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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)
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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
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I made this on my Weber Kettle and it was some of the best chicken I have ever eaten hands down
5 stars. I do a quicker version where I use the whole can of chipolte peppers in Adobe sauce, just make sure you remove all stems.
You use the whole can of chipotle peppers other than using the ancho peppers or ancho powder?
Wow! This was really good! I had to alter the recipe a bit based on what I had on hand and accidentally not reading the recipe thoroughly. I used about 9 lbs of chicken thighs, and used 2 chipotle peppers in adobo sauce, plus 2 Tbsp of dark chili powder instead of the ancho chili, and the other ingredients. I also added about a Tbsp of smoked paprika. I didn’t see you were supposed to add water, but the paste ended up coating the chicken perfectly. Next time I’ll probably add more chipotle peppers or cayenne because it wasn’t spicy at all. It’s very similar to Chipotle’s chicken. Thank you!
Would the baking times need to be adjusted for chicken thighs? The recipe says that the oven method is for white chicken
Hi Diana, sorry for the confusion. The baking time is still the same for thighs. When it says it’s preferred for chicken breast, I meant that chicken breast is the best in the oven (vs. grilling or whatever), not that thighs aren’t good in the oven. I see how that is poorly-worded, so I’ll fix it up. I’ve baked the chicken thighs a million times, it’s usually about 40 minutes for me. I always do the parchment paper. They are so juicy! Thanks. -Meggan
Can you make this in a crockpot? Same proportions for sauce and can I still use chicken thighs or better to use chicken breast in crockpot
Hello,
Quick question, I’m planning on making this recipe this week but I’m a little confused. In the recipe you state to use 1/4 cup of Ancho Chile Powder but in the list of ingredients you list 2 tbsp of Ancho Chile Powder. Are those two the same thing? Also, for the adobo sauce I can either buy the sauce only or a can of the chilis in the sauce. Does it make a difference? Thank you.
Hi Jonathan, sorry for the confusion! In the post, 1/4 cup ancho chile powder is 2 ounces of the dried peppers ground with seeds and stems removed. The recipe calls for 2 tablespoons of ground ancho chiles or 1 ounce of the ancho chile peppers for 8 servings. Sorry about that! For the adobo sauce, it doesn’t matter. I use the adobo sauce from the cans with the chilies and save the remaining sauce and chilies. If you purchase the adobo paste, you’ll substitute the sauce for 3 tablespoons of paste + 1 tablespoon water. I hope you enjoy this! – Meggan
I look forward to trying this. Can you freeze or preserve the marinade in some way? I am interested in making a big batch to use as needed.
Hi Richard! Yes, you can freeze the marinade and use when you’re ready to make another batch. I hope you enjoy it! – Meggan
Really easy and delicious! Better than the restaurant for sure!
Amazing
Absolutely LOVED this recipe. I live overseas and was really craving chipotle Mexican grills salad. I use this and it was sooooo good!!!