Simple and easy marinade for chicken breast and other cuts, this Mexican chicken marinade makes chicken juicy, flavorful, and tender. It is perfect for making chicken tacos, burritos, fajitas, and more.

I like the freshness, brightness, and flavor Mexican marinade adds to chicken and that’s why it’s one of my favorite marinades for chicken. My daughters like it when we use it for chicken to make wraps for their school lunches and taco nights.

About This Easy Mexican Chicken Marinade Recipe

Simple ingredients – This marinade uses a few ingredients. Lime, orange, cilantro (coriander), cumin, chilli, mixed herbs, paprika, garlic, onion granules, and salt. All less than 10 ingredients!

Quick – It takes 5 minutes to measure the ingredients and mix the marinade using a bowl, spoon, or a whisk. It is one of my quickest recipes.

Flavorful – This marinade for Mexican chicken tacos makes chicken tender, juicy, and delicious. It’s fresh and adds moisture and bold flavors. If you are after that, you’ll be glad you found this recipe.
Versatile – You can use it on any chicken cut, breast, thighs, wings, or whole chicken. I sometimes use it on turkey too.

Ingredients

Paprika – I use either smoked paprika or sweet paprika.

Cumin – It has a distinct flavor and it elevates chicken flavor. A little bit of this goes a long way.

Chilli

Lime – Add acidity that tenderizes the chicken.

Orange- Adds acidity and I like the balance it gives to the lime in this marinade.

Mixed herbs- Instead of just oregano, I like to use mixed herbs. It contains oregano, thyme, and a few other herbs I like. If you don’t have mixed herbs, use oregano.

Cilantro – This is known as Coriander in Britain.

Olive oil- I like to use Extra virgin olive oil.

Salt and pepper– To taste.

FOR THE CHICKEN

Chicken breast – I used boneless skinless chicken breast for this recipe but this can substituted for any other cut of chicken.

How To Make Mexican Chicken Marinade

Step 1 – Rub the lime on a flat surface, Cut it into two, and juice them. Add the juice to a bowl.

Step 2 – Add paprika, mixed herbs, cumin, paprika, onion and garlic granules, chilli, salt, and olive oil.

Step 3- Mix with a spoon or small whisk until all the ingredients are combined.

That’s it! It’s ready for use.

Marinate The Chicken

Now the marinade is ready, let’s marinate the chicken. I have used boneless skinless chicken breast but this Mexican marinade can be used on chicken thighs and other chicken parts.

Clean and pat chicken the chicken breasts dry with paper towels. Use a fork to poke a few holes in the chicken (optional but recommended), and add them to a ziploc.

Pour the marinade into the Ziploc, let the air out of the bag and seal.

Gently massage the marinade on the chicken and flatten the ziploc to get the marinade all over the chicken.

Place in the fridge and let the chicken marinate for 30 minutes up to 24 hours.

Cooking Method and Time Guide

Grill, bake, pan fry, or air fry. Whatever method you choose, cook the chicken to an internal temperature of 165F. Here is the time guide to get it to the recommended temperature:

Air Fryer – Cook in the air fryer for 8-10 minutes on each side for a total of 16-20 minutes.

Pan Fry – Cook Mexican marinated Chicken on the stove in a pan on each side for 6-8 minutes for a total cooking time of 12-16 minutes.

Bake – This is the longest cooking time with a total of 30 minutes.

Grill

Helpful Tips

Get the ingredients ready
The chicken can be marinated in a bowl if you don’t have or want to use a Ziploc.
The pepper quantity in this recipe serves as a guide and you can adjust this to how spicy you like your chicken.
Customize to suit you. For example, If you’d like some sweetness on the chicken, add a tablespoon of honey or brown sugar to the ingredients.
Poke holes into the chicken so the marinade can penetrate them.
Marinate Chicken for at least 30 minutes up to 24 hours for maximum flavor. Not more than 24 hours as the acidity starts breaking the chicken.
Before cooking the marinated chicken, bring it out of the fridge and leave it out for 30 minutes to get to room temperature.
Don’t want to cook the chicken on the grill or stove? Try cooking it in the air fryer or oven.

More Easy Recipes

Pan fried chicken bites

Air fryer frozen chicken breast

Air fryer diced potatoes

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