This Mexican chicken is packed with flavor and is a great family-friendly way to cook boneless, skinless chicken breasts. Perfect for a midweek meal. The boneless chicken breasts are marinated in a delicious mixture of spices, garlic, lime, and orange, keeping the breasts juicy and infuses them with plenty of flavor. Perfect for Taco Tuesday!
Pat the chicken breast dry to stop it sliding about the board.2 large chicken breasts
Lay the chicken breast flat on a chopping board.
Use a large sharp knife to cut sideways through the breast.
Continue to cut through the chicken breast, keeping the blade of the knife flat and parallel to the chopping board.
Carefully cut through until you have two plump fillets.
If you find they are not an even thickness, you can use a meat mallet (or a heavy pan) to bash the plumper end down.
Repeat with the second chicken breast.
To marinate the chicken
Pour the olive oil into a non-metallic dish, and add in the taco seasoning, salt, and sugar.¼ cup olive oil4 tsp taco seasoning1 tsp salt1 tsp sugar
Crush or grate the garlic and add it to the marinade.3 cloves garlic
Grate the zest of the lime and orange and add them to the marinade.1 lime1 orange
Cut the zested citrus fruits in half and add 2 tablespoon of orange juice (usually about half the orange) and 2 tablespoon of lime juice (usually the whole lime) - See note 3
Add the chicken fillets and turn to coat.
Cover and marinate in the refrigerator for 20 minutes.
To cook the chicken
Place a heavy-based frying pan or cast iron skillet over medium-high heat.
Remove the chicken from the marinade and cook on one side without moving for 4 minutes.
Flip the chicken and cook for a further 3-4 minutes until cooked through.
Notes
You can use storebought taco seasoning or make your own using my easy recipe.
The sugar helps to caramelize the chicken and also keeps it juicy. But feel free to leave it out.
All citrus fruit vary; some are far juicer than others! If you find your lime isn't yielding enough juice, then use what you can get from one lime, don't worry about using a second one!