Mexican Chicken Marinade

This easy Mexican chicken marinade makes the juiciest, most flavorful chicken breasts or thighs with cilantro, citrus (both lime and orange!), chili powder, cumin and other spices. It comes together with just a few minutes of prep time making it great for meal prep, freezing, grilling and more!

If you’re a Mexican food lover and want to get that juicy, cilantro lime flavor, you’ll love this one. There are many ways to do chicken Mexican style but this marinade recipe will definitely be a new favorite due to it’s delicious flavor and simplicity. Whether it’s eaten as an entrée, paired with other Mexican sides or stuffed inside chicken tacos, you can’t go wrong here!

From my ever popular shredded crockpot chicken taco recipe and chicken taco seasoning blend, chicken tacos are undoubtedly a favorite on this website. This recipe works great as a chicken taco marinade or you can serve it as a main dish, no tacos needed. What makes this marinade unique is the incorporation of multiple types of citrus, the perfect balance of seasonings, and detailed instructions on how to cook it best using various cooking methods.

I like to serve it with my creamy Instant Pot coconut rice recipe for more flavor, alongside salsa, avocado and whatever else we’re in the mood for. It’s delicious paired with regular BBQ sides too!

Marinade ingredients

The simple ingredients for making this Mexican chicken marinade recipe are mostly things you’ll already have in your pantry with the addition of a few staples needed for Mexican cooking. See the picture below and the recipe card for a complete list of ingredients. Here are a few things to note:

• spices – the spices include chili powder and you should use the Mexican chili powder variety
• minced garlic – I tested it with both fresh garlic and jarred pre-minced garlic and both are fine here. If using pre-minced jarred garlic, I always add little more since it is less sharp than fresh.
• chicken breasts or thighs – I use either breasts or boneless skinless thighs but baked skin on bone-in thighs would work too. If the skin is still on, pat the skin dry and rub skin with oil before baking or searing in a pan. The recipe says it makes enough for 2 pounds of chicken, but it will easily work for 3 lbs. Just stir the chicken half way through the marinade time and let it marinade for at least 8 hours.

How to make Mexican chicken marinade

Making an authentic Mexican chicken marinade is easy as can be.

Making the marinade

1. Squeeze the citrus, chop the cilantro, mince the garlic and and then simply combine it all in a bowl or bag.
   
2. Whisk or stir into a marinade.
   
3. Trim excess fat off of the chicken and poke holes in each piece with the tines of a fork to let the delicious flavor of the marinade soak in. Make sure to do this if you know you won’t be marinating for very long.
   
4. Add the chicken to the marinade and toss to coat.
   
5. Marinate the chicken for at least 2 hours but preferably 8-24 hours.

Cooking methods

I tested the Mexican marinade for chicken with various different cooking methods and it turned out great every time. You can cook it on the grill, oven, stovetop, air fryer, or however you see fit. I included notes on this with specific instructions in the recipe card.

Freezing for meal prep

This marinade is fabulous for meal prep! I like to make a triple batch (use the servings calculator + sign in the recipe card to make this easy). You can cook one right away and freeze two of the portions for later use. I use reusable bags or pyrex containers to reduce waste but freezer safe ziplocks work too.

To freeze the chicken for later use, place chicken and marinade in a freezer safe bag and seal tightly. Place in freezer and freeze until ready to use. I do this right after making the marinade since the chicken will absorb enough of it later when you defrost it. That being said, sometimes I end up placing it in the freezer the next day when plans change and I don’t make the chicken for dinner and it turns out great then too!

To defrost, place bag with chicken in the refrigerator overnight or defrost in a bowl of cold water on the counter for 1 hour. Don’t trust the defrost setting on the microwave. It will start cooking the chicken in places creating uneven spots.

If you’re looking for chicken marinade recipes to meal prep, definitely try my Greek chicken marinade too!

Tips and tricks

Variations

This is a great recipe as written but if you want to tweak it, here are some variation ideas:

• Add chopped jalapeños for spice.
• Add 1/4 cup of pineapple juice and grill some pineapple to serve alongside the chicken or make mango avocado salsa for tropical flair.
• Use the marinade for beef to make carne asada or pork for tacos.
• Short on marinade time? Cut the chicken into 1″ pieces, marinade for 1/2 hour to 1 hour then skewer it on kabob sticks.
• Use it as a chicken marinade for chicken fajitas, cooking on a grill or skillet with fajita veggies.
• Add chopped canned chilis in adobo sauce for a different flavor profile.
• I used it as a chicken street taco marinade one night chopping the chicken up fine and serving with onions and cilantro which was incredible!

What to serve with Mexican chicken

Serve this easy chicken recipe as tacos, a main dish, or topping fresh salads or burrito bowls. Serve it alongside sides like refried beans or black beans, rice, salsa, pico de gallo, guacamole, sour cream, pickled red onions, margaritas, or just a cold beer like Corona or Pacifico.

Use leftovers in tacos, air fryer quesadillas, taco salad, or whatever else you can dream up. It’s versatile and the flavor is subtle enough that you can truly pair it seamlessly with almost anything.