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This easy chicken fajita marinade provides a ton of amazing flavor to your dinner! This cilantro lime marinade is perfect with beef, pork, seafood, and vegetables too!
This delicious fajita chicken marinade is exploding with sweet-and-spicy flavor! You will love the taste so much, I highly recommend making a double batch so you can brush the meat with additional marinade. It’s amazing with fajita veggies, too!
Ingredients
Here is what you will need for this recipe. Scroll to the printable recipe card for exact measurements.
- Olive oil and Lime Juice – This combination adds flavor, keeps the chicken juicy, and helps the exterior of the chicken become wonderfully golden brown during cooking. Any citrus juice can be used, so you can swap the lime for lemon juice or orange juice if you prefer a less tangy flavor.
- Red onion, Jalapeno pepper, Garlic cloves, and Fresh cilantro – Dice the onion, deseed and dice your pepper, crush your garlic, and roughly chop your cilantro.
- Brown sugar sweetener, Kosher salt, and Black pepper – I used brown sugar monk fruit to make this recipe keto and low-carb. Feel free to use regular brown sugar if you prefer.
How to make Chicken Fajita Marinade
All you need for this recipe is a bowl or plastic bag! If you prefer more of a paste, feel free to whip all of these ingredients together in a food processor instead. Here’s a step-by-step guide:
Mix ingredients together
In a bowl or bag, add in all of your marinade ingredients. Mix well and allow it to sit. The longer you let it sit, the more flavor the oil will pick up. If you are prepping, you can place it in a closed jar and keep it in the fridge at this point.
Marinate the chicken
Once the marinade is well mixed, add in your prepared chicken, vegetables, or other meat. You can use a bowl, but I like using a plastic bag so I can frequently shake or flip it to make sure every single bit gets coated in flavor. Marinate anywhere from 1-24 hours but no longer than that.
TIP: Slice your chicken into strips before marinating. The more surface area you have, the more little nooks and crannies that can hold onto the amazing flavor of the marinade.
What to serve with Chicken Fajitas
We love this juicy, flavorful chicken with tasty veggies and warm corn or flour tortillas! Top with guacamole, pico de gallo, crumbled cotija cheese, shredded lettuce, chopped tomatoes, sliced avocado, seasoned black beans, or a dollop of sour cream. To keep it low-carb, consider making a delicious bowl with chicken, vegetables, and this Cilantro Lime Cauliflower Rice as the base. Other side dish ideas: Mexican Street Corn, Grilled Pineapple Salsa, or Jalapeno Ranch Dip.
Leftover chicken can be used in so many ways! Toss it into a salad, make a quesadilla, whip up some tacos, wrap it up in burritos, or shred it for nachos.
Storage
Marinade can be mixed together and stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 1-2 weeks, making it the perfect meal prep idea to save time. You can even freeze it for a simple meal later!
Chicken should be in the marinade anywhere from 1-24 hours. If you don’t have time to marinate the chicken, feel free to mix it together, them brush it on the chicken every 5 minutes while it cooks!
Homemade Marinade FAQs
Yes, marinade will keep for 1-2 weeks in the fridge or up to 6 months in the freezer. Do not marinate meat for longer than 24 hours.
This recipe works great with boneless skinless chicken breasts (or chicken thighs, tenderloins, etc.). It is also fantastic with steak, pork chops, shrimp, white fish, or salmon. Vegetarian? Try it with tofu or vegetables (portobello mushrooms, bell peppers, zucchini, etc. all would make great fajitas).
No, you can easily cook the chicken however you like (air fry, bake, pan sear it in a cast iron skillet, even sous vide).
Sure! You can increase the amount of jalapeno (maybe even leave the seeds in for a heavier kick). Add spices like chili powder, paprika, or cayenne pepper. Add a squeeze of your favorite hot sauce if you like!
More versatile marinades and seasoning blends:
- Sugar-Free BBQ Rub
- Easy Jalapeno Lime Marinade
- Homemade Cajun Seasoning
- Thai Peanut Chicken Marinade
- Easy Breakfast Sausage Blend
- 2-Ingredient Caesar Chicken Marinade
Easy Chicken Fajita Marinade
Ingredients
- 1/3 cup olive oil
- 1/4 cup red onion, diced
- 1/2 cup cilantro, roughly chopped
- 1 jalapeño, seeded and diced
- 3 limes, juiced
- 3 cloves garlic, crushed
- 1 tablespoon brown sugar monk fruit, or regular brown sugar if you're not keto
- 1/8 teaspoon salt
- 1/8 teaspoon pepper
Instructions
- Combine the marinade ingredients in a small mixing bowl. Stir until combined.
- Pour the marinade into a large plastic bag, add the chicken and refrigerate for at least 8 hours.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
