Homemade grain bowls are a go-to around here. And these Chicken Tinga bowls just made it to the top of the list! One night a week, I’ll make us bowls. You know, where you make the protein, grab the rice or quinoa from the fridge, and top it with things like sliced carrots, cucumbers, or quick-pickled onions and call it a meal. Before these Chicken Tinga bowls, we had salmon sushi bowls weekly. Bowls like these are a sensation for your mouth and eyes. Color, texture, and tons of sweet, spicy, creamy, and pickled elements come together in harmony. But hold the phone – I haven’t told you the best part! To make these Chicken Tinga bowls, all you have to do is blend a bunch of ingredients in the blender, toss it over the chicken, and let the pressure cooker cook it for you! It’s about 10 minutes of hands-on time (and you can certainly make a double batch and store a stash for later.) I say, what’s not to love here?
What is Chicken Tinga?
Chicken Tinga is a shredded chicken dish made with tomatoes, seasonings, and chipotle peppers in adobo sauce. The recipe is said to have originated in Puebla, Mexico.
What do you need to make Chicken Tinga in the instant pot?
Chicken: You can use both boneless, skinless chicken breasts or thighs for this recipe. Either will do. Once we pressure cook the chicken, we’ll shred it and add it back to the pot to allow it to soak up all that Tinga sauce!Chipotle Peppers: these are available in the canned foods aisle in most grocery stores. They’re packed in adobo sauce. You’ll need 1-3 peppers depending on how spicy you like your food. You’ll also need adobo sauce (the peppers come packed in it.)Garlic: We’re using a generous amount of garlic in this recipe as it’ll mellow out quite a bit as the chicken cooks. Feel free to use less if you aren’t a fan.Onions: You’ll need a ½ cup of chopped yellow onions. You don’t have to chop the onions too precisely for this recipe; we’ll blend them with all the ingredients listed here (other than the chicken!)Tomatoes: You can use canned or fresh tomatoes for this recipe. I usually use canned tomatoes unless tomatoes are in season.Herbs + Spices: You’ll need a handful of spices from the spice cabinet. You’ll need smoked paprika, dried oregano, ground cumin, and chili powder (mild or hot according to preference.)Vinegar: I used a splash of apple cider vinegar for this recipe. If you don’t have any on hand, use red wine vinegar in place.Chicken Stock: the stock is added to help blend the other ingredients and have enough liquid in the instant pot to build pressure and cook the chicken.
What can you use for topping son your Chicken Tinga bowls?
Base: You’ll need steamed broccoli rice, cauli-rice, brown or white rice, or quinoa to start. We’ll toss this with lime and cilantro to make cilantro lime rice/quinoa/cauliflower rice.Pickled onionsSliced tomatoes: I like to use cherry or grape tomatoes, but Roma tomatoes or beefsteak tomatoes cut into cubes would work too.Avocados: I use them sliced up, but you can certainly smash them with a hint of lime juice and a dash of garlic powder too if you’d like!Black Beans: I use cooked, canned beans that are drained and rinsed. Refried black beans or my Cuban-inspired black beans would also work here.Charred corn: you can grill the corn on a grill or a gas stove. You can also purchase charred or grilled corn from the freezer section of select grocery stores and defrost it before adding it to your bowl.Minced jalapeños: You can spice this up with fresh serrano peppers or minced jalapenos or pickled jalapenos if you’d like. We left these out as there was plenty of spice in the Chicken Tinga.And pretty much whatever else you like!
How to make the best homemade Chicken Tinga bowls:
If you like this recipe, you might also like these bowls:
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