El Pollo Loco

Packed with tender chicken and vegetables, my El Pollo Loco Homemade Tortilla Soup copycat recipe is just like the original, which happens to be one of the most wholesome tortilla soups I’ve ever hacked.

And the technique here is ultra-easy since you use chicken pulled from a supermarket rotisserie chicken, which is a good thing for a couple of reasons. You don’t have to cook the chicken, so you save time. And, since rotisserie chickens usually cost less than a whole uncooked chicken, you’re saving money, too. One 2-pound rotisserie chicken will give you around 1 pound of white and dark chicken meat, which will be perfect for this recipe.  

Most of your time will be spent chopping the celery, carrot, and peppers, then it’s just a simple matter of sautéing the vegetables until soft and adding the remaining ingredients. Once the soup is hot, serve it topped with crispy tortilla strips, cotija cheese, and cilantro, and pass out the spoons.

Find more famous El Pollo Loco recipes here.

Birria was invented over 400 years ago when an increasing goat population became a problem for residents of Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. Their solution: eat them.

But goat meat can be tough and gamey, so a low and slow braising method was developed to make the meat tender and tasty. A broth flavored with chili peppers and spices was combined with the meat in a covered pot which was then buried in the ground with hot coals. Early the next day, the braised birria is ready to eat, which is why the dish became a traditional Mexican breakfast food.

But customers at El Pollo Loco birria usually have their birria for lunch and dinner. And, while I lack a formal survey, I am nearly positive that everyone is happy that this version isn’t made with goat meat. Instead, my version of El Pollo Loco Shredded Beef Birria is made by braising a 2 to 3 pound chuck roast in a secret combination of peppers and spices for 3 hours, or until your beef is tender enough to shred with a couple forks.

Strain the braising sauce left in the pan to make the delicious consommé, then use this shredded beef on tacos, burritos, quesadillas, or whatever sounds good. Add some cilantro and chopped onion to the consommé and serve it on the side for dipping, just like they do at the restaurant chain.

Pair my El Pollo Shredded Beef Birria copycat recipe below with my copycat recipes for El Pollo Loco avocado salsa, pinto beans, Spanish rice, and bbq black beans.

El Pollo Loco, or "The Crazy Chicken," has been growing like mad since it crossed over the border into the United States from Mexico. Francisco Ochoa unknowingly started a food phenomenon internacional in 1975 when he took a family recipe for chicken marinade and opened a small roadside restaurante in Gusave, Mexico. He soon had 90 stores in 20 cities throughout Mexico. The first El Pollo Loco in the United States opened in Los Angeles in December 1980 and was an immediate success. It was only three years later that Ochoa got the attention of bigwigs at Dennys, Inc., who offered him $11.3 million for his U.S. operations. Ochoa took the deal, and El Pollo Loco grew from 17 to more than 200 outlets over the following decade.

Pair my El Pollo Loco Flame Broiled Chicken copycat recipe below with my recipes for their avocado salsa, pinto beans, Spanish rice, and bbq black beans.

Source: More Top Secret Recipes by Todd Wilbur.

This is a simple little recipe that is healthy and delicious. Along with your chicken order from this fast-growing West Coast chain, comes your choice of side orders. Pinto beans is the most popular choice. But the real thing has some fat that you won't need to include in this light version. And this recipe will give you pintos that taste just like the original, along with a little heat from finely minced jalapeno peppers. Spoon some of these beans into a tortilla along with chicken. Or maybe just serve them on the side.

Nutrition Facts
Serving size–1/2 cup
Total servings–4
Calories per serving–96 (Original–145)
Fat per serving–0g (Original–3g)

Source: Top Secret Recipes Lite by Todd Wilbur.

This creamy green sauce is available at the salsa bar at each of the 389 El Pollo Loco outlets located throughout the western United States, and folks are going crazy over it. The problem is, you can only get it in small quantities at the restaurant, and once you taste a little there you're going to want a lot more of it at home. Use a food processor to mix this one up (everything but the cilantro and onion goes in there) and prepare for a delicious, spicy concoction that you can pour over your favorite homemade Mexican-style dishes, from taco salads to fajitas. Big props go out to Pancho Ochoa, who opened his first roadside chicken stand in Guasave, Mexico in 1975. Today Pancho's El Pollo Loco is the number one quick-service, flame-broiled chicken chain in America.

Source: Top Secret Recipes Unlocked by Todd Wilbur.

Here's a hack for a dish served with your chicken from El Pollo Loco. We cut the fat in this version, but still get Spanish rice that still has all of the flavor of the original side. Be sure to use converted rice, and not the instant stuff. 

Nutrition Facts
Serving size–3/4 cup
Total servings–4
Calories per serving–187 (Original–155)
Fat per serving–0g (Original–4g)

Source: Top Secret Recipes Lite by Todd Wilbur.

In 1992, to meet the needs of its expanding cutomer base, El Pollo Loco added several different burrio selections to its menu. The burrito combinations were designed to be assembled with several prepared products the chain had been serving from the start. Here are TSR low-fat versions of four of the most popular burritos. The fat savings are significant, since the beans and rice are now fat-free, and the recipes use fat-free tortillas and fat-free shredded cheddar cheese. You may also want to add a salsa of your choice to these burritos. Try my recipes for El Pollo Loco Spanish rice, pinto beans, and skinless chicken.

Nutrition Facts
Serving size–1 burrito
Total servings–1
Calories per serving–339 (Original–482)
Fat per serving–1g (Original–15g)

Source: Top Secret Recipes Lite by Todd Wilbur.

Sliced chicken breast, romaine lettuce, pico de gallo, tortilla strips, and cotija cheese make up El Pollo Loco's Caesar Salad, but it is the fantastic creamy cilantro dressing recipe that gets the raves. Use my El Pollo Loco Creamy Cilantro Dressing recipe below and simply combine the ingredients in a blender. You'll soon have more than one cup of the delicious dressing cloned and ready to pour over any of your home salad creations.

You can also make El Pollo Loco Flame Broiled Chicken, pinto beans, Spanish rice and more. Find my copycat recipes here. 

Source: Top Secret Recipes Unlocked by Todd Wilbur.

If you like traditional BBQ beans, you've got to love El Pollo Loco's sweet-and-spicy variation with black beans. The light smokiness in this clone comes from bacon fat, then cayenne pepper and green chiles give the beans a Southwestern flavor that's perfect on burritos or as a delicious side. 

The prep for my El Pollo Loco BBQ black beans recipe is a breezer, since you conveniently combine two 15-ounce cans of black beans with the other secret ingredients in a saucepan and just let it simmer for an hour or so. When the beans are soft and the mixture is thick, on with the eating.

Find more famous El Pollo Loco recipes here.

Source: Top Secret Recipes Unlocked by Todd Wilbur.

This young chain of Mexican-style chicken outlets has had much success with its formula since the first store opened in the U.S. in 1980. Your order of chicken comes straight off of an open-flame grill, where it has been slowly roasting for around 45 minutes. The chicken is grilled whole, butterfly-style, and before it’s boxed up for carry-out, cooks take a sharp hatchet to it in dramatic fashion. A couple of whacks and you’re on your way with several pieces of very tasty and tender double-marinated chicken. 

For this recipe, instead of butter-flying the whole chicken, we will prepare precut pieces. Then, to save on fat grams, as soon as it’s cooked, we’ll remove the skin. At the restaurant you’re served flour or corn tortillas to wrap around the chicken that you strip from the bone.

Nutrition Facts
Serving size–2 pieces
Total servings–2
Calories per serving–220 (Original–270)
Fat per serving–8.5g (Original–14.5g)

Source: Top Secret Recipes Lite by Todd Wilbur.