Instant Pot Chicken Tinga

Easy to make, this Instant Pot Chicken Tinga has minimal prep work and the Instant Pot does the rest. Shredded chicken is enveloped with a tomato sauce flavored with chipotle, cumin, and oregano. It’s perfect for tacos, taco bowls, burrito bowls, quesadillas, or tostadas. This chicken can be made ahead for meal prep and it freezes perfectly as well. It’s also gluten-free, dairy-free, and paleo making it allergy friendly for many.

If I had to pick just 1 food to live on for life, it would probably be tacos. Pasta is way up there too, but overall tacos win out for their lively flavor and sheer versatility!

Ingredients & Substitutions

• Chicken – boneless skinless chicken breasts, chicken thighs, or a mix of both works well in this recipe. Chicken thighs are a touch harder to shred by hand, but the stand mixer tip below makes quick work of them. Chicken thighs tend to be a bit moister, but this recipe works well with chicken breasts too.
• Onion & garlic – are sautéed together and then blended into the sauce to create depth of flavor.
• Fire-roasted diced tomatoes – fire roasted adds an extra depth of flavor to this recipe, but you can use diced tomatoes if you can’t find fire roasted.
• Chicken broth – look for low sodium so you can add salt to taste in this recipe.
• Apple cider vinegar – adds an element of acidity that pairs well with the chipotle and tomato. You can use red wine vinegar or white wine vinegar, but apple cider vinegar is traditional.
• Spices – chipotle powder, cumin, and oregano all create wonderful flavor in this recipe. I used to include bay leaf which is traditional, but you can’t tell the difference without it. So in the interest of simplicity, I’ve eliminated it. Chipotle in adobo sauce made from chipotle peppers is what’s traditionally used, but it contains sugar and sometimes additives. I use chipotle powder instead to keep this allergy friendly.

Step 1: Start by sautéing the onion and garlic together with a touch of oil in the Instant Pot until softened and beginning to brown.

Scoop the onion mixture out of the Instant Pot and add it to a blender container.

Step 2: Pour a little of the chicken broth into the bottom of the Instant Pot container. Use a wooden spoon to scrape up the browned bits from the bottom and pour this liquid into the blender.

Important: don’t skip this step! It’s crucial to scrape up the browned bits so you don’t get a BURN signal from the Instant Pot.

Step 3: Add the rest of the sauce ingredients to the blender container and blend until mostly smooth with small bits.

Step 4: Pour the sauce into the Instant Pot container, and add the chicken.

Turn the chicken to coat it in the sauce before setting the lid to sealing in the Instant Pot to pressure cook. I find 8 minutes of cooking time to be perfect for chicken thighs and 10 minutes for chicken breasts.

Step 5: When the chicken has finished cooking, use the manual release pressure valve. When the instant pot is safe to option remove the lid and take the chicken from the sauce. Use the sauté function to reduce the sauce.

Then using 2 forks, shred the chicken, or add it to an electric mixer with a paddle attachment.

Step 6: Add as much of the reduced sauce to the shredded chicken, stir to combine, and serve.

Ways to serve this

• Use this shredded chicken Tinga any way you love to eat Mexican-inspired food. It’s great as a taco bowl as pictured. But it’s also great as a taco, quesadilla, lettuce wrap taco, or even in a salad.
• This Mexican dish is perfect served with corn tortillas, refried beans, cotija cheese, and your choice of salsas. I’ve listed out my favorites below in the tips.
• You can also use this chicken in a burrito bowl. Check out my Carnitas Burrito Bowls for a full list of burrito bowl ingredients and sub in this chicken Tinga for the carnitas.

Storing leftovers

• To store – place any leftover shredded chicken Tinga into an airtight container and refrigerate for 3-4 days.
• Make ahead – this recipe is the perfect make-ahead recipe because it reheats perfectly. Just remember any leftovers won’t keep as long. Once the chicken Tinga is made you can refrigerate it for 3-4 days, or freeze it as directed below.
• Reheating – place the chicken Tinga into a saucepan or skillet and heat covered over medium heat until hot, stirring as needed. Add water only as necessary to prevent the chicken from sticking. Or you can also microwave it to reheat.
• To freeze – place any leftover cooled chicken into an airtight container and freeze for up to 3 months. Defrost in the fridge overnight before reheating as directed above.

Dietary Options & Substitutions

• Dairy-free – this recipe is dairy-free as written. But if you want to serve the chicken Tinga as a bowl meal, try my Cilantro Lime Dressing as a drizzle over the top in place of the usual cheese and sour cream. It’s full of bright fresh flavor and lightly creamy making it the perfect dairy-free sauce for any Mexican-inspired bowl.
• Paleo – the chicken Tinga is paleo as is. But to make a bowl, try piling the chicken Tinga over my Roasted Sweet Potatoes and drizzle my Cilantro Lime Dressing over the top along with any of the above-mentioned salsas and diced avocados.

More Mexican Recipe Inspiration

• Instant Pot Carnitas
• Instant Pot Barbacoa
• Instant Pot Salsa Chicken
• Slow Cooker Salsa Beef
• Slow Cooker Chipotle Chicken

Final note: I’ve simplified my original recipe by eliminating the bay leaves because you can’t tell the difference. I also reworked it to remove the tomatillos which are sometimes difficult to find.