Chipotle Steak is a tender and flavorful steak inspired by Chipotle restaurant’s signature steak recipe, made at home! It is perfect for burritos, burrito bowls, tacos, and fajitas, and even for topping a salad! And of course, it’s the main ingredient in my Chipotle Steak Quesadillas!
Ingredients & Substitutions
Steak: Look for a flank steak, skirt steak, or top-round steak. Flank steak comes from the abdominal muscle of a cow and is pretty tough. Top-round steak is another tough cut of meat that is sometimes referred to as flank steak. With the tough texture of each cut, the marinade soaks into the meat well, tenderizing it. You could also use sirloin steak if that is what you have on hand.
Chipotles In Adobo Sauce: These sauced peppers give the marinade a smoky and slightly spicy taste. You can find cans of peppers in the Latin foods section at your local grocery store. These will be blended with water, lime juice, salt, and pepper for the marinade.
How To Cut Flank Steak
After the steak has been marinated and cooked, it’s time to cut it into cubes to add to your favorite recipe. Here’s how to slice a flank steak to ensure tenderness:
- Let the cooked steak rest for about 10 minutes before slicing to allow the juices to redistribute.
- Look for the direction of the muscle fibers, which will be visible on the surface of the meat. These fibers will be running in one direction.
- Slice the meat across the grain perpendicular to the muscle fibers, which will break them up and make the meat tender.
- Cut the meat into thin slices, about 1/4-inch thick.
- Finally, cut the slices into bite-sized cubes or pieces.
Please note that the direction of the grain can change in different sections of the steak, so you may need to adjust your slicing direction as you go. If you’re having difficulty identifying the direction of the grain, you can try pulling the meat apart slightly with your fingers to see which way the fibers are running.
Can I Make The Chipotle Steak Spicier?
Certainly! It does have a little bit of a kick from the chipotle peppers in adobo sauce. However, you can easily increase the amount for more spice. I recommend starting with an additional tablespoon or two.
How To Store Chipotle Steak
Store the Chipotle steak in an airtight container in the refrigerator. It will last up to 2-3 days.
Everything Chipotle!
Copycat Chipotle Steak
Ingredients
- 1 pound flank steak
- 3 tablespoons chipotles in adobo, about 1-2 peppers with sauce
- 3 tablespoons water
- 1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lime Juice
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
Instructions
- To a large resealable plastic bag, add steak.
- To the bowl of a blender add chipotles in adobo, water, lime juice, salt, and pepper. Blend until combined.
- Pour the chipotle mixture over the steak in the bag and zip the bag closed.
- Refrigerate for 1 hour, up to overnight.
- When ready, add oil to a medium skillet over medium-high heat. Once hot, add steak and cook undisturbed for 5 minutes or until seared. Flip and repeat on the opposite side until the steak reaches your desired doneness.*
- Let the steak rest for about 10 minutes before cutting it against the grain into slices. Then, cut the slices into smaller, bite-sized cubes.
- Serve with tortillas, rice, fresh pico, sour cream, cheese, and all of your other favorite fixings (i.e., lettuce, guacamole, caramelized onions).
Notes
Did you make this recipe?
You can tag me at @iamhomesteader.
What the Test Kitchen had to say about this recipe:
Autumn
We tried a side-by-side comparison to make sure that we nailed this recipe. The steak is a little spicy, and a little smoky, and will work perfectly in your homemade Chipotle recipes!
Elizabeth
When I go to Chipotle, I always get a steak burrito bowl. So, I was excited about this recipe! I couldn't believe how easy it was and the flavor was pretty close to the restaurant! It's definitely worth making and skipping the lines at Chipotle.
Annabelle
This steak is great! it's smoky, a little salty, and amazingly savory. It is awesome on quesadillas!
Bella
I always get steak at Chipotle, so this was an exciting test to try! This copycat steak recipe is obviously the winner because it is so juicy, tender, and fresh. It's also smoky, slightly spicy, and just salty enough. The steak alone is delicious but it can be added into other recipes too!
Rachael
So flavorful and so tender! This is perfect steak to go on burrito bowls, tacos, quesadilla, or salads!
Selena
I love steak and this is such an easy preparation. The smoky spice from the chipotle peppers comes through and is a perfect base for anything taco-y!
Can you grill the steak instead of using a skillet? Thank you.
Sure!