Baked Crispy Chicken Tinga Quesadillas
Smoky chicken tinga layered with cheese and baked on a sheet pan until deeply crisp, then finished with avocado crema and fresh toppings.
Ingredients
- 1 ½ lbs boneless skinless chicken thighs
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 small yellow onion, thinly sliced
- 3 cloves garli
- 1 tablespoon ground cumin
- 1 tablespoon red paprika
- salt + pepper
- splash of chicken broth or water
Tinga Sauce
- 1 (14 oz) can fire-roasted tomatoes
- 3 chipotle peppers in adobo
- Splash of chicken broth or water
Crema Verde
- ½ cup sour cream
- ½ avocado
- Juice of 1 lime
- Handful of cilantro
- Splash of water
- Salt to taste
Instructions
- Season chicken generously with seasonings
- Sear in olive oil until golden (don't cook through yet). Remore.
- In the same pan, soften onion until lightly caramelized. Add garlic and a splash of broth.
- Blend tomatoes, chipotle peppers in adobo and a splach of broth until smooth.
- Return chicken to pan, pour sauce over, cover, and simmer 20-25 minutes until shreddable.
- Shred chicken directly in the sauce and reduce slightly until rich.
Baking the Quesadillas
- Preheat oven to 425 degrees
- Genrously oil the sheetpan and run the sheetpan with your hands until fully coated.
- Layer tortilla, cheese, chicken tinga, more cheese, tortilla.
- Assemble the quesadillas on the sheetpan and firmly press them down; drizzling additional olive oil on top
- Bake for 9 minutes (this can fluctuate based on oven, keep an eye on them!)
- Flip and bake another 3 minutes
- Flip again and bake another 1-2 minutes for crispiness. Again, keep an eye on them and bake until deeply golden and crisp
- Serve and enjoy immediately with delicious fresh toppings like pickled red onion, crema verde and cilantro
Notes
Tinga should coat, not drown. If it's soupy, keep simmering.