This chipotle chicken marinade infuses your chicken breast with so much delicious smoky, sweet and tangy flavor! Simple to prepare, and works great in tacos, on salad or served as is.
When it comes to chicken, you just can't go wrong with a good marinade. We are huge fans of this cilantro lime chicken marinade and this honey garlic chicken marinade, but when we want something a little bit spicy, we go for this chipotle chicken marinade.
With a short and simple ingredients list, this marinade can be prepped in minutes and infuses so much delicious flavor into the chicken breast.
This is a great all-purpose chicken recipe that is perfect served with a batch of cilantro lime rice (or cilantro lime cauliflower rice!), on taco salad, or in tacos.
Reasons you'll ♡ chipotle chicken marinade
- you need 7 simple ingredients
- it works great for meal prep and is very versatile
- you can use it on a variety of proteins
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The perfect blend of smoky + sweet
This marinade has the ideal blend of marinade ingredients: oil to disperse flavors, lime to tenderize the chicken and brighten flavors, adobo sauce for smokiness and a bit of spice, brown sugar to sweeten and balance the acidity, paprika and garlic for a punch of flavor, and salt to bring all the flavors together.
Control your spice levels
As written, this marinade is very mildly spicy. You can up the ante by chopping up 1-2 whole chipotle peppers and adding them into the marinade.
Tip- freeze leftover chipotle peppers and adobo sauce in a freezer bag or small jar for easy use in future recipes!
Marinating time
Plan to marinate your chicken in this chipotle marinade for at least 2 hours all the way up to 24 hours. If you can manage 24 hours, this is what I recommend for the best flavor! You need time to allow all that delicious smoky/sweet flavor to infuse into the chicken breast.
On the flip side, you do not want to allow the chicken to marinate past 24 hours, as the lime juice can start to break down the muscle fibres in the chicken breast, giving you mealy chicken.
If you can't cook your chicken within 24 hours, try popping it into the freezer. You can freeze for up to 3 months!
How to marinate chicken
The best way to ensure complete coverage of the chicken breast in the chipotle chicken marinade is in a bag; a bowl or container just will not cover the chicken breast with the marinade evenly.
Over the years I have moved away from disposable freezer bags, and now prefer silicone Stasher bags.
- use the sandwich Stasher bags for 1 lb (2 chicken breasts)
- use the ½ gallon Stasher bags for 2 lbs (4 chicken breasts)
Use other proteins
This marinade works great for other proteins as well. The recipe as written works for a pound of chicken breasts, but you could swap for the following:
- boneless chicken thighs- 2-24 hours marinating time
- shrimp or fish- 30 minutes marinating time
- pork tenderloin- at least 24 hours to marinate
- tofu- press first, then marinate for 2-24 hours
Cook with your favorite method
After marinating the chicken, pick your favorite method to cook it up. Our go-to is in the oven, but you can cook it on the grill, in a frying pan, or even in the air fryer!
- oven– our go to method. Cook at 425°F for 25 minutes, flipping halfway through. This chicken has a bit of sauce that thickens up in the oven and is delicious spooned over the cooked chicken breast.
- grill– I recommend pounding the chicken flat before marinating to ensure it cooks through evenly. See my perfect grilled chicken breast recipe for full details
- frying pan– here’s a good tutorial
- air fryer– again I do recommend pounding the chicken before marinating. We cook 4 minutes + 2 minutes (flipping half way). Full details here.
- instant pot- find the instant pot version of this recipe here! We had to adjust the sauce levels to allow the pot to come to temperature.
For pounded chicken, I make sure it cooks to 155°F before allowing to rest (carryover cooking helps it reach 165°F). For un-pounded chicken, cook to 165°F. Always allow chicken to rest for at least 5 minutes before slicing into it.
This is my favorite digital thermometer!
More chicken marinades
- 7 chicken marinades you can freeze
- 7 (more) chicken marinades you can freeze
- Sweet Chili Chicken Marinade
- Shortcut Jamaican Jerk Marinade
- Curry Yogurt Chicken Marinade
Chipotle Chicken Marinade with Sauce
Ingredients
- 1 lbs chicken breast (roughly 2 chicken breasts)
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 teaspoons adobo sauce (from a can of chipotle peppers; see *notes)
- ½ teaspoon paprika (sweet, although smoked would also be great)
- 2 teaspoons brown sugar
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 2 tablespoons lime juice
- ¼ teaspoon salt
Instructions
- Combine all ingredients in a heavy duty freezer bag or reusable silicone bag. Smoosh the bag together with your hands to mix everything up. 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 12-17 minutes, or until internal temperature reaches 165°F.
- Allow chicken to rest at room temperature for 5-10 minutes before slicing.
Notes
- grill- I recommend pounding the chicken flat before marinating to ensure it cooks through evenly. Cook over high heat 2 minutes per side until it reaches an internal temp of 155°F
- frying pan- cook in olive oil over medium heat in a nonstick skillet for 5-7 minutes per side
- air fryer- I recommend pounding the chicken before marinating. Cook at 390°F/ 200°C for 4 minutes + 2 minutes (flipping half way).
- boneless chicken thighs- 2-24 hours marinating time
- shrimp or fish- 30 minutes marinating time
- pork tenderloin- at least 24 hours to marinate
- tofu- press first, then marinate for 2-24 hours
Chris
I want to use your marinade recipe for an upcoming taco bar potluck I'm going to. If I will be cooking 5 pounds of chicken breast how many times should I multiply the recipe?
Denise
Hi Chris! So in my experience, one large chicken breast is 7 oz so you'd get 2-ish per pound. So you would probably need to use 10 chicken breasts and then 10X the recipe. Hope you enjoy it!
Chris
Thanks so much.
Albert Bevia
This marinade sounds incredible, I love that you added brown sugar to balance out the flavors, this takes the ordinary chicken dinner into a incredible chicken dinner! love it
Denise
Thanks so much!
Caitlin
I am crazy about chipotles in adobod but have never used them in a marinade. Can't wait to give this a try!
Denise
Thanks so much!