Tessa the Domestic Diva

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Paleo Instant Pot Chicken Tinga

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This Paleo Instant Pot chicken tinga solves a classic problem: a family pleasing, healthy  meal on the table in a flash!

pinterest image of a hand held chicken tinga taco close up and an eye level bowl of shredded chicken filling

 

With the new year, so many people are eager to clean up their diets and eat well!  This quick and easy Instant Pot Chicken Tinga recipe means you can still have delicious food that is good for you too!  And considering it is Whole 30, Paleo, AND keto compliant, those of you working on your new year’s resolutions have a dinner you can turn to as well!  Yay for Paleo Instant Pot recipes!

Chicken Tinga or tinga de pollo, is a traditional Mexican dish of tender shredded chicken bathed in a tomato-chipotle sauce!  There are many versions out there, most quite fiery.  But I knew I would not get away with fiery in this household, oh no!!

Around this house, Mexican food is king.  It is liked by every member of the household, and I have no problem adapting it to be lower carb for me!  So to recap…..kids don’t complain and they eat their whole dinner.  Check.  Double check.

I like to keep taco nights interesting by changing up the flavors of the meat, which is how this recipe was born.  Not that my kids need anything interesting.  Oh no.  Serve the same 2 or three meals with minimal flavors and they’re good to go!!  Who needs variety and flavor (me!)?!!  By the way…the food experts who say that all you have to do is model healthy eating and your kids will follow suit……yeah, not so much.  I think one day, maybe….they might look back and fondly remember and long for mom’s food in all of it’s variety and glory and might willingly…no…maybe actually ENJOY a stray vegetable or two!?

But for now, I wanted to keep it super simple for busy families (yay for blenders and Instant Pots!), and mild enough for the (usually) less adventurous kid pallets.

SERVING SUGGESTIONS – Once this flavorful Instant Pot chicken tinga is made, what you choose to DO with it is up to you (idea overload coming you way!)!.

  • Serve atop a bed of greens with all the fixings for a taco salad.  We love my spicy slaw too.
  • Serve inside any tortilla as taco…with all the fixings too of course (or some of the above mentioned slaw!!)  I make these Cassava Flour Tortillas from the Urban Poser which rock!
  • As a burrito bowl on a bed of rice and beans…….with…..you guessed it!!  All the fixings (again!)  And if you like beans, I have a bomber recipe for THE best darn pot of beans you’ll ever make that you should check out!
  • I even thought making some sort of empañada inside my favorite Paleo Pie Crust would be amazing too!
  • How about on top of a bed of freshly sauteed cauli rice (don’t forget the fixings!!)?

See.  I told you that was a lot of ideas!

frontal eye level view of instant pot chicken tings in a white bowl

NO INSTANT POT, NO WORRIES!!

If you do NOT have an Instant Pot yet, no biggy!  You can modify this for the stove or Crock Pot easily.  Brown the thighs as directed than pour the sauce over the top.  Bring to a simmer, cover, and simmer for 30-45 minutes until the chicken is fall apart tender (or in your crockpot on high for a few hours).  Watch the liquid, and if it gets too dry, add some water.

More Family Friendly Instant Pot Ideas?

Whole 30?

I have loads of recipes perfect for a Whole 30 (or easily adapted to be so).  Check out all my recipes with the Whole 30 tag!!

instant pot shredded chicken tings in a small white bowl topped with cilantro and cotija cheese from above

 

Instant Pot Chicken Tinga Recipe:

Instant Pot Chicken Tinga #paleo #keto #whole30 #glutenfree #instantpot #chicken #tacos
4.93 from 14 votes
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Instant Pot Chicken Tinga

Prep Time 30 minutes
Cook Time 12 minutes
Total Time 42 minutes
Servings 8
Calories 276 kcal
Author Tessa the Domestic Diva

Ingredients

  • 2 pounds chicken thighs boneless or bone in, doesn't matter
  • 14 ounce can tomatoes stewed, diced, whatever!
  • 1/2 cup broth
  • 1 chipotle pepper in adobo sauce could add more if you like spicy heat
  • 1 small onion chunked
  • 4 cloves garlic or 2 teaspoons garlic powder
  • 1 1/2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
  • 2 teaspoons cumin
  • 2 teaspoons oregano
  • 1 teaspoon sea salt

Fixing options:

  • shredded cabbage chopped cilantro (could be blended into the sauce too), onion, avocado, pickled jalapeño, tomato, cotija or feta (IF ALLOWED), hot sauce.

Instructions

  1. Preheat you Instant Pot on the 'saute' feature.
  2. Salt and pepper your thighs, then place in a single layer in the pot to brown, do not overcrowd. Leave alone for 3-5 minutes to really crisp up and brown the sides, then flip and brown the other.
  3. Meanwhile, place all the remaining ingredients into your blender and puree.
  4. When thighs are done browning, place the remaining thighs right in over the top (could elect to brown all thighs in a few batches, but I just wanted to develop the flavor a bit and bypassed browning all of them). and pour the pureed sauce over the top.
  5. Lock on your lid, set your manual setting to 12 minutes.
  6. When it is complete, turn Instant Pot off, and natural release.
  7. Remove thighs and set aside to shred.
  8. With the remaining sauce, use the 'saute' feature to reduce the liquid by at least half.
  9. While the sauce reduces, shred the chicken with two forks or your fingers.
  10. Toss the chicken with the reduced sauce.
  11. Ready to serve in any style tacos, nachos, or atop a taco salad!
Nutrition Facts
Instant Pot Chicken Tinga
Amount Per Serving
Calories 276 Calories from Fat 171
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 19g 29%
Saturated Fat 5g 25%
Cholesterol 111mg 37%
Sodium 535mg 22%
Potassium 419mg 12%
Total Carbohydrates 6g 2%
Dietary Fiber 1g 4%
Sugars 2g
Protein 19g 38%
Vitamin A 5.5%
Vitamin C 7.6%
Calcium 4.4%
Iron 11.2%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

vertical close up of chicken tings taco topped with vibrant multi colored slaw

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Comments

    • I count on 1.5 chicken thighs
      Per person! Apx 3/4 cup give or take. I find when you serve the meat with all the condiments for tacos, you need much less! Especially with this meat as it is so flavorful

      Reply


  6. Tessa, this was amazing! My entire family ate it up and loved it! I served it with some ginger cilantro rice and lime slaw. Thanks so much for the recipe girl, my hubs said I need to make this one once a week, lol. 🙂

    Reply

  7. This is soooo good in case anyone is looking for a review of someone who has tried it!! Love it! Crock pot works too.

    Reply

  9. We love the unique flavor chipotle pepper in adobo sauce — this recipe sounds wonderful! I can see folding the chicken into a lettuce wrap or even layering it in enchiladas. YUM!

    Reply

  13. Swoon! This looks so good! Love all of that saucy goodness and that you made it in the Instant Pot. So yummy on the cassava flour tortillas too.

    Reply


  15. YUM! My husband loves Mexican foods. Well, in Canada, we don’t get to eat a lot of it. So I would love to try this recipe for him, in my new Instant Pot. All the serving suggestions sound wonderful! You totally made me laugh with your stories of the kids. Mine are the same, eating the same few favourite foods and sometimes plain foods. But can’t complain, at least there are a handful of vegetable dishes they would eat, as long as cooked by me (making me tired and proud at the same time, haha).

    Reply

    • We eat Mexican food ALL the time, and have really great restaurants nearby. I spent a lot of time in Mexico, so I am super picky about it! Of course, my versions are much cleaner than the stuff in restaurants! I would take a handful of vegetables at this point!! One does like nori at least!

      Reply


  17. I am definitely putting this on my menu for next week. Not only is it a dish that my husband and I can eat on Keto, but also one my two sons who are not keto would love too!

    Reply


  23. This is an outstanding dish! Easy to make and so delicious! It’s a new Mexican dish I will keep and use as a go to instead of seasoned hamburger .

    Reply
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