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Smoky and spicy this Mexican-inspired Grilled Chipotle Chicken is bathed in the most flavorful marinade. Grill the chipotle chicken ahead and reheat on busy weeknights, or store it in the flavorful chipotle marinade, then fire up the grill after work. Serve it up with Mexican Slaw or use in this healthy bowl, or salads, tacos, or pasta. So EASY and oh so tasty! With a video!
Hello beautiful world! Don’t you love mornings, when the sun is shining and the day is still brand new? Every morning, a fresh new start. This is an oldie around here but since it’s grilling season I thought I’d bring it back into rotation for you. This Mexican Grilled Chipotle Chicken Recipe – is so simple, yet full of amazing flavor – smoky, spicy and deep, we had forgotten how delicious it was!
But what is nice about this is you can grill the chicken ahead for the busy workweek, then pull them out and reheat them as you need them. Or marinate them ahead, and grill them as you need them. Either way, they are delicious in tacos, burrito bowls, salads and wraps, or simply on their own with a side of grilled corn or veggies. A super tasty all-around flavor bomb that will make your taste buds happpppppppy.
Oh ya, and did I mention, low-carb and paleo? 😉
Grilled Mexican Chipotle Chicken Video!
If you are wondering how to make the best Mexican Grilled Chipotle Chicken ever … here’s how. Today I’ve used chicken thighs ( which stay really moist) but feel free to use chicken breast.
Make the flavorful chipotle marinade by blending the marinade ingredients into a paste in the food processor. Using canned chipotles along with the adobo sauce gives this the best flavor!
Place the chicken and marinade in a ziplock bag and massage the marinade into the chicken. Marinate for 20 minutes, or up to 3 days. Ideally, you will have the best flavor letting this marinate at least a few hours or overnight, but in a pinch, just feel free to grill right away. I’ve done it and it will still be good.
Give the Mexican grilled Chipotle Chicken a good sear on both sides over medium-high heat, then turn the grill down, or move the chicken to a cooler part of the grill and cook on low heat until cooked through ( 165F). A little charring is goes a long way here. Of course you can add other veggies to the grill at the same time.
Let the chicken rest 5-10 minutes before cutting and squeeze with lime. Don’t forget the lime! So delicious!
Now the Grilled Chipotle chicken is ready to use on salads, in healthy burrito bowls, in tacos or wraps…or even tossed in pasta. You will come up with a hundred uses!
Serve it like we have here in this Chipotle Chicken Salad with corn peppers and quinoa or with a simple Mexican Slaw!
For more summer grilling inspiration, take a look at these Healthy Delicious Grilling Recipes
Don’t feel like grilling? Here’s an easy stove-top version (or Instant Pot) Chicken Carnitas Recipe
Hope your week is going well. xo
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Grilled Chipotle Chicken Recipe
- Prep Time: 30
- Cook Time: 20
- Total Time: 50 minutes
- Yield: 4-6 1x
- Category: Chicken, main, palo, gluten-free
- Method: grilled
- Cuisine: mexican, southwest
Description
Smoky, spicy and delicious, this Grilled Chipotle Chicken is bathed in the most flavorful marinade. Grill the chipotle chicken ahead and reheat on busy weeknights, or store it in the flavorful chipotle marinade, then fire up the grill after work. Use in burrito bowls, salads, tacos, or pasta. So EASY and oh so tasty!
Ingredients
- 2 lbs chicken thighs or breasts ( boneless, skinless)
Chipotle Marinade:
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 2 chipotle peppers (canned) plus 2 tablespoons adobo sauce ( juice from can)
- 4 garlic cloves
- 1 shallot
- 1 1/2 tablespoons cumin
- 1 tablespoon coriander
- 2 teaspoons chili powder
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 2 teaspoons salt ( 1 teaspoon per pound)
Garnish: lime juice and cilantro
Instructions
- Preheat grill to medium-high.
- Place marinade ingredients in a food processor and process into a paste. Place the chicken and marinade in a ziplock bag and massage well to mix and coat all sides well. (Or brush all sides well with marinade and place in a container.) Marinate 20 mins or up to 3 days.
- Grill each side of chicken 6-7 minutes, or until good grill marks appear. Lower heat and move chicken to cooler side of the grill and continue to grill until chicken is cooked through and internal temperature reaches 165F.
- Let it rest 5-10 mins before serving and squeeze with lime. Sprinkle with optional cilantro.
Notes
These can be grilled ahead and will keep 3-4 days in the fridge. Or marinated ahead for up to 3 days.
Nutrition
- Serving Size:
- Calories: 279
- Sugar: 0.3 g
- Sodium: 946.6 mg
- Fat: 15.8 g
- Saturated Fat: 3 g
- Carbohydrates: 2 g
- Fiber: 0.6 g
- Protein: 30.2 g
- Cholesterol: 142 mg
Keywords: chipotle chicken recipe, chipotle mexican grilled chicken, grilled chipotle chicken, mexican grill chipotle chicken, chipotle chicken, how to make chipotle chicken, chipotle chicken marinade
This is my go-to recipe. I use it as written except sometimes I sub an onion if I do t have a shallot. We make bowls with brown rice, black beans, fresh Pico, avocado and a Greek yogurt, cilantro, lime dressing. It’s to die for.
★★★★★
Sounds so perfect Brooke! My mouth is watering…
The cumin is overpowering.
★
Hi Antonia- I really like the cumin here- it gives a nice earthiness- but I grew up with cumin, so I am partial to it. For others sensitive to its flavor, perhaps cut it back to 1 tablespoon 🙂
Excellent…I’ve now made it many times! Thanks
Happy to her this!
Delicious! I cooked the chicken in a pan and used in a bowl with rice, beans, guacamole, and salsa. My guests said it tasted even better than their favorite bowls at Chipotle. Both of my young kids also enjoyed it, which is definitely saying something.
Great to hear!
great
★★★★★
Glad you enjoyed!
great
★★★★★
Awesome Jim!
Hi Sylvia, could I grill this on a grill pan to get the marks and then transfer to the oven to cook through? Or would putting it in the oven on a wire rack at 200 degrees celcius also work? I dont have a grill!
Yes absolutely! That would work well Amina.
I have made both the instant pot chicken tortilla soup ( used thighs since I like the texture and moistness- and got even better the next days after ) and the grilled chipotle chicken also with thighs and grilled them on my gas grill. The aroma was awesome. Tasty and moist.
Have made many of your recipes. Girls night fav are the corn fritters. Yum.
Thank you
Thanks Ann!
What can I replace the chipotle peppers or adobe sauce with?
Hi Pina- you could try adding 2 teaspoons smoked paprika and 1-2 extra teaspoons chile powder? A couple drops of liquid smoke and a tablespoon tomato paste might be good too.
Tried this recipe as followed and it was DELICIOUS! Will definitely make again!
★★★★★
Thanks Angela- happy you gave this a go!
Wonderful recipes thanks for sharing!
I’m most defiantly will be trying these.
★★★★★
thanks so much Regina!
We love this recipe! We have been making for over a year and finally got around to post. The flavors are amazing and have shared your recipe with several. It’s a keeper for sure. So much flavor! Thank you.
Thanks so much Liz- glad you are enjoying it!
Awesome recipe. I share it often with others. A family favorite.
★★★★★
Thanks Brian!
I haven’t cook it yet but WOW it is REALLY salty! I hope that the chicken can take it. Other than that, I put lime in the marinade.
Thank you, can’t wait to see how it tastes on cooked chicken!
Let me know how it turned out!
This is absolutely amazing! I love the variety of flavors. I marinate it for days or hours and it’s still delish. You can adjust the heat by using less chipotle if needed. We love spice so I use all the chipotle but for those that are not so into heat use less. It’ll still taste delish just not as spicy. I cook these and shred them for tacos or burritos or enchiladas or serve them whole as grilled chicken. I prefer thighs but have used breasts and both are great!
Such a yummy marinade! Seriously my favorite recipe! Nicely done Sylvia! 🙂
★★★★★
Thanks so much Bethany- glad this works for you!
These are marinating in the fridge right now. Seeing with Mexican Cole slaw and Mexican beans
★★★★★
Perfect Casssie!
I made this yesterday and it had the perfect amount of spiciness. Cooked chicken parts in the oven, then used the leftover breasts for chipotle chicken salad. Will make again! By the way, for previous recipes, I opened a can of the chipotle peppers in adobo sauce, and it’s way too much to use in any recipe, so I froze in rubber ice cube trays and saved in a plastic bag for later! For this recipe, I just used 1.5 of the frozen cubes.
★★★★★
Love it! that is what I do too!
Hi Sylvia- looks amazing! Could I use tofu or mushrooms here instead of chicken? Thanks!
I think either would work great!
Hi there! I’m just wondering does the recipe call for coriander powder or fresh coriander? Thanks!
ground coriander powder 🙂
I don’t usually write reviews, but this recipe is for the books. I love the flavor of the chipotle chilis in the adobo sauce so I pursued the ingredient to add to other dishes. I marinated thighs for around 6 hrs, however I would recommend marinating over night to infuse the flavor deeper. I added a couple teaspoons of smoked paprika in the marinade as well.
★★★★★
Delish ! marinated them for 24 hours . I used boneless thighs .Put them on the grill for about 15 minutes . when they were done Isliced them and squeezed some lime and sliced them . ssooooo tasty, made our own chipotle bowls . rice (some had Quinoa ) corn , guacamole , lettuce, tomatoes, corn, sour cream ,salsa, cilantro and lime . making this again this weekend .. but this time we are making burritos
cant wait to make this for friends !
Happy you enjoyed this!
Fantastic chicken marinade- or for anything, really. I only marinated the chicken for 30 minutes and it still turned out delicious. I have tried many recipes from this blog and they’ve all been terrific – thank you!
★★★★★
thanks so much!