This Mexican Chicken Marinade is made with a blend of olive oil, lime juice, garlic, chili powder and handful of flavorful herbs and spices that result in juicy and tender marinated chicken every time! Perfect for grilling, baking, broiling and sauteeing on the stovetop. Use with chicken breasts, chicken thighs, drumsticks and any cut of chicken you have.
Liven up your dinner tonight with this delicious Mexican chicken marinade recipe!
Made with easy-to-find ingredients that you likely already have in your kitchen, this marinade comes together in only 5 minutes and makes for the most flavorful chicken ever. I love using this to make easy chicken tacos, serve with authentic Mexican rice or as the filling in chicken taquitos.
It can be used with any cut of chicken you have – breasts, thighs, drumsticks, wings and quarters. It can also be used with bone-in skin-on or boneless skinless chicken. Whichever type you prefer, this marinade works to create moist and irresistable chicken the whole family will love.
Ingredients in Mexican Chicken Marinade
- olive oil
- cilantro
- lime juice
- garlic
- chili powder + ancho chili powder (you can use all regular chili powder if you don’t have ancho)
- ground cumin
- dried oregano (Mexican oregano preferred)
- coarse kosher salt
- smoked paprika
To make the marinade, combine all the ingredients in a large resealable plastic bag or whisk together in a large bowl. Make sure to toss everything together so that all the spices and herbs are evenly distributed and dissolve as much as possible.
Then add the chicken and mix it together to make sure it’s coated with the marinade. Cover and seal the bowl or bag and marinate in the refrigerator until ready to cook.
How long to marinate Mexican chicken
I recommend marinating the chicken for at least 2 hours. This helps to tenderize the poultry to ensure maximum juiciness as well as absorb some of those flavors in the marinade.
The maximum I recommend marinating is 8 hours. If you leave the chicken in longer than that, the acidity of the lime juice can start to mess with the texture of the meat and make it a little mealy.
If you’re super duper short on time, a short marinating time like 30 minutes is okay. In these cases, I like to use chicken pieces that aren’t very thick so that the marinade has a better chance of tenderizing and flavoring the meat. Boneless skinless chicken thighs are great for this because they’re fairly thin slices and are full of dark meat that’s naturally juicer than white meat. If you want to use white meat, smaller cuts like chicken tenders are great as well as chicken breasts that have been split in half so they aren’t so thick.
You can also prepare everything ahead of time if you like! To do so, place the chicken and marinade in a freezer-safe zip top bag and store it in the freezer until ready to use. The night before you’re ready to eat it, defrost it in the fridge overnight and cook it for lunch or dinner the following day.
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 1/4 cup chopped cilantro
- 2 tablespoons lime juice (juice of 1 lime)
- 1 tablespoon minced garlic (about 3 cloves)
- 1 tablespoon chili powder
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 teaspoon coarse kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1/2 teaspoon ancho chili powder
- 3-4 pounds chicken breasts, thighs, or any cut you prefer
Instructions
- In a large resealable plastic bag (or a large mixing bowl), add all the ingredients and toss to combine.
- Add the chicken (I used 3 pounds boneless skinless chicken breasts) and toss with marinade to coat.
- Seal bag or cover and marinate in the fridge for 2 to 8 hours.
- Remove the chicken from the marinade and grill or cook until the internal temperature reaches 165°F.
Isabel’s Tips:
Nutrition Information
Amazing!!! I’m not a smoked paprika girl so I used regular paprika and subbed chipotle for ancho chili powder. Literally the best marinade ever!
Thank you so much Julie!
I’m thinkin, marinade and then cook the chicken by sous vide, then get a sear on the grill. Chicken enchiladas or chicken salad, anyone?
I made this marinade recipe last night and holy cow it is amazingly delicious!! I think I am going to make it again tomorrow!! So good!! Thank you.
Made up your Mexican Chicken Marinade for chicken breasts that went on the grill. YUM! Excellent recipe.
Hi, I made your Carne Asada Fries last night and it was a big hit! Love your recipes Isabel!
Thank you so much Trish!
This is by far the best chicken marinade I’ve ever used!!!
Thank you!
No lime on hand; is lemon okay as a substitute?
Hi Karrie! I’ve never tried this recipe with lemon, but you are more than welcome to. I’ve also heard of using other citrus fruits like orange or pineapple. Let me know how it goes!
You rock Isabel, I was up shit’s creek and then I found your rec.
Tried this for thr first time. Easy to make with ingredients I usually have in my pantry. Juicy, flavorful chicken. This will be regular marinade from now on.
Even an hour of marinating is transcendent and fantastic mesquite-grilled. I can’t wait to give it a full 12-24h. Yup, all chefs will modify to taste; yet this recipe is spelled out perfectly and is superb as is.
We let a whole chicken marinade for several hours, at least 6 hours. We might try overnight next time, I’ll let you know if there’s a difference. Maybe we’ll add in the lime in the last 8 hours of marinade so the texture doesn’t get put off. We added chipotle and other spices to add and it tasted excellent. It was delicious with a touch of smokiness from the bbq. This will have to be in our rotation during the warmer months as it is delicious. Next time I will serve this with elote.
We grilled chicken last night using this marinade, it was amazing!! Will keep this as a favorite!
Delicious and flavorful!
My friends loved it and I gave them the link to the recipe. I like to grill, but need guidance on how to prep the chicken. This was excellent and highly recommended.
Thank you so much!
In prepping full skinless boneless chicken breast, I almost always pound out to about 1/2″ thick or so, evenly, between two sheets of plastic wrap. I think if you don’t physically tenderize chicken breast, you end up with a muscle that constricts as it cooks and it forms a bulging round-top mass that gets a little tough. By tenderizing, you also get a little more surface areas to soak in the marinade. Without question, the result is always tender, juicy, well-flavored meat. Just watch your cooking time and allow to it rest under a foil tent or dome.
Delicious! Family loved it!
Excellent recipe great for marinade ! Thx
That was the 1st time I’ve ever tried Mexican chicken in it was excellent I served it to 15 people we ate it 3 different ways very good I recommend it highly
Las recetas están fabulosas las voy a preparar todas para irlas disfrutando poco a poco gracias por compartirlas.