With Cinco De Mayo right around the corner I thought I’d create a festive Mexican inspired healthy whole foods recipe. Although Mexican cuisine gets a bad rap for being fattening, it’s actually surprisingly easy to make good-for-you and to-die for delicious Mexican food. Lucky for me as I absolutely love Mexican food! I developed a taste for authentic Mexican food from a very early age. When I was little (starting at age 2) my parents took me on yearly trips to Mexico City; I remember the exchange rates being incredibly favorable for Americans and so it was 5-star all the way.
We stayed at the Grand Chapultepec hotel and ate at the absolute finest restaurants for pennies on the dollar. To this day, hands down, my most vivid memory of Mexico City was the fabulous food. At its core, authentic Mexican food is flavor-forward, fresh and extremely satisfying without being overly filling. The real-deal Mexican food is considerably lighter (with a focus on fresh herbs, chiles, spices and nuts) and much healthier than the Americanized processed version that runs rampant on this side of the border.
For this particular Mexican inspired chicken dish I combined the smoky, spicy flavor of chipotle peppers with fresh vibrant lime and earthy beer. For a minute, I thought about smothering the chicken with some cheddar cheese (which, believe me, would definitely taste good!!) but then I got the idea to make a vegan and ultra healthy nut “cream” in place of the cheese. I’ll be honest, I wasn’t exactly sure the nut “cream” was going to be all that great tasting. My husband was highly skeptical when he saw sauntered in the kitchen and saw what I was up to and was super quick to suggest I not get “too carried away” with my culinary creativity. Getting carried away is something I do frequently though, so I decided to move forward with my nut “cream” anyway. Good thing I did!! Hands down this has to be the biggest hit, best-tasting chicken dish I have made in recent memory. It’s incredibly moist, rich-tasting and beyond delicious. It’s also a super easy whole foods recipe that takes less than 15 minutes of hands-on time to prepare. Perfect for a healthy and hassle-free whole foods Cinco de Mayo!
You can serve the chicken over brown rice and black beans with grilled carrots. Or, try it as we did over pinto beans and whole grain quinoa pasta. As a side bar, the light colored quinoa pasta is the perfect whole grain pasta to serve anyone convinced they don’t like whole grain pasta! It looks just like the refined white stuff (and tastes pretty close too!) but it’s still whole grain.
Hope you have a Happy & Healthy Cinco de Mayo!!
Chipotle Nut “Cream” Ingredients
1/2 cup raw cashews
1/4 water
1 seeded chipotle pepper plus 1 teaspoon adobo sauce
1. Place ingredients in a high speed blender or food processor. Process until smooth and creamy. Set aside.
Cilantro Drizzle Ingredients
1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil (such as Costco’s Kirland brand)
3 cloves garlic
2-3 tablespoons fresh lime juice
1. Place ingredients in a high speed blender or food processor. Process until smooth and creamy. Set aside.
Chicken
1 pound free-range boneless, skinless chicken breasts (such as US Wellness Meats)
Sea salt (such as Costco’s Kirkland brand), for seasoning
1/2 cup beer
Juice from 1 whole lime
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Season chicken breasts with salt. Place chicken in a 9 x 13-inch baking dish. Pour beer on top of chicken.
3. Squeeze lime juice on top of chicken. Spread the chipotle nut “cream” on top of chicken. Cover chicken with aluminum foil. Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until chicken is cooked through.
4. Drizzle cilantro sauce on top of chicken. Serve warm.
Cooking Recipes
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FAQs
Enjoy in a rice bowl, salad, or even tacos - the delicious possibilities are endless! Chipotle came out with a new chicken on their menu called Pollo Asado so today we will be making it at home and even better! The smokey chipotle chicken is fresh and tangy from the cilantro and lime and it turns out absolutely juicy.
What is chipotle cream made of? ›
Chipotle Sauce Ingredients
Mayonnaise: This is the base foundation for any chipotle sauce. I'm using my homemade mayonnaise recipe (it's so easy!). Sour Cream: Adds extra creaminess and a slight tanginess. Chipotle Peppers in Adobo: The key ingredient that gives this sauce its smoky and spicy flavor.
Why is Chipotle chicken so good? ›
This cult favorite chicken is popular for a reason. The marinade tenderizes and flavors the meat with herbaceous yet spicy seasonings. Grilled to juicy perfection, Chipotle Mexican Grill chicken can be thrown right into any quesadilla, fajita, taco, burrito… You name it!
How many calories in a chicken wrap with chipotle sauce? ›
What is the seasoning that is used on Chipotle restaurant? ›
Our namesake ingredient, the chipotle chili pepper is a dried and smoked jalapeño produced using the age-old craft of smoking them over pecan wood for several days. These intensely smoky, spicy peppers are the foundation for much of the food we serve - from our chicken, steak, and Barbacoa to our beans and vinaigrette.
Does Chipotle put sugar in their chicken? ›
In short the answer is no. Unlike salt, we don't have a dedicated sugar supply that we use to add to our foods. In fact, none of the food on our menu has added sugar. The only thing we have that has any amount of sugar is the vinaigrette which has honey.
Are Chipotle ingredients healthy? ›
Chipotle nutrition: Pros
“Chipotle can be pretty healthy because they have veggies and lean protein,” says Lisa Moskovitz, RD, CDN, founder of The NY Nutrition Group, like chicken and steak, black and pinto beans, fajita vegetables, and fresh tomato salsa.
Is cheese or sour cream healthier chipotle? ›
Keep reading for a few interesting Chipotle Food Facts and my five healthy tips for eating healthy at Chipotle. One ounce of cheese contains 100 calories and 8.5 grams of fat. 5 grams of saturated fat. One ounce of sour cream contains 120 calories and 10 grams of fat, 7 grams of saturated fat.
Is sour cream from Chipotle healthy? ›
The American Heart Association recommends that no more than 6 percent of your daily calories come from saturated fats. Saturated fats can raise your bad cholesterol and put you at a higher risk for heart disease. A serving of sour cream at Chipotle packs 115 calories, 9 grams of fat and 7 grams of saturated fat.
What oil does Chipotle use for chicken? ›
Rice bran oil is our primary cooking oil at Chipotle.
Chicken thighs are a lot more juicy and the cut that Chipotle uses! However, you can also make this with breast meat. To save time on a busy day, marinade it the day before or the morning of so all you have to do is cook it when it's time to eat.
How many calories are in Chipotle mayonnaise sauce? ›
Chipotle Mayonnaise Nutritional Facts and Calories
| Amount Per Serving | % DV |
|---|
| Calories | 180kcal | 9% |
| Fats | 20g | 26% |
| Sat. fats | 2g | 9% |
| Mono. Fats | 0g | 0% |
7 more rowsTaco John's
| Nutrition Facts |
|---|
| For a Serving Size of 2 oz (56g) |
| How many calories are in Chipotle Cream Sauce? Amount of calories in Chipotle Cream Sauce: Calories 300 | Calories from Fat 270 (90%) |
| % Daily Value * |
| How much fat is in Chipotle Cream Sauce? Amount of fat in Chipotle Cream Sauce: Total Fat 30g | - |
16 more rowsFor burrito bowls, this is the caloric baseline, clocking in at about 705-1250 total calories, depending on your guac, protein selection, and additional fixings. For burritos, add a flour tortilla (300 calories), and you're looking at a range of about 1085-1550 total calories, depending on topping selections.
Does Chipotle put cilantro in their food? ›
Every morning, we make our cilantro-lime white rice from scratch in each of our restaurants. We steam it with bay leaves to impart their herbal fragrance, then season it with lime and lemon juices and toss it with cilantro for its fresh, slightly tart flavor.
Does Chipotle cook with cilantro? ›
Apparently Chipotle simply cooks the rice grains in water with a bay leaf and then they add the salt, oil, cilantro, lime juice, and lemon juice all after the rice is done cooking. Some sources say they use rice bran oil but it can be both hard to find and more expensive. I also think it doesn't add that much flavor.
What does Chipotle put cilantro in? ›
Every morning in each of our restaurants, we make our cilantro-lime brown rice from scratch. We simmer the whole-grain rice with bay leaves to add savory flavors, then season it with lemon and lime juices and toss it with cilantro for a slightly tart, fresh taste.
What are the ingredients in the new Chipotle chicken? ›
What is Chicken al Pastor made of? Chipotle's new menu item Chicken al Pastor is made with spicy adobo chicken, seared morita peppers, ground achiote and then perfectly balanced with a splash of pineapple, fresh lime, and cilantro.
We stayed at the Grand Chapultepec hotel and ate at the absolute finest restaurants for pennies on the dollar. To this day, hands down, my most vivid memory of Mexico City was the fabulous food. At its core, authentic Mexican food is flavor-forward, fresh and extremely satisfying without being overly filling. The real-deal Mexican food is considerably lighter (with a focus on fresh herbs, chiles, spices and nuts) and much healthier than the Americanized processed version that runs rampant on this side of the border.