Pollo al chipotle (POH-yoh al chee-POHT-leh) is chicken simmered in 1 cup of cream blended with two smoked Mexican chiles, chipotles in adobo: a thick, orange, smoky and medium-hot sauce, with the cream rounding off the heat. It’s an everyday Mexican skillet dinner, eaten with rice and beans or folded into tortillas. The two things that decide whether it works are the chicken, which goes dry fast if it’s a whole thick breast, and the cream, which splits if the sauce boils. Here’s how to handle both, how many chipotles to use for the heat you want, and what to buy in a US or UK supermarket.
What creamy chipotle chicken is, and how long it takes
How do you make creamy chipotle chicken? Sear 1½ lb (700 g) of chicken breast cutlets for 3 minutes per side and set them aside. Soften onion and garlic in the same pan, then pour in 1 cup (240 ml) of cream blended with 2 chipotles in adobo and ½ cup (120 ml) of stock over the lowest heat, and finish the chicken covered for 6 to 8 minutes until it reaches 165°F (74°C), without letting the sauce boil. 35 minutes for 4 servings.
Total time 35 minutes: 10 to slice and blend, 25 at the stove. Easy, as long as you watch the heat under the sauce.
Two related dishes on this site use the same chile differently. Albóndigas in chipotle sauce are meatballs simmered in a tomato and chipotle sauce with no cream, and chicken tinga is shredded chicken with tomato, onion and chipotle for tostadas. Some cooks add tomato to this sauce too; this is the cream version.
Ingredients and supermarket swaps
Each person gets about 6 oz (175 g) of raw chicken, with enough sauce left to spoon over rice.
| Ingredient | Metric | US | Notes and UK swaps |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chicken breast or boneless thighs | 700 g | 1½ lb | Thighs are more forgiving |
| Chipotles in adobo | 2 peppers + 1 tbsp sauce | 2 peppers + 1 tbsp sauce | UK: chipotle paste, see below |
| Mexican crema | 240 ml | 1 cup | Heavy cream; UK double cream or crème fraîche |
| Chicken stock | 120 ml | ½ cup | Low-sodium if it’s from a carton or cube |
| White onion | 100 g | ½ onion | A yellow onion works |
| Butter and oil | 15 g + 14 g | 1 tbsp each |
Chipotles in adobo, and what to use if you can’t find them
A chipotle is a ripe jalapeño, dried and smoked. The canned kind comes in adobo, a tangy sauce of vinegar, tomato and spices. The heat sits in the pepper, mostly its seeds; the adobo brings color and smoke.
US. Small cans sit in the Hispanic or international aisle of most supermarkets. UK. Canned chipotles in adobo are easiest to find online or in Mexican and Latin shops. Supermarkets more often stock chipotle paste in a jar.
- Chipotle paste. There’s no exact swap, so start with 1 tsp, blend, taste and add more a teaspoon at a time. Jarred pastes are often sweetened and made with oil, so the sauce comes out sweeter and slightly richer, and less tangy. Brands vary a lot in heat, so taste as you go.
- Chipotle powder. Start with ½ tsp blended into the cream and work up. You get smoke and heat, but a paler, flatter sauce; 1 tsp of tomato paste gives some body back.
- Dried chipotle or morita chile. One per canned pepper, seeded and soaked 15 minutes in the hot stock, then blended with it. Same smoke, less tang.
- Smoked paprika plus half a jalapeño. Smoky and hot, but a different dish.
How many chipotles for the heat you want
For 1 cup (240 ml) of cream and ½ cup (120 ml) of stock:
| Heat | Chipotles | Adobo sauce |
|---|---|---|
| Mild, kid-friendly | 1, seeds scraped out | 1 tsp |
| Medium, as written | 2 | 1 tbsp |
| Hot | 3 or 4 | 2 tbsp |
Cans vary, so blend with fewer, taste, and add. Taking heat out later only works by adding more cream and stock, which also mutes the smoke.
Which chicken, and how to cut it
- Breast cutlets, ⅝ in (1.5 cm) thick, as written. A whole breast is 1¼ to 1½ in (3 to 4 cm) thick at one end and under ½ in at the tip, so by the time the center is cooked the tip is dry. Halved horizontally it’s even all the way along.
- Breast in 1 in (2.5 cm) cubes, for tacos or pasta. Sear in one layer for 4 minutes, in two batches if needed, then 4 to 5 minutes covered in the sauce.
- Boneless, skinless thighs. The juiciest option, with almost the same calories as breast. They stay moist even if you go a couple of minutes over. Sear 4 minutes per side, then 10 to 12 minutes in the sauce.
Equipment. An 11 to 12 in (28 to 30 cm) skillet with a lid, a blender, and an instant-read thermometer if you have one. No lid? An upside-down sheet pan works.
Cooking it, step by step
Sear, don’t cook through. A hot pan and dry cutlets, 3 minutes per side, untouched. Move them early and they stick and tear; at 3 minutes they release on their own. They should come out golden and still raw in the middle.
Onion and garlic. 4 minutes over medium heat, scraping the browned chicken bits off the bottom, then 1 minute for the garlic.
Sauce on the lowest heat. In 2 to 3 minutes it’s hot, with small bubbles around the edge. That’s as hot as it should get from here on.
Finish the chicken in the sauce, lid on, 6 to 8 minutes, turning once.
How to tell the chicken is done
Chicken is safe at 165°F (74°C) in the thickest part. Slide the thermometer in from the side into the middle of the thickest cutlet.
Without a thermometer, cut the thickest piece in half: the meat should be white and opaque right to the center, with no pink or glossy patch, and the juices should run clear. Treat that as a rough guide, because the sauce stains the outside and color isn’t always reliable. If you cook chicken often, a thermometer pays for itself in breasts that aren’t dry.
Rest it 3 minutes in the sauce with the heat off so the juices settle.
Getting the sauce thickness right
It’s right when it coats the back of a spoon and a finger drawn through leaves a clean line. It thickens as it cools.
- Too thick. Stir in stock or milk 1 tbsp at a time.
- Too thin. Uncover for the last 3 minutes on low, or stir in 1 tsp (3 g) cornstarch (UK cornflour) mixed with 1 tbsp cold water and cook 2 minutes without a hard boil.
- For tacos, reduce it uncovered 3 to 4 minutes more so it doesn’t drip.
Why the sauce curdled, and other problems
- It boiled. The fat separates and you get white specks. Lowest heat, bubbles only at the edge. To rescue it, take the pan off the heat, add 2 tbsp warm milk or stock and whisk hard; it usually comes back. If not, blend the sauce for 30 seconds without the chicken.
- Cold cream into a hot pan. The shock encourages curdling. Let it sit out 20 minutes first.
- Sour cream, light cream or yogurt. Less fat, so they split sooner. US sour cream should go in over the lowest heat and never bubble in the middle. See the lighter version below for yogurt.
- Dry chicken. Cooked through in the skillet and then again in the sauce, or a whole thick breast. Cut cutlets, sear without finishing, and pull it at 165°F (74°C).
- Pale chicken, watery sauce. Wet cutlets or a pan that wasn’t hot enough.
- Too salty. The adobo and boxed stock both carry salt. Taste the blended sauce before adding the ¼ tsp.
Allergens. Contains milk (cream and butter). Gluten-free if your stock is; check the label.
Lighter versions and other ways to serve it
- Greek yogurt. Swap the cream for 240 g (about 1 cup) whole-milk plain Greek yogurt, blended with just the chipotle and adobo. Finish the chicken covered in the stock, then turn off the heat and stir in the yogurt without turning it back on. Tangier and less rich, about 340 kcal a serving. It splits if it boils.
- Cream cheese. 120 g (4 oz) cream cheese and 120 ml (½ cup) milk instead of the cream. It won’t curdle and comes out thicker and cheesier, but it’s only a little lighter, about 405 kcal.
- Evaporated milk. 240 ml (1 cup) instead of the cream. Holds up to low heat, thinner and slightly sweet, about 370 kcal.
- Chipotle chicken tacos. Use cubes, or chop thighs after cooking, reduce the sauce and pile into homemade flour tortillas or corn tortillas with avocado.
- Chipotle chicken pasta. Cook 300 g (10½ oz) short pasta such as penne, saving 120 ml (½ cup) of the water. Toss with cubed chicken and the sauce, loosening with pasta water until it coats.
- With mushrooms. 200 g (7 oz) sliced, browned alone over high heat for 5 minutes before the onion.
- For 8 or 12. Double or triple everything, sear in batches that fit in one layer, and use a wide 12½ in (32 cm) braiser or two skillets.
Serving. With Mexican red rice and refried beans, warm tortillas alongside, or with mashed potatoes or steamed vegetables. Allow about 1 cup of cooked rice per person. For a milder chicken dinner with no cream, chicken in salsa verde is the tomatillo version.
Make ahead, storing and reheating
- Make ahead. Blend the sauce up to a day before and keep it in a sealed jar in the fridge; cut and season the chicken the same day you cook it, or the night before, covered and chilled.
- Fridge. Into a sealed container within 2 hours, then 3 to 4 days at 40°F (4°C) or below.
- Freezer. 2 to 3 months. The sauce may look grainy or separated after thawing; stirring in a splash of stock as it heats brings it back. Thaw overnight in the fridge.
- Reheating. Covered skillet over medium-low heat with 2 to 3 tbsp stock or milk, 5 to 8 minutes, stirring gently, until steaming and 165°F (74°C) in the chicken. In the microwave, use medium power in 1-minute bursts, stirring between them; on full power the sauce boils at the edges and splits, and breast meat toughens.
Frequently asked questions
What do I do with the rest of the can of chipotles? Move them out of the can into a sealed jar and use them within the week, or freeze them in an ice cube tray, one pepper with a little adobo per cube. They go into the blender straight from frozen.
I made it too spicy. How do I fix it? Blend another ½ cup (120 ml) of cream with 2 tbsp stock and stir it in. It will be milder and make more sauce, though the smoke gets diluted too.
Can I use cooked or rotisserie chicken? Yes. Warm the sauce over the lowest heat and add 1 lb (500 g) cooked chicken, shredded or cubed, for 4 to 5 minutes, until hot through.
Can I cook it from frozen chicken? Thaw it in the fridge first. Frozen chicken releases water, won’t brown, and the center takes much longer than the outside to reach 165°F (74°C).
Nutrition
Per serving (6 oz / 175 g raw breast with its share of sauce, no rice or tortillas), worked out ingredient by ingredient from the quantities above:
- Calories: 460 kcal
- Protein: 41 g
- Carbohydrates: 5 g
- Fat: 30 g, of which 15 g saturated
- Fiber: 1 g
- Sugars: 3 g
- Sodium: 775 mg
The chicken brings about 210 kcal and the cream about 177; the oil and butter about 58. Boxed stock and the adobo can push sodium higher, so taste before salting. A cup of cooked white rice adds about 200 kcal.
I usually make this with thighs, because at home it gets reheated the next day and breast loses its juice the second time around while thighs don’t. Mine gets three chipotles; for Dylan I pour off some sauce blended with one seeded pepper before the rest go into the blender. Josnaisis.