Copycat Chipotle Chicken

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Copycat Chipotle Chicken is beautifully seasoned, charred, and grilled for a spicy exterior and unbelievably juicy center. It takes a couple of hours to marinate, but you can’t deny the results: juicy and full of peppery flavors from the herbs, seasonings, and adobo chiles. Learn how to make Chipotle Mexican Grill chicken in less than 45 minutes and become your friends’ new favorite fast food joint!

titled collage for chipotle chicken recipe

Chipotle™ has mastered Mexican flavors. I think we can all agree on that!

And with this recipe, it doesn’t matter if I happen to have Chipotle chicken near me or not. I can make it right in my own kitchen!

I love to really replicate the restaurant experience by serving with a vibrant bowl of cilantro lime rice, pico de gallo, guacamole, and/or corn salsa — some of my favorite Chipotle recipes!

ingredients for copycat chipotle chicken

Copycat Chipotle Chicken

This cult favorite chicken is popular for a reason. The marinade tenderizes and flavors the meat with herbaceous yet spicy seasonings.

Grilled to juicy perfection, the meat can be thrown right into any quesadilla, fajita, taco, burrito… You name it!

With a countertop grill, I get to enjoy my fave barbecue recipes whenever I want!

When it comes to chicken, I can’t live without my margarita, tequila lime, or chipotle lime grilled chicken recipes.

marinade for chipotle chicken in food processor

Chipotle Mexican Grill Chicken Ingredients and Substitutions 

  • Chicken – I like to use breast meat because it’s delicious, tender, and lower in fat than thighs. However, you can use either! In fact, the restaurant uses thigh meat.
  • Chipotles In Adobo – These little peppers are special: dried and soaked in a spicy, tangy sauce, they’re as acidic as they are hot!

    As an alternative, you could use regular whole chipotles and an additional 2 tablespoons of adobo sauce.
  • Cumin, Chili Pepper, and Oregano – A mix of warm and earthy, hot and spicy, and peppery.

    While this combination gets you closest to the restaurant taste, you can dress this up as much as you like: thyme, paprika, and onion powder would fit right in.
  • Olive Oil – The original Chipotle chicken recipe uses rice bran oil, which you can use if you’d like!

    Canola or sunflower oil are two more unassuming options that won’t change the overall flavor of the dish.
grilled chicken for copycat chipotle chicken recipe

Copycat Chipotle Chicken – What You Need To Know

  • Don’t Marinate For Too Long – It’s fine to let the meat sit in the marinade overnight, but don’t let it marinate for any longer than 24 hours!

    It starts to get mushy and downright gross.
  • Control the Heat – This Mexican chicken recipe can be made less spicy by toning down the amount of adobo or black pepper that you use.

    Alternatively, use more if you really want to spice things up!
  • Don’t Disturb the Chicken – If you want those iconic grill marks on your copycat Chipotle chicken, don’t mess with the meat other than when you need to flip it.

    This will also help keep the marinade from dripping and making a mess on the grate.
grilled chipotle chicken chopped into pieces

Storing and Reheating Leftovers

Cooked chicken will remain safe to eat in your refrigerator for up to 4 days.

Longer than that and you get into bacteria territory — and that is not a place you want to be! Be sure to store in an airtight container to maximize its shelf life. 

To reheat, you can microwave in 20 second bursts, toss into a pan with some olive oil, or even slide into the oven.

For each option, just cook until the meat is warmed through and not a moment longer.

Chipotle Chicken FAQ

Does Chipotle use chicken breast or thighs?

The original Chipotle chicken recipe uses thigh meat, not breasts as we do in this recipe. 

Keep in mind, however, that the restaurant makes it in large quantities and well in advance, not just before serving as we’re doing here.

So breast meat is more than juicy and tender enough to use here!

What oil does Chipotle use for chicken?

The oil used at Chipotle Mexican Grill for chicken is rice bran oil.

They use it in almost everything, including their salad dressing and rice, because it doesn’t have too much of a flavor on its own and it’s also hypoallergenic.

You can certainly use rice bran if you like, but in my copycat Chipotle chicken recipe, I use olive oil.

What goes into the Chipotle chicken marinade?

A whole lot of good stuff! Adobo peppers, cumin, chili pepper, oregano, olive oil, onion, garlic, lime juice, and just a sprinkling of good ol’ salt and pepper.

It’s herbaceous, peppery, and acidic — just what you want in a marinade!

overhead of copycat chipotle chicken in bowl

Enjoy!
With love, from our simple kitchen to yours. 

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copycat chipotle chicken in bowl

Other Easy Mexican Recipes

chipotle chicken closeup

Copycat Chipotle Chicken

Donna Elick
Copycat Chipotle Chicken tastes just like the original! My Chipotle chicken recipe takes just minutes to prep and grill outdoors or inside!
5 stars from 1 review
Tried this recipe?Please comment and review!
Prep Time 10 mins
Cook Time 30 mins
Total Time 40 mins
Course Main
Cuisine Mexican
Method Grill
Servings 4

Ingredients
 

  • 1/4 cup diced chipotles in adobo, or 2 whole chipotles + 2 tablespoons adobo sauce
  • 2 teaspoon cumin
  • 1 teaspoon chili pepper
  • 1 teaspoon sea salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
  • 3/4 teaspoon dried oregano
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil, or avocado oil
  • 1/4 large red onion, roughly chopped (about 1/2 cup)
  • 4 teaspoons minced garlic
  • 2 tablespoons lime juice, (1 lime)
  • 4 boneless skinless chicken breasts

Instructions
 

  • Place all of the ingredients, except for the chicken, in the bowl of a food processor or blender. Process on high speed until a smooth paste forms.
  • Pour the marinade over the chicken breasts and stir to fully coat each chicken breast with the marinade. Cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour, or up to 3 hours.
  • Preheat grill or stovetop grill pan. Brush grates with additional olive oil, if desired. Remove chicken from marinade and discard excess marinade. Due to the risk of bacterial contamination, do not reuse or consume marinade.
  • Grill chicken breasts for 8-10 minutes on each side, or until the center of the chicken reaches an internal temperature of 165°F.
  • Allow cooked chicken to rest for 5 minutes before chopping or slicing into pieces.

Donna’s Notes

This dish has some nice spiciness to it. Increase the amount of chipotles in adobo sauce for additional heat. Reduce chipotles and/or black pepper to decrease the spicy heat.
The marinade is thick, so when you place the chicken on the grill, the marinade caramelizes a little bit, and excess will burn off on the grates. When using a grill plate on the stovetop, this excess marinade can start gathering on the grill plate. Try to move the chicken as little as possible once you have set it onto the preheated pan so that it forms nice grill lines and the marinade doesn’t glop up all over the pan.
We served this chipotle chicken in a nice big salad bowl with cilantro lime rice, lettuce, cherry tomatoes, pico de gallo, sliced avocado, chopped cilantro, and corn. Black beans or pinto beans, corn salsa, guacamole, and/or mexican rice would also be nice in the bowl.
You can use a jar of diced chipotle peppers or a can of whole chipotles in adobo sauce. Either way, the chipotles will go into the food processor and break down into the marinade paste.

Nutrition

Serving: 1 | Calories: 823cal | Carbohydrates: 13g | Protein: 98g | Fat: 41g | Saturated Fat: 7g | Cholesterol: 289mg | Sodium: 3959mg | Sugar: 2g | Fiber: 2g | Calcium: 122mg | Iron: 5mg

All nutritional information is based on third party calculations and is only an estimate. Each recipe’s nutritional value will vary depending on the ingredients used, measuring methods, and portion sizes.

Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!
titled collage for copycat chipotle chicken

Originally published August 2022

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