Main Ingredients: Poultry
Styles: Budget-minded, On the Grill
Meal / Menu Items: Mains
Cuisines: Mexican-inspired
Recipes
Copycat Chipotle Chicken
Serves 4
Preparation Time: 5 minutes prep, 8 to 24 hours marinating, 10 to 12 minutes to grill
Try this easy grilled chicken and see if you think it tastes like the real thing!
Recipe
4 boneless, skinless chicken thighs (about 1 1/4 to 1 1/2 pounds), defrosted if frozen*
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
2 Knorr chipotle cubes*
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon onion powder
1 teaspoon cumin powder
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
Put the chicken in a gallon-size, zipper-top plastic bag. Add the oil to the bag, seal it, and toss and turn the chicken pieces inside the bag until they are well coated.
Mix all of the spices in a small bowl, crushing the chipotle cubes with the back of a spoon. Add the spice mixture to the bag, seal it, and toss and rub the chicken through the bag to coat well with the spices. Refrigerate the chicken in the bag for at least 4 hours and up to 24 hours.
Heat a grill to about 400 degrees F. Grill 5 to 6 minutes per side, until the chicken is cooked through but still tender. Remove from the grill and serve. (The chicken may be cut into bite-size chunks for use in burritos or other recipes.)
* Notes
Chipotle uses thigh meat, which is higher in fat but more flavorful. If you can’t find skinless thighs without bones, substitute boneless, skinless chicken breast meat or tenderloins and test for doneness when cooking.
Knorr’s chipotle cubes look like bouillon cubes and are sold in a small box. If you can’t find them, check out our shop. Or substitute 2 teaspoons chili powder.
Backstory
Beverly adapted this recipe from Chipotlefan.com to construct a lower calorie -- and vastly cheaper -- version of her son’s favorite meal. We use it to top off salads, quesadillas and nachos and as a filling for burritos. It’s got a spicy kick that Beverly’s son admits tastes fairly similar to the real thing.
Nutrition Info
Approximate Values Per Serving: 248 calories (54% from fat), 14.5 g fat (3.5 g saturated), 93 mg cholesterol, 26 g protein, 2 g carbohydrates, 1 g dietary fiber, 117 mg sodium
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Comments
I saw this recipe last summer and it quickly became one of our favorites. I make a summer salad with hard boiled eggs quartered on the side and what ever fresh vegetables I have in the refrigerator and place the sliced chicken thighs on top. A perfect summer dinner. The leftovers make a great sandwich the next day.
Thanks so much Lynda. It means so much to know you enjoyed this recipe!
I plan on trying this ASAP! We ♥LOVE♥ Chiplote’s and it’s SO expensive to eat as often as I’d like! I found a great lime/cilantro rice recipe to copy theirs, and I plan on using with your chicken recipe! Add the toppings and I’m curious how my burrito bowl will turn out here at home! THANK YOUUU!
Catrina
PS..I’ll try to remember to check back in and give a review
I love these recipes! Can’t wait to try to grilled chicken—and it’s such nice grilling weather in Virginia now.
Hi Mary,
When you try it, please report back on how you liked it!
We made this all last summer! It is delish! Keep up the great work!
I love to cook different things and just started cooking this type of food. The flavors are very unique and delicious.
Copycat Chipotle Chicken is scrumptious!! Lolz.
love it amazingly though can’t made as like the recipe have seen in this pics. Thanks! 
Looks good. But since there is no reference to serving size, the nutritional information is virtually useless. Thought you might want to fix this…
Thanks.
I made this recipe tonight and loved it! Didn’t taste exactly like Chipotle, but it’s a good alternative. I dont have a grill, so I cooked it on the stove top in my cast iron pan and it came out great!
This was really good, even better than the chicken at the restaurant. I could not find the knorr cubes so I substituted 1tsp adobo sauce for each cube and added it with the oil. I also added 1tsp of kosher salt to the spice mix.
Thanks