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Instant pot chicken tinga is the ultimate weeknight meal! Packed with flavor and pressure cooked to perfection in under 30 minutes. Serve on tostadas with cotija cheese, avocado, and lime for the best lunch or dinner.
Chicken tinga is a Mexican dish made with shredded chicken simmered in a tomato and chipotle sauce. Absolutely delicious and you can enjoy it so many different ways. You can serve it on tortillas, tostadas, lettuce, rice, etc. You can also make taquitos or enchiladas with this delicious shredded chicken. The possibilities are endless but my favorite way to serve this is on tostadas.
Can I Make This Without an Instant Pot?
Absolutely. You can make this on the stovetop or slow cooker instead.
How to Make
- Press the “saute” function on your instant pot and add 2 tbsp olive oil. Add the onions and cook for 2-3 minutes or until translucent.
- Stir in the garlic and cook for 5 seconds. Add the cumin, granulated garlic, onion powder, and oregano. Stir and cook for 30 seconds. Press the “cancel” function.
- Remove the onion and garlic mixture from the instant pot and place it in a blender. Add the canned diced tomatoes and their juice, lime juice, chipotle sauce, and chipotle pepper. Blend until smooth.
- Add the chicken stock to the instant pot and scrape the bottom. Place the chicken breasts in the instant pot and season the chicken breasts with salt. Pour the tomato and onion mixture over the chicken breasts and add the bay leaf. Do not stir!
- Pop the lid on top, seal the valve, and pressure cook the chicken for 9 minutes.
- Once the 9 minutes are up, do a quick release. Remove the chicken from the instant pot make sure to leave all of the sauce in the instant pot.
- Shred the chicken using two forks or an electric mixer. Place the shredded chicken back into the instant pot and stir.
- Press the “saute” function and cook for 1 minute. Check for seasoning and add more salt if needed. Enjoy on tostadas with cotija cheese, avocado, and lime, if desired.
Top Tips for the Ultimate Instant Pot Chicken Tinga Tostadas
- Do not stir the chicken and sauce until the chicken is fully cooked through. Otherwise, you may get a burn notice.
- Use an electric mixer to shred the chicken if you want it super shredded.
- Discard the seeds from the chipotle pepper in adobo sauce otherwise, it will be too spicy. If you like it a little extra kick, leave some of the seeds.
- Place any leftovers in an air-tight container and refrigerate for up to 2-3 days.
- Serve with Spanish rice and instant pot refried beans!
More Toppings
- Sour Cream
- Hot Sauce
- Cilantro
- Raw Onions
- Fresh Tomatoes
- Radishes
- Guacamole
- Lettuce
More Instant Pot Recipes
These instant pot pork carnitas and instant pot cilantro lime rice are other Mexican recipes you’ll love!
You can find more delicious recipes and cooking tutorial videos on Youtube and Facebook.
Instant Pot Chicken Tinga
Instant pot chicken tinga is the ultimate weeknight meal! Packed with flavor and pressure cooked to perfection in under 30 minutes. Serve on tostadas with cotija cheese, avocado, and lime for the ultimate meal.
Equipment
- Instant Pot
Ingredients
- 1 lb chicken breasts
- 1 small onion
- 3 garlic cloves
- 1 cup fire-roasted diced tomatoes , canned
- 3/4 cup chicken stock
- 1 tsp granulated garlic
- 1 tsp onion powder
- 1 tsp oregano
- 1 tsp cumin
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 tbsp chipotle sauce
- 1 chipotle pepper in adobo sauce , discard the seeds
- 1 tsp lime juice
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- salt to taste
- Tostadas
- Cotija Cheese
- Avocado
Instructions
- Press the "saute" function on your instant pot and add 2 tbsp olive oil. Add the onions and cook for 2-3 minutes or until translucent.
- Stir in the garlic and cook for 5 seconds. Add the cumin, granulated garlic, onion powder, and oregano. Stir and cook for 30 seconds. Press the "cancel" function.
- Remove the onion and garlic mixture from the instant pot and place it in a blender. Add the canned diced tomatoes and their juice, lime juice, chipotle sauce, and chipotle pepper. Blend until smooth.
- Add the chicken stock to the instant pot and scrape the bottom. Place the chicken breasts in the instant pot and season the chicken breasts with salt. Pour the tomato and onion mixture over the chicken breasts and add the bay leaf. Do not stir!
- Pop the lid on top, seal the valve, and pressure cook the chicken for 9 minutes.
- Once the 9 minutes are up, do a quick release. Remove the chicken from the instant pot make sure to leave all of the sauce in the instant pot.
- Shred the chicken using two forks or an electric mixer. Place the shredded chicken back into the instant pot and stir.
- Press the "saute" function and cook for 1 minute. Check for seasoning and add more salt if needed. Enjoy on tostadas with cotija cheese, avocado, and lime, if desired.
Notes
- Time does not include the time it takes for the instant pot to come to pressure.
- I used an 8 qt instant pot.
- Do not stir the chicken and sauce until the chicken is fully cooked through. Otherwise, you may get a burn notice.
- Use an electric mixer to shred the chicken if you want it super shredded.
- Discard the seeds from the chipotle pepper in adobo sauce otherwise, it will be too spicy. If you like it a little extra kick, leave some of the seeds.
- Place any leftovers in an air-tight container and refrigerate for up to 2-3 days.
Nutrition
Calories: 180kcal | Carbohydrates: 9g | Protein: 26g | Fat: 4g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 74mg | Sodium: 253mg | Potassium: 658mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 4g | Vitamin A: 310IU | Vitamin C: 10mg | Calcium: 51mg | Iron: 2mg
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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