Slow Cooker Chicken Tinga

A serving dish of shredded chicken tinga with a fork

4 from 12 votes

Slow cooker chicken tinga is the best easy meal prep recipe for flavorful Mexican dinners. Use it for tostadas, tacos, quesadillas, and more!

Servings servings

Prep Time 5

Cook Time 6

Total Time 6 5

Equipment

Ingredients

14 ounces canned fire roasted tomatoes diced or crushed
3.5 ounces canned chipotles in adobo
½ medium white onion chopped
½ teaspoon minced garlic
½ teaspoon cumin
¼ teaspoon Mexican oregano
¼ teaspoon salt
2 pounds chicken breast whole

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

Add canned tomatoes, chipotles in adobo, chopped onion, minced garlic, cumin, Mexican oregano, and salt to a blender. Blend on medium speed until fairly smooth, about 30 seconds to 1 minute.
Pour the contents of the blender into a 4-quart slow cooker. Add the chicken breast, fully submerging it in the sauce.
Cover and cook on LOW for 4 to 6 hours, or until the internal temperature of the chicken is about 160 degrees F.
Remove the chicken from the slow cooker and shred. Return shredded chicken to the slow cooker and stir it into the sauce. Cover and keep on the warm setting until ready to serve.
Serve hot on tostadas or in tacos, quesadillas, enchiladas, or burritos. Alternatively, let cool and store in an air-tight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.

Notes

Variations: There are a few adjustments you can make to alter this recipe for your personal preference. First, this recipe is spicy! If you want to cut back on the heat, simply halve the amount of chipotles in adobo. Or, use regular canned tomatoes instead of fire-roasted if you prefer. Second, you can skip blending the sauce if you like a chunkier chicken tinga. Just make sure to chop up the chipotles in adobo, and thinly slice or dice the onion before adding to the slow cooker.

Serving suggestions: Chicken tinga goes great in plenty of Mexican dishes! We love to use it for tostadas, tacos, quesadillas, burritos, salads, and burrito bowls, just to name a few. Check out our easy chicken tinga tostadas recipe here.

Storing and reheating: Chicken tinga will stay good in the fridge for up to 5 days in an air-tight container. To use it in your favorite Mexican dishes, simply reheat in the microwave for 30 seconds to 1 minute or serve cold on top of a salad or burrito bowl.

Scaling: This recipe scales easily, but you'll want to make sure you have a large enough slow cooker! A 4-quart crock pot is about perfect for 2 pounds of chicken.

Author: Nicole

Calories: 610kcal

Course: Dinner, Main

Cuisine: Mexican

Keyword: big batch, chicken breast, chipotles in adobo, crockpot, fire roasted tomatoes, meal prep, onion, slow cooker

Nutrition