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Chicken Tinga (Tinga Poblana de Pollo)
Tinga poblana de pollo is a stewy dish of shredded chicken in a light, fresh tomato sauce that’s spicy and smoky with chipotle chilies. It’s an excellent filling for tacos or topping for tostadas. For our version of chicken tinga, based on the recipe we learned in Mexico, we poach chicken breasts, shred the meat into bite-size pieces, then add the chicken to the tomato-chipotle sauce that has been simmered separately. Mexican oregano, which has notes of citrus and earth, is more closely related to verbena than to Mediterranean oregano, which is in the mint family. Many supermarkets sell Mexican oregano; if it’s not shelved with the jarred herbs and spice, check the international aisle or where dried Mexican chilies are sold. If you can’t find it, substitute an equal amount of dried marjoram.
4
Servings
Tip
Don’t allow the chicken breasts to boil in the poaching liquid, and make sure to remove them promptly when cooked through. White meat is lean and delicate and becomes dry and tough if boiled vigorously or cooked past 160°F.
1 hour 10 minutes
40 minutes active
Ingredients
-
1½
pounds bone-in, skin-on chicken breasts
-
1
large white onion, halved and thinly sliced, divided
Directions
-
01In a large saucepan, combine 7 cups water, the chicken, a quarter of the onion, half the garlic, the carrots, bay and 1½ teaspoons salt. Bring to a simmer over medium-high then reduce to low, cover and cook at a bare simmer. Cook until the chicken is opaque throughout and the thickest part registers 160°F, 20 to 30 minutes; flip the breasts once about halfway through.
Reviews
August 27, 2025
Tasty and such an easy weekday meal.
I added some red pepper flakes at the end to increase the heat a little. it was super easy and delicious. I made it with bone in chicken thighs and I saved the chicken stock for other use. Enjoy!
May 8, 2025
Sooo good
Made this recipe at home because our local taco truck, while very good, has gotten a bit skimpy on its portions. This recipe was actually better than every bit our favorite street taco truck here in Tampa. – – actually better. I didn't change a One comment: the cilantro stems add a lot. I minced them finely. Don't skip!
December 16, 2024
Family favorite
I use boneless skinless thighs and get just as much flavor. It’s a forever recipe with my family and a woman I shared this recipe with 10 years ago still texts me to say how much her family loves it too.
May 6, 2024
Chicken Tinga
This dish was quite easy to prepare. My wife and I enjoyed the flavors and have put this on our keeper list!!!
May 30, 2023
Even the 2- and 4-Year-Olds Like It
Easy to make, produces succulent white chicken meat (family preference, I prefer dark) but this way of cooking chicken breast is delicious. Do have to scrape the Chipotle sauce off the Littles’ chicken.
Followed all the instructions, but it came out pretty watery. Was hoping to use this in tacos, but that didn't work too well. The taste was okay, but didn't wow me. Seemed like it needed more concentrated flavor.
Hi Mick -
It's possible your tomatoes were particularly watery and, therefore, caused the sauce to be loose and not as flavorful. We would recommend reducing it further to make sure it's just saucy enough to coat the chicken. At this time of year when ripe tomatoes can be hard to find, we recommend Campari or cocktail tomatoes for the best flavor and texture.
Best,
The Milk Street Team
Lovely recipe. However, I was aghast at Milkstreet, a site that educates people like me to cook and enjoy doing so, when it instructed to "discard" the liquid that resulted from cooking the chicken. I didn't. Instead, using a hand-held immersion blender, I puréed the veggies in the liquid, giving me this broth that was simply liquid gold. Liquid gold never tasted this good!
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I wonder how this would be with boneless, skinless chicken thighs?