth.
Storing Leftovers
Store leftover chicken tinga in an airtight container and place in the refrigerator. It can then last roughly up to three days when stored properly. Reheat in the microwave or on the stove.
⭐ Recipe FAQs
Chicken Tinga is a traditional Mexican dish! Chicken tinga does, in fact, sound quite similar to popular Indian chicken tikka, but they are very different!
Traditionally, the main ingredients of Tinga are made with a chipotle tomato sauce with various seasonings like garlic, onions, cumin, bay leaf, and oregano.
Yes, chicken tinga originates from Puebla, Mexico! Tinga is not traditionally made in an Instant Pot like this recipe, but the dish itself is authentic!
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Instant Pot Shredded Mexican Chicken Tinga
Equipment
Ingredients
Ingredients
- 3 Chicken breasts - boneless, skinless
- 2 Roma tomatoes - halved
- 1 White onion - quartered
- 2 cloves Garlic - peeled & whole
- 1 cup Chicken broth
- 3 Chipotle peppers in adobo
- 1 teaspoon Dried oregano
- ½ teaspoon Ground cumin
- 2 tablespoon Caldo de tomate powder - tomato bouillon
Instructions
- Add all the ingredients, except the chicken breast, to a blender. Blend on high powder until the tomatoes, onions, and all other ingredients have become a liquid and there are no large chunks.2 Roma tomatoes, 1 White onion, 2 cloves Garlic, 1 cup Chicken broth, 3 Chipotle peppers in adobo, 1 teaspoon Dried oregano, ½ teaspoon Ground cumin, 2 tablespoon Caldo de tomate powder
- Add the chicken breasts to the Instant Pot, and cover with the tomato mixture. Move the chicken around to ensure that there is some broth/sauce at the bottom of the pot. Cover with the lid, put the vent into the sealing position, and pressure cook on HI for 20 minutes.3 Chicken breasts
- Once the pressure cooking time has elapsed, allow the Instant Pot to naturally release for 10 minutes. If there is still any residual pressure in the pot, vent it until it is safe to open.
- Remove the chicken breasts carefully, with tongs, and place on a plate or a cutting board. Put the Instant Pot on sauté mode on HI, to allow the broth to come to a boil and thicken.
- Shred the chicken using two forks, and return to the broth in the Instant Pot. Turn the Instant Pot off once the broth has evaporated to your liking.
✱Recipe Notes
- Always over-season! When cooking in the Instant Pot, I always recommend overseasoning your food, to avoid the common complaint of bland food in the Instant Pot.
- Reserve some of the broth! I recommend reserving some of the broth to store the chicken in. This will keep the chicken moist and juicy if you are reheating it.
- Use a stand mixer or a hand mixer to shred the chicken! If you are not a fan of using forks to shred your chicken, or better yet, you are making a larger batch of this recipe, try shredding the chicken with the paddle attachment of your stand mixer, or an electric hand mixer works too!
Lila Sanchez says
I created this recipe and it was fantastic!!! Thank you for making it so easy to make. The next day I made chicken tinga quesadillas with leftovers. I used Mediterranean spiced feta and jack cheese. HEAVEN!!!
Sunena Anand says
I love to hear that, Lila! I love using this chicken for quesadillas, but I will ABSOLUTELY be adding feta to mine next time because that sounds DELISH!