Instant Pot Chicken Tinga

Here I’ve simplified my favorite chicken tinga recipe by using my Instant Pot, which not only turns the dish into a one-pot wonder but also allows it all to come together in just about 30 minutes. Use tinga as a taco, burrito, enchilada, or tostada filling. So easy and delicious.

Tinga , if you are unfamiliar, is a Mexican dish made with shredded chicken, chipotles in adobo sauce, tomatoes, onion, and cilantro.

A woman I worked with years ago at Fork taught me how to make it: poach a whole chicken, remove the meat and shred it; make a simple sauce, and simmer it with the chicken; shower with cilantro, and serve.

Most often it was served for family meal as part of a make-your-own-tostada buffet, the elements of which included crispy corn tortillas, shredded lettuce, crema, guacamole, crumbled cotija cheese, and pico de gallo. It was, as you can imagine, delicious.

Tinga is an incredibly simple dish, but there is one step — that first step — that I worry deters many people from giving it a go: poaching a whole chicken.

It’s not that plunging a chicken into boiling water is hard, it’s the aftermath: removing the meat. If the bird is still quite warm, the process can be painful, but even when the meat has cooled, removing it is time consuming and a test of patience, to boot.

Chicken Tinga, Simplified

I recently simplified the tinga-making process in three ways, and much to my delight, the streamlined method sacrificed zero flavor.

1. In place of a whole chicken, I used boneless, skinless thighs. (You can use breasts if you prefer.)
2. In place of chicken stock for the sauce, I used water.
3. In place of poaching the chicken and making the sauce in two separate pots stovetop, I used my Instant Pot to make the whole thing.

I elaborate on the process below, but in short, to make tinga using your Instant Pot, first you use the sauté function to cook the onion and make the sauce. Then you add the chicken, close the lid, and use the high pressure setting .

Once the Instant Pot comes up to pressure, in just 10 minutes it creates that falling-off-the-bone texture in the meat. And while you do have to remove the meat and shred it, using the Instant Pot turns tinga into a one-pot job. Hooray!

You, of course, can serve tinga on its own or over rice, but the beauty of tinga is its ability to stretch: when used as a taco or enchilada filling, one batch of tinga can feed a lot of people or, more practically for today’s world, it can be stretched over many meals. It freezes well, too.

If you don’t have an Instant Pot , follow this recipe for classic chicken tinga .

Final note: When I posted this enchilada sauce recipe , I received a number of questions about where to get chipotles in adobo sauce. All of my local grocery stores carry it, and yours might, too — call ahead or ask if you can’t find it. Mexican groceries will definitely carry it or you can order it online: Goya Chipotles in Adobo Sauce .

5 Other Favorite Instant Pot Recipes

• Perfect Instant Pot Brown Rice (This is a staple.)
• The Instant Pot Miracle: One-Pot Pasta with Meat Sauce (Child approved!)
• Instant Pot Soft-Boiled Eggs (Peel like a dream!)
• Instant Pot Hard-Boiled Eggs (Peel like another dream!)
• Instant pot Moroccan Rice with Harissa and Dates (So much flavor here.)

How to Make Instant Pot Chicken Tinga

Step #1: Gather your ingredients.

Tinga requires just a handful of ingredients: onion, olive oil, chipotle in adobo sauce, canned tomatoes, chicken, and cilantro.

Step #2: Slice the onion.

Step #3: Sauté the onion.

Step #4: Add 1/4 cup of chipotle in adobo sauce.

Step #5: Add 1 cup crushed tomato and 1 cup water.

You absolutely can use fresh tomatoes here, especially if you are making this in the summer and early fall.

Step #6: Add 2 lbs. boneless, skinless chicken thighs (or breasts).

Cover, and cook on high pressure for 10 minutes.

Step #7: Remove the chicken and shred with two forks.

Step #8: Return the chicken to the Instant Pot.

Step #9: Add about a cup of roughly chopped cilantro.

Step #10: Stir to combine. Season with salt to taste.

Step #10: Serve.

There are countless ways to eat tinga. You can serve it over rice. Or, you can serve it with soft tortillas, cheese, and lettuce and make tacos or crispy corn tortillas for tostadas. You can also make …

… enchiladas! (More on these soon!) Use this bean and cheese enchilada recipe as a guide, subbing in the tinga for the beans. This quick, fresh enchilada sauce has been a welcomed discovery this summer.

Description

This is a simplified version of this favorite recipe for classic chicken tinga .

This is the model Instant Pot I own.

If you can’t find chipotles in your local grocery store, you can try a Mexican grocery store or order it online: Goya Chipotles in Adobo Sauce

If you are making this in the summer or early fall, you can use fresh, chopped tomatoes in place of the canned.

This freezes well. Store in quart containers (or other) in the freezer for up to 3 months.

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 onion, thinly sliced
• kosher salt
• 1/4 cup chipotles in adobo sauce, see notes above
• 1 cup crushed tomatoes, see notes above
• 1 cup water
• 2 lbs. boneless, skinless chicken thighs or breasts
• 1/2 to 1 cup roughly chopped cilantro

1. Warm up your Instant Pot by turning the sauté setting on. Once warm, add the 2 tablespoons olive oil. Add the sliced onion. Season with a pinch of salt and stir. Sauté for 5 to 7 minutes or util the onion begins to soften.
2. Add the chipotles in adobo sauce, and cook for another minute.
3. Add the tomatoes and water, and bring to a simmer.
4. Add the chicken and season with a pinch of salt. Stir.
5. Cover the Instant Pot, and lock it into place. Change the settings to manual, high pressure. Set the time for 10 minutes. Be sure to turn the valve to seal.
6. When the 10 minutes are up, turn the valve to release the steam. When the steam has released, turn the lid, and carefully remove it.
7. Remove the chicken from the Instant Pot, and shred it with two forks. Return the shredded chicken to the Instant Pot, and stir.
8. Add cilantro to taste, and stir. I like to let the mixture hang out for a bit (10 minutes or so) before I season it with salt to taste. Taste. Add salt to taste. Note: This tastes better by the day, so don’t be afraid to make it a day or two in advance.

• Prep Time: 5 minutes
• Cook Time: 25 minutes
• Category: Chicken
• Method: Instant Pot
• Cuisine: Mexican

Description

This is a simplified version of this favorite recipe for classic chicken tinga .

This is the model Instant Pot I own.

If you can’t find chipotles in your local grocery store, you can try a Mexican grocery store or order it online: Goya Chipotles in Adobo Sauce

If you are making this in the summer or early fall, you can use fresh, chopped tomatoes in place of the canned.

This freezes well. Store in quart containers (or other) in the freezer for up to 3 months.

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 onion, thinly sliced
• kosher salt
• 1/4 cup chipotles in adobo sauce, see notes above
• 1 cup crushed tomatoes, see notes above
• 1 cup water
• 2 lbs. boneless, skinless chicken thighs or breasts
• 1/2 to 1 cup roughly chopped cilantro

1. Warm up your Instant Pot by turning the sauté setting on. Once warm, add the 2 tablespoons olive oil. Add the sliced onion. Season with a pinch of salt and stir. Sauté for 5 to 7 minutes or util the onion begins to soften.
2. Add the chipotles in adobo sauce, and cook for another minute.
3. Add the tomatoes and water, and bring to a simmer.
4. Add the chicken and season with a pinch of salt. Stir.
5. Cover the Instant Pot, and lock it into place. Change the settings to manual, high pressure. Set the time for 10 minutes. Be sure to turn the valve to seal.
6. When the 10 minutes are up, turn the valve to release the steam. When the steam has released, turn the lid, and carefully remove it.
7. Remove the chicken from the Instant Pot, and shred it with two forks. Return the shredded chicken to the Instant Pot, and stir.
8. Add cilantro to taste, and stir. I like to let the mixture hang out for a bit (10 minutes or so) before I season it with salt to taste. Taste. Add salt to taste. Note: This tastes better by the day, so don’t be afraid to make it a day or two in advance.

• Prep Time: 5 minutes
• Cook Time: 25 minutes
• Category: Chicken
• Method: Instant Pot
• Cuisine: Mexican

Find it online : https://alexandracooks.com/2020/09/11/instant-pot-chicken-tinga/

Here’s a super simple but super flavorful summer pasta recipe: orecchiette with sautéed cherry tomatoes, toasted pine nuts, basil, mozzarella, and parmesan. It’s a classic combination, and it couldn’t be more delicious!

For three weeks in a row, Friday night dinner has been some variation of Marcella Hazan’s “fish in crazy water.” If you are unfamiliar, fish in crazy water (or pesce all’acqua pazza in Italian), is fish poached in a seasoned “water,” in essence a vegetable broth made from sautéed aromatics, tomatoes, and water.

Every time I taste this poaching liquid to test its seasoning before lowering in the fish, I am blown away by its flavor. How can so few ingredients create something so tasty? I wonder. And also: What else could I plunge into this super flavorful sauce?

Pasta of course! This just might be the easiest of easy pasta sauce recipes you make.

Years ago, I posted a similar cherry tomato pasta recipe , but the recipe relied on basil pesto, and the tomatoes cooked for only 30 seconds, so the dish was less saucy.

This version is simpler, and I like it better. I like it so much, in fact, I have a hard time NOT returning to the skillet for thirds and fourths. The recipe (theoretically) feeds four people, but when I made it most recently, Ben and I polished off 90% of it. We finished the remainder standing over the skillet, while taking turns cleaning the kitchen.

Friends, as always, I hope you find this super summery pasta as irresistible and satisfying as I.

PS: Another favorite summer pasta: Gemelli with Roasted Eggplant & Caramelized Onions

Here’s the play-by-play: Gather your ingredients:

Thinly slice 4 cloves of garlic and 1 shallot (or a small onion).

Sweat the onions and garlic stovetop in olive oil. Meanwhile, bring a pot of water to a boil. Place a small skillet over low heat to toast some pine nuts.

Halve a pound of cherry tomatoes.

Add them to the skillet along with 1/2 a teaspoon or so of crushed red pepper flakes, and cook for 3 to 4 minutes or until the tomatoes break down; then add a cup of water, and bring it to a gentle simmer.

Thinly slice some basil.

Add the pasta, toasted pine nuts, basil and 1/2 cup of parmesan to the skillet with the tomato sauce, and stir to combine. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

When everything tastes nicely seasoned, add 4 ounces of mozzarella. I like the pearl-sized balls but the slightly larger size (ciliegine) is nice as well.

Stir to combine and serve immediately.

Crack more pepper over each bowl to taste.

Shave more parmesan over top as well, if you wish.

Description

Here’s a super simple but super flavorful summer pasta recipe: sautéed fresh cherry tomatoes, toasted pine nuts, basil, mozzarella, parmesan and orecchiette pasta. It’s a classic combination, and it couldn’t be more delicious

If you are looking to bulk it up with some meat, a natural addition would be some browned, hot or sweet Italian sauce.

Notes:

• I love a short pasta for this recipe (as opposed to spaghetti or linguini), and I particularly like the Barilla orecchiette . Conveniently, the boxes are 12 ounces, which is what you need for this recipe.

• I have only ever made this with cherry tomatoes, but I imagine any ripe, juicy tomatoes you have on hand, will work just fine.

• I like the pearl-sized mozzarella balls, packed in brine. The slightly larger-sized balls, ciliegine, work fine, too, as would simply dicing up a large ball of mozzarella.

• If making for children, consider omitting the crushed red pepper flakes or using just a pinch.

• ¼ cup olive oil

• 1 small shallot, thinly sliced

• 4 garlic cloves, thinly sliced

• kosher salt

• 12 ounces pasta, such as orecchiette, see notes above

• 1/3 cup pine nuts

• 1/2 to 1 teaspoon crusted red pepper flakes (or less if serving to children)

• 1 pound small, sweet tomatoes, halved, see notes above

• 1/2 cup grated parmesan (a little over an ounce), plus more to taste

• 4 ounces small mozzarella balls, see notes above

• 1/2 cup fresh basil, thinly sliced or more to taste

• fresh cracked black pepper

1. Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Place the pine nuts in a small skillet and place over the lowest heat possible.
2. Meanwhile place the olive oil, shallots, and garlic in a large skillet. Season with a pinch of salt. Turn the heat to high. As soon as you see the oil beginning to shimmer, give the shallots and garlic a stir, cover the lid, and turn the heat to low. Cook for roughly 10 minutes, or until the shallots and garlic are very soft.
3. When the pasta water boils, add 1 tablespoon kosher salt. Boil the pasta till al dente, (11 to 12 minutes for the Barilla orecchiette, but check your package for the accurate time).
4. Meanwhile, uncover the lid of the pan with the shallots and garlic. Add the crushed red pepper flakes and stir briefly. Raise the heat to medium, and add the tomatoes. Season with a pinch of salt. Cook for 3 to 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the tomatoes begin to break down. Add 1 cup of water and bring to a gentle simmer. Taste for seasoning. Add salt and pepper to taste.
5. Before draining the pasta reserve a cup or so of the pasta cooking liquid. (You may not need the pasta cooking liquid, but reserve some just in case.) Drain the pasta. Do not rinse or shake. Immediately transfer drained pasta to the tomato sauce and stir to combine. Turn heat to low.
6. Check on the pine nuts. Increase the heat to medium and stir constantly until the pine nuts are toasted — do not walk away from the skillet for a second. Add them to the pasta once toasted.
7. Add the parmesan cheese to the pasta as well as fresh cracked pepper to taste. Taste. Season with salt to taste if necessary. Add some of the reserved pasta cooking liquid if the sauce has thickened too much — I have yet to need the reserved liquid, but I always reserve some should I need it. Add more parmesan to taste if you wish.
8. When the sauce is tasting seasoned to your liking, add the mozzarella and basil, stir to combine, then serve immediately. Shave more parmesan over top if you wish. Crack pepper over top if you wish as well.

• Prep Time: 15 minutes
• Cook Time: 30 minutes
• Category: Pasta
• Method: Stovetop
• Cuisine: Italian, American