Slow Cooker Chicken Tinga

Chicken Tinga makes the most delicious shredded chicken tacos! Flavorful, tender, juicy and smoky! Cooking them is a breeze in your slow cooker.
This versatile Mexican dinner idea is a great option for a busy weeknight meal or for a gathering. I mean, who doesn’t LOVE tacos?
I could probably eat Mexican food DAILY! You too? A couple of my favorite Mexican inspired dishes:
- Steak Fajitas
- White Chicken Chili
- Taco Soup
You can also use Chicken Tinga in tostadas, burritos, or nachos.
One of the things I love about this dish is it uses mostly staple ingredients and things that are not hard to find.
- Boneless, skinless chicken thighs– dark meat here is tender and juicy.
- Onion– one of the main flavor components of the dish, slice it about 1/4 inch thick, doesn’t need to be exact, you just want it thin.
- Garlic, cumin, oregano– adds key flavors for this dish.
- 14 ounce can diced tomatoes– the base of the sauce.
- Chipotle peppers in adobo sauce– This is what gives you the smoky spice. Find it in the “ethnic” aisle at your grocery store.
- Red onion, cotija cheese, cilantro- toppings for the tacos.
How to Make Chicken Tinga
STEP ONE: Prepare the chicken
- Generously season the chicken with salt and pepper and place it in the Crockpot and set aside
STEP TWO: Saute’ onions
- Heat the olive oil in a medium skillet over medium heat.
- Add the sliced onions. Sauté until translucent, about 5 minutes.
- Remove from the heat and transfer the onions to the slow cooker on top of the chicken.
STEP THREE: Make the sauce
- Place the tomatoes, garlic, cumin, oregano, and chipotle peppers, adobo sauce in the pitcher of a blender. Puree the ingredients until smooth, about 30 seconds.
- Pour over the top of the onions and the chicken.
STEP FOUR: Cook and enjoy!
- Place the lid on the slow cooker and cook on high for two to three hours or low for four to six hours.
- When it’s finished cooking, remove the chicken from the slow cooker and transfer to a cutting board. Use two forks to shred the chicken.
AFMT PRO-TIP~ A great shortcut to shredding chicken is to use a stand mixer. Place the chicken in the bowl of the mixer. Use the paddle attachment and turn the mixer to ‘stir’ or 1 or 2 (too high will throw the chicken out of the bowl!). After a minute or so, you’ll have shredded chicken! Check out this video to see it in action.
- Return the chicken back to the slow cooker, and allow it to simmer, on low, in the sauce for 20 to 30 minutes.
- To make tacos with your chicken tinga, serve on tortillas topped with red onion, cilantro, and Cotija cheese. Squeeze the juice of a lime wedge over the top if desired.
This is truly so flavorful and so easy to make, I think this Chicken Tinga recipe going to become your new favorite for all things taco related.
Enjoy!
For pro-tips, notes and variations of this recipe, be sure to visit the blog! Thanks for reading!!
Slow Cooker Chicken Tinga
Recipe details
Ingredients
- 2 1/2 pounds boneless skinless chicken thighs
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon pepper
- 1 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 medium onion thinly sliced
- 3 cloves garlic minced or pressed
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- 1 teaspoon oregano
- 1 14 ounce can diced tomatoes
- 2 Chipotle peppers in adobo sauce plus 1 tablespoon of the adobo sauce the peppers are in.
- Tortillas flour or corn
TOPPINGS
- Red onion
- Cotija cheese
- Cilantro
- lime wedges optional
Instructions
- Generously season the chicken with salt and pepper. Place in the Slow Cooker and set aside.
- Heat olive oil in a medium skillet over medium-high heat, add the sliced onions and saute’ until translucent, about 5 minutes. Transfer onions to the slow cooker, on top of the chicken.
- Add tomatoes, garlic, cumin, oregano, and chilis in adobo sauce to a blender. Puree’ until blended into a sauce, about 30 seconds.
- Pour the sauce over the chicken and onions. Cover and cook on high for 2-3 hours or low for 4-6 hours.
- Once the chicken is cooked through, remove the thighs to a cutting board and shred with two forks. See my tip in the notes for shredding chicken with a stand mixer.
- Return the meat back to the sauce. Let it simmer for 20-30 minutes on low or warm setting.
- Serve over tortillas with red onion, cilantro, cheese, and a squeeze of lime.
Tips
- The heat in this recipe is medium. For mild, use 1 chili and 1 teaspoon of adobo sauce; For hot, use 3 chilis and 2 tablespoons of the adobo sauce
- For mild, use 1 chili and 1 teaspoon of adobo sauce;
- For hot, use 3 chilis and 2 tablespoons of the adobo sauce
- This can also be made with boneless skinless chicken breasts
- Shredding chicken hack: If you have a stand mixer, place the thighs in the bowl of the stand mixer, use the paddle attachment, and turn the mixer to ‘stir’ or a low setting, run until chicken is shredded.
- For the most authentic flavor I recommend the Cotija cheese, but any cheese is fine.

Comments
Share your thoughts, or ask a question!
Here's a hack I made up, so you don't have to cook the onions first in a separate skillet. Turn on the slow-cooker, to high. Chop the onions then put them in the cooker for about 30-45 minutes or so, by themselves. They will get nice and soft. Put some of yoru seasonings in with the onions, as well. Then you add the chicken and everything else. Voila! No dirty 2nd pan!