Instant Pot Chicken Tinga Recipe

Instant Pot Chicken Tinga with rice and beans on blue plate

Instant Pot Chicken Tinga Recipe

Instant Pot Chicken Tinga is Mexican shredded chicken in a chipotle sauce that is super easy to make in the Instant Pot and is used in chicken tacos, nachos, chalupas, burritos, and enchiladas.

Course Main Dishes

Cuisine Mexican

Keyword Chicken Tinga, Instant Pot Chicken Tinga

Prep Time 15

Cook Time 10

Pressurization 20

Total Time 45

Servings

Calories 271kcal

Author Michele @ Flavor Mosaic

Equipment

6-Quart Instant Pot Duo60 from Amazon.com (affiliate link)

Ingredients

1/2 cup chicken broth (recommend low salt broth)
2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breast (or boneless, skinless chicken thighs)
1-1/2 cups chipotle sauce (either homemade or store-bought)
1 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon Mexican oregano (can use regular oregano or Italian Seasoning)

Instructions

Pour a 1/2 cup of chicken broth into the inner liner pan of the Instant Pot.
Next, place about 2 pounds of boneless, skinless chicken breasts (or chicken thighs) in the inner liner pan of the Instant Pot. Try to place the chicken breasts in one layer in the Instant Pot.
Pour 1-1/2 cups of chipotle sauce or chipotle salsa on top of the chicken. Add one teaspoon cumin. Add one teaspoon Mexican oregano. (You can substitute regular oregano or Italian Seasoning.)
Close the lid, and move the venting knob on top of the Instant Pot to the sealing position. Press PRESSURE COOK (or MANUAL on some models) and adjust the time to 10 minutes. NOTE: It will take the Instant Pot about 5 or 10 minutes to come up to pressure before it starts to pressure cook for 10 minutes. During this time the display will show "On." After the Instant Pot has come up to pressure, it will start to pressure cook and will display the amount of time left to pressure cook.
After the Instant Pot has finished pressure cooking for 10 minutes, let it release naturally (meaning do nothing). After the pin on top has dropped, then carefully open the lid of the Instant Pot.
Using a long-handled slotted spoon, carefully remove the chicken breasts to a cutting board or a plate. Using two forks, shred the chicken breasts.
Add the shredded chicken back into the Instant Pot with the liquid. Press the SAUTE button. This will heat the liquid and the chicken (which had cooled while it was shredded) and will thicken the sauce. Once the sauce is thickened, then the Chicken Tinga is ready to serve!

Video

Notes

Please note that I made this recipe in an Instant Pot IP-DUO60 6 Qt.
You can use water if you don't have chicken broth. Vegetable broth would work as well.
Either boneless, skinless chicken breasts or chicken thighs will work in this recipe. The most important thing is that they are boneless and skinless.
For the best flavor, I recommend making the sauce in my How To Make Chipotle Sauce blog post. However, a store-bought tomato-based Chipotle Salsa would work also.
After pressure cooking has finished, there may appear to be a lot of liquid in the Instant Pot with the chicken. However, don't worry. The sauce will thicken up after the chicken is added back and it is heated using the SAUTE function. (See instruction 7 above.)

Chicken Tinga Slow Cooker Instructions

Make the chipotle sauce separately. Once the chipotle sauce is made, place all ingredients, including the chipotle sauce, in the slow cooker and cook for 4 hours on high and 8 hours on low.

Nutrition