Super Easy Chipotle Chicken Marinade

This chipotle chicken marinade is super easy, ultra flavorful, and freezer-friendly! Assemble ahead and freeze for easy weeknight dinners.

 What’s sweet and savory, with a hint of smoky spice? This chipotle chicken marinade, that’s what!

You may remember this marinade from my post with 7 Chicken Marinade Recipes you can Freeze, and it’s about time it got it’s very own post.

This chipotle marinade is perfect for jazzing up your boneless skinless chicken breasts. Just a few simple ingredients and you are on your way to a delicious lunch or dinner!

NEW: looking for Instant Pot Chicken Breast Recipes? Check this post out!

I was aiming for ‘mild spice’ for this chipotle chicken marinade, so I used just a teaspoon of adobo sauce. If you want it spicy, add a chopped chipotle pepper!

I also added a teaspoon of brown sugar, to balance out the flavors. If you are following a clean eating diet (then you might be interested in this round-up with 24+ Clean Eating Meal Prep Recipes), swap with honey or maple syrup.

How long can you marinate chicken?

Typically you want to marinate your chicken for no longer than 24 hours. After that, the meat can start to break down (due to the acidic lime juice), and become mealy.

We can get around this problem by freezing our chicken right in the chipotle chicken marinade! This way, it is good in the freezer for up to 3 months. Truth be told, I have left mine for longer than that, but food safety guidelines always say 3 months 😉

This chipotle pepper chicken marinade would be great for summer grilling, though we normally do oven baked chicken breasts. When you bake it up, it ends up with a bit of liquid in the dish that you can spoon over it for extra flavor.

It pairs perfectly with cilantro lime rice (or cilantro lime cauliflower rice). It would also go well with coconut rice or any one of these 7 easy rice recipes!

This chipotle chicken is great on a taco salad or served in tortillas. Perfect for Taco Tuesday!

Tips for perfect chipotle chicken marinade

• I use this 5 x 5 inch baking dish to bake up a single chicken breast, and it is perfect to prevent the sauce from over-reducing in the oven. For 2 or more, I’d use an 8 x 8 inch baking dish
• kick up the spice factor in this marinade by adding a chopped chipotle pepper!
• looking for an Instant Pot version? Check out the Chipotle Lime Instant Pot Chicken Breast in this post with 7 Instant Pot Chicken Breast Recipes!

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Super Easy Chipotle Chicken Marinade

Course: Dinner

Cuisine: Meal Prep

Calories: 81kcal

Servings: 2

This chipotle chicken marinade is super easy, ultra flavorful, and freezer-friendly! Assemble ahead and freeze for easy weeknight dinners.

Prep Time10 mins

Cook Time25 mins

Total Time35 mins

Ingredients

• 1 chicken breast (roughly 1/2 lb)
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 teaspoon adobo sauce from a can of chipotle peppers
• 1/4 teaspoon paprika
• 1 teaspoon brown sugar
• 1 clove garlic minced
• 1 tablespoon lime juice
• 1/8 teaspoon salt

Instructions

• Combine all ingredients in a heavy duty freezer bag. Add chicken breasts and turn to coat in marinade.

Fridge

• Marinate the chicken in the fridge for 2-24 hours.

Freezer

• If freezing, place in the freezer immediately. Thaw in the fridge overnight, or by immersing the bag in a bowl of cold water for a couple of hours.

To Bake

• Heat oven to 425°F. Bake chicken in a shallow baking dish for 10 minutes, flip over, then bake for another 10-20 minutes.
• For 5-7 oz chicken breasts, bake for 20 minutes total. For 10 oz and larger chicken breasts, bake for at least 25 minutes.
• Allow chicken to rest at room temperature for 5-10 minutes before slicing.

Nutrition

Serving: 1/2 chicken breast (3.5 oz) | Calories: 81kcal | Carbohydrates: 3g | Fat: 7g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Sodium: 575mg | Sugar: 2g | Vitamin A: 125IU | Vitamin C: 2.7mg