Chicken Tinga Tostados

Excellent! I made this in my crock pot and it turned out great. It was also SUPER easy that way - no boiling and the chicken basically falls apart after 8 hours on low, so shredding is piece of cake. (I put the chicken breasts in the crock pot with the sauteed onions & garlic; then I blended the tomatoes & peppers and put those in there as well to cook all day.) The first time I made this I used WAY too many peppers (I was trying to do a half batch) and we couldn't even eat it. But the second time we got the spice level right for us and it was a hit - about one whole chipotle pepper per tomato. We also like to put black beans on the tostada with it. Very unique, authentic flavor!

very authentic flavor! (Needed some salt though.) If you are like me and like flavors with "a kick" but not TOO spicy go by the equal portions rule. 6 breasts (can use boneless if you like) 6 onions 6 tomatoes (large... or two large drained cans of whole tomatoes which are usually smaller) 6 peppers (and scoop out some extra sauce. Use this ratio to prepare however much or little you want. Using 6 breasts will give you PLENTY of food... easily enough for 8 adults and handful of toddlers. I crockpot cooked mine... it was awesome. When I was in Mexico, they served tinga like this: Tostada shell Spread with some mashed or pureed black beans (I use refried sometimes) Spread with tinga Spread with cheese and cream. The cream is essential. If you don't know this healthy trick already, a great, healthy substitute for sour cream is plain yogurt... mmmm... full fat is the best. You can substitute it in for all your sour cream needs.

When you prepare the tostada it usually goes as follows, a layer or refried bean on the tostada, then shreded lettuce, then the tinga, and then sour cream topped of with a bit of shredded cotija cheese. :)it's a lot better this way.

Great recipe, it's authentic! Here's a tip for managing the spiciness of this dish (especially when some of your family doesn't do spicy and some like it HOT): Instead of blending the whole can of chipotles into the sauce, only blend in maybe one (you can never tell just how hot a given can will be). Then pull a few whole peppers out of the can and add them to the final mixture. Let them simmer in there to get that delicious smoky flavor, but avoid breaking them up, since the spiciness will mix into every bite if they are in pieces and the seeds get out. Finally, blend the remainder of your can into a paste that each person can smear onto his or her tostada according to spiciness preferences. Also - don't worry about your tomatoes being too juicy. This dish *should* be a little watery (a little juice will slide off the tostada); if it's really, really too watery, then a) serve it with a slotted spoon or b) let it simmer down for a while and it will thicken just like spaghetti sauce does. Goes great with Agua de Jamaica (an easy and delicious hibiscus tea).

Fantastic! We loved these tostados. To save time I used a rotisserie chicken, and a large can of whole tomatos drained. Also, seven onions is a little excessive. I used three, and that was plenty. Very spicy...they just tasted great!

My husband is from Mexico..my Mother-in-Law makes this all the time, and I never thought to ask her how. Wanting to make it for dinner tonight, I searched for a recipe. This is all the ingredients, and it turned out the same. We don't use the sour cream. And I substituted ground beef for the chicken, the way MIL does sometimes. Put some shreded lettuce on top of the Tinga, and you're good to go!

This is a delicious and easy to prepare meal. After reading viewer comments regarding spiciness, I decreased the chipotles by half. After having tasted the recipe, though, in the future I will prepare the dish with the full chipotle recommendation. The sour cream and cheese nicely balance the spiciness of the sauce. I used fajita sized flour tortillas instead of tostadas. Fresh slices of avocadoes would be delicious wrapped with the chicken. I served these with cheese and jalepeno mashed potatoes.

FANTASTIC! Definately follow the directions although the recipe appears to call for too many onions. The recipe was further enhanced by frying our tortillas in oil - providing a nice tostada touch. Lastly, serving lettuce and cheese atop this recipe adds a great flavor. enjoy!

The tip to put cinnamon totally made this dish burst with flavor. I made a smaller batch of this (3 chicken breast, 3 chilies, 3 tomatoes, 3 onions) and i put just a dash of cinnamon and it made a huge difference, as it was a little bland as written. I also added a BUNCH of salt, a few pinches of cumin and some garlic powder. Perfection! =)

This is one of the best recipes I have gotten off this website. I wouldn't change anything about it. I have made this three times already, the last time there might have been a little too much water from the tomatoes. You dont really want extra water, so be careful if your tomatoes are really juicy. thanks for posting this NANCHE30

I'm originaly from Mexico, and I want to say this is good!!.. Only when we make our tostadas we put a thin layer of home made refried beans then the meat mixure, and of course our cheese n Mexican cream. Yummm! (just a tip: if u don't want it to spicy clean out your chipotle peppers by cutting them open and remove the seeds n vains.) be carefull when handeling them. Also in my house we can't forget the slices of avocados! :)

Delicious! This has been my base recipe for tinga since my husband first found it two years ago. The original recipe is great as is. I tend to add a couple things now that I've been making it for a while. As several reviewers said, I use less chipotle. I also usually add cilantro to the tomatoees and chipotle's, as well as a little bit of cumin and black pepper. Additionally, I usually used fire roasted canned diced tomatoes. The roasted flavor is very delicious and it tends to be more economical all year this way.

I have made this recipe twice. The first time I made it exactly as written, as written its a 5 star. The second time I made this in the slow cooker. Used boneless chicken breasts, added a couple cans drained black beans and used half a can of the peppers. I also added a cinnamon stick as one reviewer suggested. This is the best shredded chicken you will ever eat.

Delicious! I used a whole bag of frozen boneless chicken breast and two cans of diced tomatoes, cooked up all the onions and garlic, blended the whole can of peppers, and dumped all ingredients into the crock pot together. When the chicken was cooked, I pulled it out and pulsed it a bit in the food processor. Then we topped the tostados with refried beans, lettuce, the chicken, thin sliced avocado, sour cream, and shredded cheese. It is not even close to being too spicy for me or the kids. It came out just perfect!

I loved this recipe. My husband and I like spicy so I used the whole can of chipoltes...and it was hot but very good! The sour cream or plain Greek yogurt (trying to be a bit more healthy) helped tame the heat. I also like to top my tinga tostado w/cilantro-just liked the added flavor. I have used a 28 oz. can of tomatoes when fresh are out of season and I thought it worked almost as well.

ok but alot of woek forjust ok

This was so much easier to make then I had anticipated. I did add the cinnamon that someone suggested.And instead of chipotle peppers in sauce I used the chipotle salsa. used the whole can and found it gave a real kick without being to much. And no chopping. Next time (And there definitely will be a next time!) I may add some pepper strips with the onion.

Make this in the crock pot! It is the only way the chicken will be tender enough to shred. It also lets the spices marinate the chicken for really good flavor. I put the chicken in the crock pot with chicken broth, onions, garlic, chicken bouillon and added some taco seasoning. I only used half the can of chipotle peppers in adobo because they are HOT HOT HOT. We love hot and spice but those are over the top so be careful adding them. The chicken cooked in the crock pot on low about 4 hours. When done we topped the tostada shells with a little refried beans as well and it was awesome.

Ooh Yummy! These are fantastic. I did throw the chicken with the onions and the pureed tomato mix into the crock pot and just let it cook for about 6 hours then shredded it up and cooked for an additional hour on low. I only used 2 medium onions. I used 2 28oz cans of whole tomatoes. The fresh ones were crazy expensive. I also made a chipotle sauce, about 4 chipotles about 1 T of adobo sauce, mayo, sour cream, a bit of cilantro and a dash of lime juice blended it all together. It went very well on these. Also took the time to fry corn tortillas fresh, so completely worth it. I'll definitely make this again.

I used Costco precooked chicken, canned tomatoes and cut the recipe in half. I also used flour tortillas with pinto beans, spanish rice, sour cream, lettuce and pepperjack cheese along with the Tinga. The taste was very flavorful and pleasant. Will make these again for sure

To cut down on the heat, we just seeded the chipotle peppers while still using the same amount. We love this!

It is wonderful!!

I took the suggestion to combine it all in the crock pot.. saved a lot of time & the chicken was super tender!

Delicious! Very spicy, we like that in our house. I used a can of diced tomatoes w/jalapeno and drained out some of the liquid. Would definitely make again!

This is really, really good. I cut the recipe in half and followed the advice of others and used a ratio of 1 tomato, 1 chipotle to 1 chicken breast. For the onions I used 1 very large and 1 medium and it was enough for 3 large chicken breasts. It was absolutely delicious. I can't wait to have the leftovers for dinner tonight. I left the chicken in rather large chunks instead of shredding. I shredded some iceberg lettuce and thinly sliced radishes for a little side salad topped with salsa, sour cream and avocado. It was spicy but just the right kind of spicy. My husband calls it a keeper. It is really a 5 star recipe with the modifications. I do think a whole can of chipotle's would be way too much and I love spicy food.

So delicious! I used a can of petite diced tomatoes instead of the regular tomatoes and tasted delicious! You can put that sauce on anything and it will taste good! I spread refried beans on the tostado shell.

So good! I followed the recipe pretty much to the letter, except I didn't have quite enough onions and it was still fine. Don't be tempted to skip the chipotle peppers, as they add the best smoky flavor that make these so special.

Good! Makes a huge amount of food when using a roti chicken. Needs much less onion (I used 6 and this was still way too much and I LOVE onion!) and only a few peppers for us. Hint: Buy a small can of chiles.

I wasn't making dinner for 8 so I had to cut way back on the ingredients but pretty much stayed with the recipe. The canned chipotle in adobo was a key ingredient for flavor. So I seeded a good half dozed of the peppers and used all the canned sauce cause I am sure the sauce carried a good kick too. I also threw some slices of avacado and black olives on top when done as a garnich. This is a real keeper and I will be making it again.

My husband loved this dish! I would have liked it more if I had gotten some shredded lettuce to go on top (it was just a tad spicy for me). I reduced the amount of onion and served the tostados topped with refried beans, tinga, sour cream, and a bit of cheese. Next time I'll be sure to get shredded lettuce, and maybe take out a few of the peppers before making the sauce. Very tasty!

We took the advice of other reviewers, and cut the chipotle chili amount in half. The second day the chicken was a little less hot, and just perfect! We spread a thin layer of refried beans on the tostada shell, first, and then covered that with the magic dressing from the "Grilled Fish Tacos with Chipotle-Lime Dressing" recipe that is posted here on allrecipes.com. Then comes the chicken, lettuce, tomato, and cilantro, and grated cheese. Totally wonderful tostada that we will make again and again.

I don't usually rate/review recipes but this is fantastic. Spicy, smokey, and all around delicious.

I ABSOLUTELY LOVED THIS! Cannot praise enough! I added (half a head) of thinly sliced cabbage and fried that along with the onions. I like Tinga juicy, so I used some of the chicken broth from the boiled chicken and boiled a couple of california chili pods, then tossed that in the blender until smooth and added it to the chicken/cabbage/onion mixture until I reached the preferred amount of juicyness. Served over sour cream on tostadas and topped with a splash of lemon juice. Mmm... Thanks for sharing!

Made this with a pinch of cinnamon as suggested and used 1 chipotle pepper per breast. Mixed everything together for the sauce, put it all in the crock pot and let it cook all day. It was wonderful. Used the leftovers to make a casserole with corn tortillas layered with chicken tinga and then covered it all with homemade green chille salsa. Hubby liked this even better. Big time hit! Thanks for the post.

Just the recipe I was looking for! When I was in Mexico, they put a layer of refried beans on the tostado, then the meat, shredded lettuce, sour cream/crema, and then sprinkled some shredded queso enchilado on it. It is delicious!! I used much less of the chipotle for my taste as well.

This tinga is amazing. I have a mexican neighbor who made this for me and this was the only recipe I found to be exactly like the way she made it. The only thing to note about it is that you may want to change the amount of chipotle peppers you use depending on your spiciness tolerance.

My family LOVED these! Great recipe

I added cilantro, lime juice and avocado to the finished recipe. Very good!

This was OKAY... but not really authentic.

Great easy little recipe for a wonderful quick hot meal! I scaled this down to 2 servings and it turned out fabulous. Very smoky and lots of heat in this dish. I topped mine with lettuce and mexican blend cheese too. The sour cream really helped cut the fire and was needed. I didn't have fresh tomato so I used mexican tomato sauce instead. I think though next time I will cut the heat some if fixing this for family or others as it was a bit spicy and I love spice. Thanks, I really liked this a lot!

Great recipe I made for my family I used less onion than it called for and about 5 chipotle peppers. Using the whole can is way to much spicyness. Will make again !

I used rotisserie chicken. This is delicious. I accidentally halved the recipe, but not the can of chipotle peppers. Super spicy. It was fine, for our spicy taste, but would still try to halve when I make again! Made with "Rich Mexican Corn" that I found on this site to use as a side dish...we ended up using that as a topping too. So Good.

I love chicken tinga, but did not care for this recipe. About 5 million too many onions.

This is very good and very easy to make. You can adjust the spiciness by adding/subtracting chipotle peppers. My husband, who is from Mexico, loves it and asks for it all the time. Great job!

I never knew the name of these, but we make them quite often. My MIL (and DH) are from Mexico and I got the recipe from her. YUM! The only thing I add that wasn't listed is sliced avocado on the top. It is creamy and helps cool the heat from the spicy chicken. You will LOVE these!

Delicious, needed salt.

I made this dish for my family and we all loved it!!! I would highly recommend if you like spicy meals!

This was way to spicy. Would have been better with only half the can of peppers. We ate it with cheddar cheese, sour cream and lettuce. I also used only 2 onions and thought that was more than enough. If i had used less peppers this probably would have been 5 stars.

This was great! Just like the stuff my mom used to make in Mexico. Make sure to buy tostados, which are crunchy tortillas. This was perfect!

Love this. Had a Mexican coworker comment this was just like what he used to eat when he was growing up. I'd say that's a compliment. Very tasty! Thanks!

This is a great recipe!! After living with a family in Mexico for 5 months, I began to love spicy food. This recipe is the closest that I have found to my host mother's recipe and I make it for all my Spanish friends. Beware: it can be very spicy, so I would recommend that you cut down on the Adobo until you try it out. Don't worry about being too exact..Mexican cooking is about feeling. I personally loved it, but my mom couldn't deal with the level of heat.

AMAZING! This is a crowd-pleaser. The meat can be used in many different recipes and makes great leftovers. Two to three chipotle peppers are plenty of heat for us.

I loved this recipe, although I used much less of the Chipotle peppers. I prepared it a week early and froze it. When I reheated it, it tasted fresh and delicious. Will make it again and again.

Excellent. A monthly rotation for the family.

This was really good, far too spicy for my little ones though.

I love spicy food but this was HOT! And I even decreased the chipotles by about 1/2. The peppers were overwhelming and really all you could taste.

I took the suggestions of others and added cinnamon and that really made the dish. Yes, this packs some heat, but this isn't a Norwegian dish - it's authentic Mexican and delicious. I made it exactly per the recipe except for the addition of the cinnamon and substituting canned tomatoes for the fresh. This dish will be made over and over again. Some comments. This makes a lot of food. You will have a lot of leftovers. I used some in nachos the next day, some in more tostados and burritos, and then froze in 1 pound bags. I pulled one bag out to make easy Chicken Tinga Soup - I sauteed a diced onion, then added a can of corn and a can of dice tomatoes to the saute, followed by one bag of chicken tinga, a box of chicken stock, and a can of black beans. Instant wonderful, flavorful soup.

Wow! This was delicious. Much better than anything I have ever had at a Mexican restaurant. It will be hard to eat restaurant food after this meal. Thanks for sharing the recipe. Love the smoky flavor and just the right amount of heat.

So this recipe was actually inspiration moreso than something I followed BUT, the tostados were superb and I very thorougly enjoyed them! Thanks for the submission!

I used only 3 onions in mine.

delicious. fried corn tortillas to make tostadas. did not follow the portions exactly as the recipe, that would have been too spicy for my family, so only used one large tomato and a chipotle pepper. thanks for sharing this recipe

Loved it. I used less onion, and adobo, would have been way too spicey for us. I served with sour cream, cotija cheese, and shredded lettuce. I will definitley make again.

My brother makes this whenever he visits...it's always great to taste dishes we wouldn't normally eat otherwise.

Dinner was delicious and dish was a hit!

These were good but the jar of peppers I had were ATOMIC. too spicy!

Excellent. I've been looking for a recipe for tinga for quite a long while and this is very good. Thanks so much!

This was good as written, but once I added a tsp or so of cinnamon (as another review recommended) and a pinch of ground cumin it was even better. I tossed mine in a slow cooker and topped the tostada shell with refried black beans, tinga, cheese, lettuce and sour cream. I also halved the recipe and it still made approximately 10 tostadas.

I made these last night, and they were sooo good. I've been craving them all day, haha. I followed someone else's suggestion to add 1tsp cinnamon to the tomato/pepper mixture. I only used about 1/3 can of chipotle peppers, and it was plenty spicy. It made a lot. I also made guacamole and pico de gallo (both off this site) and used those for toppings. mmmm

Wow, this is SO good! I halved most of the recipe, used four cloves of garlic and three chipolte peppers. Followed the rest of the recipe exactly, only omitted spreading the sour cream on the shell and plopped some on top instead. Will definitely make again! Thanks for sharing!

I liked this recipe all right. Easy simple steps. I am not an onion person but can tolerate them cooked, and so used only 2 medium, also used only 3 chipotle peppers b/c I was cooking this meal for my family (small ppl included)- and for the little ones and my teenager this was still too spicy. Did I mention salt???This NEEDS salt, salt, salt, salt- perhaps a lil bit more of the bouillon granules? I added salt when boiling the chicken but apparently not enough. This was also great assembled without the beans. Very easy to pull this together

Not bad. Good base recipe for chicken. I just wanted a simple chicken taco salad. So I used frozen chicken breasts I had on hand. Petite, zesty canned diced tomatoes in lieue of fresh. Didn't need all of the onions or tomatoes listd in recipe. Spread chicken over shreded lettuce. Topped with cotija cheese and sour cream. Def. add more seasnings to recipe to your liking.

Delicious. I used chopped jalapeno peppers because I couldn't find Chipotle peppers, but it still had a great flavor. Frying the tortillas really topped it off.

This was great! I don't see how anyone could stand using a whole can of peppers though. We like spicy food and we used 3 and it was spicy, although next time I might even add a 4th. Corn tortillas are sometimes hard to find around where I live, so I just fried up some flour ones for a few seconds and put the mixture on those and they still tasted great. I'm actually making this again for dinner, but we're going to warm some tortilla chips in the oven and have it over those.

This was excellent! I did change it up a little for my kids sake and did not want it to be too spicy. I used one can of diced tomatoes, deseeded 2 of the chiptole peppers and cut the tails off the peppers as well, put in 1/2 tsp of the powdered chicken bouillion, added a dash of salt and pepper and blended it all together, it was just perfect and my kids and hubby LOVED it! Thanks again!

it is better with lettce sour cream guacamole sauce cotija cheese cilantro and the chicken tinga thats my recipe in my family

I made this for a group of friends at a pool party. The Tinga reheated well in my crockpot. The one person who can't handle spicy food felt the heat but liked it. Every person who ate it said they liked it several times. It was more then 6 servings. This recipe is a keeper!

great dish. I added the sugar and cinnamon and only used 2 chipotle peppers and everything turned out perfectly. I will definitely make this dish again.

Wonderful!! Thanks for posting it. My family also loves it in tacos, using corn or flour tortillas!Makes a great pot luck or buffet meal.

I have made this a couple of times. the recipe is perfect the way it is! wouldn't change a thing..

I made this tasty bit of awesomeness tonight for dinner. My youngest (7) who will not eat much of anything wanted seconds! My boys loved it too. We had enough meat leftover that I'm freezing it to use later in tacos and chimichangas! This is definitely a winner in our house!

Really good!! I did add the cinnamon and 1 tbsp sugar. Only used 2 of the adobes. 1 1/2 wld have been perfect. Will try it next time w/o the cinnamon.

This meal was easy to prepare and very authentic.

This is an awesome dish!! Used crockpot and half a can of chipotle peppers...great flavor . Just the right amount of heat for us

VERY GOOD!! Did make some adjustments per other comments. Boiled the chicken with boullion and a cinnamon stick. Used only 2 1/2 chiplotle peppers, deseeded (seeds get very hot the more you heat).....froze the rest for chipotle spaghetti. Fried the tortillas in coconut oil. Added refried beans, cheese, sour cream, and avocado! YUM! Went back for seconds! Hubby would have liked lettuce but didn't have any. GREAT recipe!!

Chipotle is not my favorite flavor, but it is well balanced in this recipe. We like the texture and taste. It also freezes well, we learned.

This is a keeper!

I wasn't a fan, but with some modifications, I could be. I used the ingredients exactly as specified, only I threw everything in the crockpot and cooked on low for 6 hours. The chicken was so moist it fell apart when I shredded it. I used the entire 7 oz can of chipotle peppers and adobo sauce. The flavor was so smokey and overpowering, you couldn't taste anything else. And I was just not a fan of the overall flavor of the adobo. I'll leave it out next time.

Great recipe . Definitely doesn’t require 7 onions . I typically use 1 or two depending on how many tomatoes I use. NEVER used a whole can of chipotle peppers. Maybe just use 2-3 peppers from the can and package the rest for another time. One can usually last me two-three separate tinga cooks.

I was in the mood for mexican and this was perfect. I loved the chipotle peppers in adobo sauce. I made 1/2 the recipe, so used 4 or 5 peppers pureed with tomato. In hindsight, I could've added one or two more peppers. I just microwaved the corn tortillas to heat them up - big mistake. Next time I'll brush with oil and bake until crispy. I missed that crunch so that was the downfall. Will definitely make again.

Have a drink or two ....this recipe rocks !

It is very flavorful and adding a stick of cinnamon as other reviewers suggested really added to the savoriness of the dish. I used 2/3 of the chipotles and found it was warm enough for us. The full recipe makes a whole lot. I am looking forward to serving it several ways including in a Mexican omelet, tacos, burritos on the crisp tostada. Thanks for the recipe!

The can of chilis in adobo made the sauce too spicy to eat.

The tostadas were amazing! They were, tangy, and really gave me the feeling I was engulfed in the rich flavors of Mexico! Definitely 5 stars all around. I would add some chipotle or chili, if you want more spices added to it

It was quick & easy The family liked the tasty flavor! They had seconds. I will be making it again.

Family thought it was okay and recipe was not a keeper. It took a while to make with all the different steps.

A great recipe, but agree with another reviewer that if you have kids or other individuals that are adverse to very spicy foods, I suggest only putting one pepper (seeds removed) in with the tomatoes in the processor. You will still get the smoky flavor without all of the heat. I put the other peppers and sauce in a separate bowl for those that wanted to kick up the spice. Really delicious and everyone (picky kids included) loved it.

This is excellent and so easy. I used canned whole tomatoes (drained) with frozen chicken breasts in my crock pot. The key is to throw a cinnamon stick in as it cooks -- really adds to the depth of the flavor. It was so delicious and easy that I shared the recipe with my co-workers and one of them has made it 3 times in 2 weeks. Could use any meat -- turkey breast, pork, or beef. Very good flavor.

I've used this recipe many times. A woman who worked for us was married to a Mexican man, and used to bring it in to the office occasionally to share with another employee. I had asked for the recipe but was never given it so I googled it. This is the recipe I liked best, and shared some of my tinga with the employee who had eaten it. She thought it was even better than her friend's. I started with 1/2 of the chipotle, and puree the rest to serve on the side for those who want more spice. If I don't have fresh tomatoes, I use a large can of crushed tomatoes. This recipe is awesome!

I've made this before my mother in law gave me a recipe. It was just as good as this one. my husband really liked it but it was too spicy for my 7 year old.