Copycat Chipotle Chicken–an Instant Pot or Crockpot chicken recipe with lots of flavor from chipotles, garlic and seasonings.

Copycat Chipotle Chicken
Love going to Chipotle but want to save money? This chicken has so much flavor and is fairly easy to make! I was so pleased with the results. Much better than going out to eat 🙂 You’re going to love how moist and tender the chicken is as well.
This chicken can be served in so many different ways! Make a rice bowl, a quesadilla, a taco or a burrito. However you choose to eat this chicken you’re going to be wishing you had doubled the recipe! It is perfect as leftovers.
Ingredients/Substitution Ideas
- Boneless skinless chicken thighs–you can also use chicken breasts or chicken tenderloins
- Water
- Chipotles in adobo sauce
- Garlic cloves
- Onion–yellow, white or red
- Kosher salt
- Cumin
- Dried oregano
- Black pepper
- Olive oil
Steps
Add chicken into Instant Pot.
Add the remaining ingredients into a blender. Blend until smooth.

Pour the mixture over the chicken.

Cover Instant Pot and secure the lid. Make sure valve is set to sealing. Set the manual/pressure cook button to 12 minutes. When time is up let pressure release naturally then remove lid.

Place chicken on a cutting board and slice.
Eat and enjoy!

Notes/Tips
- Serve chicken in tacos, burritos, salad, enchiladas, quesadillas, on rice or plain!
- I used my 6 quart Instant Pot*. You can also make this in a 3 or 8 quart pot.
- Store leftovers in an airtight container* in the refrigerator for up to 5 days or in the freezer for up to 3 months.
- This chicken is gluten-free, dairy-free and low carb.
- If you choose to make this with chicken breasts I would use a 10 minute pressure cook time with a natural pressure release for fresh chicken (12 minutes for frozen). For chicken tenderloins use a 3 minute pressure cook time with natural release.
- Where are chipotle peppers in adobo sauce in the grocery store? Usually I find them in the International aisle of the supermarket, along with other Latin ingredients. I never use a whole can at once so I will freeze the leftovers in individual blobs making them easy to use for recipes like this one.
More Instant Pot Recipes that Use Chipotles…
Instant Pot Chipotle Beef Burrito Bowls
Flavorful, seasoned beef chuck roast (that shreds like a dream) is piled on rice and then topped with salsa, corn, sour cream and guacamole.
Instant Pot Smoky Mountain Casserole
Chicken and rice with three levels of smoke! There is so much flavor in this dish and it’s an easy dump and go recipe.
Instant Pot Southwest Tavern Sandwiches
A loose meat sandwich seasoned with southwest flavors and then topped with cheese, avocado and tomato. A perfect dinner or lunch to feed a crowd.
Instant Pot Chicken Tinga Tacos
Easy to make smoky chicken tacos with all the fixings. A fresh weeknight meal that comes together quickly.
Did you know you can filter the recipes on my website to search by meat type, IP or Crockpot, low carb, gluten free, etc.? Use the filter to find exactly what you are looking for.


Copycat Chipotle Chicken
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Total Time: 20 minutes
- Yield: 4–6 servings 1x
Description
Instant Pot or Crockpot chicken recipe with lots of flavor from chipotles, garlic and seasonings.
Ingredients
- 4–6 boneless skinless chicken thighs, fresh or frozen (I used 21 ounces)
- 3/4 cup water
- 2 chipotles in adobo sauce
- 4 garlic cloves
- 1/2 of one medium onion
- 1 tsp kosher salt
- 1 tsp cumin
- 1/2 tsp dried oregano
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
- 1 Tbsp olive oil
Instructions
Instant Pot Instructions:
- Add chicken into Instant Pot.
- Add the remaining ingredients into a blender. Blend until smooth. Pour the mixture over the chicken.
- Cover Instant Pot and secure the lid. Make sure valve is set to sealing. Set the manual/pressure cook button to 12 minutes. When time is up let pressure release naturally then remove lid.
- Place chicken on a cutting board and slice.
- Eat and enjoy!
Slow Cooker Instructions:
- Add chicken into slow cooker.
- Add the remaining ingredients into a blender. Blend until smooth. Pour the mixture over the chicken.
- Cover and cook on low for 4-6 hours.
- Place chicken on a cutting board and slice.
- Eat and enjoy!
- Category: Chicken
- Method: Instant Pot or Slow Cooker

*Karen Petersen is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com.
I made it twice this week. it has great flavor but for some reason, it seems to have too much liquid. IT WAS STILL YUMMY!
★★★★
So glad you liked it!
I used chicken breasts because my wife doesn’t like thighs. When it was done I shredded the chicken and put it back in the IP.. I tried to copy Chipolte’s burrito bowl. I put in a bed of lettuce, then a bed of rice. Then, the chicken, cheese & a large dollop of guacamole. It was excellent. I’ll be making this again..
★★★★★
Guacamole sounds awesome!
I made this using raw shrimp instead of chicken and in a skillet and it was great! I had it with walkaway noodles and vegetables I made earlier today and this might be my new favorite way to eat shrimp. Thanks!
★★★★★
I could totally get behind this! Sounds awesome.
Does anything change if I use chicken breast?
I would use a 10 minute pressure cooking time
I can’t wait to try this recipe, but I have a question. Regarding the chipotles in adobo sauce, you list a quantity of 2. Is that 2 individual chipotles or 2 cans? I found 7 oz. cans but I’m not sure how many cans I need. Thank you for your response and for all of the wonderful recipes.
Hi Patti, it’s two individual chipotles.