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 marinaded in a homemade mojo marinade, spices and cooked to perfection!
How To Make Homemade Mojo Chicken 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.
How To Cook Marinated Mojo Chicken breasts?
There are two ways I like to cook marinated chicken breasts.
To make the chicken in the oven
- 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.
To make the chicken on the stove
- In a skillet with a lid, heat 2 tablespoons 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.
This method of cooking chicken on the stove 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.
What can I pair with mojo chicken?
- 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!
Easy Mojo Chicken Breast Recipe (Best Chicken Marinade!)
Print Recipe Pin RecipeIngredients
- 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
- 1 cup mojo marinade
- 1 tablespoon cuban complete seasoning
Instructions
- On a cutting board, place chicken between two pieces of plastic wrap. Using a meat mallet or rolling pin, slightly pound the chicken breasts. This will help the marinade soak in more evenly as well as cook more evenly too.
- In a bowl, add chicken and mojo marinade in a bowl for at least 20 minutes in the fridge (or overnight, the longer the better). Remove chicken from marinate and add the seasoning.
To make the chicken in the oven
- 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 Serve and enjoy!
To make the chicken on the stove
- In a skillet with a lid, heat 2 tablespoons 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. This is how they get tender and juicy.
- After the full 20 minutes, remove the lid and transfer the cooked chicken breasts* to a plate. Serve and enjoy!
Notes
SHOP THE RECIPE
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Nathan says
February 8, 2018 at 10:19 pm. You wife’s family is from Cuba, and we frequently make great things from there. We have the store bought MOJO, but was wondering if the homemade taste about the same?
Jamie Silva says
February 8, 2018 at 10:29 pmHi Nathan, it’s a matter of preference. I prefer homemade because I know what is in it and like the taste of fresh citrus. Unfortunately, store bought mojo is usually packed with MSG and preservatives that I’m not a fan of. Hope that helps!