Mexican chicken marinade is a quick, easy, and beautiful dinner the whole family will love! Packed with flavor and melty cheese, it’s a perfect meal.
Marinades make dinner so much simpler. With allowing you to meal prep the day before and simply toss everything together on the day of, you can have a fast and easy dinner with little mess to clean up!
This Mexican chicken marinade is no different. Prepping the chicken in the marinade as early as 24 hours in advance can give you delicious and flavorful chicken with hardly any effort.
Perfect for those busy school nights or when you just don’t want to spend 2 hours making a meal your kids will only eat a bite of before deciding that they are full and want to go back to playing. Who could blame you?
How to make this skillet Mexican chicken
- In a zipper topped bag (or in a large bowl with cover) combine the marinade ingredients and raw chicken breasts for up to 24 hours in advance.
- When it comes time to cook dinner, pull them out and heat a large skillet with canola oil on medium-high heat. You want it to start smoking.
- Then take your chicken and place it down on the hot oiled skillet until browned on both sides, flipping as needed.
- Once the chicken is brown, turn the heat down to medium-low and then add in tomato sauce and water. Let the chicken simmer until it finished cooking (internal temperature of 160 degrees).
- When the chicken is fully cooked, lay some cheese on top and cover the pan until the cheese is nice and melted.
What to serve with this Mexican skillet chicken
While you may have had the main dish ready and on the table in just a few minutes, there still begs the question- what can you serve with it? Honestly, there is a number of different things that would go well with this dish.
This spicy/not-too-spicy dish would pair well with my delicious canned corn and bell pepper recipe! Giving a simple and quick vegetable to your plates that not only tastes great but also adds a nice splash of color.
Other excellent ideas include:
- Refried beans
- A simple salad
- Warm flour tortillas (just in case you want to eat it like a soft taco)
- Mexican rice or cilantro lime rice
With so many great dishes that pair well with this Mexican skillet chicken and marinade, you can have a full plate of impossible-to-choose options at the end of your fork!
Looking for more great recipes??
- Slow Cooker Mexican Chicken
- Creamy Tuscan Chicken
- Homemade Chicken Alfredo
- Sun-Dried Tomato Chicken Pasta
- Oven Baked BBQ Chicken
- Crispy Baked Chicken Thighs
- BBQ Chicken Sliders
- Easy Homemade Alfredo Sauce
- Mexican Pork Chop Recipe
- Chicken Alfredo Stuffed Shells
- Hawaiian Haystacks Recipe
- Slow Cooker Salsa Chicken
- BBQ Chicken Pizza
Mexican Chicken Marinade
Equipment
Ingredients
For the Marinade
- 1 cup canola oil
- 3 limes sliced
- 1 tablespoon chili powder
- 2 teaspoons cumin
- 1 teaspoons ground coriander
- 1 pinch cayenne pepper
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 teaspoons oregano dried
- 6 ounces diced green chilis 1 small can
- 3 cloves garlic crushed or minced
- 3 chicken breasts see note
For the Skillet Chicken
- 2 tablespoon canola oil
- 1 cup tomato sauce
- 1/2 cup water
- 1/2 cup cheddar cheese or Monterey jack or pepper jack
Instructions
- Combine marinade ingredients and add the chicken.
- Place in the fridge and marinate for 4 hours, up to 24 hours.
- In a large skillet, add canola oil and heat on medium-high heat until smoking.
- Add chicken and brown on both sides.
- Once the chicken is browned, turn heat to medium-low and add the tomato sauce and the water.
- Simmer until the chicken is cooked to 160ºF. Add cheese on top of each chicken breast.
- Add cheese on top of each chicken breast. Cover until melted.
Alli says
Such an easy and delicious recipe!