Chicken Tinga Instant Pot Recipe: Instant Pot Magic Made Savory!

Here’s my simplified chicken tinga recipe using the Instant Pot, turning it into a one-pot wonder in just about 35 minutes. You can use tinga as a filling for tacos, burritos, enchiladas, or tostadas. It’s super easy and delicious!

Chicken Tinga is a Mexican dish with spicy, smoky chicken cooked in onions, tomatoes, and chipotle peppers in adobo sauce. Serve it on warm tacos or tostadas, and top them with crunchy purple cabbage, radishes or red onions, creamy avocado, and crumbly cheese—it’s a perfect meal.

These Instant Pot Chicken Tinga Tacos are our family favorite. The best part is, we can make the shredded chicken ahead of time, and the flavors only get better over time.

Serve these Chicken Tinga Tacos with crunchy, colorful toppings like shredded purple or green cabbage, corn, red onions, and cilantro, plus a generous sprinkle of your favorite Mexican cheeses like pepper jack, cotija, or queso fresco.

This Instant Pot Chicken Tinga is perfect for busy weeknights! Tangy, flavorful, tender chicken cooked to perfection in a delicious homemade Tinga sauce, ready to be added to your favorite tacos, tostadas, or even burritos.

Chicken Tinga Instant Pot Recipe

Instant Pot Chicken Tinga makes the most amazing chicken tacos ever! It's got this smoky chipotle flavor mixed with tangy tomato sauce that makes the chicken super flavorful. You'd think you're eating at a fancy restaurant, but you can whip it up so fast right in your own kitchen with the Instant Pot! It only takes 35 minutes, so it's perfect for busy days. Plus, it's low-carb, Keto, Paleo, dairy-free, so it's great for everyone. It's a healthy and nutritious option for meal prep, and it's so easy to make. You can even serve it at your next party! This chicken tinga recipe is perfect for anyone with food allergies too.

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Prep Time 10 minutes mins

Cook Time 15 minutes mins

NPR time: 10 minutes mins

Total Time 35 minutes mins

Course Main Course

Cuisine Mexican

Servings 5

Calories 355 kcal

Equipment

• Instant pot
• Cutting Board
• Knife
• Cooking spoon or spatula

Ingredients

  

Sauce:

• 2 Chipotle peppers in adobo sauce
• 1 small Onion cut into quarters
• 3 cloves Garlic smashed
• 1 cup Low-sodium chicken broth
• 14 ounces Fire-roasted tomatoes 1 small can
• 1/2 tsp Salt adjust to taste
• 1/2 tsp Black pepper adjust to taste

Chicken:

• 2 tbsp Olive oil
• 1 medium onion chopped
• 2-3 pounds boneless skinless chicken thighs

To Serve:

• 12 small Corn tortillas or flour tortillas
• 2 ripe Avocados avodos smashed
• 1 small Red d onion chopped
• 1/4 cup choppediCilantro lantro
• Crumbled cotija cheese or feta cheese
• 2 Limes cut into wedges

Instructions

 

• Put all the sauce ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth.
• Heat olive oil in the Instant Pot using the sauté setting, then cook the chopped onion until it’s soft, about 2-3 minutes.
• Add the chicken and sauce to the Instant Pot with the sautéed onion. Close the lid, set the valve to sealing, and cook on manual for 8 minutes. Let it sit for 10 minutes after cooking before opening the lid.
• Use two forks to shred the chicken inside the Instant Pot (no lid). Let it cook for 5 more minutes. Taste and add salt and pepper if needed.
• Make your tacos by putting mashed avocado, chicken, chopped onion, cilantro, cheese, and lime juice on tortillas.

Notes

• You can use chicken thighs, chicken breast, or chicken tenders—whatever you prefer!
• Chicken tinga isn’t just for tacos! Try it in salads, burritos, bowls, nachos, and tostadas too.
• If you’ve got leftover Chicken Tinga, store the meat in the fridge in a sealed container for up to 5 days. When you’re ready to eat, just add your favorite toppings onto your tacos. Simple!

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Nutrition Facts:

What Can I Serve With Chicken Tinga?

Chicken tinga goes well with lots of yummy side dishes. You can have it with fluffy rice, like plain white rice or cilantro-lime rice. Beans are great too, like black beans, refried beans, or charro beans. Warm up some tortillas, either corn or flour, to make tacos, burritos, or quesadillas.

If you want something lighter, try a fresh salad with greens, tomatoes, avocado, and a tasty dressing. And don’t forget the guacamole and salsa for dipping! Grilled or roasted corn on the cob or a corn salad adds a nice crunch.

Creamy coleslaw or a tangy cabbage slaw is also a good choice to balance out the spicy chicken tinga. Mix and match these sides to make a yummy meal!

What Makes the Chicken Chewy in the Instant Pot?

Chicken breasts can turn rubbery if not cooked just right in the Instant Pot. Cooking them too short or too long can result in an unpleasant texture.

Why Did My Chicken Burn in the Instant Pot?

If the Instant Pot isn’t sealed properly, it can continue cooking without building pressure, leading to burning. Make sure there’s enough liquid in the pot and that the lid is sealed correctly to avoid this issue.

Try more of our recipes:

Grilled London Broil Steak Tacos (Quick And Tasty) Chicken Taco Casserole Recipe: Your New Go-To for Weeknight Dinners! Slow-Cooked Chuck Roast Tacos Recipe: The Secret to Meltingly Tender Meat Fiesta in a Bowl: The Creamy Beef Taco Soup That’ll Make Your Spoon Do the Wave