The Best Mexican Chicken Marinade for Fajitas or Tacos
This Mexican chicken marinade recipe adds beautiful flavor and color to your chicken breasts. It’s a citrusy asado-style recipe uses simple marinade ingredients! Use it for chicken fajitas, tacos or simple grilled chicken!
Boring chicken is not welcome in my house! I can eat it, but my husband can’t stand poultry that isn’t well seasoned. So, If I’m planning to make chicken, I usually marinade it to infuse a ton of flavor. I think this is the best chicken marinade recipe! The citrus juice in this marinade does a great job tenderizing the chicken and adds fantastic flavor through the juices and spices.
This easy Mexican Chicken Marinade is perfect for pollo asado. I recommend grilling your chicken, because it adds extra flavor and nice grill marks! But of course you can also bake, use your air fryer or sauté your marinated chicken. This makes a great chicken fajita marinade, too!
Love Mexican food? Me too! Check out these other Mexican recipes on Blackberry Babe: Sour Cream Chicken Enchiladas with Green Sauce | Baked Baja Fish Tacos | 5 Ingredient White Queso Dip (Queso Blanco)
What cut of chicken should I use with this marinade?
With this Mexican marinade, use your favorite cuts of chicken. I like to use boneless, skinless chicken breasts. Boneless, skinless chicken thighs are wonderful as well. I’ve even used this marinade recipe for a whole chicken. Make a big batch and use it for meal prep!
Mexican Chicken Marinade Substitutions and Additions
Don’t have all of the ingredients? Don’t worry! Here are some ingredient substitution ideas:
- Substitute white vinegar or apple cider vinegar for the lime juice
- Substitute pineapple juice for the orange juice.
- Spicy: Add two teaspoons of the juice from canned chipotle pepper in adobo. Doing this adds extra spicy, bold flavors to your marinade.
Serving Suggestions
Use cooked, marinated chicken pieces on top of taco salad, burrito bowls, or chicken tacos. It’s great topped with pico de gallo, salsa or guacamole.
For side dishes, consider this Mexican rice, black beans or elote corn salad.
Storing Leftover Marinated Chicken
Store leftover chicken in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days.
Leftover chicken is wonderful used in enchiladas or on top of fresh salads. I think it tastes even better the next day!
You can also freeze the raw chicken in the marinade for up to 4 months for easy meal prep.
I hope that you enjoy this flavorful chicken marinade! If you make it, I’d love to know how it went in the comments below.
The Best Mexican Chicken Marinade
Ingredients
- 1/3 cup orange juice
- 3 tablespoons fresh lime juice
- ⅛ cup cilantro, fresh, chopped
- 1 tablespoon smoked paprika
- 1 tablespoon oregano
- 1 tablespoon salt, kosher
- 1 tablespoon garlic powder, or 1-2 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 tablespoon olive oil, or avocado oil
- 2 teaspoons chili powder
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- ¼ teaspoon ground cloves
Instructions
- To a small bowl, add marinade ingredients and whisk vigorously to combine.
- To a gallon-sized resealable plastic bag, add up to two pounds of raw chicken, diced or whole pieces.
- Pour marinade into the bag. Carefully press out any air as you seal the bag.
- Marinade for a minimum of 4 hours, up to 24 hours.
- Remove chicken from marinade and cook until it reaches an internal temperature of 165 degrees Fahrenheit using an instant read meat thermometer.
This is going to be excellent for chicken enchiladas tonight. Love the color, aroma and taste
Thanks
Happy, shiny, cook in Orangevale, Ca
So glad! Thanks Riley! 🙂
Question? The ground cloves, do you mean cloves of garlic or clove spice?
Hi Mary! Great question. Clove spice!