Easy Cuban Mojo Chicken Breast Recipe

An easy chicken breast recipe marinated in Cuban citrus-garlic marinade and cooked to juicy perfection. The BEST chicken marinade!

My mom makes the best mojo chicken breast in the world. I may or may not be biased. Today, I’m bringing you the recipe that I’ve been enjoying for years. Chicken breasts marinated in a homemade mojo marinade, spices and cooked to perfection!

How To Make Homemade Cuban Mojo Marinade

First, you need to make the mojo marinade. You can definitely use a store-bought version if you’re pressed for time however homemade is always best.

To make the mojo marinade, you need to mash the garlic into a paste-like consistency. You can do this with a mortar and pestle, or simply mash the garlic with the side of a knife, chop, mash again, chop, mash again, until you get the consistency you want which is a delicious garlicky mushy paste.

Once that’s done, add the garlic into a large jar with oregano, cumin, salt, pepper, orange, orange zest, lemon juice, lime juice and olive oil. Cover and shake, shake, shake until well combined. You should have approximately 1.5 cups of marinade. Feel free to taste and adjust seasoning.

The marinade should taste tangy, citrusy, garlicky, and slightly sour.

For How Long Do You Marinate the Chicken Breast?

Once the mojo marinade is done, place the chicken and the mojo marinade in a bowl.

Marinate for 20 minutes or overnight. The longer, the better. It all depends on how patient you are. You can leave chicken marinating the fridge for up to 2 days. Just make sure to check on it periodically. You do not want it to change in color and spoil.

Once the chicken was marinated, transfer to a baking dish and season it with garlic powder, onion powder, cumin, parsley, oregano, salt and pepper.

There are two ways I like to cook mojo marinated chicken breasts.

How To Cook Chicken Breast

One way you can cook chicken breast is in the oven. Here’s how you do it:

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Bake chicken breasts for 15-20 minutes or until fully cooked. You can use a thermometer to read the internal temperature; it has to be at least 165 degrees.

Best Way To Cook Chicken Breast

This method of cooking chicken is on the stove. It results in tender, juicy chicken breasts. It’s my fave method! Plus with this mojo marinade, I mean, you’re looking at juicy, tender, citrusy chicken breasts that are just to die for.

• In a skillet with a lid, heat 1-2 tablespoons of olive oil over medium heat. Add the chicken breasts to the skillet and cook for 1 minute on each side.
• Turn the heat down to low, cover the skillet and cook chicken breasts for another 10 minutes, undisturbed.
• After 10 minutes, remove from heat. KEEP THE LID ON for another 10 minutes. Allow the chicken breasts to continue to cook with the residual heat.
• After the full 20 minutes, remove the lid and transfer the cooked chicken breasts to a plate.

What can I pair with mojo chicken breast?

• Healthy Mojo Chicken Caesar Salad
• Mango Blueberry Asiago Kale Salad
• 5-Ingredient Crispy Sliced Roasted Potatoes
• White rice or jasmine rice
• Congri (black beans & white rice)
• Cauliflower Congri (black beans & cauliflower rice)
• 5-Ingredient Chipotle Mashed Sweet Potatoes

Can’t wait for you guys to make it!

You may also like:

• Chicken Noodle Soup (Sopa de Pollo Cubana)
• Crispy Baked Mojo Chicken Wings
• Easy Cuban Arroz Imperial (Imperial Rice)
• Cuban-Style Crispy Shredded Chicken (Vaca Frita de Pollo)

This page may contain affiliate links. This means that if you click on one of the product links above and complete a purchase, I’ll receive a small commission at no extra cost to you. I will never place a link nor make a recommendation on a product or service that I don’t love or use personally. Thank you for keeping A Sassy Spoon, sassy. ;)