Chipotle Chicken (Chipotle Copycat Recipe)

Better than Chipotle? We most definitely think so, and you’ll soon see this Chipotle Chicken Healthy Copycat recipe is beyond flavorful. I was inspired by the flavors of the famous Chipotle chicken for their burrito bowls. But in this recipe you’ll find it has all the flavors of Chipotle but amped up a little bit which turns out to be the tastiest chicken!

We eat some sort of burrito bowl or taco bowl at least once a week year round! You can change up all sorts of things, and so the combos are absolutely endless. The ingredients for burrito/taco bowls are also easy to make ahead for meal prep too which is right up my alley.

This Chipotle Chicken is a prime example because it’s so easy to meal prep and reheats beautifully. You can also just make it and serve it right away, but I can’t recommend enough making a double batch. Once it’s all chopped up, you can build a bowl to take for lunch the next day. Or it’s also perfect in a Mexican inspired salad. I love having some made up ahead of time in the freezer for the super busy days too.

Over the next 2 weeks I have lots more Mexican inspired recipes coming for you to go along with this chicken. We love piling it over roasted sweet potatoes or the cilantro lime rice coming next week. From there it’s all about the toppings, and the sky is the limit. So be sure to check out all the extra options below.

We really had the best couple of weeks while I was recipe testing all of these recipes coming your way. Every single day it was ‘build a bowl’ and even after 2 weeks of this we still weren’t tired of these flavors. So if you’re looking for something to break up the dinner monotony, this Chipotle Chicken is for you!

Ingredients & Substitutions

• Chicken thighs – are standard with Chipotle’s famous chicken, and I would recommend them for sure. Chicken breasts would be ok but you’ll need to adjust the grilling time. Also with chicken thighs they’re thinner and so end up being a better choice for this marinade. The marinade really sinks into the chicken thighs, where with chicken breasts there’s more meat that doesn’t get flavor from the marinade.
• Onion & garlic – fresh onions and garlic make up the base for this adobo marinade.
• Tomato paste – to keep this recipe sugar free, we’re switching things up from their classic recipe by using either tomato paste or sugar free ketchup. Chipotle’s chicken uses chipotle in adobo, (which often isn’t gluten free) that you can buy in cans at the store. Instead we’re using our own ingredients to simulate the same flavors here.
• Chipotle – chili powder combined with either the tomato paste or sugar free ketchup makes a great substitute for the chipotle in adobo that’s commonly used in chipotle chicken recipes. This also means we’re able to keep this recipe 100% sugar free!
• Ancho chili powder – is also classic in chipotle chicken. You can usually find this in a regular grocery store since McCormick now sells it. But you can also order it online as well as using regular chili powder.
• Smoked paprika – Isn’t at all traditional in chipotle chicken, but stay with me here because it’s so good! It adds to the smokey flavor of the chipotle without adding any more heat.
• Oregano & cumin – are also classic ingredients and add the perfect amount of balance to the different chili flavors here.
• Avocado oil – is what I’m using here as an oil but you can use any cooking oil you like to use. Avocado oil is my preferred healthy fat to use and it has a wonderful buttery flavor too. Oil is really useful in this marinade because it helps to keep the chicken from sticking on the grill.
• Vinegar or lime juice – I’ve used both white wine vinegar and lime juice with great results either way. The touch of acid really round out all the flavors here.

Fun fact: Adobo comes from the Spanish word Adobar which means to marinate meat in a flavorful mixture usually including vinegar, paprika, oregano and garlic.

Now let’s make this recipe step by step

Step 1: Prep all of the ingredients for the adobo marinade. Measure out your spices, dice the onion, mince the garlic, and juice the lime.

Step 2: Place all the adobo ingredients into a mini food processor and process until smooth.

Tip 1: I love using a mini food processor for marinades and such. But if you don’t have one, you can use the smaller insert to a larger food processor. I have also made this adobo marinade in a blender but it was a bit of a pain. I had to use the tamper to keep pushing it down and had to stop to scrape it down several times.

Step 3: Mix the adobo marinade with the chicken thighs, cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour or overnight for the best flavor.

Tip 2: I like to use a nonreactive bowl like the glass pyrex in the above photo. They’re easy to clean, non porous, and when you have a marinade with acid in it, you don’t want to use metal. Foods with acid can react with metal bowls and throw off the flavor.

Step 4: Grill the marinated chicken thighs over medium heat, (maintaining a temperature around 400ºF). Chicken thighs take about 6-8 minutes on the first side and 4-5 minutes on the second side.

You’ll know the chicken is ready to turn when it easily loosens from the grill. You can also use a grill pan or sauté them in a pan on the stove if you don’t have a grill.

Step 5: Let the chicken cool slightly and chop up into bite sized pieces before serving.

What to serve with this Chipotle Chicken

• Cilantro Lime Rice
• Roasted Sweet Potatoes
• Easy Fajita Veggies or my Veggies on the Grill
• Pico de Gallo
• The Best Guacamole
• Caramelized Pineapple Salsa
• Mango Salsa, (coming soon)

Choose as many of the above recipes as you’d like to mix and match and create a taco bowl or burrito bowl. You can also add all sorts of toppings like corn, black beans, grated cheese, and sour cream.

Extra toppings we love on Mexican inspired bowls

• Creamy Mexican Cilantro Chimichurri
• Easy Instant Pot Paleo Queso
• Strawberry Mango Avocado Salsa
• Chipotle Aioli from my Fish Taco Bowls
• Sunshine Sauce from my Fajita Meal Prep

This chipotle chicken is also great in tacos, try it instead of the shrimp in my Shrimp Tacos! And of course load them up with pico de gallo and guacamole.

• To Store – place any leftovers into an airtight sealed container and refrigerate for up to 4 days.
• Reheat – in a small skillet with a touch of water over medium high heat stirring constantly until warmed through. Or you can microwave it.
• To Freeze – place into a sealed container and freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator and reheat.

I really hope you enjoy this Chipotle Chicken, it makes the best taco bowls! And if you do get a chance to make it, I hope you’ll leave me a comment/rating below. I always love hearing from you here! Also for lots more Mexican inspired recipes, head over to the recipe index.

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