Orange Chipotle Chicken

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Orange Chipotle Chicken recipe – our favorite Mexican chicken marinade! Chicken marinated in chipotle peppers in adobo sauce, orange juice, garlic, cumin, honey, and olive oil. A little spicy, a little smoky, and a whole lotta delicious! This chicken goes great in burrito bowls, tacos, fajitas, and on top of salads.

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Chipotle Marinade for Chicken

This Orange Chipotle Chicken Marinade is a new favorite at our house. Chicken marinated in chipotle peppers in adobo sauce, orange juice, garlic, honey, and olive oil. The chicken is tender and juicy and packed full of great flavor! We LOVE the smoky heat that the chipotle peppers in adobo sauce add to the dish. The heat is balanced out with the sweetness from the orange juice and honey. I like to double the recipe and use the chicken for easy meal-prep during the week!

How to Make Orange Chipotle Chicken Marinade

This chicken is super easy to make with only a few simple ingredients. In the bowl of a food processor blender combine chipotle chili peppers in adobo sauce, orange juice, garlic cloves, honey, olive oil, ground cumin, salt, and pepper. Blend until smooth. Place chicken in a ziplock bag and pour the marinade over the chicken. Seal the bag and refrigerate a few hours to overnight.

Remove the chicken from the marinade. Discard the marinade. Cook the marinated chicken on the grill until it reaches an internal temperature of 165ºF.

Helpful Tips & Frequently Asked Questions

You can use this marinade on any cut of chicken you prefer – chicken tenders, chicken breasts, chicken thighs, or chicken legs.
- Can use boneless or bone-in chicken. Adjust the cooking time to ensure an internal temperature of 165ºF.
We like to let the chicken marinate overnight to achieve maximum flavor. If you don’t have that much time, let the chicken marinate as long as possible.
My #1 tip when grilling chicken is to pound the chicken breast to an even thickness. We put the chicken in a ziplock bag and use a flat meat mallet or rolling pin to carefully pound out the hump. This ensures that the chicken cooks evenly and you don’t have juicy chicken and half-dry chicken.
Feel free to add some onion or cilantro to the marinade.
No grill? No problem! You can cook the chicken inside. Pan-sear the chicken breasts in a skillet or grill pan on the stove top for 3 to 4 minutes per side over medium-high heat. Place the chicken on a rimmed baking sheet. Bake at 400ºF in the oven for 10 minutes, or until it reaches an internal temperature of 165ºF.

What to Serve with Mexican Grilled Chicken

This is such a versatile recipe! We love this chicken in burrito bowls, on top of salads, and tacos. I love to use this recipe to make fajitas with bell peppers and onions. Serve the chicken with some warm tortillas, sour cream, cheese, and pico de Gallo.

This chicken is equally delicious on its own with some black beans and rice. Whip up some salsa, guacamole, and queso for a fiesta better than any restaurant. Give this a try the next time to you fire up the grill!

Looking for more side dish ideas? Here are a few of our favorite recipes from the blog that go great with this yummy chicken:

Salads

Mexican Chopped Salad

Mexican Chopped Salad – the perfect side to all of your favorite Mexican recipes! Lettuce, corn, black beans, tomatoes, avocados,…

Vegetables

Southwestern Green Beans

Southwestern Green Beans with Rotel- only 4 ingredients and ready in about 20 minutes! Oven-roasted green beans, Mexican Rotel tomatoes,…

Dip

Cowboy Queso (Loaded Cheese Dip)

Cowboy Queso Recipe – queso cheese dip loaded with meat, beans, Rotel tomatoes, and corn. Can make in the microwave,…

Side Dish

Black Bean and Rice Casserole

Black Bean and Rice Casserole – a quick and easy Mexican side dish! Can make ahead and refrigerate until ready…

Author: Stephanie @ Plain Chicken

Yield: 4 people

Prep Time 5 mins

Cook Time 15 mins

Total Time 20 mins

2 Tbsp Olive Oil
2 cloves of garlic, roughly chopped
1 Tbsp Honey
¼ tsp cumin
4 chipotle pepper chiles in adobo sauce, roughly chopped
¼ cup orange juice
salt and pepper to taste
4 boneless chicken breasts

Combine all ingredients in a food processor and pulse until the marinade is smooth.
Pour marinade over chicken and marinate for at least two hours to overnight in the refrigerator.
Remove chicken from marinade and discard marinade.
Grill the chicken until it reaches an internal temperature of 165ºF.

You can use this marinade on any cut of chicken you prefer – chicken tenders, chicken breasts, chicken thighs, or chicken legs.
- Can use boneless or bone-in chicken. Adjust the cooking time to ensure an internal temperature of 165ºF.
We like to let the chicken marinate overnight to achieve maximum flavor. If you don’t have that much time, let the chicken marinate as long as possible.
My #1 tip when grilling chicken is to pound the chicken breast to an even thickness. We put the chicken in a ziplock bag and use a flat meat mallet or rolling pin to carefully pound out the hump. This ensures that the chicken cooks evenly and you don’t have juicy chicken and half-dry chicken.
Feel free to add some onion or cilantro to the marinade.
No grill? No problem! You can cook the chicken inside. Pan-sear the chicken breasts in a skillet or grill pan on the stove top for 3 to 4 minutes per side over medium-high heat. Place the chicken on a rimmed baking sheet. Bake at 400ºF in the oven for 10 minutes, or until it reaches an internal temperature of 165ºF.

Steph