Baked or grilled to perfection, this Copycat Chipotle Chicken is as close as you can get to the real thing. Serve it with Copycat Chipotle Salad Dressing and it’s a perfect match. If you love eating at Chipotle, you’ve also gotta try my Copycat Beef Barbacoa and Copycat Chipotle Pico de Gallo.
Living in Germany, there are a few things I really miss from the states. Most of them are Mexican restaurants. I have found one really delicious Mexican restaurant here, but it’s about 40 minutes away. So we don’t get over there very often.
I’ve been making Copycat recipes for Chipotle and Cafe Rio to get my fix. You’re going to love this delicious Copycat Chipotle Chicken!
More Copycat Mexican Recipes
- Café Rio Sweet Pork
- Café Rio Cilantro Ranch Dressing
- Copycat Chipotle Cilantro Lime Rice
- Copycat Chipotle Beef Barbacoa
- Instant Pot Black Beans
- Copycat Chipotle Pico de Gallo
- Homemade Flour Tortillas
step-by-step pictures for how to make Copycat Chipotle Chicken
Tips for making Copycat Chipotle Chicken
- For the most authentic Copycat Chipotle Chicken, use boneless chicken thighs.
- Let the chicken marinate for at least thirty minutes but as long as overnight.
- You can grill or bake the chicken. Just make sure to get it to an internal temp of 165 degrees.
- Let the chicken sit for about five minutes before slicing.
- Once you have it sliced and cut into small pieces, put it back into the juices it created if baked in the oven. If you grilled it, make sure to cover it with foil to keep the moisture in after it has been cut.
- Serve as a salad, a burrito bowl, or a burrito.
- Leftovers can be stored in the fridge for up to 4 days.
Slow Cooker Mexican Recipes
Copycat Chipotle Chicken
Prep time
Cook time
Total time
Baked or grilled, this Copycat Chipotle Chicken is as close to the real thing as you can get. You're going to love it!
Ingredients
- 12-14 Chicken Thighs, boneless and skinless
- 1 small onion, diced (about ½ cup)
- 3 cloves of garlic
- 1 chipotle pepper +1 tbsp adobo sauce from the can
- 2 tbsp olive oil or canola oil
- 1 tbsp chili powder
- 1 tbsp brown sugar
- 2 tsp cumin
- 1 tsp oregano
- ½ tsp smoked paprika
Instructions
- Combine the diced onion, garlic, chipotle chile+adobo sauce, olive oil, chili powder, brown sugar, cumin, oregano, and smoked paprika in a food processor to make the marinade for the chicken.
- Place boneless and skinless chicken thighs and the marinade in a gallon-size Ziploc bag and massage it around until all the pieces of chicken are covered.
- Let it marinate for at least 30 minutes or overnight.
- When you are ready to cook it:
- GRILL INSTRUCTIONS:
- Grill it on medium heat until it reaches 165 degrees internal temp. Make sure to salt and pepper each side of the chicken while it cooks. Let it sit covered with foil for five minutes and then slice and dice into bite-size pieces. Cover until ready to serve.
- BAKING INSTRUCTIONS:
- Bake at 400 degrees for 35-40 minutes or until chicken reaches an internal temperature of 165. Bake the chicken on a large cookie sheet. I salt and pepper the cookie sheet before I put the chicken on it, and then also salt and pepper the top of the chicken before baking.
- When chicken is cooked, remove it from the oven and let it sit for 5 minutes. Slice and cut into bite-size pieces. Return the chicken to the juices that it produced while it baked.
- Taste the finished chicken and toss with a little more salt if needed.
- Serve as a salad, a burrito bowl, or a burrito.
- Enjoy!
Reader Favorites
I was just wondering what I could make for Cinco de Mayo that would be easy. Marinating overnight will make it quick to throw it in the oven after work. This is perfect!
Yay! This is perfect for Cinco De Mayo!