How to Make Chipotle Chicken

A few essential ingredients go a long way in this dish, so that you may have heard of Chipotle chicken before. Red onion, fresh garlic, and chipotle peppers in adobo sauce are essential to this recipe. You can buy them in the Mexican aisle of your grocery store. You may also want to use ancho chile powder and ancho chile sauce, which will add a subtle smoky flavour to the dish. First, cut the chicken breasts horizontally. This will allow the marinade to cover the chicken more evenly. Next, use a sharp knife to cut in the center of the breast. If this is difficult for you, try opening the chicken breast halfway. The longer it marinates, the hotter it will be. While this may seem like a lot of work, this step will make the chicken incredibly tender and juicy!

How to Make Chipotle Chicken

To prepare the chipotle sauce, you will need a jar of adobo sauce and dried chipotle peppers. Chipotle peppers in adobo sauce can be purchased at a grocery store or ethnic grocery. If you don’t have the latter, you can always use half-and-half, giving the dish a slightly different texture and flavour. To prepare your chicken for chipotle chicken, you can first prepare the marinade. You can use canned chipotles or adobo sauce. Then, put the chicken in the marinade for about 20 minutes or three days. Although marinating is essential to the chicken’s flavour, you can also grill it instead. However, if you want to make it as fast as possible, you can combine the ingredients and cook it as quickly as possible.

How to Make Chipotle Chicken?

Remove the seeds and discard the rest of the chipotle peppers. In a food processor or blender, combine the two chipotle peppers with the rest of the sauce. In a large mixing bowl, combine the water, garlic cloves, granulated garlic, onion powder, salt, pepper, lime juice, oregano, and cumin. Blend until completely smooth. Refrigerate the chicken and marinate for 1 hour or overnight in a big freezer bag. Allow at least 30 minutes for the chicken to come to room temperature before cooking. Over medium-high heat, heat a skillet. Cook for 3-4 minutes on each side or until the chicken reaches an internal temperature of 165 degrees F once the skillet is good and hot.

Three Ways To Cook Chipotle Chicken

Chipotle Chicken can be grilled or cooked on the stove. Both are delicious, but the grilled Chipotle chicken is naturally smokey and requires minor cleanup. However, because grilling chicken isn’t always feasible, I’ve included instructions for both grilling and stovetop cooking of Chipotle Chicken.

Stove Top Directions

  1. If your marinated chicken has been refrigerated, let sit at room temperature for 15-30 minutes (time permitting).
  2. Heat a large non-stick skillet over medium-high heat. Once very hot, add chicken and cook undisturbed for 3-5 minutes, or until nicely browned (or blackened if you prefer) on one side.
  3. Turn chicken over, cover, and reduce heat to medium. Cook for approximately 5-7 more minutes (depending on the thickness of the chicken) or until the chicken is cooked through. Remove to a cutting board and let rest 5 minutes before slicing.

Grilling Directions

  1. If your marinated chicken has been refrigerated, let sit at room temperature for 15-30 minutes (time permitting).
  2. Meanwhile, grease and preheat the grill to medium heat, 375-450°F.
  3. Grill chicken undisturbed for 5-7 minutes per side, or until chicken is cooked through. (An inserted thermometer should read 165 degrees F.)  The cooking time will vary depending on the thickness of your chicken.
  4. Remove chicken from grill and let rest 5 minutes before slicing.

Top Tips and Recipe Variations

  • If you want it extra spicy, don’t discard the seeds.
  • Add some brown sugar or honey to sweeten it up.
  • If you love that charred chicken taste, cook on high heat for 1-2 minutes, and then reduce the heat to medium-low.
  • Use beef, shrimp, pork, or chicken thighs.
  • If you notice the chicken is still raw after chopping it, toss it back into the skillet and cook until it is fully cooked through.
  • Shred the chicken or diced it into cubes. You may also slice it.
  • Once you chop the chicken, check for seasoning. If it needs more salt, add it.
  • Use the chipotle chicken to make burritos, tacos, or bowls.
  • Season the marinade with chipotle seasoning.

Ingredients

Four chicken breasts or thighs
One can eat chipotle peppers in adobo sauce. Only use two peppers and discard the seeds.
Four garlic cloves
1/2 cup water
1 tsp granulated garlic
1 tsp onion powder
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp oregano dried
1 1/2 tsp salt or to taste
1/4 tsp black pepper
1/2 lime juiced

Instructions

Remove the seeds and discard the rest of the chipotle peppers. In a food processor or blender, combine the two chipotle peppers with the rest of the sauce.

In a large mixing bowl, combine the water, garlic cloves, granulated garlic, onion powder, salt, pepper, lime juice, oregano, and cumin. Blend until completely smooth.

Refrigerate the chicken and marinate for 1 hour or overnight in a big freezer bag. Allow at least 30 minutes for the chicken to come to room temperature before cooking.

Over medium-high heat, heat a skillet. Cook for 3-4 minutes on each side or until the chicken reaches an internal temperature of 165 degrees F once the skillet is good and hot. Check for seasoning after chopping the chicken into bite-sized pieces. If necessary, season with extra salt and pepper.

Nutrition

Calories: 305kcal | Carbohydrates: 12g | Protein: 49g | Fat: 6g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 145mg | Sodium: 1765mg | Potassium: 888mg | Fiber: 6g | Sugar: 4g | Vitamin A: 2563IU | Vitamin C: 6mg | Calcium: 37mg | Iron: 3mg

What does Chipotle Taste like?

A chipotle’s signature flavour is smokiness, yet chipotles are also sweet beneath the smoke and fire. Allowing the chillies to develop to a deep red colour on the vine makes them sweeter than green jalapenos. Chipotle is generally best coupled with things that serve to round it out because of its deep smoke and complexity. Consider a hint of sweetness, lime juice, cilantro, garlic, and other ingredients.

Chipotles are as fiery as jalapeño peppers, with a Scoville Heat Unit rating of 2,500 to 8,000 on the Scoville Scale. They produce a pleasant amount of heat but nothing spectacular. Although it isn’t a scorching pepper, some individuals find it suitable.

Is it Possible to Obtain a Chipotle Salad with Rice?

Brown rice, fajita veggies, black beans, fresh tomato salsa, and guacamole (half amount). Make a green salad using your favourite vegetables and protein-rich alternatives. The brown rice adds fibre, but only eat half of it, so you don’t go overboard on carbs. If you want more rice, the server will gladly provide it at no additional charge. Chipotle doesn’t mind offering you additional rice because it’s the cheapest ingredient. If you want more nourishment, opt for brown rice, which has a more excellent calorie content.

Is Chipotle Actually Mexican?

Chipotle is primarily sourced from Mexico nowadays. Two varieties of spice are produced: Morita, which is most usually found in the United States, and the bigger Meco, primarily utilized in Mexico. After doing some study on Chipotle, I concluded that, while it does not serve “authentic” Mexican food, it is a company that efficiently links its business and operating models to generate value for its customers and stakeholders.

Conclusion

To make the marinade, mix garlic powder and minced garlic. This combination pairs perfectly with chipotle chicken. You can also use roasted garlic. Salt and pepper are the basic spices in this recipe, but they should be very minimal. Then, season it to your taste later. Once the chicken has cooled, it can be used as tacos or burrito bowls. For a southwestern twist, you can even make chipotle chicken into tacos.

Load them up with pico de gallo and guacamole. Then, you’ve got yourself the ultimate meal! If you’re unfamiliar with cooking chicken in a skillet, you should begin by preheating the oil in the pan. Heat the skillet on medium-high. Place the chicken breasts in the skillet and cook for about five minutes on each side. Then, remove the chicken and set it aside. Heat the remaining oil in the pan and add the garlic and shallots. After these aromatics are cooked, you can add the chicken broth. Chipotle chicken is an excellent meal for the whole family to enjoy, and the sauce is straightforward to make! This dish is also very versatile to serve with different kinds of dishes.