/ / / / / Loco Pollo- El Pollo Loco Chicken Knock Off

Loco Pollo- El Pollo Loco Chicken Knock Off

This El Pollo Loco knock off chicken is an easy and flavorful chicken recipe. Serve with tortillas, rice and beans for a delicious restaurant style dinner at home.

A cookie sheet with several bone in El Pollo Loco Chicken breasts

Do you have an El Pollo Loco near you? I think it may be a mostly West Coast chain of Mexican fast food. I remember my mom picking up the food when I was little and loving the juicy chicken stuffed in a tortilla with some pinto beans. It was so simple but always hit the spot.

I love simple recipes that don’t take much prep work and this is one of them. This chicken is great because the marinade takes less than five minutes to make and you can just throw the chicken in and forget about it.

Ingredients you need

  • corn oil
  • melted butter
  • onion powder
  • garlic powder
  • ground cumin
  • lemon juice, or lime juice
  • salt
  • bone in chicken 

Family preference is bone-in chicken breasts. Using bone-in chicken breasts makes for really juicy meat and the skin is awesome.

How to make this

  • Combine oil, butter, onion powder, garlic powder, cumin, and lemon juice in large shallow pan. Add chicken halves, turning to coat well. Cover and marinate several hours or overnight.
  • Remove chicken from marinade, cook over medium coals on barbeque grill, or 4- inches from source of heat under broiler, until browned on both side and meat is done, turning and basting frequently, about 30 minutes.
  • Cut chicken halves into pieces to serve with beans and rice, corn or flour tortillas and salsa, if desired. Makes 6 servings.

Top Tips

Let it marinade overnight for best flavor. I prefer to marinade my meats in this Tupperware container which has little spikes on the top and bottom so the marinade can flow and it’s easy to flip! Plus no more concerns about leaking juices!

You can cook this on the grill, on a grill pan, or under the broiler. Use whatever you have available and either way it will turn out great! 

What to serve with El Pollo Loco Chicken?

My favorite way to make these up is to put some of the chicken in a tortilla, top with pinto beans and salsa. But you could use this meat for tacos, burritos, or even on a salad! 

El Pollo Loco bone in baked chicken breast on a cookie sheet

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Recipe

Whip up a simple marinade and grill or broil this chicken for a juicy El Pollo Loco knock off. Pair with tortillas and rice and beans for an easy dinner.

Loco Pollo- El Pollo Loco Chicken Recipe

Whip up a simple marinade and grill or broil this Loco Pollo chicken for a juicy El Pollo Loco Chicken Recipe knock off that pairs well with rice and beans.
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 30 minutes
Total Time: 35 minutes
Course: Main
Cuisine: Mexican
Servings: 8 servings
Calories: 308kcal
Author: Jade Jones

Ingredients

Instructions

  • Combine oil, butter, onion powder, garlic powder, cumin, and lemon juice in large shallow pan. Add chicken halves, turning to coat well. Cover and marinate several hours or overnight.
  • Remove chicken from marinade, cook over medium coals on barbeque grill, or 4- inches from source of heat under broiler, until browned on both side and meat is done, turning and basting frequently, about 30 minutes.
  • Cut chicken halves into pieces to serve with beans and rice, corn or flour tortillas and salsa, if desired. Makes 6 servings.
  • Family preference is bone-in chicken breasts.

Nutrition

Calories: 308kcal | Protein: 36g | Fat: 17g | Saturated Fat: 5g | Cholesterol: 124mg | Sodium: 684mg | Potassium: 629mg | Vitamin A: 230IU | Vitamin C: 3.5mg | Calcium: 10mg | Iron: 0.7mg
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14 Comments

  1. 1 star
    Nothing like the original “original” recipe. We ate at one of the first US franchise in 1975 and the chicken was spicy, not the gringo, Americanized, Denny’s version. If it makes you feel better, all of the recipes offered on the Internet do not even come close.

    1. Hi John, if spicy is what you are looking for you can try adding red chili peppers or ground chili to taste to the marinade. It may not be like the original from 1975 but as you said, no one can come close anyways

    1. Since you are basting a cooking chicken there is not a problem as long as you let it cook for a few minutes after your last time basting. If it is a high concern for you you can cook it or place the chicken on a rack and put the marinade underneath and use it to baste the chicken very much like you might do a roasting turkey.

  2. 5 stars
    I think it is a great attempt! Of course you don’t have the actually recipe so it won’t be a perfect match. We really enjoyed. Great for big gatherings!

    1. So sorry….you are no where near on this Pollo Loco recipe. I happen to personally know the Mexican owner whom had already been successful in Mexico with his Chicken Restaurants before he opened his first restaurant across from my husband’s office on Alavarado St. in LA. He sold his restaurants to Denny’s. That recipe will never be shared.

      1. Just rude! If you have the recipe why are you on this site? I prefer this recipe over the restaurant Chicken. This is delicious!

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