Cuban Mojo Grilled Chicken

by Sabrina Snyder

Published on

4 Comments

5 from 3 votes
6 Servings
Prep Time 4 hours
Cook Time 12 minutes
Total Time 4 hours 12 minutes
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Cuban Mojo Grilled Chicken is the perfect tender, juicy chicken marinated in a deliciously tangy and spicy citrus sauce, with grilling or baking instructions. 

Grilled Cuban Mojo Chicken is absolutely packed with flavor and sure to be a favorite Weeknight Dinner with the whole family. For more Cuban dishes try our recipes for Slow Cooker Mojo Pork or Easy Cuban Sandwiches. 

Cuban Mojo Grilled Chicken on serving plate

In Cuban cuisine, mojo sauce is traditionally made with garlic and bold citrus flavor. This recipe uses sweet and sour orange juice, lemon juice, and lime for citrus ingredients. Then garlic, soy sauce, chili powder, cumin, and oregano add even more delicious and complex flavor. It makes the perfect marinade to infuse each piece of chicken with amazing tangy sweet and spiced citrus zest. 

The fresh ingredients all come together easily in the mojo marinade, and from there the Cuban Chicken is super easy to make either on the grill or in the oven. As long as you make sure to prep the marinade in advance, the cooking time for the recipe is super quick and easy!

Cuban Mojo Grilled Chicken collage

Once it’s done you can serve up Cuban Mojo Chicken as a delicious main dish with a side of Rice and Black Beans. You could also slice the chicken and serve it in sandwich wraps with fresh ingredients like carrots, lettuce, broccoli, or peppers. 

EASY CHICKEN RECIPES

KEY INGREDIENTS

  • Citrus juice: Fresh lime juice, lemon juice, and orange juice help to tenderize the chicken in the marinade and give the dish a tangy, sour, and refreshing flavor. 
  • Spices: Along with the delicious citrus juices and sauce ingredients, the mojo marinade also has a variety of delicious spices. Chili powder, cumin, oregano, and black pepper all add a bolder flavor to the recipe. The cumin and chili powder both add a mild spicy taste. 
  • Chicken: Apart from the marinade, all you need is boneless, skinless chicken breast. The meat soaks up all the juices from the marinade for the most succulent chicken dish ever!
Cuban Mojo Grilled Chicken on serving plate

COOKING TIPS

  • Mojo chicken marinade: Score 4 pieces of chicken breast over the top. This will help the meat absorb the marinade for maximum flavor. Add the vegetable oil, orange juice, lemon juice, minced garlic cloves, soy sauce, chili powder, cumin, oregano, black pepper, and cilantro to a small bowl, and whisk the mojo marinade together. Pour the mixture into a zip lock bag with the chicken breast. Put the chicken and mojo marinade in the fridge for 4-8 hours. 
  • Roasted chicken: It’s up to you if you want to grill or bake the chicken. for baking, preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Place the chicken on a baking dish, and place it in the preheated oven for 30-35 minutes. Make sure the internal temperature has reached at least 165 degrees before serving. 
  • Grill: You can also use an indoor or outdoor grill to cook the chicken. Simply grill over medium heat for 6-8 minutes on each side until cooked through and golden brown. 
  • Serve: After cooking, serve up the juicy and flavorful dish. For optional garnish add orange wedges and cilantro leaves. 

VARIATIONS

  • Seasonings: Experiment with the flavor of your Cuban chicken by adding different spices, like basil, parsley, mint, onion powder, paprika, or red pepper flakes. 
  • Meat: You could use mojo marinade for different kinds of meat including steak and pork chops. Just make sure to follow FDA Guidelines to grill any type of meat to a safe temperature. 

CUBAN DISHES

Cuban Mojo Grilled Chicken on serving plate sliced

HOW TO STORE

  • Serve: Cuban Mojo Chicken can stay good at room temperature for 2 hours. 
  • Store: After that, you should transfer the chicken to an airtight container or cover it in plastic wrap to store in the fridge for 3-5 days. 
  • Freeze: You could also carefully wrap the chicken in plastic wrap and aluminum foil or put it in a freezer bag to store in the freezer for up to 4 months. 

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Dinner, then Dessert

Cuban Mojo Grilled Chicken

Cuban Mojo Grilled Chicken is the perfect tender and juicy chicken marinated in a delicious citrus sauce with grilling or baking instructions.
Yield 6 Servings
Prep Time 4 hours
Cook Time 12 minutes
Total Time 4 hours 12 minutes
Course Dinner
Cuisine Cuban
Author Sabrina Snyder
Cuban Mojo Grilled Chicken on serving plate 1x1
PrintRate

Ingredients
 

  • 1/3 cup vegetable oil
  • 3/4 cup orange juice
  • 1/2 cup lemon juice
  • 1/3 cup lime juice
  • 4 cloves garlic , minced
  • 1/2 cup low sodium soy sauce
  • 1 tablespoon chili powder
  • 1 tablespoon ground cumin
  • 1 teaspoon dried oregano
  • 1 teaspoon coarse ground black pepper
  • 1 bunch fresh cilantro , chopped
  • 4 chicken breasts , boneless skinless

Instructions

  • Whisk together vegetable oil, orange juice, lemon juice, lime juice, garlic, soy sauce, chili powder, cumin, oregano, black pepper, and cilantro in a small bowl.
  • Pour into a zip lock bag with 4 chicken breasts you've scored on the top.
  • Marinate for 4-8 hours.

To cook on the grill:

  • Cook over medium heat for 6-8 minutes on each side on direct heat.

To cook in the oven:

  • Bake at 375 degrees for 30-35 minutes.

Nutrition

Calories: 324kcal | Carbohydrates: 10g | Protein: 34g | Fat: 17g | Saturated Fat: 3g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 8g | Monounsaturated Fat: 4g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 96mg | Sodium: 908mg | Potassium: 762mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 4g | Vitamin A: 621IU | Vitamin C: 30mg | Calcium: 43mg | Iron: 2mg
Keyword: Cuban Mojo Grilled Chicken

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Cuban Mojo Grilled Chicken collage

About the Author: Sabrina Snyder

Sabrina is a professionally trained Private Chef of over 10 years with ServSafe Manager certification in food safety. She creates all the recipes here on Dinner, then Dessert, fueled in no small part by her love for bacon.

Sabrina Snyder is a professionally trained personal and private chef of over 10 years who is the creator and developer of all the recipes on Dinner, then Dessert.

She is also the author of the cookbook Dinner, then Dessert – Satisfying Meals Using Only 3, 5 or 7 Ingredients, published by Harper Collins.

She started Dinner, then Dessert as a business in her office as a lunch service for her coworkers who admired her lunches before going to culinary school and becoming a full time personal chef and private chef.

As a personal chef Sabrina would cook for families one day a week and cook their entire week of dinners. All grocery shopping, cooking and cleaning was done along with instructions on reheating. As a private chef she cooked for private parties and cooked in family homes in the evenings for families on a nightly basis after working as a personal chef during the day.

Sabrina has been certified as a ServSafe Manager since 2007 and was a longstanding member of the USPCA Personal Chef Association including being on the board of the Washington DC Chapter of Chefs in the US Personal Chef Association when they won Chapter of the year.

As a member of the community of food website creators Sabrina Snyder has spoken at many conferences regarding her experiences as a food writer including the Indulge Food Conference, Everything Food Conference, Haven Food Conference and IACP Annual Food Professionals Conference.

Sabrina lives with her family in sunny California.

See more posts by Sabrina

Dinner, then Dessert, Inc. owns the copyright on all images and text and does not allow for its original recipes and pictures to be reproduced anywhere other than at this site unless authorization is given. If you enjoyed the recipe and would like to publish it on your own site, please re-write it in your own words, and link back to my site and recipe page. Read my disclosure and copyright policy. This post may contain affiliate links.

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Comments

  2. This chicken was sooo good, my whole family loved it! Will be making it again and again. Thank you.

    Reply

  3. This Cuban Mojo grilled chicken is definitely a new fam fav! It was perfectly cooked and bursting with flavors!

    Reply

  4. Hey, Sabrina! I’m excited to try this out. I’m not a great cook, but I’ve been trying to explore different ways to marinate chicken breast for my meal preps. Will it matter if I use the boxed orange juice? Thank you for this!

    Reply