Quick Chicken Fajita Marinade

Servings: 6

Prep Time: 3

Total Time: 23

Get ready to transform plain chicken in just 20 minutes with this chicken fajita marinade. It's quick, bold, and packs all the restaurant-style flavors you love.

5 from 58 votes

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Ingredients

For 1.5lbs to 2lbs chicken:

2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons lime juice
1 ½ teaspoons salt
1 ½ teaspoons dried oregano
1 ½ teaspoons ground cumin
1 teaspoon paprika
1 teaspoon garlic powder
½ teaspoon chili powder
½ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes, optional
2 pounds chicken breasts, or thighs

Instructions

In a medium bowl or in a zip bag, combine the olive oil with lime juice, salt, oregano, cumin, garlic powder, chili powder, paprika, and red pepper flakes.
Add the chicken to the marinade bowl or zip bag, toss to coat all the pieces with the marinade. Cover with plastic wrap or zip the bag closed and refrigerate it for 20 minutes to marinate.
Once it's ready, remove the chicken from the bag onto your skillet and cook chicken according to the recipe. Discard the marinade left in the bag.

Notes

The nutritional data below is for the full recipe using 2 lbs of chicken breasts. Please note that you'll be discarding the marinade before cooking.

Fresh herbs: chop up some fresh cilantro, lemon thyme, or fresh oregano instead of the dried in the recipe.
Fresh aromatics: swap the garlic powder for 2 garlic cloves, finely minced or grated.
Use orange juice instead of lime. This citrus pairs great with all the spices.
Make it spicier by adding 1 tablespoon of minced chipotle peppers in adobo, ½ teaspoon of red chili flakes, or by chopping up ½ of a jalapeño.

Nutrition