Slow Cooker Chicken Tinga Tacos—easy to make smoky chicken tacos with all the fixings. A fresh weeknight meal that comes together quickly.
Get the Instant Pot Chicken Tinga recipe here

Slow Cooker Chicken Tinga Tacos
Chicken tinga is a shredded chicken taco filling that has a tomato chipotle sauce. It has a crowd-pleasing smoky flavor and just a bit of heat. I used my slow cooker for a hands off process and yum it was good!
I used heated up small corn tortillas for my taco shells. I also love those uncooked flour tortillas that you cook quickly in a pan. I served my tacos with lots of cilantro, a squeeze of lime and a bit of sour cream. I was missing avocados and didn’t have the energy to go to the store but next time I will definitely slice up some avocados or use guacamole with these chicken tinga tacos.
I prefer chicken thighs for this recipe but you can use chicken breasts instead. Or what works really well is a combination of the two. I just buy the big bags of frozen chicken thighs from Costco. This recipe works well with frozen chicken. That’s how I roll.
If you’re a fan of heat you can use 3 chili peppers instead of 2. If you’re scared of heat then just use 1 chili pepper. I like to freeze the leftover chipotle peppers in a ziplock bag for later use.
I am going to use the leftover chicken to serve on salad…kind of like taco salad. I love romaine lettuce, taco toppings and then crunched up Fritos on top. Some other ways to use up the leftovers are nachos, tostados or a rice bowl.

More Chicken Slow Cooker Recipes…
Slow Cooker Firecracker Chicken
Slow Cooker Honey Mustard Chicken
Slow Cooker King Ranch Chicken
What Slow Cooker Did You Use?
To make Slow Cooker Chicken Tinga Tacos I used my Ninja Auto-iQ 6 Quart Slow Cooker.* My favorite feature of this slow cooker is that it has a stove top function. This is perfect for sauteing or browning before you slow cook. This slow cooker has four manual cooking functions: slow cook, stove top sear/Saute, steam, and bake.


Slow Cooker Chicken Tinga Tacos
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 4-6 hours
- Total Time: 43 minute
- Yield: 8 servings 1x
Description
Easy to make smoky chicken tacos with all the fixings. A fresh weeknight meal that comes together quickly.
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup chicken broth
- 1 cup diced onion
- 1 Tbsp minced garlic
- 1 (14.5 oz) can fire roasted tomatoes
- 1 tsp dried oregano
- 1 tsp cumin
- 1 tsp kosher salt
- 2 chipotle chili peppers in adobo sauce, chopped
- 2 pounds boneless skinless chicken thighs or breasts (or a combination)
- Salt and pepper
- Lime Juice
- Taco items: shells, tomatoes, sour cream, avocados, cheese, chopped cilantro etc.
Instructions
- Combine broth, onion, garlic, tomatoes, oregano, cumin, kosher salt and chipotle chili peppers in a blender. Blend until smooth.
- Add chicken into the slow cooker. Pour the blended sauce over the chicken.
- Cover and cook on low for 4-6 hours.
- Shred the chicken and stir it into the sauce.
- Salt and pepper to taste and add lime juice to taste.
- Serve shredded chicken in taco shells with desired toppings.
Notes
If you’re a fan of heat you can use 3 chili peppers instead of 2. If you’re scared of heat then just use 1 chili pepper. I like to freeze the leftover chipotle peppers in a ziplock bag for later use.
- Category: Chicken
- Method: Slow Cooker
*Karen Petersen is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com.
Hey Karen – just found the IP version – sorry about that. Cant wait to try them. I have used your website so much for reference & recipes since I got my IP back in August. I love it & it has made weekly kitchen meal prep so much easier!
nice! So happy to hear this 🙂
Love this recipe – but how ’bout an Instant Pot conversion?? Any suggestions??
I work 12 to 16 hour days will this work Cooking on low for that long?
no, that’s is way too long for chicken. I’m sorry.