This recipe is a spin on simple chicken tinga street tacos that is extra crispy and cheesy. The spicy chicken tinga filling is full of flavor and is actually really easy to make. These tacos are sure to become a week night favorite as they feel a bit more special than regular tacos and more like something you would get at your favorite Mexican restaurant. By putting them on the griddle the cheese gets all melted and the flour tortilla turns into a perfectly crispy shell. Top with guacamole and pair with a margarita to transport yourself to your own neighborhood cantina.
Chicken Tinga Griddle Tacos
Crispy, cheesy tacos filled with spicy chicken tinga
Servings 2 (5-6 tacos)
Ingredients
Chicken Tinga
- 1 Tbsp olive oil
- 1/2 cup diced onion
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 2 chipotle peppers in adobo
- 1 tsp dried oregano
- 1/2 tsp cumin
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 3/4 cup fire roasted diced tomatoes
- 1/4 cup chicken broth
- 2 cups shredded chicken
Taco Ingredients
- 6 flour or corn tortillas
- 1-2 cups thick cut shredded Mexican cheese
- spray of your favorite cooking oil
- 1 avocado
- 1/4 lime
- sprinkle of garlic salt
- hot sauce
Instructions
- Pre-heat a griddle or large skillet over medium heat. To make the chicken tinga dice up the onion and then remove two chipotles from the can of chipotles in adobo. Dice the chipotles into small pieces. Heat a medium-sized pan and add the olive oil. Add the onion and cook on medium-high heat for 5-6 minutes until soft and translucent. Add the garlic to the pan and cook 30 seconds- 1 min until the garlic is fragrant.
- Add chipotles, tomatoes, spices, and chicken broth to the pan. Cook on medium high heat for 5 minutes.
- Transfer tomato mixture to a blender or food processor. Blend until smooth and all combined. Add sauce back to the pan over low heat and add in the 2 cups shredded chicken. Stir until all combined and the chicken is heated through. If it seems a little dry you can add more chicken broth.
- Divide the chicken evenly between 5-6 tortillas by putting the chicken on one half of the tortilla. Mine were a little big so I only got 5 tacos. Top with cheese and fold the tortilla in half. Spray the griddle with cooking spray and then add 2-3 tacos at a time. Cook on each side a few minutes until crispy and there are dark golden spots all over the tortilla. Flip over and cook on the other side. Repeat with the remaining tacos.
- To make the easiest guacamole mash 1 avocado in a small bowl. Squeeze the juice of a 1/4 of a lime on top, sprinkle with garlic salt and add a few dashes of hot sauce. Mash until all combined. Serve alongside the tacos. You can also top with sour cream or any kind of salsa.
Tips:
- If you don’t have shredded chicken already you could cook 2 small chicken breasts in the sauce but would want to add a little more chicken broth so it doesn’t dry out. You can then just shredded the chicken with two forks in the pan with the sauce.
- The chipotles in adobo sauce have some extra onion in it usually so you do have to hunt around a little in the can to make sure you get two good sized full chiles. You can adjust the heat of this recipe by adding more or less of these peppers.
- My favorite hot sauce to use in my guacamole is the Green Pepper Cholula. You can totally leave out if you don’t want any extra spice.
- Make sure your tortillas are ones that fold well so that they don’t fall apart. I find plain corn tortillas a little crumbly so using one that is a blend works well. My favorite is the La Tortilla Factory organic flour tortillas.
- To reheat leftovers you can easily toss back on the griddle or in skillet to get the tortilla crispy again.