Southwest Chicken Breasts

Grilled Southwest Chicken

These grilled Southwest chicken breasts are so tasty, so versatile, and oh-so-easy.  This recipe is honestly as simple as tossing a few ingredients that you probably already have into a freezer bag along with your chicken breasts, letting it marinate, and then firing up the grill.  

It’s perfect for summertime when the weather is hot and you don’t want to turn on the oven.  Serve it up at a summer BBQ along with grilled veggies and your favorite sides and watch friends and family scramble for seconds.

For a delicious tex mex meal throughout the week, we like to slice up leftovers and make burrito bowls with rice, beans, cheese and salsa.  Or, add to tacos, enchiladas, salads and pizza.  This marinade also works great for any cut of chicken, including kabobs.  

Key Ingredients

• Chicken Breasts – this recipe calls for boneless, skinless chicken breasts, but you could just as easily use the same Southwest Chicken marinade recipe for chicken thighs, chicken tenderloins or even chicken drumsticks.
• Lime Juice – fresh lime juice has the best flavor.
• Garlic – I like fresh minced garlic in this recipe.  The kind in the jar will work in a pinch.
• Brown Sugar – either dark or light brown sugar will work great and add a little sweetness to the spice.
• Chili Powder – chili powder adds a nice, sweet heat to the marinade.
• Cumin – cumin is a traditional spice used in lots of Southwestern and Mexican cooking.
• Cayenne Powder – this is optional but tastes amazing if you like a little extra spice.
• Chili in Adobo – you can find this in cans in your local grocery store.  You’ll only need one canned chili for this recipe, so reserve the rest for another use.  Make sure you remove the seeds before mincing and adding to the marinade.

How to Grill Southwest Chicken

1. Prepare the chicken breasts.  Trim any excess fat or tendons, then place in a plastic bag and give it a few good whacks on the thickest parts with a meat tenderizer.
2. Make the Southwest Chicken marinade.  In a small bowl combine the avocado oil, lime juice, garlic, brown sugar, chili powder, cumin, cayenne, and chili in adobo sauce.  Mix well until combined.
3. Marinate the chicken.  Pour the marinade over the prepared chicken in the Ziplock bag and let chicken marinate for 2-24 hours in the fridge.
4. Remove the chicken from the marinade.  Preheat the grill.  Scrape and clean the grill if necessary, then spray with nonstick cooking oil.  Remove the chicken breasts from the Southwest chicken marinade using tongs and place on a plate.  Salt and pepper each side.
5. Grill.  Transfer to the preheated grill, smooth side down.  Close the lid and grill at about 375 degrees for about 4-5 minutes, or until golden brown.  Flip each breast over and cook for an additional 4-5 minutes, or until the internal temperature is 165 degrees F.
6. Let the chicken rest.  Remove chicken from the grill and place on a plate.  Let rest for about 5 minutes to let the juices redistribute, then squeeze with fresh lime juice just before serving.
7. Enjoy!