Saucy Slow Cooker Chicken Tinga
It takes just 5 minutes to start cooking our saucy chicken tinga in the slow cooker for easy weeknight dinners or meal prep. This super tender chicken cooks in a savory, smoky, and slightly spicy chipotle-tomato sauce that’s packed with flavor. We use it for everything from chicken tinga tacos, to tostadas, to easy nachos.
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
Instructions
- Add the tomatoes, chipotles in adobo, onion, and seasonings to a slow cooker.
- Use an immersion blender to blend the sauce to a smooth-ish consistency (it’s okay to have a few chunks, but definitely make sure to break up the chipotle peppers!). If you don’t have an immersion blender, add the ingredients to a blender first, then blend and pour the sauce into your slow cooker.
- Add chicken breast to the sauce, making sure to fully submerge it. Cover and cook on low until the internal temperature of the chicken reaches 160F, about 4 hours.
- Remove the chicken from the crockpot using a spider strainer or slotted spoon and transfer it to a cutting board. Shred the chicken using two forks.
- Return the shredded chicken to the slow cooker and stir to combine with the sauce. Turn your slow cooker to the warm setting and let the chicken sit in the sauce for an extra 15 to 30 minutes to really soak up the sauce before serving.
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.
Nutrition
Serving: 1serving | Calories: 153kcal | Carbohydrates: 5g | Protein: 25g | Fat: 3g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.5g | Monounsaturated Fat: 1g | Trans Fat: 0.01g | Cholesterol: 73mg | Sodium: 281mg | Potassium: 433mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 2g | Vitamin A: 236IU | Vitamin C: 3mg | Calcium: 25mg | Iron: 1mg
