Chipotle Steak (copycat recipe) Tri Tip Roast is a must-try if you love flavorful Mexican-inspired food from one of your local Chipotle Mexican Grills!
While the Tri-Tip cut of beef is already a very tender and flavorful steak, the marinade ensures that you get a juicy, tender, and rich steak. Cut it into thin slices, then enjoy in tacos, burrito bowls, salads, or wraps. Chipotle marinade isn’t just for steak, either. It tastes amazing on Air Fryer Chicken Stuffed Pasta or Grilled Chipotle Chicken Kebabs. Use the marinade to spice up this Tomahawk Steak BBQ recipe!
This Copycat Chipotle Steak tastes even better than the restaurant version. It’s perfect for feeding a hungry crowd or for weekly meal prep! If you’re planning ahead for the 4th of July, check out my Fourth of July Grilling and Party Plan!
Chipotles are smoked, dried jalapeño peppers that turn red in the process. The technique of smoke-drying jalapeños dates back to early food preservation practices used in Mesoamerica, even prior to the Aztecs. The name Chipotle comes from the Nahuatl word chīlpoctli, which means smoked chili.
Fun Fact
Chipotles are smoked, dried jalapeño peppers that turn red in the process. The technique of smoke-drying jalapeños dates back to early food preservation practices used in Mesoamerica, even prior to the Aztecs. The name Chipotle comes from the Nahuatl word chīlpoctli, which means smoked chili.
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🥩 Ingredients:
- Chipotle peppers in adobo sauce – 1 full can 7oz.
- Spices – cumin, coarsely ground black pepper, Kosher salt, dried oregano, onion powder, minced garlic
- Water
- Tri tip roast – 2-3 pounds
For a full list of ingredients and their measurements, 📋 please view my printable recipe card at the bottom of the post.
Substitutions and Variations
- Want less heat? This Copycat Chipotle Steak recipe has a good kick of heat. For a milder version, use less of the can of chipotles in the adobo sauce. Or you can marinate for a shorter time. (I marinated my steak overnight since I love spice.) Also, you can wipe off excess marinade before grilling.
- Want more heat? Add some cayenne pepper, chiles, or crushed red pepper flakes to the seasoning and marinade.
- No tri-tip steak? A good alternative cut of meat is skirt steak. It’s thick enough to give you a pinkish middle with a charred outer edge when cooking it over medium-high heat.
- Want a different marinade? Try using my homemade Balsamic Peppercorn Tri Tip Marinade!
- This is amazing served alone after grilling with a side of horseradish or sour cream! Or even with fresh cilantro sprinkled on top!
🔪 Instructions:
Step 1: Combine all ingredients except for the steak in the bowl of a food processor or blender.
Step 2: Then, pulse several times to make a marinade paste.
Step 3: Place steak and marinade into a gallon size plastic bag, then massage bag with your hands to fully coat steak with marinade. Refrigerate for 1 hour to 24 hours.
Step 4: After marinating the steak, pre-heat grill on high heat for 15 minutes. Brush grills lightly with olive oil if desired. Remove marinated steak from bag and place on grill. Cook on each side for 5-8 minutes or until meat is cooked and crisped a bit on the outside and cooked to desired internal temperature. Thin steak needs only to be cooked for a few minutes on each side, while a thicker cut of meat will take longer to cook. Adjust grill heat while cooking to ensure that there is a little bit of char, but the meat does not burn or catch on fire.
Step 5: Remove from grill and let steak rest for 5 minutes. On a cutting board, slice tri tip against the grain.
GARNISH/SLICE/SERVE: Chop this juicy steak into slices and serve with tacos, rice bowls, salads, corn tortillas, etc. Enjoy a nice squeeze of lime juice on top!
Recipe Tips for Chipotle Steak Bowls
- This recipe makes quite a bit of marinade, enabling you to easily marinate about 5 pounds of steak! If you feel like you may have some marinade going to waste then you could easily marinade some other meat dish at the same time i.e. some Chipotle-inspired chicken.
- Tri-tip is also known as Santa Maria steak, bottom sirloin steak, or triangle steak and is usually a cheaper cut of meat than other cuts while still providing you with rich and tender beef.
- Since you need to marinate your steak prior to cooking, this is definitely a make-ahead type of dish but you also have the option of making your marinade further in advance to save you extra time and storing it in the refrigerator or even in the freezer for 6-8 weeks.
- If you don’t want to grill this steak, for best results, you can sear it on high heat in a cast iron skillet for 5-8 minutes on each side, then let rest on the cutting board. We prefer a medium-rare steak so if you want it more cooked, cover the steak in foil while it rests on the cutting board.
Recipe FAQs
This juicy and flavorful Trip-Tip steak is my copycat recipe for the mouth-watering Chipotle Steak that I myself have ordered so many times from this restaurant. With the same flavors and tenderness of the meat, I’m sure you’re going to be pleasantly surprised by how much this recipe tastes like the real thing!
Keeping within the theme of Mexican cuisine, you could add the following to your serving of Copycat Chipotle Steak:
Salsa such as my Mango Avocado Salsa
Cilantro lime rice
Chipotle Steak Burrito
Cornbread
Mexican Slaw
Black beans and rice
Mexican corn salad (almost like a corn salsa)
Steak Bowl
Roasted spicy zucchini; or various other roasted veggies.
If you are slicing your steak as directed by the recipe then you can add these tender slices of meat to tacos, burrito bowls, or even wraps and include some of the options added directly above to bulk up the meal.
You can store any leftover tri-tip steak in the refrigerator for up to 3-4 days if you seal it in an airtight container or a Ziploc bag.
To keep your steak moist while in storage, consider wrapping it in aluminum foil before placing it in an airtight container or sealable bag.
To reheat your refrigerated Chipotle steak, make sure to wrap your meat in 2 layers of aluminum foil with a couple of tablespoons adobo sauce inside or some beef broth, and then allow it to heat up in a preheated oven of 250℉ for about 30 minutes. You can also add your heated steak to an oiled hot pan or skillet for a quick sear finish once it’s heated in the oven.
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If you tried this Chipotle Steak (copycat recipe) Recipe or any other recipe on my website, please leave a 🌟 star rating and let me know how you liked it in the 📝 comments below.
Chipotle Steak (Copycat Recipe)
Ingredients
- 7 oz. can chipotles in adobo sauce
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- 1 teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- ½ teaspoon onion powder
- 2 teaspoons minced garlic
- 1 teaspoon Kosher salt
- ½ cup water
- 2-3 pounds tri tip roast
Instructions
- Combine all ingredients except for the steak in the bowl of a food processor or blender.
- Pulse several times to make a marinade paste.
- Place whole steak(s) and marinade into a gallon size plastic bag and seal closed. Squish around the steak and marinade so that the steak is fully coated. Refrigerate for a minimum of 1 hour and up to 24 hours.
- After steak has marinated, pre-heat grill on high heat for 15 minutes. Brush grills lightly with olive oil if desired. Remove steak from marinade and discard bag. Place steak on grill and cook on each side for 5-8 minutes or until meat is cooked and crisped a bit on the outside and cooked to desired internal temperature. Thin steak needs only to be cooked for a few minutes on each side, while a thicker cut of meat will take longer to cook. Adjust grill heat while cooking to ensure that there is a little bit of char, but the meat does not burn or catch on fire.
- Remove steak from grill and let rest for 5 minutes. Slice tri tip against the grain. Chop into pieces and serve with tacos, rice bowls, salads, etc.
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Notes
- This has a good kick to it. Use less of the can of chipotles in adobo sauce, marinate for less time (I marinated overnight), or wipe off the extra marinade before grilling for less spice. Add some cayenne pepper or crushed red pepper flakes for a bit of extra spice.
- This makes a lot of marinade – you could marinate up to 5 pounds of steak with a single recipe (or marinate steak and chicken at the same time.)
- Skirt steak works really well with this recipe too – thick enough to have some pink in the middle with a charred bit on the outside. Use skirt steak to make a recipe close to copycat Chipotle steak.
Nutrition
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Comments & Reviews
Kara says
Thank you for posting this delicious and versatile recipe! I prepared it according to your recipe. My boyfriend raved over it! It is now in my freezer meal rotation so he has a healthier alternative to fast food.
Stefanie says
So great to hear! We love it, too. So much flavor!