Copycat Chipotle Chicken
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This copycat Chipotle chicken is so easy, juicy and flavorful with a make-ahead marinade. It tastes like the restaurant-version if not better!
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Why you’ll love copycat chipotle chicken
- Better control over ingredients. You can avoid the extra sodium and all the mystery ingredients when ordering out. Making this at home allows you to use premium chicken, fresh ingredients, and high-quality oils, cooking on demand without it sitting under a heat lamp.
- Easy, make-ahead recipe. The marinade comes together so quickly in a blender in just minutes, marinating ahead of time for the easiest prep, making this an ideal candidate for a quick, effortless dinner during the busy week.
- Budget-friendly. A single chicken bowl can cost anywhere between $12-15, whereas a single serving will cost $2-5 here, substantially cutting down costs with better quality ingredients.
- Perfect for meal prep. Say goodbye to boring chicken dinners! The chicken can be served in so many ways, repurposing leftovers for tacos, burritos, burrito bowls, quesadillas, salads or wraps.
What is chipotle chicken?
Chipotle chicken is a popular grilled chicken dish from Chipotle, a fast-food chain restaurant serving burritos, tacos, and quesadillas assembly-line style. The chicken is made using a blended marinade of chipotle peppers in adobo sauce, garlic, chili powder, and cumin.
How to make copycat chipotle chicken
- Blend the marinade. Combine the beer (such as Modelo), onion, garlic, chili pepper, oil, lime juice, adobo sauce, chili powder, cumin, oregano, salt, and pepper in a blender until smooth.
- Marinate. Marinate the chicken for at least 4 hours, preferably overnight. The longer it sits, the better!
- Prep the grill. Preheat the grill to medium heat and scrape the grill grates clean to prevent sticking and to guarantee those perfect sear marks on the chicken thighs.
- Grill. Brush the chicken with oil and season with salt and pepper. Then add the chicken to the preheated grill, letting them cook undisturbed for a few minutes for those favorited smoky, charred flavors. The chicken should reach an internal temperature of 165°F.
- Let cool. Let the chicken rest and cool for 5-10 minutes to lock in moisture and allow the juices to redistribute before dicing into bite-sized pieces.
how to serve chipotle chicken
- Tacos: serve on warm flour or corn tortillas, topped with shredded lettuce, cheese, sour cream, and salsa
- Burrito bowls: layer the chicken over rice with black beans, corn salsa, and fresh guacamole
- Salad: serve over shredded romaine and top with black beans, corn, tomatoes, avocado, and cilantro lime dressing
- Quesadillas: melt shredded cheddar cheese and pepper jack cheese with the chicken between two flour tortillas
Tools For This Recipe
Copycat Chipotle Chicken: Frequently Asked Questions
Yes, chicken breasts can absolutely be used here, but chicken thighs have more dark meat and a higher fat content, which will yield juicier, more flavorful chicken.
A beer such as Modelo is an excellent option for this recipe.
Substitute with chicken stock for a non-alcoholic substitute.
To ensure juicy, moist chicken, marinate the chicken for at least 1 hour, avoid overcooking (use an instant-read thermometer) and let it rest prior to slicing and serving.
No grill, no problem. A cast-iron grill pan or a large cast-iron skillet will work beautifully here, especially during those winter months when it’s too cold to grill out!
Yes! The chicken can be marinated overnight and placed in the fridge.
Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for 3-4 days, reheating in the oven at 350°F, covered in aluminum foil, until warmed through.
Copycat Chipotle Chicken
Video
Ingredients
- ½ cup beer
- ½ medium sweet onion, chopped
- 2 cloves garlic
- 1 chipotle chili pepper in adobo sauce
- 3 tablespoons canola oil, divided
- 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lime juice
- 1 tablespoon adobo sauce
- 2 teaspoons chili powder
- 1 ½ teaspoons ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs
Instructions
- Combine beer, onion, garlic, chili pepper, 2 tablespoons canola oil, lime juice, adobo sauce, chili powder, cumin, oregano, salt and pepper in blender until smooth.
- In a gallon size Ziploc bag or large bowl, combine chicken thighs and beer mixture; marinate for at least 4 hours to overnight, turning the bag occasionally. Drain the chicken from the marinade.
- Preheat grill to medium heat.
- Brush chicken with remaining 1 tablespoon canola oil; season with salt and pepper, to taste. Add chicken to grill, and cook, turning occasionally, until chicken is completely cooked through, reaching an internal temperature of 165 degrees F, about 8-10 minutes. Let cool before dicing into bite-size pieces.
- Serve warm.
Notes
- An outdoor grill is not necessary. Too cold to grill outside? A cast iron grill pan can be used to get those favorited grill marks and charred flavor.
- Preheat the grill. Ensure that the grill is properly cleaned (to prevent sticking) and preheated prior to grilling. This will allow for a better sear for those grill marks and evenly cooked chicken.
- Marinate for at least 4 hours. For the best flavor and texture, marinate the chicken for at least 4 hours (to overnight). This will help tenderize the meat and lock in moisture when cooked.
- Neutral oils with a high smoke point is ideal. Use a neutral oil such as avocado, peanut, canola or vegetable oil, offering the ability to withstand high heat without smoking, burning, or changing the flavor of the chicken while producing a perfectly golden-brown sear.
- Use an instant-read thermometer for the most accurate results. The internal temperature should reach 165°F.
- Let the chicken cool before dicing. Let the chicken rest and cool prior to dicing, allowing the juices to redistribute – this will allow for maximum flavor and juiciness without tearing when dicing.
- Reheat in the oven. Leftover chicken can be rubbery when reheated. For best results with leftovers, reheat in the oven at 350°F, covered in aluminum foil until warmed through.
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This was super delicious! The chipotle is a bit spicy but so tasty! If you make this for kids or people who can’t tolerate spicy just use a tiny amount. I made some of it in the frying pan (the sauce sticks to the bottom of the pan) and the rest in the oven, worked great! It’s a winner recipe, will make it again and again! Thanks!
Any suggestions on how one might do this in an oven? I live in an apt. and do not have easy access to a grill
Agreso, Neil and others
you can grill in an apartment…get a grill pan or use something like a panini press/Geo Foreman type grill. Or go big and get an electric grill you can use on your balcony.
This is my new go to recipe. So delicious and easy to make! Love all your recipes!
Any suggestions on how one might do this in an oven? I live in an apt. and do not have easy access to a grill 🙁
Line a sheet pan with foil (for easy clean up) and place on an oiled rack on top. Place chicken on rack, broil on high 3-4 inches from the element for 5-6 minutes on each side. I did this tonight and it came out perfect, juicy with bits of char.
I did it right on the stove top. I cooked the marinated chicken in the air fryer, but you could do in a skillet as well. I let it cool, then diced it up.
When I was ready to serve, I simply heated the tortilla’s on both sides in a non-stick pan, melted the cheese and then added the chicken. Fold over and give each side two minutes. Was perfect! (*pro-tip…I bought two tortilla’s for $.25 each from Chipotle for a legit copycat taste)
This recipe was delicious. I thought it may be spicy but it was so full of flavor. Would make again and again.
I have to say, this marinade is outstanding! I double it and put half straight in a sauce pan to reduce (maybe with a little cornstarch) and it makes the best sauce/salsa. I even use leftovers with chips or on eggs. I make a batch almost every week. So amazing! Thanks!!
Excellent! Chicken is not my meat of choice at Chipotle, so I can’t say how similar it is, but it’s delicious! I will say two pounds of chicken was A LOT for our family of five. Luckily it’s good enough that I’m looking forward to leftovers.
What is the substitute for beer?
Best replacement for beer is India Pale Ale, other than that, no replacement.
Chicken broth
I haven’t actually tried this recipe yet but my husband and I love chipotle and are really excited to give this a try. I have 2 questions though, 1) the tablespoon of adobo sauce that is called for, is that in addition to the chipotle chili pepper in adobo sauce or does that just come from the can that contains the pepper? And 2) there are at least a few different types of Models beer. Is it just the regular that you recommend?
Thank you! Can’t wait to try this recipe.
Hi there, my family LOVED the slow cooker chicken Parm pasta. slowly trying to make more of your recipes.. WHERE DO I GET ADOBO SAUCE? is there an alternative to that? i found adobo powder in out grocery stores, but never have i seen adobo sauce. thank you! will be making this soon once i’ve figured out the adobo sauce.
It’s in a can of chipotle peppers in adobo sauce. All grocery stores carry it. Mine is next to salsa, taco shells, refried beans.
You can buy peppers in adobo sauce at the store. I think I paid around a dollar for it at Walmart.
Loved it! We don’t have chipotle here but this was a hit with the whole family!!
I didn’t have beer and we got a huge amount of snow so we made due to with chicken broth.
Thanks so much!!!!
Amazing! Gonna double this for our family of 5 next time because only one wing survived the feast. Used chicken broth instead of beer. Ate this with homemade mexican cauliflower rice. I am guessing we will put this on our menu plan for next week again. Thank you for sharing this awesome recipe!
I made this chiptole chicken recipe yesterday and it turned out to be so damn delicious.. My husband and daughter absolutely loved it too…. Thanks so much for sharing!
I made this tonight for dinner. It was easy and tasted great. I didn’t cook on the grill but used a frying pan.
I used a blonde beer because that was all that I had.
Sounds really good! What type of beer would be best for this recipe?
Hi Darcie! Modelo is a great option for this recipe. Hope that helps!
Chipotle the restaurant doesn’t use beer, their food is all gluten free (except flour tortillas) and they could say gluten free if they used beer. Plus my celiac husband has never gotten sick from it. So… any idea for the marinade without using beer?
Sounds DELICIOUS. Scared to make for my kids who freak out about spices. Where could I reduce quantities to tone down the intensity? Thanks for your great recipes and beautiful photography.
I’m not a beer drinker. What kind of beer do you recommend?
Hi Cindy! Modelo is a great option for this recipe. Hope that helps!
Oh yes please !
Any substitutions for beer? We are a non alcoholic household.
Chicken broth can be used as a non-alcoholic substitute. 🙂
I have used apple cider as a replacement for beer in a lot of recipes. It should work here and you would get the slightly sweet, acidic taste of the cider with the spice of the adobo…I would eat that, for sure!
They do make non-alcoholic beer.