Copycat Chipotle Chicken Burrito Bowl Recipe

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So you love Chipotle’s Chicken? Skip take out, because now you can make this Copycat Chipotle Chicken Burrito recipe right in your own home. A few simple pantry staples are all you need to make a delicious, copycat marinade, let it hang out in the marinade for a couple hours and WOW! Make a copycat chipotle burrito bowl or traditional burrito.

This Copycat Chipotle chicken recipe is on repeat in our home! In fact, I generally double or triple the recipe marinade and freeze in the marinade for another meal.

Enjoy this delicious copycat Chipotle chicken for a busy weeknight meal, or to whip up for a team feed and don’t forget dessert! Try my Fried Ice Cream Cake for a crowd or this Air Fryer Fried Ice Cream for a more traditional dessert.

If you enjoy this delicious copycat Chipotle chicken recipe, you might want to try my Copycat Chipotle Carnitas, or these amazing Shish Kebabs.

Make a Copycat Chipotle Chicken Burrito Bowls Bar

You know the drill, answer a few questions while they build your gigantic burrito or bowl. Flour, Corn, Bowl? White or brown rice — black or pinto beans? What type of meat? What’s your order?

My own chicken burrito bowl sounds like this; white rice, black beans, chicken, cheese, sour cream, fresh pico de gallo, peppers and red onion and yes, guacamole (even at $2 extra!) and I always get a side fo corn salsa because my hubby and I split our burrito.

• Grab my copycat Cilantro Lime Rice recipe, delicious fluffy rice recipe
• Warm some black beans or pinto beans (add a pinch of salt, a little cumin and a dash of cayenne pepper)
• Shredded romaine lettuce, fajita veggies, sour cream, Monterey jack cheese, guacamole and of course salsa, and you might want my queso too!
• Also try Barbacoa Beef, it’s amazing!
• Add your own homemade Chipotle Corn Salsa!
• Make available flour tortillas, medium bowls and be sure to put all of your own favorite burrito bowl ingredients.

Simple Copycat Chipotle Chicken Marinade Ingredients

• Kosher salt & black pepper
• Chipotle jalapeno powder | You can also use ancho chili powder
• Spices | Chili powder, Cumin, and Dried Oregano
• White vinegar | Distilled or I have also used Apple Cider vinegar
• Lime Juice | Just a squeeze from a half of lime, use the rest to serve with the chicken
• Garlic cloves | minced
• Vegetable oil (I used Avocado Oil and Grapeseed Oil)

Instructions

To start, place chicken in a a freezer baggie or between two pieces of plastic wrap on a cutting board. Using a meat mallet, pound the chicken until they are all about the same thickness, about half inch.

In a small bowl add the rest of the ingredients and whisk together.

I use a baggie, but you can also place in a casserole dish, combine the marinade with chicken and coat. Allow to hang out in the fridge 4-6 hours, longer is better.

Heat grill to medium-high heat, allow to heat up for 5-10 minutes. Then reduce to medium heat and grill chicken for 5-6 minutes per side, until cooked through.

Make Ahead Freezer Instructions

Can I freeze the chicken in the marinade? Absolutely! In fact, I encourage it, make a mess once, eat two or three times I always say! As I mentioned above, this recipe is on repeat in our home, so I typically have one in the freezer ready to go.

Simply place your pounded chicken in a freezer ziplock baggie (you might want to write on it before you place your food in the baggie, no mystery meats here), pour the marinade over the chicken, squish to distribute marinade, squeeze as much air out as you can and freeze flat.

To prepare from frozen, allow to thaw in the refrigerator overnight (or on the counter for a couple of hours if you are comfortable with that). Squish the marinade around during the thawing process to ensure it’s touching all of the chicken. Then grill as above.

Variations & Substitutions

• Replace Chipotle chili powder and chili powder, you can use chipotle peppers in adobo sauce (also called chipotle chiles) , replace with 2 tablespoons adobo sauce (see notes) and 2 tablespoons ancho chile powder or 1 ounce dried ancho chiles, soaked, omit the vinegar. Add chili peppers and other marinade ingredients to a food processor, combine and use marinade as planned.
• Instead of grilling outside, use a grill pan.
• Try making some Cilantro Lime Brown Rice instead

Recipe adapted from Dinner Then Dessert

Frequently Asked Questions

Storage

Store any leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for 3-5 days. The marinated chicken will keep refrigerated up to 3 days in the fridge, frozen for up to 3 months.

That’s it! How will you use your Copycat Chipotle Chicken? In tacos, enchiladas, on a salad, in a bowl, in eggs (my oldest makes his omelet with it every time we make this recipe), nachos, quesadillas?

While you are thinking about it, Pin the recipe to your favorite board using the pin below! Then be sure to print the handy-dandy recipe below!

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More great Mexican Inspired recipes:

• Healthier Crack Salsa Chicken is a great make ahead chicken recipe to use in bowls, tacos, enchilada’s and more!
• Swap out the rice for this easy Spanish Mexican Rice
• Make some of these Baked Chicken and Veggie Quesadillas, so good!
• How about a healthy Hibiscus Margarita or this Hibiscus Mojito?
• Or these 4 ingredient Margarita’s
• Chicken Tortilla Soup is always a winner or this even better Chicken Poblano soup
• Don’t forget this authentic Colorado Pork Green Chile
• Chile Relleno Casserole (one of my most popular recipes)

For our family, this is the perfect meal; it’s also great for meal prep!

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Copycat Chipotle Chicken

Author: Kathleen Pope

4.95 from 17 votes

Craving a Chipotle Chicken burrito bowlsor just looking for a chicken recipe with amazing flavor? Now you can make this copycat Chipotle Chicken recipe at home, this recipe is on repeat in our home! In fact, I double the recipe and freeze one for later.

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Prep Time 15 minutes mins

Cook Time 15 minutes mins

Marinade Time 6 hours hrs

Total Time 6 hours hrs 30 minutes mins

Course Main Course

Cuisine American, Mexican

Servings 6 -8 servings

Calories 307 kcal

Equipment

• ▢
  Wusthof Santoku knife 5 inch; Black
• ▢
  Frontier Ground Bottle, Chipotle, 2.15 Ounce

Ingredients

 

US CustomaryMetric

 

1x2x3x

• ▢ 2.5-3 pounds chicken breasts, boneless, skinless or boneless thighs or combination
• ▢ 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• ▢ ½ teaspoon coarse ground black pepper
• ▢ 1 teaspoon chipotle jalapeno powder
• ▢ 1 teaspoon regular chili powder
• ▢ 1 teaspoon cumin
• ▢ 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• ▢ ¼ cup distilled white vinegar
• ▢ 4-6 cloves garlic , minced
• ▢ 4 tablespoons vegetable oil, I used Avocado Oil and Grapeseed Oil]
• ▢ 2-3 tablespoons water
• ▢ 1/2 lime, Optional

Instructions

 

• Pound chicken using mallet until even thickness, about a half inch thick. Tip | place chicken in freezer ziplock baggie or between two sheets of plastic wrap before pounding.
• In a small mixing bowl, add all spices, garlic, oil, vinegar and water together, mixing well.
• Pour over chicken placed in freezer bags or in baking dish, lifting and moving to make sure all chicken is covered in marinade. Best if marinated for 6 hours, but tastes decent at 3-4 hours too. If marinating in dish, be sure to occasionally turn the chicken.
• Heat grill to medium heat and grill for 5-6 minutes per side until cooked through, if grilling thighs, and they are thin, reduce time to 3-5 minutes per side. Remove from grill, allow to rest 5 minutes covered before chopping into bite sized pieces.
• Serve in burritos, bowls, salads, enchiladas or just serve over rice for dinner. Add your favorite toppings.

Video

✱ Kathleen’s Tips

The original recipe from Dinner Then Dessert calls to add chopped chicken into a medium high heat pan with 2 tablespoons oil to heat and crisp after chopping. I have done it both ways, my family doesn’t notice a difference, so I omit this step.

Variations & Substitutions

• Replace Chipotle chili powder and chili powder, you can use chipotle peppers in adobo sauce (also called chipotle chiles) , replace with 2 tablespoons adobo sauce (see notes) and 2 tablespoons ancho chile powder or 1 ounce dried ancho chiles, soaked, omit the vinegar. Add chili peppers and other marinade ingredients to a food processor, combine and use marinade as planned.
• Instead of grilling outside, use a grill pan.
• Try making some Cilantro Lime Brown Rice instead

Nutrition

Serving: 1 serving Calories: 307 kcal Carbohydrates: 2 g Protein: 40 g Fat: 14 g Saturated Fat: 2 g Polyunsaturated Fat: 6 g Monounsaturated Fat: 4 g Trans Fat: 0.1 g Cholesterol: 121 mg Sodium: 619 mg Potassium: 739 mg Fiber: 1 g Sugar: 0.2 g Vitamin A: 268 IU Vitamin C: 5 mg Calcium: 27 mg Iron: 1 mg

Nutrition Disclaimer

The Fresh Cooky is not a dietician or nutritionist, and any nutritional information shared is only an estimate. We recommend running the ingredients through an online nutritional calculator if you need to verify any information.

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About Kathleen Pope

Recipe Innovator | Food Photographer | Food Writer

Hi, I’m Kathleen Pope. Here at The Fresh Cooky you will find easy, mostly from-scratch, trusted recipes for all occasions. From speedy dinners to tasty desserts, with easy step-by-step instructions. I am here to help teach you how to make mouthwatering recipes without spending hours in the kitchen. Read more about Kathleen here.