Mexican Grilled Chicken
Minimal ingredients and effort makes this Mexican grilled chicken a great recipe for meal prep that can be used in rice bowls, tacos, quesadillas, or wraps. This smokey marinade is also perfect for chicken, steak, or vegetables.
Servings: 4 people
Ingredients
- 2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts or thighs
- 3 tablespoons avocado oil canola oil or high heat olive oil will also work
- 3 tablespoons soy sauce or coconut aminos
- 4 large garlic cloves, minced
- 1 ½ teaspoons cumin powder
- 3/4 teaspoon chili powder
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 fresh lime (optional)
Instructions
- Place the chicken breasts on a cutting board and cover with parchment paper or plastic wrap. Pound them with a heavy skillet or mallet until they are about 1/2 inch thickness and uniform. Pat dry with paper towels.
- lace chicken in a gallon sized bag, combine the oil, soy sauce or coconut aminos, cumin, chili powder, smoked paprika, salt, and minced garlic cloves. Smoosh around to mix everything up. Drop in the chicken breasts (see note on size of chicken breasts), and marinate for at least 2 hours, up to 12 hours.
- Preheat the grill to medium/high heat (about 400-450°F/210°C) and place a little bit of oil onto a paper towel. Using tongs, rub the towel on the grill grates to oil them, being careful to avoid excess oil flare ups. A little bit of oil goes a long way! Place chicken breasts on the grill, close the grill lid, and cook for about 4-5 minutes per side, or until grill marks form and the chicken reaches an internal temp of 165°. The chicken will release easily from the grill grates when it's ready to be flipped.
- Remove from the grill and cover with foil. When ready, slice the chicken breasts and serve warm. Top with a squeeze of lime, if desired.
Notes
- A note on kosher salt - I used diamond brand kosher salt, which is much less salty than other types, like Morton's. Keep this in mind if also using soy sauce. You may want to adjust the salt to a lower amount if using soy sauce since that has more sodium naturally.
- If using thin-sliced chicken breasts, which marinate and cook much faster, cook for about 4-5 minutes per side.
- To get thin chicken breasts - run a sharp knife down the middle center of the chicken (sideways) or use a mallet to pound to about 1/2 inch thickness.
- Soy sauce substitutes - This recipe also works great with pomegranate juice, tart cherry juice, or lime juice as well.
- A grill pan will also work if you don't own a charcoal or gas grill. See post for instructions for baking and pan-searing chicken.
- This marinade will keep up to a week without the chicken. Use for other types of meat like pork or flank steak, or brush onto grilled vegetables.
- HYH diet - Use coconut aminos or pomegranate juice and omit the lime.
Nutrition
Serving: 1breast | Calories: 372kcal | Carbohydrates: 4g | Protein: 49g | Fat: 17g | Saturated Fat: 3g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 9g | Trans Fat: 0.03g | Cholesterol: 145mg | Sodium: 816mg | Potassium: 883mg | Fiber: 0.4g | Sugar: 0.1g | Vitamin A: 435IU | Vitamin C: 4mg | Calcium: 26mg | Iron: 2mg
