Simple, saucy, and full of flavour, these Instant Pot Chicken Tinga are going to knock your socks off! Plus, see how I meal prep this chicken tinga for the week. Video down below!
Instant Pot Chicken Tinga
I am back from my trip to Japan and the US and this is the first official post I’ve worked on since. Honestly, I think my blog content was way more consistent while on vacation than not since I scheduled a whole month’s posts in advance haha. Anyways, while in the states, we got to celebrate cinco de mayo which was what inspired me to make this recipe for the blog. Whenever I made chicken tinga at home, I’d always do it stovetop method but y’all know I love my Instant Pot so I figured I’d try and see what happens when I adapt it for the Instant Pot.
What is Chicken Tinga?
Chicken tinga is a Mexican dish made with shredded chicken in a sauce made from tomatoes, chipotle chilis in adobo sauce, and sliced onions. I love how easy and versatile chicken tinga is for meal planning since it can be used in tacos, bowls, or just on its own if you really want to. With the Instant Pot, making chicken tinga takes little to no work.
Between the prep work and the cook time for this Instant Pot Chicken Tinga, it takes me around 30 minutes, 35 minutes max. Then during the hands off cook time in the Instant Pot, I work on my sides to go with the chicken tinga. This is one of the reasons I love my Instant Pot so much – the hands off cook time gives me “extra” time to work on other aspects of the meal. I’ve had more than my share of overflowing pots because I can be a little forgetful while meal prepping!
Note that this chicken tinga recipe was developed for the Instant Pot but I don’t see it being very difficult to adapt for the slow cooker as you can just follow the same steps but cook on high for 3-4 hours or low for 7-8.
What You’ll Need To Make These Easy Instant Pot Chicken Tinga
- fire roasted canned tomatoes
- sweet vidalia onion
- garlic
- tomatillos
- chipotle peppers in adobo sauce
- oregano
- olive oil
- chicken breasts
- chicken stock – I used Better than Bouillon or if you want to make your own, here’s how to make chicken stock in the Instant Pot
Equipment you’ll need:
How To Make Instant Pot Chicken Tinga
- In a food processor or blender, blend together the fire roasted tomatoes, onion, garlic cloves, tomatillos, chipotle peppers, and oregano.
- In the Instant Pot, add in some olive oil to coat the bottom of the liner, place your chicken breasts inside, pour the blended mixture on top, and add in the chicken broth/stock.
- Set the Instant Pot on high pressure for 10 minutes then natural pressure release before quick releasing.
- Remove the chicken to shred. At the same time, I poured some of the sauce back in the food processor to smooth it out a little more. Skip this step if you like your sauce a little more chunky.
- Once the chicken is shredded, add it back into the sauce to coat. Serve with your choice of side or as taco meat!
Notes and Tips on Making The Easiest Instant Pot Chicken Tinga
- If the sauce isn’t saucy enough for you, let the pot on sauté mode and let the sauce cook down for 5 minutes.
- This recipe was only testing with the Instant Pot 6QT 9-in-1 Duo. Adjustments might have to be made for the mini/3QT or the 8QT.
Ways to Serve with Chicken Tinga / How to Meal Prep Chicken Tinga
Throughout the post, i’ve added some photos of different ways to eat chicken tinga!
- with tortillas
- with a side of bean or regular salad with guac
- with your choice of carbs
- in a sandwich
- however you want to!
Instant Pot Chicken Tinga
Ingredients
- 1 cup fire roasted canned tomatoes
- 1 sweet vidalia onion, chopped roughly or quartered
- 4-5 cloves garlic
- 2 tomatillos, chopped roughly or quartered
- 2-3 chipotle peppers in adobo sauce
- 2 tsp oregano
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 3 chicken breasts
- 1/3 cup chicken stock
Instructions
- In a food processor or blender, blend together the fire roasted tomatoes, onion, garlic cloves, tomatillos, chipotle peppers, and oregano.
- In the Instant Pot, add in some olive oil to coat the bottom of the liner, place your chicken breasts inside, pour the blended mixture on top, and add in the chicken broth/stock.
- Set the Instant Pot on high pressure for 10 minutes then natural pressure release for 5 minutes before quick releasing.
- Remove the chicken to shred. At the same time, I poured some of the sauce back in the food processor to smooth it out a little more. Skip this step if you like your sauce a little more chunky.
- Once the chicken is shredded, add it back into the sauce to coat. Serve with your choice of side or as taco meat! Top off with a squeeze of lime juice if desired.
Notes
Nutrition Per Serving
Prep This Chicken Tinga Ahead of Time / Can I Freeze Chicken Tinga?
- Follow step one and blend everything together then freeze the blender mix with the chicken in a freezer safe bag. When ready, defrost overnight in the fridge and cook as instructed.
- If cooking from frozen in the Instant Pot, you may have to adjust the cook time by an extra 1-2 minutes.
What Are Tomatillos?
Tomatillos, translated to “little tomatoes” in Spanish are sometimes called husk tomatoes or Mexican green tomatoes. Tomatillos are green, and look like unripe tomatoes with a dry, leafy husk wrapper around the outside. Tomatillos have a tart, fruity flavour. They can usually be found year round – if in a pinch, there are also canned versions that can be used.
RESOURCES AND TIPS FOR MEAL PREPPING
- How To Cook Chicken Breasts Perfectly
- What Is An Instant Pot
- Tips To Help You Meal Prep For The Week Successfully
- Tips for Meal Prepping on a Budget
- 7 Freezer Friendly Chicken Marinades
- 5 Freezer Friendly Marinades
MORE INSTANT POT CHICKEN RECIPES TO TRY
- Instant Pot Lemon Garlic Chicken
- Instant Pot Korean Inspired Spicy Chicken Noodle Soup
- Instant Pot Coconut Thai Curry Chicken
- Instant Pot Chicken Tikka Masala
- Spicy Instant Pot Chicken and Rice Meal Prep (inspired by the chicken burrito bowls from Chipotle)
Other places to connect with me
Instagram: @carmyshungry
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/carmyycom
Email: [email protected]
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