Tinga Chicken Taco Bowls Recipe

Spice it up this Taco Tuesday with a new spin on the usual Mexican fare. Seasoned with chipotle peppers in adobo sauce, this delicious meal brings a ton of flavor without the carbs. I’ll show you how I put these together, along with ways to adapt the recipe for your family.

Tinga Chicken

There are tons of recipes for Tinga Chicken, but they all include chipotle peppers in adobo sauce mixed with some type of tomato or red sauce.

For starters, you need to either cook the chicken or start with rotisserie chicken meat. For the best flavor, use a mix of white and dark meat. I wanted to make a lot in this batch, so I could have leftovers. I used about one and a half pounds each of boneless, skinless chicken tenders and thighs. Make sure to trim the extra fat and tendons before cooking. I also sliced the thighs, so they would cook in the same amount of time as the tenders.

Place olive oil in a pan, and heat it up. I used my Le Creuset braiser, but cast iron would also work. It just needs to be able to get hot (no nonstick cookware). Pat the chicken dry with a paper towel before adding to the pan. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Cook the chicken in the pan for 8-10 minutes, flipping after about 4 minutes. Reduce heat to medium low.

shredded chicken — Shredded and ready for sauce. You could also use rotisserie chicken and jump to this step.

While the chicken cooks, dice half a yellow onion. Shred the chicken with two forks, and add the onion to the center of the pan. SautÃ© the onion for about two minutes.

Next, add four chopped chipotle peppers and a spoonful of the adobo sauce. Add one can of red enchilada sauce. Reduce the heat to low, and stir everything together to mix.

Corn and Black Beans

I like to add a mix of corn and black beans to the bowl. It does add carbs, but you can adjust the amount based how much you use in your bowl. It’s so simple to throw together. Combine one can of drained corn, one can of drained, rinsed black beans, and about 1/2 cup of mild pico de gallo. Microwave for five minutes and stir. Add salt if needed.

Assemble the Bowl

To keep this low-carb and reduce the calories, eat it with cauliflower rice. If you have the calories to spare, it’s also delicious with quinoa. My kids usually make nachos with tortilla chips. I used about one cup each of chicken, quinoa, cauliflower rice and black bean salsa.

You can adjust the toppings based on your preference, but here are our favorites.

Diced avocado
Freshly shredded cheddar cheese
Chopped fresh cilantro
Sour cream
Diced tomatoes
Diced bell pepper

ingredients — Use whatever toppings you prefer. This is what I had on hand. Highly recommend the cilantro. It’s a nice complement to the spice.

This makes a great lunch as well. Tinga Chicken Taco Bowls (with cauliflower rice, but without extra toppings) have about 419 calories per serving (assuming approx. 6 servings). The macros are 8 grams of fat, 20 grams of carbs, and 61 grams of protein.