Easy Recipe: 3 Ingredient Chipotle Chicken Marinade
Sometimes chicken is bland. That is why I am going to share with you a simple, 3 ingredient chipotle marinade recipe.
It’s too easy to simply serve up chicken as the protein for the meal without taking the time or thought to make it pop.
It doesn’t have to take much time or thought, I promise. Just a tad. And only 3 ingredients.
Chipotle Chicken Marinade will make your chicken stand on its own, even if you use it (or the leftovers) in enchiladas or on a salad.
Chicken doesn’t have to be bland.
This quick and simple marinade makes a delicious and versatile chicken. It’s delicious on drumsticks and thighs, on chicken tenders, for grilled chicken or baked. It makes delicious shredded chicken to use with rice and black beans or to top a bed of lettuce with sour cream.
To make this marinade, I’ve added chipotle seasoning to my kitchen arsenal. It’s available in bulk at my normal grocery store, but it’s also available in most spice aisles or even on Amazon. It’s spicy, but not too spicy, and has a hint of sweet in it. If you don’t want to add anything more to your basic pantry, you can substitute paprika.
Note: This is not a copycat recipe for the restaurant version. This is a simplified, pared-back version that is delicious and simple to get on the table.
3-Ingredient Chipotle Marinade
This is enough marinade for a family pack of chicken (4-5 pounds).
- In a glass measuring cup, measure 1/2 cup olive oil and 1/4 cup lime juice (yes, I just use the bottled kind). Add 1 tablespoon chipotle seasoning and whisk until well combined.
- Cut chicken as desired, if desired, and place in a baking dish with high sides. Pour marinade over the chicken and move it around until it’s all coated.
- Let it sit for an hour or more, then cook however you’d like: in the oven, on the grill, or in a skillet. You can also stick it in the freezer to pull out and bake another day.
Extra, optional steps
- You can also sprinkle the chicken with garlic powder and salt after coating with the marinade.
- You can also add garlic powder or minced garlic to the marinade.
- You can also reduce the lime juice by half and replace the other half with white wine or white wine vinegar.
The leftover cooked chicken is amazing on salads, in burritos, or on top of rice. It also freezes well.
This recipe looks so good! How long do you bake the chicken after it has been in the marinade for an hour? We usually get boneless skinless chicken breasts.
I’m excited to try this recipe it looks amazing! I know you mentioned freezing the marinade, but have you also tried freezing the chicken after it s cooked? 5 pounds is a lot for just me and my fiance so I m trying to figure out if I should make less or freeze some of it for later.
You can! You can freeze the marinade to use later, freeze the chicken in meal-sized portions with the marinade right in the ziplock bag, or you can freeze the cooked chicken. It’s very flexible!