Tinga de Pollo Recipe

Why You'll Love This Recipe:

• This tinga de polo recipe is easy to make and perfect for beginners because there are only a few simple steps to making this dish.
• The sauce of this delicious Mexican chicken recipe can be made wet or dry. The wet sauce is delicious as a topping over rice. Use the thick dry sauce as a filling for tortillas and a topping on tacos.
• Unlike other recipes where the sauce is pureed smooth, this tinga de pollo has a thick chunky sauce, so a blender is not required.
• It’s family-friendly because you can control the heat in this dish by how much of the chipotle chiles you use.
• It’s also a budget-friendly meal because you are using cheaper pieces of chicken like chicken thighs on the bone and drumsticks.
• It’s healthy because the fat and skin is removed, and you get some extra flavor and nutrition from the chicken bones.

What is Tinga?

Tinga is a Mexican dish with Spanish influence that uses a European cooking method.

It is essentially a rich thick stew made with a base of sauteed onions and garlic, tomatoes, stock, spices, chili, and herbs. Pre-cooked meat like chicken (pollo), beef, or pork is then added to the sauce.

Ingredients In This Recipe

The printable recipe further down the page has the complete list of ingredients, including quantities and step-by-step instructions.

Chicken on the bone – We like to use chicken on the bone because it is budget-friendly. We also like to use bones for many slow-cooked dishes because the bones add flavor. 

The bones when cooked also give you some of the benefits that you would get if you used homemade chicken stock or broth. However, you can use chicken breast or even left-over roast chicken.

Onion and garlic - onion and garlic give a wonderful flavor to any dish that they are cooked in. 

Canned diced tomatoes – for convenience we used canned diced tomatoes because they are readily available all year round.

Chipotle chiles in sauce – is a bottled paste made with chipotle chilies that you can find in most supermarkets.

Herbs and spices – cumin powder, chili powder, dried oregano, and black pepper.

Step By Step Instructions

Step 1 – Remove the skin and fat from the chicken.

Step 2 – Fry the onions until dark and golden, then add the minced garlic cloves and fry for about 1 minute more.

Step 3 – Add the tomatoes, chipotle chile sauce, herbs and spices and mix well.

Step 4 – Add the chicken piece and push it down into the liquid. Bring the boil, cover the pot, reduce the heat to a simmer over medium/low heat and cook for 40 – 50 minutes or until the chicken is tender.

Step 5 – Remove the chicken from the sauce and shred, discard the bones once all the meat has been removed.

Step 6 – Continue to cook the sauce uncovered on medium heat for 10 – 15 minutes more or until it becomes thick.

Step 7 – Add the shredded chicken back to the sauce, mix well and reheat if necessary, taste for seasoning. Then serve.

Recipe Tips

How To Shred Chicken

It’s much easier to shred chicken or any meat for that matter when it is well cooked and still hot, but it can still be shredded when cold.

When the meat is hot, pull the meat apart using two forks. Or you can allow the meat to cool to the point where you can handle it comfortably, and then shred it using your hands.

Recipe Notes

Recipe makes - This recipe makes about 980 grams (34.5 oz) of pulled chicken, or six 163 grams (5.5 oz) serves. This amount will vary depending on how much liquid you have left in the sauce.

Use leftover cooked chicken - You can use 450 – 500 grams (16 – 17 oz) of cooked roast chicken. Make the sauce first adding the cooked and shredded chicken in at the last 5 – 10 minutes of cooking.

Use chicken breast - You can use skinless chicken breast for this Mexican tinga recipe. It can be cooked with or without the bone.

Make a smooth sauce – We know not everyone likes a chunky sauce and if this is you, puree the sauce with a stick blender (or use a masher to make it less chunky) before adding the shredded chicken back into the sauce.

Serving Size

This recipe makes about 980 grams (34.5 oz) of pulled chicken or six 163 grams (5.5 oz) servings.

Calories Per Serve

One 163 gram (5.5 ounce) serving is about 359 calories.

Serving Suggestions

The most common way to eat tinga is to make tostadas de tinga. This is where the shredded chicken is served on top of flat tostadas.

Tostadas are deep-fried corn tortillas that can be served as a side to a wide variety of Mexican food dishes.

Because, tostadas are fried they become firm and hold their shape, making them the ideal base for several other Mexican recipes like this bean tostadas recipe.

These tortillas are so easy to make you can make them the size as stated in the recipe for wraps or make them smaller for soft taco shells.

You can also use this pollo tinga to make:

• a delicious filling for hard taco shells,
• use it as a quesadilla filling or
• use it to make nachos.

Tinga Toppings

You could eat chicken tinga as is, but it is nice to mix things up with a variety of toppings. You could use any of the following as a topping.

• Pico de Gallo – this is a Mexican-style salsa made with onions, jalapeno peppers, lime juice, diced fresh tomatoes, and coriander (cilantro).
• Finely chopped red onions
• Chopped fresh coriander (cilantro) leaves
• Diced tomatoes
• Avocado slices
• Sour cream
• Grated cheese
• Lettuce
• Finely shredded cabbage
• Lime or lemon wedges squeezing over the top.

Meal Prepping

This tinga de Pollo recipe can be prepared in advance which makes it a great dish to cook when you need to feed a crowd.

You can serve it up as dainty tasty appetizers for Mother’s Day, bridal showers, baby showers, Christmas, or when you just need some light snacks.
Or you can turn to this dish when you need something more robust and satisfying for occasions such as a game day.

Mexican Chicken Appetizers

This tinga de pollo can be served as an easy Mexican appetizer on small round or triangular corn chips.

A day or two before the party make the chicken tinga, as outlined below.

Make the tinga de pollo recipe as directed on the recipe card. When the chicken is cooked remove it from the sauce. Continue to cook the sauce down until it becomes thick and does not look watery.

Shred the chicken and roughly chop it into smaller pieces before adding it back into the sauce, mix well and adjust the seasoning if necessary.

Allow the pollo tinga to cool completely, transfer to a container, and store covered in the fridge until needed.

On the day and just before serving heat the tinga either in a pot on the stove or warm in the microwave oven before assembling the appetizers.

To make the appetizers:

• Top each corn chip with about 1 teaspoon of the warmed/hot tinga de pollo
• Drop on a little sour cream 
• Garnish with small pieces of avocado or diced tomato or grated cheese or pieces of fresh coriander (cilantro).
• Arrange on a serving platter and serve immediately.

Chicken Tinga Nachos

One to two days in advance make the tinga de pollo recipe as outlined in the recipe and make a slightly thick sauce. Allow to cool and store covered in the fridge.

Serve it as a football party food and make individual servings of chicken nachos.

• Place corn chips into individual serving bowls, top with the hot chicken tinga Sprinkle on some grated cheese
• Place in the microwave and heat until the cheese starts to melt.
• Garnish with chopped spring onions, sour cream, and chopped fresh coriander (cilantro)
• Serve immediately

Or place corn chips onto a large baking tray, top with hot chicken tinga and grated cheese. Bake in a hot oven until the cheese has melted. Garnish with onions, sour cream, and chopped coriander and serve.

Storage

Store leftovers in an airtight container for 3-4 days.

Can you freeze chicken tinga?

Yes, this chicken tinga de pollo recipe freezes very well. Allow it to come to room temperature then transfer to a freezer save container (or containers) or zip lock bags. 

If using containers - fill them almost to the top, leaving some headspace to allow for expansion.

If using zip lock bags - lay them flat and squeeze out as much air as possible before sealing.

Frequently Asked Questions

More Easy Recipes

• Slow cooker vegetarian nachos
• Easy pork spring rolls
• Beef chilli bean soup
• Slow cooker pulled pork

So, that’s how to make a tinga de pollo recipe.

Easy isn’t it! I do hope you try this tinga de pollo recipe. If you do, please come back and leave a comment below because I would love to know how you went.