Learn how to make Copycat Chipotle Chicken with a tasty Mexican grill marinade at home! The perfect recipe for tacos, burritos, and bowls, just like your favorite restaurant.

Dinner night is about to get delicious with this copycat chiptole chicken recipe. Whether you're serving it on a bed of rice or wrapping it in a warm flour tortilla, you can't go wrong. It's quick, it's easy, and taste just like the real mexican grill restaurant.
How to get that just right flavor. For an authentic copycat recipe, you've got to use ancho chili powder! We found that the easiest option is tp grab dried ancho chilies from a local Latin foods market and blend them into a powder at home. If you don’t have ancho powder, regular chili powder works as a substitute—just add ¼ teaspoon of red pepper flakes for a little extra kick.
A tasty chicken meal is the best on a busy weeknight. Try our Blackened Chicken, Chicken Shwarma, and Bacon Wrapped Chicken.
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Ingredients in Chipotle Chicken
With the right ingredients, you can have this tasty copycat meal in the comfort of your home!

- Chicken Thighs- Make sure to have thawed and raw chicken thighs. You can also use chicken breasts as well.
- Cooking Oil- Use your favorite cooking oil like olive oil to cook the chicken on the stove top.
- Spices- Cumin, salt, onion powder, black pepper give the best flavor to the dish.
- Chipotle peppers in adobo- You will need both the chipotle peppers and the sauce from the can.
- Onion- Red onion is best, roughly chopped.
- Ancho chili powder- Use regular chili powder if you can't find ancho chilis.
- Lime juice- For a burst of citrus use lime juice, fresh squeezed wedges give a great flavor.
- Garlic cloves- If you don't have garlic cloves, you can also use garlic powder.
See recipe card for quantities.
How to make Copycat Chipotle Chicken
Learn how to cook Copycat Chipotle Chicken with these easy to follow step by step instructions. Follow the visuals for the best results.

- In a small mixing bowl, mix all of the spices together and create a marinade with the peppers and sauce.

- Add the marinade to a gallon ziplock bag with the chicken thighs.

- Heat a pan with olive oil over medium heat. Place the marinated chicken thighs and cook.

- Cook each side for 4-5 minutes. Make sure the internal temperature reaches 165°F.

- Cool the chicken and slice intp strips just like the Chipotle Restruant does.
Hint: Marinate the chicken for at least 2 hours before cooking. Wait 24 hours for the best flavor.

How To Serve
Guacamole, Pico De Gallo, Roasted Chilli Corn Salsa, Chipotle Rice, and Fajita Veggies in a Chipotle bowl. You can also serve in a flour tortilla for a burrito, or corn tortilla for tacos.
How to Grill
Prep the grill by preheating it. Cook the chicken for 4-6 minutes per side or until it reaches 165° F. Remove and allow to rest for 5 minutes before cutting into it.
Storage
Store cooked chicken in an air tight container in the refrigerator for 3-4 days. For reheating, add a splash of water to keep the chicken from drying out, then reheat in air fryer, microwave, stove top, or grill. Reheat only until warmed through. The chicken can dry out if it gets too hot.
This chicken recipe freezes fabulously.

Top tip
Pro tip! Do not overcook the chicken! It's really tempting to cook longer than necessary to make sure it's completely cooked through. But if you do this, you run the risk of having dried-out or rubbery chicken. The easiest way to make sure it stay moist and delicious is to use an instant-read thermometer.
Related
Looking for other recipes like this? Try these:
Pairing
These are my favorite dishes to serve with copycat chipotle chicken:
Recipe

Copycat Chipotle Chicken
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1.5 lbs chicken thighs or breasts
- 3 chipotle peppers in adobo
- 1 ½ Tablespoons adobo sauce from the can of chipotle peppers
- ⅛ red onion chopped roughly
- 1 Tablespoon ancho chili powder can substitute regular chili powder, see note 1 below
- 1 Tablespoon lime juice fresh squeezed
- 3 garlic cloves
- 1 ½ teaspoons cumin
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon onion powder
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- 4 Tablespoons olive oil divided
Instructions
- To make the marinade: place chipotle peppers, adobo sauce, red onion, ancho chili powder, lime juice, garlic cloves, cumin, salt, onion powder and pepper and 1 Tablespoon of the olive oil in a blender cup. I like to use a blender cup, but you can use a blender pitcher if you don't have a cup. Blend on high for 20-30 seconds until smooth.
- Place chicken in a large zip top bag and add the marinade. Massage the marinade into the chicken and set in the refrigerator for 2-24 hours. If you don't have time for it to marinade, you can use immediately if needed.
- Heat remaining oil in a large fry pan over medium/ medium high heat. Once the oil is hot, add the chicken and cook for 4 minutes. Flip the chicken and cook an additional 3-5 minutes, until the internal temperature reaches 165° F. Remove from heat and allow to rest.
Notes
- For an exact copycat recipe, you'll want to use ancho chili powder. The cheapest way for me to get it is to go to my local latin foods market and purchase a couple dried ancho chili. I then run them through the blender dry until they're a powder. If you don't have ancho powder, you can absolutely use chili powder instead. We recommend the addition of ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes if you go this route.
- To grill: Prep the grill by preheating it. Cook the chicken for 4-6 minutes per side or until it reaches 165° F. Remove and allow to rest for 5 minutes before cutting into it.
- Do not over cook the chicken or it will be tough and rubbery instead of soft and tender. We highly recommend using an instant read thermometer for best results.
Andrea says
My family loves this Chipotle Copycat Chicken, it tastes just like the restaurant but at home!