Chipotle Chicken Recipe (Restaurant Copycat) - Little Sunny Kitchen (2024)

Love the chicken from Chipotle? Now you can skip the restaurant and make it at home with my easy chipotle chicken copycat recipe. Whether you want to make it on the grill, in the oven, or on the stovetop, I’m providing you with the all instructions and tips that you need. This copycat Chipotle chicken recipe will quickly become one of your favorite Mexican recipes to make at home!

We love grabbing dinner from Chipotle together. They always have fresh ingredients and everything is so yummy. We don’t have a favorite meal there, but we love getting any entree with their chicken or barbacoa beef. The Chipotle chicken is perfect in burritos, tacos, and even nachos!

I decided to recreate the recipe at home, and trust me, my version is better than Chipotle’s! The chicken is juicy, smoky, and is bursting with flavor. It’s also healthy and so easy to make, that you’ll definitely want to add it to your rotation!

The best part is that you don’t need a bunch of special ingredients to make this copycat chicken recipe. In fact, the most exotic ingredient is the chipotles in adobo, and those are pretty common at most grocery stores.

The chipotles give this chicken the perfect amount of spice and smokiness and make it taste just like the restaurant. If you meal prep, making this copycat chipotle chicken once and eating it all week is the way to go.

If you love recreating your favorite fast food recipes at home, see how we make Wendy’s Frosties and McDonald’s Shamrock Shakes next!

Chipotle chicken ingredients

The ingredients for this copycat recipe are pretty basic. You can find everything at your local grocery store. You may have to go down the Mexican food aisle for the chipotle peppers in adobo, but everything else should be easy to find.

Here’s what you’ll need:

Complete list of ingredients and amounts can be found in the recipe card below.

How to make copycat Chipotle chicken

The best part about this chicken recipe is that it’s super easy to make!

1. To start, place all of your ingredients, except the chicken in a powerful blender. Blend everything together until you get a smooth consistency. The smoother the marinade, the easier it will stick to the chicken.
2. Using a large Ziplock bag, carefully pour the marinade into the bag. Add in the chicken, seal it and toss to coat.
3. Place the Ziplock bag with the chicken in the fridge and allow it to marinate for at least 30 minutes. You can leave it for up to 24 hours as well. The longer you allow the chicken to marinate, the better the flavor will be.

When you are ready to cook your chicken, you can pick which method you prefer. I love the taste of this chicken fresh from the grill, but you can also bake it or cook it on the stovetop. The grill and the stovetop will allow you to char the chicken a bit and bring in maximum flavor.

1. To make the chicken on the grill or stovetop, heat your grill or skillet to medium-high heat. Place the chicken on and cook for 4-5 minutes per side. To bake it, cook the chicken for 20-25 minutes at 425°F/220°C. No matter what method you use, make sure your chicken is cooked to 165°F/74°C internal temperature.Check using an instant read thermometer!
2. You can chop your chicken into pieces (just like Chipotle!) or into slices. Serve it in a burrito, taco, over a salad, or even rice.

Recipe tips

This is a pretty simple recipe, but to make the best-tasting chicken follow the tips below:

• Chicken thighs are juicy and produce the best flavor, but if you don’t like dark meat, substitute with boneless and skinless chicken breasts. The recipe remains the same.
• Marinate your chicken as long as possible. It helps to infuse your chicken with flavor. You can do at least 30 minutes, but if the time allows it, I recommend allowing the flavors to infuse for a couple of hours and up to 24 hours.
• You can also pour the sauce into a Tupperware with an airtight lid to marinate your chicken. Just make sure to cover the entire chicken with the sauce.
• Preheat your skillet or grill before adding the chicken. This will allow the chicken to char a bit and leave you with a few darker pieces that are full of flavor.Starting with a cold pan or grill is a big no!

What to serve with Chipotle chicken

This recipe is perfect for making tacos, burritos (bowls or actual burritos), salads. Here’s how I usually serve it:

I make a batch of this simple and delicious cilantro lime rice, and serve it in a bowl along with diced chipotle chicken, black or pinto beans, pico de gallo, guacamole, shredded cheese, fajita veggies, shredded lettuce, and a dollop of sour cream or lime crema.

You can also serve this chicken in these baked chicken tacos, or use it to make Mexican stuffed peppers or stuffed poblano peppers.

And for dessert, make this refreshing Mexican fruit salad!

FAQs

Everyone is going to love this version of Chipotle chicken, that they’ll be begging you for the recipe.Feel free to share it, or Pin it to save for later.