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Chipotle Ranch Marinated Chicken 🍗 I have gone from a chicken hater to someone who doesn’t hate chicken as much as I use to 😅 After a lot trial and error, I’m now fully convinced chicken can be the star of the show when treated right and I’m giving these Chipotle Ranch Chicken thighs the royal treatment by marinading them in a homemade ranch for hours and then grilling them to perfection!
Table of Contents
Why You’ll Love Chipotle Ranch Marinated Chicken
Juicy, crispy, and flavor-packed – this crispy chicken thigh recipe marinated in a herby chipotle ranch marinade are perfect for grilling on a summer day, or anytime of year if I’m being honest!
Prep Like a Pro
Start the Chicken the Day Before – This chipotle ranch marinade does wonder with time, so give this recipe the full 24 hours if you can.
Pat Dry the Chicken Before Applying the Chipotle Marinade – For this recipe, you want the chicken skin to be crispy and this will help the skin crisp up later. Moisture is your enemy if you’re trying to get the golden sear.
Don’t Skip the Pat Dry Before Cooking – Removing some of the chipotle ranch marinade before searing will also help you to achieve the golden sear.
Use a Meat Thermometer – Chicken thighs are best between 175°F-180°F because it renders the fat and connective tissues leaving you with juicy, pull apart bites. Make sure you insert the thermometer at the thickest part while not touching the bone.
Ranch Salad – You can chop and have everything ready to go for the salad ahead of time or wait until you are cooking the chicken. Either way works. Use a mandolin to get the thinest radish shavings possible!
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🔥Chef Nadia’s Tip🔥
To get the correct temperature of the chicken, insert the thermometer at the thickest part while not touching the bone.
Substitutions and Variations
- Substitutions
- Homemade Ranch → If you are short on time you can always use a store bought ranch. Making your own doesn’t take that much time and really tastes a lot better so if you can, I do recommend making it though.
- Chipotle Mayo → If you aren’t a Chipotle fan, you can skip the Chipotle Mayo completely. If you like Chipotle but can’t find the mayo, use regular and just add chipotle powder with a touch of adobo sauce or sriracha for a quick sub.
- Ranch Salad → This salad is delicious but it would pair nicely next to any salad you’d like. If you’re not a radish fan, you can swap it for shaved fennel or just omit it.
- Variations
- Spicy Kick → Add extra chipotle powder and adobo sauce to the chicken marinade if you want some spice.
- Make it a Bowl → Serve over rice and slice the lettuce up very thin if you’d like to make this into a bowl.
- Boneless Shortcut → If you don’t want to deal with the bone you can buy it without. Adjust your cooking times because bone-in takes longer to cook than boneless does.
The Perfect Pairings
A gorgeous Spicy Strawberry Frozen Margarita is just what you need to start your night off. For a fun appetizer you can have Spicy Mozzarella Cheese Sticks. To go alongside your Chipotle Ranch Marinated Chicken and Salad, some Cheesy Ranch Bread would be great. Finish the night with a Burnt Basque Corn Cheesecake!
Cocktail Hour
Frozen Strawberry Margarita 🍓
Appetizers
Spicy Mozzarella Cheese Sticks
Appetizers
Cheesy Ranch Bread
Desserts
Burnt Basque Corn Cheesecake
Chipotle Ranch Marinated Chicken: Questions Answered
Yes, it’s a minimum of 2 hours, but the flavor gets way better overnight. Think of it as beauty sleep for your chicken.
Sure! Just adjust your times and temp. Chicken breast should have an eternal temperature of 165°F. This will cook much faster.
The marinated and cooked chicken should last up to 4 days in the fridge. The ranch dressing alone will keep for 3 to 4 days if tightly sealed in the fridge. If the salad has the dressing added to it, it will get soggy so that doesn’t really keep.
Chipotle Ranch Marinated Chicken
Equipment
- medium bowl
- airtight container
- large bowl, with a lid of plastic wrap
- Mandoline Slicer, optional but preferred
- pan
- salad bowl
- baking sheet
- paper towels
- griddle, grill or oven-safe pan
Ingredients
Ranch Dressing
- ⅓ cup Avocado Oil Mayo
- ⅔ cup sour cream
- 2½ tbsp fresh dill, chopped
- 2½ tbsp fresh chives, chopped
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- ½ tsp white pepper
- 1 tsp onion powder
- 1 tsp agave syrup
- 1½ tsp red wine vinegar
- 1 lemon, juice of ½ to taste and zest of whole
- salt, to taste
Chicken Marinaide
- 6-8 chicken thighs, bone-in and skin-on
- ½ of the ranch made above
- ¼ cup Chipotle Mayo
Salad
- 2 pitas, chopped into squares
- Olive oil, for frying
- 1 tsp smoked paprika
- 1 tsp chipotle powder
- 1 pinch salt
- 1 container baby gem lettuce, chopped
- 2 whole scallions, chopped
- 3 persian cucumbers, chopped
- 1 pint cherry tomatoes, chopped
- 2 radishes, shaved using a mandolin
- ½ lemon, juice, to taste
Instructions
- The first two steps should be done about 24 hours ahead, but a minimum of 2 hours ahead.
Ranch Dressing
- In a bowl, mix the avocado oil mayo, sour cream, dill, chives, garlic powder, white pepper, onion powder, agave syrup, red wine vinegar, lemon zest and juice. Taste and adjust the lemon juice and add salt to taste. Put ½ of this ranch in an airtight container and store in the refrigerator until ready to use. The other ½ will be used in the next step.
Chicken Marinaide
- Pat dry the chicken well, add it to a large bowl with ½ of the ranch and the ¼ cup chipotle mayo. Add a bit more salt and pepper. Mix it up and cover tightly with plastic wrap. Marinate the chicken for 24 hours ideally, but a minimum of 2.
Salad
- Fry your pita in olive oil until nice and golden. Remove and add to a bowl, mixing in paprika, chipotle powder and a pinch of salt.
- Right before serving, mix of the ingredients for your salad in a bowl, add in the ranch dressing, a bit more lemon and mix well. Top with the peta.
Ranch Chicken
- Add chicken to a baking sheet and remove excess marinade with a paper towel.
- Griddle or Grill: Lightly oil and preheat to medium or medium-high heat. Place skin side down and sear until golden. Flip and cook for another until the internal temperature reaches 175°-180°F. This is higher than the normal recommended temp but TRUST me. It will be a better texture.Stovetop: Preheat your oven to 375℉. Preheat your oven-safe pan and sear skin side down for about 3-5 minutes or until golden. Flip and sear for another 2 minutes. Put your pan and bake for about 40 minutes or until the internal temperature reaches 175°-180°F. This is higher than the normal recommended temp but TRUST me. It will be a better texture.
Kitchen Cam
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
