Here's a fun new twist on Taco Tuesday, Chicken Tinga Tostadas! It's a super simple recipe that doesn't skimp on flavor!
What is Chicken Tinga?
You know me, I'm always on the hunt for new flavors and new things to cook in the kitchen. So when I came across Chicken Tinga, obviously I was intrigued! Turns out Chicken Tinga is my new favorite thing! Well, what is it? It's a traditional Mexican dish of shredded chicken simmered in a sauce of tomato, chipotle chili, and onion.
Think of it like this, it's chicken simmered in salsa.
The flavor is deep and smoky. It tastes like what you expect tacos to taste like, but different. Good different.
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The Ingredients
Canned Fire-Roasted Diced Tomatoes: Fire-roasted = more flavor. We want that.
Chipotle Chiles in Adobo Sauce: The chipotle chiles are the most crucial part! So NO, you may not leave them out! They give a great smoky flavor without being too spicy. You can make it more spicy by keeping the seeds in, but I usually scoop them out.
- To get the seeds out of a Chipotle pepper: take a pepper out of the can. With a knife, make a slit lengthwise in the pepper and open it up. You'll likely see a bunch of seeds. Use the back of your knife to scrape them out. Then use the remaining flesh of the pepper.
Find these in the same aisle as the other taco ingredients, they're always in a small can usually on the top or bottom shelf. (Which IMHO, is an injustice to the chipotles. They should be front and center, but whatever.)
- To store the leftover Chipotles in Adobo: Scoop the rest of the peppers and sauce from the can into a mason jar or other small container. Store in the fridge. They will last for weeks! I use them up by making more Chicken Tinga, in chili, or by putting them into my Restaurant Style Salsa... yum!
Onion, garlic, lime, & cilantro: For me, pantry staples. They should be for you, too. ????
Dried cumin & oregano: also, pantry staples.
Chicken: I used boneless-skinless breasts, but if thighs are your jam, you do you. A combo would work too!
Tostadas: Find these by the tortillas! Basically a flat taco shell. They're corn, they're crunchy, and they're awesome. I need more tostadas in my life.
Refried beans: I used Refried Black Beans, straight from the can! Well actually I warmed them a little and stirred them first but you get the idea.
Cheese: Totally optional! I used Queso Quesadilla cheese on a batch of these and it was pretty amazing. You can find it pre-shredded in the cheese aisle. You could also use a Mexican blend cheese.
Making the Chicken Tinga:
This is seriously magical. Toss the sauce ingredients into the blender and blend. Pour over chicken in the Instant Pot Pressure Cooker or Slow-cooker. Cook. Shred. Done. I love my life right now.
Using the Instant Pot? Use the poultry setting and cook for 12-15 minutes depending on how large the chicken pieces are.
Using the slow-cooker? Cook on Low 4-5 hours, or on High about 2-3 hours.
Pro-tip: When using either method, always make sure the chicken reaches 165°. If it's not there, add a little more time. The time can vary depending on the size of the chicken pieces and your appliance.
Put the chicken back into the sauce and hold it on keep warm until ready to serve!
Putting the Tostadas Together:
Ready for more magic?
- Pull out the tostada shells, spread with warmed refried black beans. (Put the whole can of refried black beans in a microwave safe dish and nuke it until warm. Then stir it up a bit so they are easy to spread.)
- Top with shredded chicken and cheese (optional).
- Broil for a few minutes on low, if needed/desired to warm everything up and melt the cheese.
- Then STUFF IT IN YOUR FACE!
Seriously, Chicken Tinga Tostadas are effectively so quick and so simple to make! I love it!
You could also just pile everything into your favorite kind of taco shell but why not switch it up?!
Make It Ahead:
If you want to make this as a freezer meal, you can freeze the cooked & shredded chicken in the sauce. Then thaw and rewarm before using. Actually making a double-batch, using half for dinner tonight and freezing the rest is just about genius.
Or...
You could make the blender sauce and freeze it along with the uncooked chicken.
For the Instant Pot: Freeze it in a container that would fit inside the instant pot, like this 7-cup round pyrex dish. Then when you're ready to cook it, just run warm water around the edge to release the frozen block of chicken/sauce from the container. Drop the whole frozen block right into the Instant Pot. Cook on the poultry setting for 15 min, with a natural pressure release.
For the Slow-cooker: Freeze the sauce and chicken together. Thaw completely before cooking in the slow-cooker. It is not recommended to cook from frozen for slow-cooking.
Chicken Tinga Tostadas
Ingredients
- 1.5 lb boneless, skinless chicken breast
Tinga Sauce
- 1 15 oz can Fire-roasted diced tomatoes
- 2 chipotle peppers in adobo, + 2 tsp of the sauce, seeds removed, see notes
- 1 small onion, quartered
- 3 cloves garlic
- ¼ cup cilantro
- 1 lime, juiced
- 1 tsp oregano
- 1 tsp cumin
- ½ tsp kosher salt
For Tostada Assembly
- 1 pkg tostada shells
- 1 15 oz can refried black beans
- shredded Queso Quesadilla cheese, optional
Instructions
Make the Tinga Sauce:
- Add the Tinga Sauce ingredients to a blender or food processor. Blend until smooth.
- Reserve ½ cup of the sauce for serving.
Instant Pot Method:
- Place the chicken in the Instant Pot. Pour the Tinga sauce over the chicken.
- Place the lid on and turn the valve to sealing. Press Poultry. Adjust to 12-15 min. (12 for smaller chicken pieces, up to 15 for larger pieces.)
- When the time is up, allow at least 10 minutes of Natural Pressure Release before turning the valve to venting. Remove the lid.
- Remove the chicken and shred with two forks. Put the shredded chicken back in the sauce and put the lid back on. Leave on Keep Warm until ready to serve.
Slow-cooker Method
- Place the chicken in the slow-cooker. Pour the Tinga sauce over the chicken.
- Put the lid on and cook on Low 4-5 hours, or on High about 2-3 hours.
- Remove the chicken and shred with two forks. Put the shredded chicken back in the sauce and put the lid back on. Leave on Keep Warm until ready to serve.
Assembling the Tostadas
- Place the refried beans in a microwave safe dish. Microwave the beans until warmed through, about 1 minute or so. Stir.
- Spread refried black beans on each tostada shell. Top with shredded chicken. Add a little of the reserved sauce and a sprinkle of cheese, if desired.
- Serve immediately or put under a low broiler to melt the cheese.
Notes
- Chipotle Chiles in Adobo: Don't leave them out! They give a great smoky flavor without being too spicy. You can make it more spicy by keeping the seeds in.
- To get the seeds out of a Chipotle pepper: take a pepper out of the can. With a knife, make a slit lengthwise in the pepper and open it up. You'll likely see a bunch of seeds. Use the back of your knife to scrape them out. Use the remaining flesh of the pepper.
- Find these in the same aisle as the other taco ingredients, they're always in a small can usually on the top or bottom shelf.
- To store the leftover Chipotles in Adobo: Scoop the rest of the peppers and sauce from the can into a mason jar or other small container. Store in the fridge. They will last for weeks!
- Chicken:
- I used boneless-skinless breasts, but if thighs are your jam, you do you. A combo would work too!
- When using either method, always make sure the chicken reaches 165°. If it's not there, add a little more time. The time can vary depending on the size of the chicken pieces and your appliance.
- Cheese: Totally optional! I used Queso Quesadilla cheese on a batch of these and it was pretty amazing. You can find it pre-shredded in the cheese aisle. You could also use a Mexican blend cheese.
- If you want to make this as a freezer meal, you can freeze the cooked & shredded chicken in the sauce. Then thaw and rewarm before using.
- Actually making a double-batch, using half for dinner tonight and freezing the rest is just about genius.
- You could make the blender sauce and freeze it along with the uncooked chicken.
- For the Instant Pot: Freeze it in a container that would fit inside the instant pot, like this 7-cup pyrex container. Then when you're ready to cook it, just run warm water around the edge to release the frozen block of chicken/sauce from the container. Drop the whole frozen block right into the Instant Pot. Cook on the poultry setting for 15 min, with a natural pressure release.
- For the Slow-cooker: Freeze the sauce and chicken together. Thaw completely before cooking in the slow-cooker. It is not recommended to cook from frozen for slow-cooking.
Nutrition
If you make this recipe, please let me know what you think!
If you like this recipe, enjoy some of my other Mexican dishes!
- This fajita marinade makes perfect grilled or sheet pan fajitas!
- Try this quick and easy Chipotle Salsa... p.s. it uses canned tomatoes!
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