This post contains affiliate links, which means I may earn a commission if you purchase through those links (at no extra cost to you).
This copycat Chipotle Steak recipe tastes even better than the real thing. The marinade is quick and easy and full of the smoky, spicy flavors you love!
Chipotle Steak has all the same flavors as Chipotle’s famous Chicken, but here it’s applied to your favorite inexpensive cut of steak like sirloin, round steak, or flat iron steak.
It’s a tasty way to add protein to your burritos, bowls, tostadas, and more. Or serve it like they do in Mexico: Tacos on corn tortillas with just grilled onions, fresh cilantro, and a squeeze of lime juice.
Table of Contents
Recipe ingredients
At a Glance: Here is a quick snapshot of what ingredients are in this recipe.
Please see the recipe card below for specific quantities.
Ingredient notes
- Adobo sauce: To make your own 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 ground cumin, and a pinch EACH of oregano, garlic powder, and salt.
- Ancho chile powder: You can buy ancho chile powder online or buy dried ancho chiles and grind them to make your own ancho chile powder or soak them and add straight to the marinade (Culinary Hill may earn money if you buy through these links).
- Olive oil: Chipotle uses rice bran oil, but olive oil is more widely available (and probably already in your pantry).
- Oregano: Chipotle uses Mexican oregano, but you can use Italian oregano if that’s all that you have. They have different flavors (Mexican oregano tastes more like marjoram) but both taste great in this recipe.
- Steak: According to Chipotle’s customer service, the “beef” in their steak could be any number of cuts including part of the loin, ball tip, round steak, flat iron steak, top butt, clod, or knuckle.
Step-by-step instructions
- To make the marinade, in the bowl of a food processor or blender, add garlic, adobo sauce, ancho chile powder, olive oil, cumin, dried oregano, 1 tablespoon salt, and 1 teaspoon pepper. Blend until smooth (add water if needed to fully blend the marinade).
- In a large zipper-top plastic bag or bowl, add steak and marinade, tossing to coat. Let the beef marinate at room temperature for 30 minutes or up to 12 hours in the refrigerator. Bring to room temperature for at least 30 minutes before cooking.
- In a large skillet over medium-high heat, heat 2 tablespoons olive oil until shimmering. Add marinated steak to the skillet and cook, stirring occasionally, until the temperature reaches 120 to 125 degrees F for rare or 130 to 135 degrees F for medium-rare. Depending on the size of your skillet, you can cook the steak in batches.
- Remove to a cutting board and tent with foil for 10 minutes. Chop into small pieces.
- Season to taste with salt. Serve with your favorite burrito toppings such as rice, beans, guacamole, and salsa.
Recipe tips and variations
- Yield: This recipe makes 20 generous servings, about 1/2-cup each.
- Storage: Store leftovers covered for up to 4 days.
- Make ahead: The steak can be marinated the day before you need it. Store it in an airtight container in the refrigerator and bring to room temperature for 30 minutes before cooking.
- To substitute dried 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 cups (1 quart) water and 2 Tablespoons adobo sauce. Microwave on HIGH for 6 minutes. Drain well, then add the chiles to the food processor in step 1.
- Chipotle Burrito Bowls: Make your own copycat burrito bowls, tacos, and salads at home with my full collection of Chipotle Copycat Recipes:
- Proteins: Chipotle Chicken, Chipotle Barbacoa, Chipotle Carnitas, Chipotle Sofritas
- Sides:Chipotle Cilantro-Lime Rice, Chipotle Black Beans, Chipotle Pinto Beans, Chipotle Fajita Veggies
- Sauces: Chipotle Guacamole, Chipotle Tomato Salsa, Chipotle Corn Salsa, Chipote Tomatillo Salsa, Chipotle Hot Salsa, Chipotle-Honey Vinaigrette
Recipe FAQs
Transfer to a bag or glass jar and freeze for future use, or 1-2 tablespoons with ½ cup mayo for a delicious Chipotle Mayonnaise. Or, use in Chipotle Chicken, Chicken Tinga, or Vegetarian Stuffed Peppers.
To make your own 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 ground cumin, and a pinch EACH of oregano, garlic powder, and salt.
I swear by my instant-read meat thermometer, and follow these temperature guidelines for any beef preparation:
Rare: 120 to 125 degrees F
Medium Rare: 130 to 135 degrees F
Medium: 140 to 145 degrees F
Medium Well: 150 degrees F
Well: 160 degrees F
While many chefs (and I) prefer a slightly lower temperature for juicer, more tender beef, the USDA has a more conservative minimum safe cooking temperature of 145 degrees F. Cook to your desired doneness level.
Chipotle Bowl
Tonight, stay in and build your own Chipotle Burrito Bowl with the copycat recipes you know and love. Fluffy rice, black beans, tender chicken, sweet corn salsa, tomato salsa, and lots of guacamole. It’s great…
View Recipe
More Chipotle copycat favorites
Chipotle Copycat Recipes
Chipotle Chicken (Copycat)
Chipotle Copycat Recipes
Chipotle Cilantro Lime Rice (Copycat)
Chipotle Copycat Recipes
Chipotle Guacamole (Copycat)
Chipotle Copycat Recipes
Chipotle Corn Salsa (Copycat)
Join Us
Chipotle Steak (Copycat)
Equipment
- Cutting board (I prefer this large plastic one!)
Ingredients
For the steak:
- 3 cloves garlic
- 2 tablespoons adobo sauce (see note 1)
- 2 tablespoons ancho chile powder (see note 2)
- 2 tablespoons olive oil or rice bran oil, plus more for the cooking surface (see note 3)
- 2 teaspoons ground cumin
- 2 teaspoons dried oregano (see note 4)
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 4 pounds steak such as sirloin, round steak, or flat iron steak (see note 5)
Instructions
- To make the marinade, in the bowl of a food processor or blender, add garlic, adobo sauce, ancho chile powder, olive oil, cumin, dried oregano, 1 tablespoon salt, and 1 teaspoon pepper. Blend until smooth (add water if needed to fully blend the marinade).
- In a large zipper-top plastic bag or bowl, add steak and marinade, tossing to coat. Let the beef marinate at room temperature for 30 minutes or up to 12 hours in the refrigerator. Bring to room temperature for at least 30 minutes before cooking.
- In a large skillet over medium-high heat, heat 2 tablespoons olive oil until shimmering. Add marinated steak to the skillet and cook, stirring occasionally, until the temperature reaches 120 to 125 degrees F for rare or 130 to 135 degrees F for medium-rare. Depending on the size of your skillet, you can cook the steak in batches.
- Remove to a cutting board and tent with foil for 10 minutes. Chop into small pieces. Season to taste with salt. Serve with your favorite burrito toppings such as rice, beans, guacamole, and salsa.
Recipe Video
Notes
- Adobo sauce: To make your own adobo sauce, whisk together 1 Tbsp. tomato paste, 1 Tbsp. cider vinegar, 1 tsp. chipotle powder (or ½ tsp. EACH smoked paprika and cayenne powder), ½ tsp. ground cumin, and a pinch EACH of oregano, garlic powder, and salt.
- Ancho chile powder: You can buy ancho chile powder online or buy dried ancho chiles and grind them to make your own ancho chile powder or soak them and add straight to the marinade (Culinary Hill may earn money if you buy through these links).
- Olive oil: Chipotle uses rice bran oil, but olive oil is more widely available (and probably already in your pantry).
- Oregano: Chipotle uses Mexican oregano, but you can use Italian oregano if that’s all that you have. They have different flavors (Mexican oregano tastes more like marjoram) but both taste great in this recipe.
- Steak: According to Chipotle’s customer service, the “beef” in their steak could be any number of cuts including part of the loin, ball tip, round steak, flat iron steak, top butt, clod, or knuckle.
- Yield: This recipe makes 20 generous 1/2-c. servings.
- Storage: Store leftovers covered for up to 4 days.
- Make ahead: The steak can be marinated the day before you need it. Store it in an airtight container in the refrigerator and bring to room temperature for 30 minutes before cooking.
I’m guessing this marinade will work great for venison steak. Have you happened to have tried it?
Hi Olaf, I haven’t tried it with venison steak. Sounds delicious, though! Please write if you try it! – Meggan
I love Chipotle but I can’t eat the steak there anymore because I only eat halal meat now. I found your recipe and I marinated some steak overnight and cooked it in a cast iron pan. I got a burrito bowl from Chipotle with everything but steak then I added my steak. It was perfect! I got to add as much steak as I wanted and it tasted better! Thank you for the recipe!
You’re so welcome, Angee! Thanks for taking the time to write, I’m so glad you loved it! – Meggan
Omg thank you for the adobo sauce recipe!!! I always felt it was so daunting watching videos on it but you simplified it. Thank you!!! The steak turned out great!
You’re so welcome! Take care! – Meggan
I am going to make this recipe, but honestly, how 🤔 many people do you know that are going to make a recipe that serves 20???
I will have to do some tasting and re-figuring to downsize this recipe. When I still had a husband and 3 teenage boys at home this recipe would have fed everyone without any leftovers, but now it’s just me.
I’m thinking of making this for my group of Bunco ladies so 20 servings will work out fine with leftovers 😋 too.
Thank you again for the recipe, but please 🙏 next time consider the fact that most of your readers are not going to be cooking for a boat load of people that we will need a recipe that serves 20!!!
Hi Jan, thank you for taking the time to write! You can adjust the number of servings in the recipe by hovering your mouse over the number of servings in the recipe (or clicking it on mobile) and adjusting the number up to 40 or down to 1. You can also make the marinade and freeze it in smaller portions, which you can defrost and use later. I have the same concerns as you, so I hope this helps! Take care and if you have any questions or need help with scaling, please let me know! – Meggan
Super delicious. Making it again tonight! It tasted very similar to Chipotle’s
Hi Joaquin! I’m so glad you like the recipe! -Meggan
Thank you for sharing this wonderful recipe!!!
Is there a way I could make this recipe freezer friendly? Could I freeze the uncooked marinaded steak in a foodsaver bag then thaw and cook when needed?
You’re so welcome! I don’t see why not! Some readers also freeze the marinate in smaller portions to use. Just make sure it’s in a freezer-safe and airtight container. – Meggan
You didn’t list the red onion
Hi Guy, to keep this a true copycat recipe I took the red onion out but feel free to add it! It’s 1/2 red onion. Hope you love this steak! – Meggan
Only problem with this recipe is that you put quantities of ingredients in the written recipe, and those don’t update when you adjust the quantities. If I wasn’t paying attention I would’ve just made the most salty steak I’ve ever eaten haha
Otherwise this is excellent
Hi Andrew, thank you for taking the time to write! I’m so glad you didn’t end up with a salty steak. It’s one of the limitations of the recipe program, unfortunately. (There used to be a time where the recipe’s quantities weren’t able to be adjusted at all. I’m so happy you enjoyed it and sorry for the inconvenience! – Meggan
If I were to make this for a grad party, what is the best way to reheat (I’d make it ahead of time) and keep warm during the party?
This is such a great recipe for graduation parties! I would reheat it on the stove or in a crockpot, and I’d serve it in a crockpot, depending on your setup. Thanks! – Meggan
Is there red onion in this recipe, it’s not listed in the ingredients but is the first thing put into the food processor
?
Also in the video it states that marinade should equal a cup but does not mention an amount in the recipe?
Hi Kirk, it’s 1/2 of a red onion. Chipotle doesn’t use red onion in their recipe but I felt that it tasted better with it. To keep this a true copycat recipe I took the red onion out but feel free to add it! Also, the marinade as written should be about a cup. Hope this helps! Please let me know if you have any other questions! – Meggan
Didn’t this used to say to blend a red onion with the other ingredients too?
Hi Wynter, I took the red onion out because Chipotle doesn’t use it in their recipe. (I felt that it tasted better with the red onion, but to keep this a true copycat recipe I took the red onion out.) Feel free to add 1/2 coarsely chopped to the blender or food processor in step 1. Hope this helps, take care! – Meggan