El Pollo Loco Chicken marinated in citrus and pineapple juice with savory seasonings. The PERFECT copycat recipe with super crispy skin!
El Pollo Loco Chicken is hard to describe if you’re not local to the restaurant. It has a definite citrus flavor, but it also has a brick chicken quality that produced browned chicken and crispy skin. You’ll love making this at home yourself!
Sabrina’s El Pollo Loco Chicken
El Pollo Loco marinates their chicken for an extended period of time. That is why the chicken has so much flavor without any sauce! The flavors are similar to this Slow Cooker Cuban Mojo Pork. It is essential to not skip this step. Here we marinate the chicken for a full 4 hours, but no more than that otherwise the skin texture will be unappealing.
Recipe Card
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon white vinegar
- 2 cloves garlic , minced
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1/4 teaspoon coarse ground black pepper
- 1/4 jalapeno , seeded and minced very finely
- 1 cup pineapple juice
- 2 tablespoons lime juice
- 1 tablespoon canola oil spray
- 8 chicken thighs , bone in and skin on
Instructions
- Mix up all the ingredients except for the chicken into a large bowl.
- Whisk well then reserve ¼ cup of the marinade in a small tupperware.
- Add the chicken to the bowl and cover with plastic wrap.
- Marinate for 2-4 hours. Do not exceed 4 hours, or the pineapple juice will change the texture of the meat.
- Preheat your oven to 425 degrees.
- In a cast iron grill pan add the chicken skin side up.
- Cook in the oven for 25 minutes.
- Using potholders, add the pan to the stovetop on medium high heat.
- Spray some foil with canola oil spray and put sprayed side down over the top of the chicken.
- Press onto the meat with either a bacon press, a foil wrapped brick or a second heavy pan (I used my normal cast iron skillet on top of the chicken. Cook for 3 minutes.
- Spoon half the reserved marinade over the chicken while it cooks.
- Cook for another 3 minutes then remove the press/brick. Flip chicken, add some more marinade, and cook a final three minutes before serving.
Notes
Nutrition
Want to save this recipe? Create a free account to easily save your favorite recipes
Table of Contents
Chef’s Note
One day I watched my local El Pollo Loco restaurant cook the chicken during lunch hour while waiting for my food. I saw them put a metal press on top of the chicken while it was cooking. While you don’t HAVE to do this, it is the best way to get a delicious crispy skin on the chicken. You’ll be glad you took the extra step to do this, trust me!
Tips and Tricks
Grill Pan: I love this for cooking and pressing foods; the grill marks are great without having to go outside and be in nature. 🙂
Grill Press: I use this for bacon, chicken, stuffed foods, rolled foods, and other foods. It’s a great kitchen tool.
Pigtail Flipper: I use this to flip the chicken without damaging the skin, and it’s super easy. I use this tool EVERY time I cook something that requires flipping; it is amazing.
What to Pair With
If you’re an old-school El Pollo Loco lover like I am, top your chicken with their Avocado Salsa and pair this with BBQ Black Beans for the perfect meal! You can also add some Spanish Rice or Saffron Rice to soak up the salsa.
Alternative Cooking Techniques
Slow Cooker
Yes, you can and should make this in the slow cooker, too! I do it all the time. When done, I crisp it under the broiler for a minute and then shred it into tacos. It tastes like chicken carnitas.
Stovetop
You can cook it through on your stovetop, too, if you don’t want to bake. Be careful not to burn the skin too much. The flavor of the pressed crispy skin is vital to getting a spot on copycat!
Related Recipes
More Delicious Chicken Recipes
Images used in previous versions of this post:
Not impressed the chicken had zero flavor and it was marinated 4 hours .. wouldn’t suggest this recipe.
I’m sorry to hear it didn’t turn out as expected, thank you for sharing.
I actually love when Sabrina does copycat recipes — love her take on the Panda Express menu! This one was super great and very easy to follow as well. My family loved it.
Thank you David! Always enjoy hearing when the family enjoys my recipes!
Pineapple juice dissolved the fat and skin of chicken, do not use fresh pineapple juice.
Hi Dave, the enzyme (bromelain) in pineapple juice doesn’t necessarily dissolve the fat and skin, rather it changes the texture, rendering it mushy if it is left to marinate for too long. Make sure not to marinate for more than 4 hours. I made sure to adjust the time in the recipe card. Thank you for pointing this out.
I made this and tweeted a little bit but the marinade on the chicken tasted so good on the chicken…
Thanks so much for your kind feedback and five star review.
Saffron is what gives it the color not food coloring. It also adds to the distinct flavor.
I want to make this recipe for my family . But I wanted to know what side dish and vegetables would go good with the chicken .
I’m
Excited to make this chicken something I never made before
Laurie Clemons
Typically rice and beans are served as sides with this dish along with yummy salad. May I suggest some recipes from our site for your consideration?
https://dinnerthendessert.com/spanish-rice/
https://dinnerthendessert.com/chipotle-black-beans-copycat/
https://dinnerthendessert.com/mexican-corn-salad/
https://dinnerthendessert.com/refried-beans/
Ok, I’ll stop 🙂
Wow! I’m so glad I found this recipe! This is an excellent El Pollo Loco Copycat Recipe! It tastes so good – Instead of adding food coloring to get that “El Pollo Loco Orange color”, I brushed on some Catsup and Siracha Sauce near the end of baking my Chicken Wings and they tasted so good! Yummy! ?
What a great idea! Thanks for the 5 star review!
While I agree with other reviews that this doesn’t taste like El Pollo Loco, it doesn’t matter to me because the marinade is delicious! I used boneless, skinless chicken thighs, and marinated them overnight. Put in the air fryer at 400° for 8 mins a side, and had juicy, super flavorful chicken. We had chicken soft tacos and the whole family devoured them. This is my new go to chicken marinade.
Thank you Sara! Appreciate the Air Fryer tips and really appreciate the 5 star review!
Taste good but NOTHING like Wl Pollo Loco
Oh Oh! Thanks for trying the recipe Terri!
The marinade recipe is 100% incredible. Love it. Just wondering about options to the oven grilling and pan frying method as it is very messy. I followed the directions and got very good results.
How about grilling on the barbeque?
But my big concern is, if I grill on an outdoor grill, am I missing out on the marinade (spillage) that got added in the final two steps of the oven-to-stove-top recipe?
My only (and there is only one) concern is for the process for oven-to-stove-cook-top which seemed a bit messy.
I haven’t tested this recipe using a grill. Since “messy” is a factor, I’m wondering if you lined the grill with foil to capture the drippings would be helpful? Fold up the edges of the foil to create a “faux” grill pan? If you try the grill, let us know how it turned out!