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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!
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!
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.
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.
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.
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!
Crockpot Crispy Chicken Tinga Tacos with Jalapeño Avocado Crema
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
- 1 1/2 pounds boneless chicken breasts or thighs
- 1 yellow onion, chopped
- 3/4 cup red enchilada sauce
- 2-3 chipotle peppers in adobo, finely chopped
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 12-16 corn tortillas, warmed
- 1/2 cup shredded pepper jack cheese
- 1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese
- shredded lettuce and pickled onions, for serving
Crema
- 2 large avocados, halved
- 1/4-1/2 cup pickled jalapeños
- 1/2 cup fresh cilantro
- 1-2 teaspoons honey
- 1 clove garlic, grated
- 2 limes (juice from)
- flaky salt
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.
I’ve made this a couple of times and they’re so good. This method and the crema with any taco is just delicious. I eat the crema with gf tortilla chips just on its own it’s perfect. I recently made your Hawaiian shrimp tacos and made this crema with it and my husband was so happy!
Hey Holly,
Happy Monday!! 🍋🫐 I truly appreciate you making this recipe and your comment, love to hear that it was a hit! xT
These tacos were perfection! I love crockpot recipes and the creme went well with this! I also topped mine off with sour cream, lettuce, hot sauce and pickled onion!
Hey Jess,
Happy Sunday!!☀️🧁 I appreciate you making this recipe and sharing your review, so glad to hear that it turned out well for you! xT
Super delicious tacos. Easy to make. Not really spicy, but full of flavor. Definitely being added to the rotation.
For anyone who is worried about the tortillas breaking like in a handful of reviews, make sure you’re microwaving them correctly and that they are warmed up enough.
Don’t drench them in olive oil, use just enough to cover them.
Use a slotted spoon to lay the chicken into the tortilla if their is too much liquid.
Also, worse case scenario, just double up the tortillas on each taco. Make them more traditional.
Straight up, delicious.
Hey Holly,
Wonderful!!🌴🍍 I appreciate you making this recipe and sharing your review, love to hear that it turned out well! xx
I did the stovetop variation and they turned out so great. I used flour tortillas, wanted first, I only used olive oil on the outside of the tortilla, and they worked fabulously. They had a great crunch to them which I love. The avocado crème is where it’s at!! So fresh and well balanced. It was definitely the star of the show. My husband requested I keep this one in rotation, so you know it was good! When I tried the chicken filling alone I was nervous it was too spicy. But oh no, it balances out so well once assembled. I love the flavor of the chicken. We might use the remainder of the filling for nachos, salads, or another round of tacos.
Hey Jessica,
Happy Friday!!🌸☀️ I am thrilled to hear that this recipe turned out well for you, thanks for trying it and sharing your review! xx
I wanted to try this but wanted to use my instapot! Have you or anyone else ever used that over a slow cooker? Not sure how much time I should put it on for as I don’t want to over cook it.
Hey Christie,
The instant pot instructions are listed above:) Please let me know if you have any other questions! xx
Can i make these a day before (without baking them), and then bake them before serving?
Hey there,
Sure, that will work well for you! Please let me know if you have any other questions, I hope you love this recipe! xx
Could you use flour tortillas instead? My husband isn’t a huge corn tortilla type of guy. Thank you!
Hi Jacqueline,
Sure, they just won’t crisp up quite like the flour tortillas:) Let me know if you give this recipe try, I hope you love it! xT
Instant pot made this recipe a snap! Thanks for including that variation. They were delicious and the creme had the perfect amount of flavor from the lime. They didn’t come out as pretty as yours but we devoured them!
Hey Melissa,
Wonderful!! Thanks so much for making this recipe and sharing your comment, so glad to hear it was a winner! xT
This recipe was delicious! For those struggling with tortillas falling apart, I warmed the tortillas first, and then spread oil on both sides and let them sit for about 5-7 minutes with the oil soaking into them while I made the crema. It softened them up a bit before folding.
Hey Sarah,
Happy Wednesday! ⛅️🌈 I’m so glad to hear that this recipe worked well for you and I appreciate you giving it a try! Thanks for sharing what worked well for you! xx
very easy to make. I however had the same problem as others with the tortillas falling apart. Made sure to microwave prior to and use plenty of olive oil. I think it would be easier to pan fry the tortillas in oil over baking them.
Hi Sidney,
Thanks for giving this recipe a try and sharing your feedback, sorry to hear you had issues with the tortillas. Corn tortillas can definitely be finicky, you could try a different brand next time! xx
Soooo good and simple to make. My husband says they remind him of a chimichanga and are “the best.” I couldn’t find chipotle in adobo at my store, so I used ground chipotle. My tortillas cracked my first round even after hearing them in the microwave. No big deal since everything sticks together so well. Then I let them cook the first few minutes open before folding them. That seemed to do the trick.
Hey Caley,
Fantastic!!🌻 I love to hear that this recipe turned out well for you, thanks so much for trying it out! xT
YUM! The crema on top was to die for ! My family is dying to have them again soon. Thank you ☺️
Hey Morgan,
Fantastic!!🐣 Thanks so much for making this recipe and sharing your comment, so glad to hear it turned out well for you! xT
Easy and delicious! My whole family loved them!
Hey Stephanie,
Fantastic!!🌻 I love to hear that this recipe turned out well for you, thanks so much for trying it out! xT
This recipe is delicious! How do you prevent the tacos from falling apart after cooking them in the oven?
Hey Brittany,
Happy Wednesday!! Thanks a bunch for trying this recipe and sharing your feedback, love to hear that it was a winner! To prevent the cracking, try warming the tortillas first and coating in oil!🌞 xx
These were insanely good!!! And that avocado crema was amazing and the perfect addition to the tacos! You never disappoint with these recipes 🙂
Hey Nichole,
Happy Wednesday!! Thanks a bunch for trying this recipe and sharing your feedback, love to hear that it was a winner!🌞 xx
These were delicious! My husband kept saying “oh my gosh this chicken is sooo good” our entire dinner. Thanks for another great recipe!
Hi Terri,
Wonderful!! Thanks so much for making this recipe and sharing your feedback, so glad to hear that it was a hit! xx