An easy Instant Pot or slow cooker meal, this Paleo, Whole30 + Keto chicken tinga is a versatile and fun dish the whole family will love! With only 5 minutes of active prep time, just dump everything in the Instant Pot and get ready to enjoy this smoky, saucy chicken tinga.
It’s so easy!
When we say this is in easy meal, it’s really true! With just four main ingredients and some simple seasonings, you can get this meal cooking in just about 5 minutes. The hardest part will be figuring out how you want to serve it. We like it in tacos (with either lettuce shells or Siete tortillas), in a quesadilla, with some fried plantains, or as a chicken burrito bowl with a bunch of toppings!
Smoky and Saucy
You would think that such an easy recipe would be lacking in flavor, but that’s definitely not the case with this shredded chicken recipe. To make it extra smoky we added some liquid smoke and chipotle powder. These really kick up the smoky flavor and pair perfectly with the tomato based sauce. You’ll get just a hint of cinnamon too, which is a fun addition to these yummy flavors.
Time to party!
Cinco de Mayo is coming up, so we teamed up with some of our favorite bloggers bring you a bunch of Mexican themed recipes to enjoy! Whip up an easy batch of our chicken tinga or try one of these other recipes from our friends over at Real Food with Jessica, Mary’s Whole Life, Paleo Running Momma and Wholesomelicious! Just click on any of the images below to head on over to their site for the recipe.
INSTANT POT CHICKEN MOLE 
CHICKEN ENCHILADA STUFFED PEPPERS 
MEXICAN MEATBALL SOUP 
PALEO JALAPENO MARGARITAS
Your turn to try this chicken tinga
Got a busy weeknight coming up? Or want to meal prep some lunches to take to work? Make this chicken tinga! It’s super quick and easy to make, with just 5 minutes of active prep time and before you throw it in the instant pot or slow cooker. Leave a comment below to let us know how it goes. Also, take a pic to share on Instagram! Tag us @realsimplegood so we can see, and then give us a follow if you don’t already! We’d love to stay connected!
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Chicken Tinga (Paleo, Whole30 + Keto) Instant Pot or Slow Cooker
Ingredients
- 1 can fire roasted tomatoes, (14.5 oz can)
- 2 lbs boneless skinless chicken thighs
- 1 onion, diced
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 1 tsp cumin
- 1 tsp oregano
- 1/2 tsp chipotle powder
- 1/2 tsp sea salt
- 2 tsp liquid smoke
For topping/serving:
- romaine lettuce , (or sub Siete Tortillas, corn tortillas or other sturdy lettuce) Lettuce only for Whole30
- cilantro
- avocado
Instructions
For the Instant Pot:
- Pour the can of tomatoes in the instant pot first. Place the chicken in and toss the onions and garlic on top. Sprinkle the seasonings over everything and add in the liquid smoke.
- Secure the lid on the instant pot and close the pressure valve. Press the “manual” button (or “pressure cook” button) and set the time to cook for 20 minutes at high pressure. Once the time is up, quick release the pressure.
- Remove the lid and shred the chicken with two forks. If you wish for serving, you can strain out any excess liquid and either keep or discard it.
- Serve chicken in bowls over greens, in lettuce wedges or in tortillas with your favorite toppings.
For the slow cooker:
- Follow step #1 above, placing all of the items in the slow cooker.
- Cook on low for 6 hours or on high for 3 hours. Shred the chicken with two forks once cooked and serve as noted above.
Notes
How much longer should I cook in the slow cooker if I double it?
You should only need to add about 5 minutes for the instant pot and the slow cooker would remain the same.
Another awesome recipe! This one was so easy to throw together, I did add an orange bell pepper with the onions to cook and then once I shredded the chicken I added a bag of frozen cauliflower rice for some extra veggies. Added this meal to some almond flour tacos for Taco Tuesday night, it was so delicious!!!
Sounds so good! Love hearing how you made it your own, too! Thanks for trying another one! đŸ™‚
Can’t wait to try this out for a dinner.
We hope you enjoy it Angela đŸ™‚
I just made this for nachos! The cinnamon and liquid smoke add a unique flavor to this chicken! It’s so good! I will definitely make this again!
Sounds perfect for nachos, we haven’t tried this recipe for that. We really appreciate you coming back to leave a rating and review đŸ™‚
This was amazing and made for a quick dinner. I especially love the cinnamon, which I could smell as soon as I released the Instant Pot valve! I made some Keto tortillas, and we had lovely chicken tinga tacos. Thanks for the recipe!
You’re very welcome!
I make this almost every week! I love all of your recipes. So good!
Thank you Chelsea!
Delicious! We had them on top of nachos with DF cheese, black beans, red onion, avocado, cilantro, lettuce, and tomatoes. I did had a few dashes of Cholula to make it perfect. Next time I think I may add a little chili powder. Highly recommend!
That sounds amazing and your pic on IG looked so good :). Thanks for tagging us and coming back to leave a review.
Planning to use this recipe next week. After completing your Whole 30, I’m hooked on your cooking style. I live in a relatively small town in Mexico and have limited access to some of the seasonings. I’ll be using the smoked paprika subbed for liquid smoke. Is there an alternative to the fire roasted tomatoes or a way to enhance the plain ones?
We’re so glad you’re enjoying our recipes, and making do with what you’ve got access to in Mexico! You could try adding some green chiles or salsa to add more flavor and kick to regular roasted tomatoes. Let us know how it goes!
I always thought when you use the Insta pot you and at least have one cup of a liquid.
The fire roasted tomatoes are liquid enough! Hope you give it a try! đŸ™‚
I can’t tolerate liquid smoke – can I substitute something else?
You could try substituting smoked paprika.
I ended up omitting the chipotle powder and opted for chipotles in adobo sauce (3 peppers and 1/2T sauce) … it worked PERFECTLY!
This was so good! The chicken was so tender it practically shredded itself. I can’t wait to make this again!
Sounds delicious!