Turn this easy Chipotle Lime Chicken into a chicken salad bowl or a chicken burrito bowl in next to no time. Made with pantry staples, this juicy stove top chicken is so easy to make. Perfect for a quick weeknight dinner or as a meal prep!

Want an easy and quick protein to add to your next salad or burrito bowl? Try this simple but delicious chipotle lime chicken. I love the flavours you get from chipotle and have used them previously in my easy chipotle chicken thighs and honey chipotle chicken but if you don’t have chipotle in adobo sauce, then this recipe is for you as it uses powdered chipotle powder instead.

A rice bowl with chipotle lime chicken and a meal prep container of salad.

Why You’ll Love This Chipotle Chicken

It’s so easy to make! All you have to do is marinate your chicken in a small dish (the smaller the dish the less marinade is needed) and then add it to your skillet on the stove top. This post will walk you through how to cook chicken thighs in a pan quickly. A couple minutes on each side and you’ve got a quick boneless chicken thigh recipe perfect for a busy weeknight!
It’s packed with flavour. This pan seared boneless chicken thighs recipe is packed with flavour thanks to the chipotle lime marinade.
Makes for the perfect meal prep. Meal prep a batch of this sweet and spicy chipotle chicken for the week! It reheats wonderfully. More info on this simple chicken meal prep bowl down below!

Ingredients You’ll Need

Ingredients needed to make chipotle lime chicken.

chipotle powder — use chipotle powder to get that signature smoky taste.
lime juice — I recommend using freshly squeezed lime and not bottled lime juice as it tastes more fresh and bright.
olive oil
garlic powder
salt
brown sugar — you can use light or dark brown sugar.
cilantro
chicken thighs — boneless skinless chicken thighs.

To go with the chicken, you can serve it with anything you want, but to make a salad bowl as I did, here’s what you’ll need:

romaine lettuce — here’s a step by step tutorial on how to cut romaine lettuce.
red onions
cherry tomatoes
avocados
corn
sour cream
rice — optional

How to Make Chipotle Lime Chicken

Chicken thighs marinated in chipotle lime.

A cast iron pan of chipotle lime chicken.

In a small or shallow bowl, combine the chipotle powder, lime juice, olive oil, garlic powder, salt, and brown sugar. Mix to combine and add the cilantro and chicken thighs. Marinate for a minimum of 30 minutes.
On medium heat, heat up your skillet (preferably cast iron) and melt the butter and the rest of the olive oil before adding in the chicken thighs, smooth side down and then cook for 5 minutes. Flip and continue to cook for 6 to 7 minutes, or until cooked through. Do not overcrowd the pan, cook in two batches if necessary. Be sure to add more butter and oil for the second batch.
Make this into a chipotle lime chicken salad: serve with chopped romaine lettuce, red onions, corn, tomatoes, avocado, and sour cream.
Make this into a chipotle lime burrito bowl: serve with the same as above overtop a bed of rice to turn this into a chicken burrito bowl.

A burrito bowl with chipotle lime chicken.

Close up of chipotle lime chicken in a burrito bowl.

Make Ahead Tips

Meal prep: store the cooked chicken in an airtight container for up to 4 days in the fridge. If you are serving this as a salad, feel free to pack it all together. If you are serving this as a chipotle chicken bowl, I recommend packing the rice (and the chicken if you’d like) separately. You’d want to heat up the rice before enjoying and the lettuce, tomatoes, sour cream, etc will not reheat well alongside the rice. It’s easier to heat the rice up separately and then add it to your bowl afterwards. Add in the avocado the day of serving.
Freezer: allow the chicken thighs to cool before transferring it into an airtight container before storing them in the freezer.
How to prep this for the freezer: place the marinade and chicken thighs in a large freezer friendly ziploc bag, to prep this meal ahead of time. Freeze for up to 3 months. When ready, thaw overnight in the fridge before cooking.

Chipotle Lime Chicken

5 from 1 vote

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Prep Time: 30

Cook Time: 12

Total Time: 42

Servings: servings

Ingredients

2 tsp chipotle powder
1 lime, juiced
¼ cup olive oil
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp salt
2 tsp brown sugar
3-4 bunches of cilantro
8-10 boneless skinless chicken thighs

For the Salad or Bowl

2 heads romaine lettuce, chopped
1 red onions, diced
1-2 cups cherry tomatoes, halved
2 avocados
1 cup corn
sour cream, as much or as little as you’d like
rice, white or brown, as much or as little as you’d like

Instructions

In a small or shallow bowl, combine the chipotle powder, lime juice, olive oil, garlic powder, salt, and brown sugar. Mix to combine and add the cilantro and chicken thighs. Marinate for a minimum of 30 minutes.
On medium heat, heat up your skillet (preferably cast iron) and melt the butter and the rest of the olive oil before adding in the chicken thighs, smooth side down and then cook for 5 minutes. Flip and continue to cook for 6 to 7 minutes, or until cooked through. Do not overcrowd the pan, cook in two batches if necessary. Be sure to add more butter and oil for the second batch.
Make this into a chipotle lime chicken salad: serve with chopped romaine lettuce, red onions, corn, tomatoes, avocado, and sour cream.
Make this into a chipotle lime burrito bowl: serve with the same as above overtop a bed of rice to turn this into a chicken burrito bowl.

Notes

Calorie estimate only includes the chicken and not the ingredients needed to make a salad or burrito bowl.

Tried this recipe?Did you make this recipe? I’m always so happy to hear about it! I’d love to see how it turned out. Tag me at @CarmysHungry on Instagram so I can see it! If you enjoyed the recipe, I’d really appreciate a comment with a 5 star rating! ♥

Nutrition Per Serving

Author: Carmy

Course: Main Course, Salad

Cuisine: American, Canadian

Nutrition Disclaimer

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