Copycat Chipotle Chicken Recipe

Chicken can be bland and boring. It's quick to dry out, and it has little flavor on its own. But we can't help but love chicken; it's inexpensive and versatile, and it cooks up pretty quickly. We also know it's not impossible to make chicken taste fantastic. After all, the great minds at Chipotle have it figured out. Their chicken is not only flavorful, but the meat is juicy and moist, too. 

We wanted to try to replicate Chipotle's chicken at home, but quickly learned there was no way to get our hands on their signature Chipotle marinade. Could we make our own? It seemed like a daunting task, but we knew we could do it. After all, we pulled off a better-than-Chipotle barbacoa copycat recipe, so why not give it a try with chicken?

It took us a few tries to nail the recipe, but we did. The good news is this chicken is good with everything — all the standards like burritos, rice bowls, tacos, and quesadillas, but it's also incredible in queso dip, chicken salad, spicy ramen, pot pie, and more. The bad news is you might need to make a double batch if you're hoping for leftovers. It's so tasty, it's likely to disappear pretty quickly!

Chipotle doesn't specify which cut of chicken they use on their website, so we had to do a little digging. We found a post on their Facebook page that confirmed our suspicion — they use dark meat — so we used boneless, skinless chicken thighs for our copycat Chipotle chicken recipe. Can you use chicken breasts? Yes, but it won't turn out the same.

Chicken is composed of two types of meat: white meat and dark meat. The white meat is found in the breasts and the wings, and it contains mostly white fibers (as opposed to the dark meat's red fibers). It has very little fat content, which makes it taste dry if it's overcooked. Dark meat, on the other hand, contains more than twice as much fat as the white meat, and the red fibers keep it juicy and moist as it cooks. That means you can cook the chicken thighs and drumsticks longer, and they'll still taste great.

Using dark meat is essential to the perfect copycat recipe because, as you'll find out later, we cook the chicken twice. The first time, it's whole. The second time, we cut it up and crisp up the smaller pieces. This cooking method wouldn't be possible with white meat because it would dry out during the process.

If you've ever been to a Chipotle, you've probably seen the cooks grilling chicken on the flat top grill behind the line. While you might not have one of those fancy gadgets at home, you may have a cooking tool that works almost exactly the same way: a cast-iron skillet. These flat cooking surfaces hold heat well, so they'll stay hot once they're preheated. That's good for something like grilling chicken thighs for copycat Chipotle chicken because you want to get a subtle char and a lightly caramelized surface.

If you have a grill, you can take your copycat Chipotle chicken recipe to the next level by infusing a smoky flavor into the meat. But, don't fret if you don't have one. Cooking chicken inside on the stovetop is easier because it doesn't require any preheating time. Simply turn on the burner, wait a few minutes, and get cooking. You can also make Chipotle chicken in the oven, if you like. You'll want to preheat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit and bake the chicken in a baking dish for 30 to 40 minutes. It won't have the same crispy exterior, but it will still taste great.

Okay, now that we've reviewed all the ingredients and cooking methods, it's time to get cooking. Start by placing the water, crushed garlic, sunflower (or canola) oil, distilled white vinegar, chipotles in adobo, chili powder, cumin, dried oregano, salt, and pepper in a blender or food processor. Blend the mixture until it's well combined and there are no visible chunks of garlic. Place the marinade in a large bag or a casserole dish. Add the chicken thighs and turn them until they're completely coated in the marinade.

From here, you have some options. On Reddit, Chipotle employees confirm that the chicken is placed in the marinade and used the next day, so you can certainly marinate your chicken thighs overnight. We did a test batch that marinated for just 30 minutes, and we thought it had plenty of flavor. So, if you're running short on time, feel free to keep the marinade time to a minimum. Just don't marinate for much longer than 12 hours. The vinegar in the marinade will break down the meat's muscle fibers, and long periods of time can turn the meat mushy.

The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) recommends cooking all chicken to a minimum internal temperature of 165 degrees Fahrenheit. That includes ground chicken, as well as chicken breasts, thighs, wings, and legs. This temperature kills harmful bacteria that can lead to foodborne illness, including salmonella. But you may have heard that it's best to continue cooking dark meat — like chicken thighs — until it reaches an internal temperature of 180 degrees. These cuts have more connective tissue than white meat, so the higher temperature ensures the meat will be juicier and more tender.

For this recipe, we recommend pulling the chicken thighs earlier, when they reach 165 degrees. As you'll find out in the next step, we plan to continue cooking the chicken after it rests to create crispy chicken pieces. If we cooked the chicken to a higher temperature initially, we would risk drying it out during the second phase of cooking.

This chicken is nothing short of phenomenal. When we closed our eyes and tried Chipotle's chicken against this recipe, it was really hard to tell the difference. It's not quite an exact replica — we thought ours was slightly tangier and maybe a touch spicier — but it's definitely close enough to satisfy your Chipotle cravings when you don't feel like driving for take-out. It's juicy, tender, and packed full of flavor. The crisp exterior on each bite added a ton of texture, as well as a lightly charred and pleasantly caramelized flavor.

We initially used this copycat Chipotle chicken recipe to make burritos, using our copycat Chipotle rice recipe, canned beans, salsa, cheese, and guacamole. When we still had leftovers, we started trying it in other recipes. It was delicious no matter how we used it, including non-Mexican recipes like spicy ramen. This recipe may have just become our go-to method for cooking chicken!