Several years ago at we put Tory in charge of a meal at duck camp and she decided to make burrito bowls inspired by Chipotle. We went all out with cilantro-lime rice, corn salsa, pico, even a copy-cat of their hot sauce. The chicken has since become a staple for us to use in Mexican dishes from tacos, to burrito bowls, to casseroles.
This isn’t a true Chipotle copycat since we use chicken breasts and Chipotle uses chicken thighs, but we still love this flavorful slightly spicy chicken. The chili flavor comes from a combination of mild dried ancho chiles and spicier chipotle in adobo. These have great chili flavor but are mild enough for junior mouthburners like our parents. The recipe uses the ingredients from Chipotlefan.com but modified the method a bit. Leave it to Chipotle fans to create a dedicated copy cat website.
Here’s what you need:
This is a relatively simple recipe that involves making a paste to marinate the chicken in. It’s as simple as throwing all of your ingredients in a food processor and buzzing it up until it’s mostly smooth. You don’t even need to rehydrate the dried anchos first.
Into the food processor, add some dried ancho chiles that have had the stems and seeds removed, chipotles in adobo, black pepper, a pinch of salt, cumin, fresh oregano, garlic, red onion, and a little bit of oil. Process until mostly smooth. It will be kind of like a thick restaurant-style salsa.
The marinade will cover about 6-8 chicken breasts. Pound them to an even thickness and poke the chicken all over with a fork. I do this to allow the marinade to penetrate the chicken.
Pour the marinade in a gallon Ziploc bag and add the chicken breasts. Seal and smush around with your hands until the chicken is evenly coated. Lay flat in the fridge to marinate for at least an hour but you can also do this the day before.
I started with 6 chicken breasts and before I put them in the fridge to marinate, I pulled out two that I vacuum sealed and popped in the freezer for another day. They will finish marinating as they thaw. This trick allows me to make a full batch of the marinade and have some ready for me whenever I’m craving a Mexican flavored chicken.
When you’re ready to cook the chicken an outdoor grill or a grill pan both work well. I prefer the outdoor grill because it’s easier to clean, but some times during the year that’s just not practical. Heat your grill or grill pan over medium-high heat. Remove chicken from the marinade and use your hands to brush off most of it – by this point the flavor has penetrated the chicken and the excess will just burn.
Lightly brush the grill pan or grill grates with oil and add the chicken. Cook for 8-10 minutes, flipping once, until the chicken reaches 165 degrees.
Serve the chicken alongside cilantro-lime rice, in a taco, in a burrito or burrito bowl or like I will post next in a burrito casserole.
Enjoy!
- 2 oz dried ancho chilies, stems & seeds removed
- 7 oz can of chipotles in adobo
- 1 t black pepper
- Pinch kosher salt
- 2 t cumin
- 2 T fresh oregano
- 6 cloves garlic, smashed
- 1 small red onion, roughly chopped
- ¼ c olive oil
- 6-8 chicken breasts
- Blend all the ingredients except the chicken breasts in a food processor until a consistent texture, it won’t be quite smooth. Pour the marinade into a gallon Ziploc bag.
- Pound chicken to an even thickness and poke all over with a fork. Add chicken to the Ziploc bag, seal and use your hands to move the chicken around until it’s completely covered with the marinade. At this point if you want to save some chicken for later, pull it out of the bag, with some of the marinade, vacuum seal and pop into the freezer. Pop in the fridge for at least an hour or up to a day to marinade.
- Remove chicken from the fridge. Heat your grill or a grill pan over medium high heat. Brush with oil. Remove chicken from marinade and brush off excess. Cook for 8-10 minutes (more or less depending on the thickness) flipping once until the chicken reaches 165 degrees.
- Remove chicken to a plate and allow to rest for 5 minutes. Serve as is or dice and serve in tacos, burrito bowls, etc.
[…] burrito ingredients: cilantro lime rice, black beans, corn, tomatoes, cheese, and of course Chipotle chicken. The best part is that it’s just as good when you make it fresh as it is when you bake it from […]