Infuse your grilled chicken with the classic flavors of a fresh lime margarita! Fresh Margarita Chicken is quick, easy, and sizzling.
Despite the fact that winter 2.0 could potentially be making an appearance later this week (I can’t even talk about it) patio season is practically knocking at our door.
Bright umbrellas, deck chairs, and ice-cold drinks are my favorite spring and summertime staples, and Fresh Margarita Chicken is undoubtedly going to become one as well!
Classic margarita ingredients including tequila, agave nectar, and fresh lime and orange juices join forces with garlic, salt, and pepper, to infuse chicken breasts with mouthwatering flavor after marinating for just a couple of hours in the fridge.
Sizzling and char grilled then topped with guacamole — the only thing that could make this meal even better is pairing it with an actual margarita!
Start the Fresh Margarita Chicken by creating the margarita marinade. First zest 1 lime and 1 orange then add the zest to a big bowl or ziplock bag.
Next add the juice of 4 limes and 2 oranges, as well as 3 big crushed garlic cloves and LOTS of salt and pepper. After all, what is a good margarita without its signature, salty bite?!
Add 1/4 cup tequila next (optional – but the alcohol will cook off,) plus 2 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, and 1 Tablespoon + 1 teaspoon agave nectar or honey.
Add 4 small chicken breasts and place in the fridge to marinate for 1-4 hours. I can’t tell you how fabulous this marinade smells by the way – just like a fresh margarita!
Let the chicken breasts rest out of the fridge for 10-15 minutes after marinating, then grill them over high heat for 4-5 minutes a side, or until cooked through.
Serve the Fresh Margarita Chicken over a bed of fluffy Cilantro-Lime Rice then dollop with Lazy-Girl’s Guacamole before diving in!
I promise you will fall in love with this chicken after the very first bite. If you don’t have a grill, or if it’s not warm enough to grill where you live, simply saute the marinated chicken in a hot skillet until cooked through.
You’ll still get that fabulous margarita flavor. YUM — and enjoy!
Ingredients
- 4 limes, 1 zested, all 4 juiced
- 2 oranges, 1 zested, both juiced
- 1/4 cup silver tequila, optional
- 2 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 1 Tablespoon + 1 teaspoon agave nectar, or honey
- 3 crushed garlic cloves
- salt and pepper
- 4 chicken breasts, ~2lbs
Directions
- Combine ingredients from lime zest to salt and pepper in a large bowl or ziplock bag then mix well. Add chicken breasts then cover and marinate in the refrigerator for 1-4 hours.
- When ready to grill or cook, let chicken breasts rest out of the fridge for 10-15 minutes then grill or saute over medium-high heat for 4-5 minutes a side, or until cooked through.
Notes
- Serve with Cilantro-Lime Rice and Guacamole.
Nutrition
Nutritional values are estimates only. Please read our full nutrition information disclaimer.
This recipe looks like perfection for Cinco de Mayo! Congrats on the awesome new blog project, Kristin—can’t wait to follow along. :)
First of all, that chicken looks so good with that creamy guacamole dolloped on top! Yum. (I’m a total quacaholic.) that being said, congrats on the other blog! I’ve gotten so interested in where our food comes from. This should be super interesting.
P.S. Beer helps your milk come in so as soon as that cutie pops out you have an official excuse ;)
Amazing – good to know! ;)
How about baking in the oven? What temperature and for approx. how long? Thank you.
I would do 400 degrees for 15-20 minutes (depending on how thick your chicken breasts are.)
Can we sign up for your new blog? Or will you let us know when you have new content?
I’ll occasionally let you know when new posts are up, but let me ask about signing up for new post alerts. Great question!
As a farm girl and dietitian, I am SO excited to hear you are going to be visiting farms and sharing the story of how food gets to the plate. :) I would love to have you visit our family farm outside Iowa City!
Congrats on the new blog job! Is this the project you and Ben are working on that you referenced recently?
Ugh I wish – still working on it!!
As a former IA resident (now transplanted to Lawrence KS) I am excited about your new job! I hope you get to check out Frisian Farms…one of my favorites.
Ooooh this sounds yummy! And i actually have agave tequila liquor ! i wonder how that would be in the mix with the citrus and garlic !
Your pictures are AMAZING on this post! Not that your photography was ever just average, but literally, this chicken is jumping off the page! So very crisp and edible. Keep up the great posts and I’m excited about the new blog job too.
Beautiful pictures! I cannot wait to try it. Congrats on the job:)
The margarita marinade sounds so delicious. I love lime + cilantro so this seems like a winner.
Congrats on your new job! I am very passionate about supporting local farms that engage in humane and sustainable practices so hopefully you find a few good ones out there in Iowa. I’m sure you will learn so much and I look forward to reading more about it! :)
What a cool fact about marinating! That’s definitely something to keep in mind. And I love the idea of topping the chicken with guacamole…yum!