Chipotle Copycat Chicken Bowl Recipe

Do you remember a couple years ago when Chipotle had a rewards program, where if you ate at Chipotle a ridiculous amount of times every month, you got free catering for 20 people? Sam may be the single reason Chipotle is still in business, so he had no problem getting the free catering prize. Now, you may be wondering who we shared our catering for 20 with. 

Shared? We were supposed to share?

Yeah. No. We didn't.

We ate nothing but Chipotle for lunch and dinner for nearly two weeks. Somehow, we didn't even get sick of it. We ran out of corn and cheese about a week into it, and luckily Sam is shameless and got us more.

So, since that time, we've actually contemplated ordering it again just so we have it at our disposal. But really, how gross would that be?

Probably about as gross as two people eating catering for 20.

About a month ago, we ate lunch at a competitor's burrito joint and I said it tasted like they tried to make Chipotle at home and failed. Sam challenged me at that moment to try my hand at making Chipotle.

Game on.

I researched ingredients and recipes for the chicken marinade, and other than that, I was ready to roll, thanks to my years of personal Chipotle tasting experience.

I've adapted this recipe to be ready in 30 minutes start to finish - probably less time than it takes to drive to Chipotle and pick it up. Bless.

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Chipotle Copycat Chicken Bowl
Serves 2-4

Ingredients

Chicken:

1 split chicken breast, pounded to 1/2" thickness

2 tbsp red onion

1 clove garlic

1 tbsp adobo sauce

1 tsp cumin

1 tsp chili

1 tsp salt

1/4 tsp black pepper

1 tsp cilantro

2 tbsp olive oil

Salsas:

1 can corn, drained

1 medium tomato, chopped

1/4 cup red onion, chopped

1/2 jalapeno, chopped

3 tbsp cilantro leaves, chopped

1/2 lime

Salt to taste

Rice:
2 cups water

1 cup long grain rice

1 bay leaf

1/2 lime

3 tbsp cilantro leaves, chopped

Salt to taste

Optional:

2 oz white cheddar cheese, grated

2 oz Monterey jack cheese, grated

Sour cream

Chicken:

Combine all chicken ingredients (excluding the chicken breast itself) using a food processor. Rub on all surfaces of the chicken breast. Sear in a cast iron skillet coated with 1-2 tbsp olive oil over medium-high heat for 5 minutes on one side, and 3 minutes on the other, then reduce heat to medium and use a fish turner to chop into small pieces. Continue cooking just until chicken is cooked through.  

Corn Salsa:

Combine corn and half each of the chopped onion, jalapeno, cilantro, and lime. Salt to taste.

Tomato Salsa: 

Combine tomato and the remaining salsa ingredients. 

Rice: 

Heat a large pot of salted water and bay leaf to boiling. Rinse extra starch from rice and add to boiling water. Cook for 8 minutes until al dente. Strain, then return cooked rice to pot over lowest heat and cover, cooking for 10 minutes. Discard bay leaf and add lime juice, cilantro, and salt to taste. 

Assemble:

Divide the rice and chicken between two large bowls and top with salsas. Finish with cheese and sour cream, if desired. Leftover salsa and cheese will stay fresh for up to 3 days in the refrigerator when covered tightly.

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The Details

Need a little more info? Let's break down the recipe in detail. 

Step 1: Cook Rice with the Pasta Method

Heat a large pot of salted water and one bay leaf over medium-high heat. Meanwhile, place 1 cup of rice in a bowl and cover in cold water. Use your hand to swish the rice vigorously to clean and remove any excess starch. Strain in a mesh sieve, and repeat the process three times.

You'll notice the water getting clearer each time you do this, which is exactly what you want. You can skip this step, but it really doesn't take that much extra time and it makes a difference in the final texture of the rice.

Once the water comes to a rolling boil, add the rice and stir. Unlike the traditional rice cooking method of reducing the heat, covering, and cooking for 20 minutes, we're going to leave it uncovered and cook it for only 8 minutes, just like pasta. This is going to give us that signature dry, fluffy texture that Chipotle rice has, where each grain is its own thing.

Taste your rice at the 8 minute mark. It should be al dente, still with a slight bite to it. Drain in your mesh sieve, then return to the pot and cover for 10 minutes with the burner turned off. This will allow the rice to finish cooking and dry out a bit.

To season the rice, discard the bay leaf and add the juice from half a lime, 3 tbsp chopped cilantro, and salt to taste (you may not have to add any additional salt since the cooking water was salted - I usually add about 1/4 tsp).

Step 2: Chicken Marinade

In the bowl of a food processor, add 2 tbsp red onion, 1 clove garlic, 1 tbsp adobe sauce (from a can of chipotle peppers), 1/4 tsp cumin seeds, 1 tsp chili powder, 1/4 tsp black pepper, 1 tbsp salt, 2 tbsp olive oil, and 1 tsp fresh cilantro. Pulse until combined. It will be somewhat chunky because of the onion and garlic.

Cover a chicken breast in plastic wrap and pound until it's about 1/2" thin all the way around using a meat tenderizer. This is my favorite part of cooking. Hard day at work? Take it out on your chicken. Be sure to wash or flip your board before chopping your vegetables for salsa.

Spread half of your marinade in the bottom of a plate or a wide, shallow container, then place your chicken on top, moving it around to make sure the entire bottom is covered in marinade. Put the rest of the marinade on top of the chicken, spreading over the entire surface.

Step 3: Cook Chicken

Preheat 1-2 tbsp olive oil in a cast-iron skillet over medium heat. Add your marinated chicken breast (don't rinse or wipe off the marinade) and let it sear for about 5 minutes on one side, then flip and cook for another 3.

Using a fish turner or thin metal spatula, cut the chicken into bite-sized pieces. It will still be pink inside, but by breaking it up into smaller pieces, it will cook quickly without overcooking the outside (as it tends to be at Chipotle depending on the day, tbh). 

The first couple times I tried this recipe, I added water to the marinade mix, and the chicken came out kind of bland. By keeping the marinade at full strength and keeping it on the chicken as it cooks, it adds so much flavor. 

Step 4: Salsas

At Chipotle, I get tomato and corn salsas, so that's what this recipe includes. Honestly, I've never even tried any of the other salsas. The little bits of jalapeno in this stuff is about as spicy as I go.

Cut 1/4" slice from the center of a red onion and finely chop. We'll use this in both the corn and the tomato salsa. For the tomato salsa, cut a medium tomato into 1/2" dice. Use whatever you have - I've made this with a bunch of grape tomatoes and it was just as good. If you have a larger tomato like a beefsteak, start with cutting half of it and cut more if you need to. Finely chop half of a jalapeno (be sure to remove the stem and seeds). Give 3 tbsp or so of cilantro leaves a rough chop.

For the tomato salsa, combine your chopped tomato as well as half of the onion, jalapeno, and cilantro.

For the corn salsa, combine a can of drained corn if corn isn't in season (my favorite is Green Giant Steam Crisp) and the other half of the onion, jalapeno, and cilantro.

Press firmly down on a whole lime while rolling it along the countertop. You'll feel it slightly loosen up and you may feel little pops. This makes it much easier to squeeze out the juice. Slice it in half, reserving one of the halves for the rice. Squeeze the juice from other half between the tomato and corn salsas. You should have at least 1 tbsp per salsa. Add a pinch of salt, then taste and adjust as needed. Cover and chill until ready to use.

Step 3: Grate Cheeses

Chipotle uses a blend of white cheddar and Monterey jack cheese, and so do we. I grate about 2 oz of each cheese, and it's enough for 4 bowls. 

Step 6: Assemble

The chicken and rice in this recipe is enough for two Chipotle-sized bowls. Everything else is enough for four, so I like to keep it in the fridge for next time. The salsas and cheese will stay good for about 3 days, and we have no problem having this a second time in the same week. That way, all you have to do is make the chicken and rice!

Divide half of the rice between two large bowls, then top with chicken. Add a couple scoops of corn and tomatoes, then top with cheese. If you're a sour cream person, mix a scoop of sour cream with a splash of milk and a pinch of salt to get that crema-like Chipotle sour cream consistency. Daisy is my favorite sour cream and the only one I buy. It's one of the few widely-available sour creams that is purely cream without the additives. 

And there you have it. I'm considering changing out my home decor to concrete floors with corrugated metal walls, blasting loud music, and making Sam yell his order to me so it feels 100% authentic. Hope you enjoy! And be careful, this stuff is addicting.