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Weeknight-style Crockpot Crispy Chicken Tinga Tacos with Avocado Jalapeño Crema. Chicken seasoned up with smoky chipotle peppers and enchilada sauce, then mixed with cheese, stuffed into tortillas, and oven-baked. Each tinga taco is crunchy on the outside, but spicy and cheesy inside. Serve with a creamy, salty, honey-lime avocado crema sauce, and a mix of your favorite toppings. These come together easily and are so delicious. The perfect crispy taco that everyone loves!

Crockpot Crispy Chicken Tinga Tacos with Avocado Jalapeño Crema | halfbakedharvest.com

It’s definitely no secret that we love Mexican food, especially tacos. Honestly, anything Mexican is a go for my family. Spicy, cheese, lots of flavors, avocado, and cilantro. These are some of our favorite flavors/foods. 

I have told the childhood taco story here one too many times, so we’ll skip that today. But if you’re new, basically I grew up on my dad’s crispy, cheesy hard shell tacos. 

His were very basic, but to this day my brothers still request them. Hard not to love any kind of taco, you know? 

But today we have chicken tinga tacos, one of my very favorite flavors. If you’re not familiar with Chicken Tinga, it’s a Mexican dish consisting of shredded chicken in a tomato-based chipotle sauce with sliced onions. Like a lot of popular Mexican dishes, it’s pretty simple. The flavors from the chipotle peppers are KEY and what’s most traditional with any Tinga dish.

I’ve done a few variations now, but this is probably the most traditional. Well kind of, I use a shortcut in the sauce to save a little time!

Crockpot Crispy Chicken Tinga Tacos with Avocado Jalapeño Crema | halfbakedharvest.com

The quick details

They are easy you guys. I want to start out by saying you can make these in either the crockpot, instant pot, or on the stove. We all love options when it comes to dinner, so use whichever method suits you best! They will all give you the same outcome. 

For the crockpot, just add all the ingredients for the chicken right into the crockpot. So the onions, chipotle, enchilada sauce, and the seasonings. Let it all slow cook, then shred the meat. Done. 

The very same with the instant pot, except the cooking time is much, much shorter (just 8 minutes). 

And for the stove-top, there is slightly more involved, but it’s still easy. Just cook the chicken in a skillet until seared. Add the onion, then everything else. Simmer until the chicken is cooked through. Then shred the chicken and that’s that. 

Crockpot Crispy Chicken Tinga Tacos with Avocado Jalapeño Crema | halfbakedharvest.com

For the crispy shells

Instead of using store-bought taco shells, I like to take corn tortillas and stuff them with the chicken tinga and cheese. I throw them into the oven to bake until the tortillas are crispy.

This method is my favorite and I use it every time I make tacos for my family. We love the crispy oven “fried” shells and melty cheese. It’s the best when some of the cheese melts out onto the pan and gets crispy too. Delicious. 

Crockpot Crispy Chicken Tinga Tacos with Avocado Jalapeño Crema | halfbakedharvest.com

And finally the crema

Do you all remember the creamy jalapeño sauce I made with my Cuban quesadillas? Well, that sauce uses pickled jalapeños. Ever since making those I’ve been using pickled jalapeños in everything. 

For this crema, I whipped avocado in a food processor with the jalapeños and lots of cilantro. I added garlic and a little honey to balance the heat, and then some sea salt. 

It is so creamy, and the pickled jalapeños make it so delicious. Spicy, but not SPICY.  Serve up the crema on each taco, then add whatever other toppings you love most. I always recommend a pineapple salsa or mango salsa. I love a good fruity salsa.

Crockpot Crispy Chicken Tinga Tacos with Avocado Jalapeño Crema | halfbakedharvest.com

Looking for more simple, Mexican recipes? Here are a few favorites:

Slow Cooker Chipotle Chicken Tortilla Soup with Salty Lime Chips

Cauliflower Al Pastor Quesadillas with Lime Smashed Avocado

Mushroom Al Pastor Tacos with Garlic Lime Special Sauce

Healthier Homemade Crunchwrap Supreme

Crispy Chipotle Chicken Tacos with Cilantro Lime Ranch

Lastly, if you make these Crockpot Crispy Chicken Tinga Tacos with Avocado Jalapeño Crema, be sure to leave a comment and/or give this recipe a rating! Above all, I love to hear from you guys and always do my best to respond to each and every comment. And of course, if you do make this recipe, don’t forget to tag me on Instagram! Looking through the photos of recipes you all have made is my favorite!

@halfbakedharvest

crockpot tinga tacos crockpot instantpot instapot chicken tinga tacos avocado jalapeno streettaco taco

♬ She Share Story (for Vlog) – 山口夕依

Crockpot Crispy Chicken Tinga Tacos with Jalapeño Avocado Crema

Prep Time 25 minutes
Cook Time 4 hours
Total Time 4 hours 25 minutes
Servings: 6
Calories Per Serving: 517 kcal

Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.

Ingredients

Crema

Instructions

Crockpot

  • 1. In the bowl of your crockpot, combine the chicken, onion, enchilada sauce, chipotle, oregano, cumin, and salt. Cover and cook on LOW for 4-5 hours or on HIGH for 2-3 hours.
    2. When finished cooking, shred the meat and toss with the sauce. Preheat the oven to 425° F.
    3. Warm the tortillas for 30 seconds to 1 minute in the microwave, until pliable. On a baking sheet, rub the tortillas with olive oil. Lay each tortilla flat and then layer evenly with cheese and chicken. Fold the other half of the tortilla over the filling, gently pushing to adhere (see above photo). Transfer to the oven and bake for 5-8 minutes, then flip and cook another 5 minutes, or until the cheese has melted and the tortillas are crisp. 
    4. Meanwhile, make the Avocado Crema. Combine all ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth and creamy. Season with salt.
    5. Serve the tacos topped with avocado, lettuce, limes, and any other desired toppings.

Instant Pot

  • 1. Preheat the oven to 425° F.
    2. In the bowl of your instant pot, combine the chicken, onion, enchilada sauce, chipotle, oregano, cumin, and salt. Seal the lid and cook on high pressure for 8 minutes. Once done cooking, release the steam. 
    3. Follow the directions as directed above for steps 2-5.

Stove-top

  • 1. Preheat the oven to 425° F.
    2. Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in a large skillet over high heat. When the oil shimmers, add the chicken. Cook until 2-3 minutes, then flip and add the onion. Cook another 3-5 minutes, until fragrant. Add the enchilada sauce, chipotle, oregano, cumin, and salt, and 1/3 cup water. Reduce the heat to medium and simmer until the sauce has thickened and the chicken cooked through, about 10-15 minutes. Remove from the heat.
    3. Warm the tortillas for 30 seconds to 1 minute in the microwave, until pliable. On a baking sheet, rub the tortillas with olive oil. Lay each flat and then layer evenly with cheese and chicken. Fold the other half of the tortilla over the filling, gently pushing to adhere (see above photo). Transfer to the oven and bake for 5-8 minutes, then flip and cook another 5 minutes more, or until the cheese has melted and the tortillas are crisp. 
    4. Meanwhile, make the Avocado Crema. Combine all ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth and creamy. Season with salt.
    5. Serve the tacos topped with avocado, lettuce, limes, and any other desired toppings.
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Crockpot Crispy Chicken Tinga Tacos with Avocado Jalapeño Crema | halfbakedharvest.com

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Comments

  1. Online it says to always add water to your instant pot (I’ve never used one before), but your recipe doesn’t mention that. Is this something we’re supposed to automatically do?

    1. Hey Sarah,
      I’ve never done that, you should be able to follow this recipe as written without any issues:) Please let me know if you have any other questions, I hope you love this recipe! xx

    1. Hey Jordyn,
      Totally, that would be great for you to use! Let me know how this recipe turns out, I hope you love it! xT

  2. 5 stars
    One of my very favorites (personally) and for all my groups of friends + family. Thank you for such a delicious, simple recipe! Puts a smile on the faces of my family when I tell them we’re having these for dinner … a staple comfort food in our household (:

    1. Hey Savannah,
      Awesome!!🌼 I love to hear that this recipe turned out well for you and appreciate you giving it a try! xT

    2. Sooo good! And super easy but packed with a lot of flavor! This is a new favorite of mine! Love how the tacos have a crispy-ness but still have a somewhat soft bite, not too crispy.

    1. Hey Jaclyn,
      Happy Wednesday!! Thanks a bunch for making this recipe and sharing your comment, I love to hear that it turned out well for you! xx

  3. Hello!! Can’t wait to make these!!! Any substitute for coriander? Or just leave it out?

    Also love you!!! Best recipes & instagram! x

    1. Hey Natalie,
      You can just skip it:) Please let me know if you have any other questions, I hope you love this recipe! xx

  4. How can I use a rotisserie chicken with this recipe? Can’t put in crockpot for 4 hrs with other ingredients bc it’s already cooked.

    HELP!!

    1. Hi Christine,
      I suppose I would just mix your shredded chicken with the ingredients from step 1 in a bowl. I hope you love this recipe! xx

  5. This is delicious,however for some strange reason my corn tortillas split . Some of them in half completely. What would cause this? I think I’d try it with a flour tortilla and make it a burrito next time. The avocado cream is a must!

    1. Hey there,
      Happy Sunday!! Thanks so much for giving this recipe a try and your comment, so glad to hear it was enjoyed! Sorry about the corn tortillas, they can be finicky! Sometimes a different brand can work better! xT

  6. These were really excellent. Completely forgot to brush the tacos with olive oil so they stuck just enough to be annoying. But it didn’t affect the taste at all! And the avocado crema is going to be on repeat a LOT going forward — love that it’s dairy free! Thanks for a keeper recpe.

    1. Hey Theresa,
      Happy Friday!!⛄️❄️ I appreciate you making this recipe and sharing your review, so glad to hear it turned out well for you! xT

    1. Hi Samantha,
      Wonderful!! I love to hear that this recipe turned out well for you and thanks so much for trying it out! xx

  7. The chicken is great, but the tortillas completely fell apart when I tried to fold them, even after pre-heating. I improvised with store bought hard shells and added greek yogurt to the creama.

    1. Hey Rebecca,
      Happy Monday!!⛄️ Thanks so much for making this recipe and sharing your feedback, I love to hear that it turned out well for you! Sorry about the shells, they can be tricky! xT

  8. I wanted to try frying the corn tortillas in oil after stuffing them would this affect the flavour? Also I only have mozzarella on hand would this work as well? Thanks! Currently cooking my chicken in the crockpot as we speak! I’m stoked 😀

    1. Hi Dani,
      I’m not sure frying them after stuffing them would be the best idea, it might be super messy! Yes, mozzarella is fine to use:) Please let me know if you have any other questions! xT

  9. How many street tacos would this recipe make? It says six servings, but I am hoping a serving size is more than one taco…? I am wanting to make this for a group of 10 people, as one option for a street taco.

    1. Hey Tara,
      This recipe with make 12 tacos:) Please let me know if you have any other questions, I hope you love this recipe! xT

  10. These were so good that I want to make them for my family during the Christmas holidays! I am wondering if you can double the recipe in the crockpot, and if any adjustments need to be made if so.
    Thanks!

    1. Hey Mary,
      Happy Holidays!!☃️ I love to hear that this recipe was a winner, thanks so much for making it and your comment! xT

  11. Making this Christmas Eve, since most are driving up that day here to the mountains! Looks easy and delicious. Can’t wait 🙂

      1. Update: it was a big hit tonight!! Modifications I made: added sour cream to the crema to “tone it down”….It has quite a kick to it (fair warning to those who are sensitive) however, with sour cream it is absolutely perfect. Love love. The flavor is so good, even spicy you can’t stop eating it….

        1. Hey Christine,
          Happy Monday!❄️ I am so glad to hear that this recipe was enjoyed, thanks a lot for making it! xx

      2. 5 stars
        So good! My slow cooker did need a full 4 hrs at high heat to adequately reduce the liquid in this recipe. Avocado crema was fantastic. Tacos shells were a little fiddly but worked well for me. Great recipe!

        1. Hey there,
          Happy Monday!! I appreciate you making this recipe and sharing your review, so glad to hear it turned out well for you! xx

  12. Hi. I saw in the video that it looked like you added water to the enchilada sauce in crock pot but wasn’t listed in ingredients. How much did you add? Is it necessary? Thanks

    1. Hey Tiffany,
      No need to add any water, you can follow the recipe as written:) I hope this turns out well for you, please let me know if you give it a try! xx