TacosMediumFree

Beef Tinga Tacos

Name: Beef Tinga Tacos
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 45 min
Total time: 60 min
Cuisine: Mexican
Ingredients: 1 White onion; 1 Avocado; 1 tsp Salt; 3 Tomatoes; 4 tbsp Soured cream; 2 Chipotle chillies in adobo; 100 g Fresh cheese (queso fresco); 2 tbsp Vegetable oil; 500 g Beef flank steak; 12 Corn tortillas; 3 cloves Garlic cloves

60 min (15 prep + 45 cook) Medium 4 servings Centro

Edmond Bojalil

Recetas Mexas

Published: 29 Mar 2026 · Updated: 30 Mar 2026

Shredded beef in chipotle tinga sauce — flavourful and smoky.

About this recipe

Beef tinga tacos are a lesser-known but delicious variation of the popular chicken tinga. Shredded beef is stewed in a sauce of tomatoes, onion and smoked chipotle, which lends an intense, slightly spicy and deeply smoky flavour. Beef tinga has a denser texture and more robust flavour than the chicken version, and is ideal for tacos with soured cream, cheese and avocado.

History & Origin

Tinga is one of the most popular stews in the cuisine of central Mexico, especially in Mexico City, Puebla and Tlaxcala. Although today it is primarily associated with chicken, tinga was originally prepared with different meats - beef, pork, chicken - with the Pueblan chicken version gaining the greatest popularity in the twentieth century. Chipotle, the central ingredient of tinga, is the smoked and dried jalapeño chilli, whose smoking process was developed by the Mesoamerican peoples of central Mexico as a preservation technique. The word 'chipotle' comes from the Nahuatl 'chilpoctli', meaning 'smoked chilli'. The combination of stewed tomato with chipotle and caramelised onion creates a sauce of extraordinary depth that transforms shredded meat into an addictive stew. In Puebla, tinga is traditionally served on tostadas with soured cream, fresh cheese and avocado, but in Mexico City it also became popular in tacos. The beef version, less common than the chicken, is preferred by those seeking a more intense and robust flavour, making good use of slow-cooking beef cuts such as flank or shin.

Estimated cost

£9.50

Total cost

£2.38

Per serving

* Approximate prices based on UK supermarkets

Nutritional information per serving

380

Calories

28g

Protein

30g

Carbohydrates

16g

Fat

Fibre

580mg

Sodium

* Approximate values. May vary depending on ingredients used.

Method

1
Cook the beef flank or shin in salted water with half an onion and 2 garlic cloves for 40 minutes, or 20 minutes in a pressure cooker. Allow to cool and shred.
2
Blend the tomatoes with the chipotles in adobo and garlic. Set aside.
💡 Adjust the number of chipotles to your heat tolerance.
3
In a frying pan with oil, fry the onion cut into half-moons over medium heat until well browned and caramelised, about 10 minutes.
4
Pour in the tomato and chipotle sauce. Cook for 5-7 minutes, stirring well, until the sauce thickens and fries in the oil.
5
Add the shredded meat, mix well and cook for 10 minutes over medium-low heat to absorb the sauce. Season with salt.
6
Serve in warm corn tortillas with soured cream, crumbled fresh cheese, sliced avocado and chopped onion.