This easy Mexican chicken marinade is full of flavor and keeps your chicken tender and juicy! It's perfect for tacos, fajitas, or turning a plain chicken breast into a delicious, flavor-packed meal!
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Marinating your chicken is one of the easiest ways to add flavor while keeping it juicy and tender. You can create a marinade that’s packed with flavor with just a handful of simple ingredients.
This marinade isn’t just for tacos and fajitas- it’s perfect for these Copycat Chipotle Chicken Bowls or as a fun twist on these BBQ Chicken Kabobs. Serve it alongside peach habanero salsa or this mango corn salsa to take the flavor to the next level!
Reasons to Love This
- The marinade can be made in less than 5 minutes
- The chicken retains the Mexican flavor of the marinade even after it is cooked
- The flavor profile is customizable. Swap herbs, spices, or acids to suit your taste.
Ingredients Needed
- Olive Oil: I prefer olive oil because it contains healthy fats. Any type of oil can be substituted.
- Lime Juice: Freshly squeezed lime juice or bottled lime juice can be used.
- Fresh Cilantro: Rinse well before using to remove excess dirt. Remove all stems and chop into small pieces.
- Chopped Garlic: an easy short cut is to purchase a container of chopped garlic in water. This lasts a long time in the refrigerator, and you don’t have to worry about cutting the garlic!
- Sugar: granulated sugar helps slightly caramelize the chicken when cooked
- Spices: Cumin, Paprika, Chili Powder & Salt: these spices are what provide the flavor to the marinade
How to Make the Mexican Chicken Marinade
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Step 1: Combine all ingredients into a mixing bowl. Mix until combined.
Step 2: Pour the marinade into a ziplock bag. Add the chicken, seal the bag shut and store in the refridgerator for 2 hours.
Substitutions and Variations
- Oil: Any neutral oil, like canola or avocado oil works if you don’t have olive oil.
- Citrus: Lime juice can be swapped with lemon, orange, or even a splash of vinegar.
- Garlic: Fresh, minced garlic is ideal, but jarred chopped garlic or garlic powder is fine too.
- Spices: Feel free to mix it up—smoked paprika, chipotle powder, or a pinch of chili flakes can give your marinade a new kick.
Serving Suggestions
Since this is a Mexican-flavored chicken marinade, I love to incorporate side dishes that are of a similar flavor profile. Here are some ways to enjoy it:
- Serve with a side of Southwest Quinoa Salad
- Place on a bed of lettuce and use Fresh Salsa as your dressing
- Serve with Cowboy Caviar on the side
- Serve over rice or Spanish rice
- Create a Mexican chicken wrap. Slice the chicken into strips and serve with tortillas and cheese
How Long To Marinade The Chicken
Marinate the chicken for at least 30 minutes. This allows it time to soak up the flavor and for the acids and salt to help tenderize the chicken. I would not recommend marinating the chicken any longer than 2 hours in the refrigerator for the best texture and quality.
Frequently Asked Questions
A good marinade usually has three key ingredients: an acid like vinegar or lemon juice to tenderize, oil to keep the meat moist, and herbs or spices for flavor.
Chicken can be marinated in the refrigerator for up to 2 days, according to the USDA. This is based on food safety purposes. For quality and texture purposes, I would recommend only marinating the chicken for a maximum of two hours. Sometimes over-marinating the chicken can cause it to actually become mushy on the outside.
Top Tip
Use a meat tenderizer and pound the chicken to an even thickness. This will help it cook evenly, so that you don’t have one thin part that cooks faster than parts that may be thicker. This is also helpful for pieces of chicken are very thick and take a long time to cook.
More Chicken Recipes You Will Love
Did you make this Mexican chicken marinade? I’d love to hear from you!! Feel free to leave a comment below or tag me on Instagram!
Mexican Chicken Marinade
Ingredients
- ¼ cup olive oil extra virgin
- ¼ cup lime juice (about 1.5 limes)
- ½ tsp sugar
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- 2 teaspoon minced garlic
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- 1 teaspoon chili powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ¼ cup chopped cilantro
- 3 medium chicken breast
Instructions
Marinade Instructions
- In a gallon sized zip lock bag, combine the olive oil, lime juice, sugar, paprika, garlic, cumin, chili powder and salt.
- Remove the stems from the cilantro and chop into small pieces. Add to the zip-lock bag.
- Seal the bag and mix the marinade until combined.
Chicken Instructions (stovetop / oven)
- Pound the chicken breast to 1 inch thickness.
- Add the chicken to the zip lock bag with marinade and seal shut. Mix using hands until the chicken breasts are evenly coated.
- Place the chicken in the refrigerator and let the chicken marinade for 30 minutes (up to 2 hours).
- Preheat oven to 350F. Grease an 8x8 inch baking pan with non stick spray. Set aside.
- Heat a grill pan or griddle on the stove over medium heat. Spray with nonstick spray.
- Add chicken to pan and cook for 4 minutes on each side.
- Remove the chicken from pan and place in an 8x8 inch baking dish. Cover tightly with foil.
- Bake in the oven for 20 minutes, or until chicken reaches temperature of 165 F.
Kylie says
My chicken was super tender. Yum!
Ashlee Welter says
Glad to hear!