This post contains affiliate links, which means I may earn a commission if you purchase through those links (at no extra cost to you).
Skip the restaurant and make your own copycat Chipotle Chicken recipe at home. The marinade is quick, easy, healthy, and tastes even better than the real thing! Make white meat or dark meat and follow my instructions for either baking or grilling.
The perfection of Chipotle Mexican Grill, made even more perfect because you get to eat it in the comfort of your own home, whenever you want it.
Chipotle Chicken is tender and juicy, packed with flavor, and perfect on everything. And whether you want to grill it, sauté it, or bake it in the oven, I’ve got all your options covered!
Chipotle Chicken Ingredients:
Chipotle does not use red onion in their marinade. However, the recipe tastes better with it, so it comes down to this philosophical question: Do I post the recipe that tastes closest to Chipotle’s recipe, or do I post the recipe that tastes the best? I kept the onion.
- Combine all the marinade ingredients in a food processor or blender.
- Blend until smooth, then transfer to a plastic bag or covered container.
- Add the chicken, mash around to distribute, and let marinade for 30 minutes.
How to Make Chipotle Chicken Marinade
That smoky, spicy flavor in Chipotle’s chicken comes from two primary ingredients: Dried ancho chiles and adobo sauce.
To create this flavor, you can:
- Buy Ancho Chile powder – Depending on how much you want to buy, we recommend McCormick Gourmet Ancho Chile Pepper and Amazing Ancho Chile Powder.
- Make your own Ancho Chile powder
- Soak Dried ancho chiles (I recommend Olé Rico Dried Ancho Chiles)
Marinade Method 1: Using Ancho Chile Powder
Ancho Chile Pepper powder is available to purchase, or you can make your own.
- ¼ cup of the powder is equivalent to 2 oz. of the peppers (stems and seeds removed, ground up).
Marinade Method 2: Soaking Dried Ancho Chiles
- Slow-Soaking the dried ancho chiles takes at least 12 hours. Once the chiles are soft, I like to open them up, remove the stems, and rinse out the seeds (I recommend using kitchen or latex gloves). For additional heat, add in seeds from the chipotle peppers.
- Quick-Soaking shaves 12 hours off this recipe. You toast the dried chiles in a skillet and microwave them in water. It works perfectly!
What is a substitute for adobo sauce?
Whisk together:
- 1 tablespoon tomato paste
- 1 tablespoon cider vinegar
- 1 teaspoon chipotle powder (or ½ teaspoon each smoked paprika and cayenne powder)
- ½ teaspoon cumin
- Pinch EACH of oregano, garlic powder, and salt
How to make Chipotle Chicken
If you’ve ever been to the restaurant, you know Chipotle grills their boneless, skinless chicken thighs on a flat-top grill.
Here are your cooking options at home:
- Stove-top skillet (indoor, similar to Chipotle’s method)
- Gas grill (outdoor, minimal cleanup)
- Baked in the oven (cover with parchment paper for juicy chicken every time)
Slice or dice and use for burritos, tacos, bowls, salads, everything!
Chipotle Chicken Recipe FAQs
What can I do with my leftover Chipotle peppers and/or adobo sauce?
Transfer to a bag and freeze for future use, or use in:
- Chicken Tinga
- Vegetarian Stuffed Peppers
- Chipotle Barbacoa (copycat)
- Chipotle Steak (copycat)
- Chipotle Sofritas (tofu)
- Chipotle honey vinaigrette (copycat)
- Chipotle black beans (copycat)
- Chipotle pinto beans (copycat)
More From Culinary Hill
Join Us
HUNGRY FOR MORE? Sign up for our weekly newsletter and follow along on Facebook, Pinterest, and Instagram for our latest recipes! Tag all your glorious creations #culinaryhill so we can eat vicariously through you.
Chipotle Copycat Chicken
Skip the restaurant and make your own copycat Chipotle Chicken recipe at home. The marinade is quick, easy, healthy, and tastes even better than the real thing! Make white meat or dark meat and follow my instructions for either baking or grilling.
Ingredients
- 1/2 medium red onion coarsely chopped
- 3 cloves garlic
- 2 tablespoons adobo sauce (see notes)
- 2 tablespoons ancho chile powder or 1 ounce dried ancho chiles, soaked (see notes)
- 2 tablespoons olive oil or rice bran oil, plus more for the cooking surface (see notes)
- 2 teaspoons ground cumin
- 2 teaspoons dried oregano (see notes)
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 4 pounds boneless, skinless chicken
Instructions
To make the marinade (see recipe notes for dried chiles method):
- To the bowl of a food processor or blender, add red onion, garlic, adobo sauce, ancho chile powder, olive oil, cumin, dried oregano, 1 teaspoon salt, and ½ teaspoon pepper. Blend until smooth. Pour into a measuring cup and add water to reach 1 cup.
- Place the chicken in a large freezer-safe plastic bag. Pour in marinade, close the bag, and mash until chicken is evenly coated. Place the plastic bag in a dish and refrigerate at least 30 minutes or overnight.
To make the chicken on the stove:
- Heat 2 tablespoons oil in a large skillet until shimmering. Add chicken to the pan and cook, turning occasionally, until the temperature reaches 165 degrees on an internal thermometer. Depending on the size of your skillet, you can cook the chicken in batches.
- Remove to a cutting board and tent with foil for 10 minutes. Chop into small pieces. Season to taste with salt. Serve on tortillas or in bowls with additional toppings as desired.
To make the chicken on the grill:
- Preheat over medium-high heat. Coat with 2 tablespoons oil. Grill the chicken in batches, turning occasionally until the internal temperature reaches 165 degrees on a thermometer and bits of caramelized fond have begun to cling to the outside of the chicken, 10 to 15 minutes. Add 1 – 2 tablespoons oil to your grilling surface between batches.
- Remove to a cutting board and tent with foil for 10 minutes. Chop into small pieces. Season to taste with salt. Serve on tortillas or in bowls with additional toppings as desired.
To bake the chicken in the oven (preferred method for white meat):
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Coat a baking dish with oil or nonstick spray and arrange chicken in a single layer. Cover with parchment paper, tucking the paper around the chicken so it is completely covered. Bake for 30 to 40 minutes, until the chicken reaches 165 degrees when tested with an internal thermometer.
- Remove to a cutting board and tent with foil for 10 minutes. Chop into small pieces. Season to taste with salt. Serve on tortillas or in bowls with additional toppings as desired.
Recipe Video
Notes
To make the marinade with dried ancho chiles:
- Quick-Soaking method for ancho chiles: Remove stems and seeds from dried chiles (wearing gloves is recommended). In a dry skillet over medium-low heat, toast the chiles until fragrant but not smoking, about 5 minutes. Transfer to a medium bowl and add 4 c. (1 quart) water and 2 Tbsp. adobo sauce. Microwave on HIGH for 6 minutes. Drain well.
- Slow-Soaking method for ancho chiles: Place in a bowl and add enough water to cover completely. Top with a small plate or bowl to weigh down the chiles so they are completely submerged. Soak at least 12 hours or overnight. Drain well.
Nutrition
Serving: 1 servingCalories: 326kcalCarbohydrates: 3gProtein: 44gFat: 14gSaturated Fat: 3gPolyunsaturated Fat: 3gMonounsaturated Fat: 7gTrans Fat: 0.04gCholesterol: 215mgSodium: 1008mgPotassium: 633mgFiber: 1gSugar: 1gVitamin A: 672IUVitamin C: 1mgCalcium: 49mgIron: 3mg
Did you make this recipe?Tag @culinaryhill on Instagram so we can admire your masterpiece! #culinaryhill
This chicken is OUT OF THIS WORLD AMAZING!!!!!!! I actually used chicken breasts and baked for 30 minutes at 450. Heavenly!!!! Thank you!!!
Thank you so much Tashina!!!! You made my day! Glad you liked it and I hope you make it again!
Cool parchment paper tip
Thanks Yolanda! It definitely helps the chicken to stay juicy!
Hi Meghan,
I have been using this recipe for a while, absolutely love it. Did you change something? The site design/layout has changed, but I feel like the recipe itself changed recently as well. Did you cut the recipe in half? I swear I used an entire onion before, and a 1/4 cup of oil. Please let me know. Thanks!
Hi James, I am SO SORRY for your confusion. Yes to everything. Based on tons of reader feedback, I cut the recipe in half and also just recommend the ancho chile powder now instead of dealing with the dried chiles (although all the information for the dried chiles remains in the recipe). People just felt like the post was too long and overwhelming and no one knew what to do. Too many options! So technically all the options are still there, in the recipe itself, but all that extra text is not in the post anymore. And the recipe is smaller. I will add a note to the recipe about this so no one else is confused (one other person who makes the recipe regularly contacted me asking what happened, too!!! I feel so bad! And I’m also flattered!). So. That’s that! 1/4 cup of oil and a whole onion, yes. Just double everything in the recipe if you want to make it the way you made it before, enough for 10 pounds of chicken. Thank you and sorry again, and please let me know if you have any other questions!
Hi Meggan, where it says to use dried ancho chiles, in the first step to adding the marinade, it says to remove the stem and seeds with gloves. However, in the third step, it says to do the same thing by rinsing it out. What do I have to do?
Hi Ashwin, I am so sorry for the confusion. I completely reworked this recipe and obviously messed up the recipe notes as you have seen. I removed the part in Step 3 because that is leftover from the slow-soak method for ancho chiles which I’m no longer listing on the blog. So, step one is right (removing the seeds and stem while the chiles are still dry, before you power-soak them). I’m so sorry again for the confusion and I corrected it, thank you so much!
Thanks! I wasn’t completely sure what to do.
Thanks!
I love this recipe, but did you remove information on the quantity of dried chile ancho? I feel like there’s a lot less information than last time i did this recipe. Is it only 1oz since it’s only for 1 cup of marinade now?
Hi Sébastien, I’m sorry for the confusion. I got a lot of feedback from readers that my post was too complicated and overwhelming, so yes, I moved a lot of the information to the recipe card. I also cut the recipe in half because people don’t want to make so much marinade. It’s 1 ounce of dried anchos instead of 2, yes, and it makes just 1 cup of marinade for 5 pounds of chicken. I will review this and make sure it’s clear!
easyroasted, all I can say is the brick thing is not cool. And it’s not just because I’m uncoordinated… although I am. 🙂 This was a fun series to create, and even more so to EAT! I love Chipotle, and I really love being able to eat massive quantities in one sitting
Yummmm!! This looks like such a simple marinade and I love chipotle peppers and adobo sauce. I look forward to trying this!
I was wondering if I can cook this in a pressure cooker? Sorry if this has been asked already. Sounds really good.
Hi Michelle! I’m sure you can. I have zero experience with pressure cookers, but if you know how to cook chicken thighs in one in general, this recipe should work just fine! Thanks for the question.
i don’t typically follow food blogs and just stumbled upon this recipe randomly but I have now made it more than any other recipe EVER. It is absolutely fantastic and we make it at least weekly. It’s SO flavorful and the chicken thighs are so tender. Such a perfect way to eat healthy. This is the only recipe I follow exactly AS-IS. If you want it spicier, you can add some seeds but that is the only variable I’d think of tweaking now and then. This is actually better than Chipotle and one of my most invaluable recipes. Thanks!
This is the nicest comment I have ever received! THANK YOU! You have made my day, maybe my life. I make this all the time too, and like you said, it’s one of the tastiest ways to eat healthy. Thank you so much for letting me know, and I’m glad you like it! Take care.
My family loves Chipotle and we thought this chicken was spot on! Thank you so much! One question: I am going to make this next weekend for 60 people and need to make a less spicy version. I used the powder version you have listed, but didn’t read the detail enough to add water to make 2 cups. So, I used the 1 cup yield for 4 lbs of chicken thighs. Not that we thought it was spicy, but I’m wondering if using that 1 cup yield without adding the water for just 4 lbs of chicken gave it a more concentrated/strong flavor? I don’t have time to test the recipe again before making it next weekend and thought you might have an opinion. If the lesser yield wasn’t more concentrated, to get a milder version, would I just use less ancho chile powder? I’m going now to look at more of your recipes! 🙂
Hi Rebecca! Thank you so much for the question and I’m glad you liked the recipe. 🙂 In my experience, the spiciness mostly comes from the adobo sauce, not the ancho chile powder. If you didn’t add the water, then the overall marinade would be more concentrated up to a point but there are a lot of variables there too. So what I would do, personally, is leave out a can of adobo sauce (use just 2 instead of 3, assuming you are tripling the recipe ) and definitely don’t add any chipotle peppers or their seeds. You can also use less chile powder just to be sure. If you have any other questions, just let me know! Thank you! 😀 And good luck with your amazing Chipotle feast!
Meggan – I posted back in September but the event was canceled that weekend. I finally got to serve your recipes this past weekend. Everyone liked it – many compliments!! One even said they thought it was BETTER than Chipotle! 🙂 I passed on the name of your website so they could make it as well.