Tex-Mex Chicken Recipe That Brings Fiesta Home

Look, I’m going to be honest with you—weeknight dinners don’t have to be boring or complicated. You’re probably thinking Tex-Mex means hours in the kitchen, right? Wrong. This chicken dish flips that idea on its head with a cumin-orange marinade that does the heavy lifting while you handle the easy parts. The real magic happens when you bring everything together, and I’m about to show you exactly how.

Why You’ll Love this Tex-mex Chicken

This recipe absolutely hits the spot on every level. First off, it’s wonderfully healthy – lean chicken breast paired with fresh vegetables and good fats from avocado. The flavours are incredibly vibrant without being complicated; that cumin and orange marinade does magical things whilst the fresh salsa brings proper zing. It’s also brilliantly versatile – serve it whole with rice, slice it for salads, or shred it into tacos. Best of all, it comes together in under an hour with mostly hands-off time, making it perfect for those busy weeknights when you want something nutritious and delicious without the faff.

This Tex-Mex approach is brilliant for quick weeknight meals, but when you’ve got a bit more time, my chicken cacciatore offers that slow-simmered Italian richness that’s pure comfort food.

What Ingredients are in Tex-mex Chicken?

This Tex-Mex chicken recipe brings together a harmonious blend of fresh and aromatic ingredients that create layers of flavor. The foundation starts with a simple yet powerful marinade that infuses the chicken with warmth and citrus notes, while the accompanying salsa and toppings add brightness and texture. Each component plays an essential role in delivering that restaurant-quality taste that makes this dish so craveable.

Ingredients

For the Marinade:

• ¼ cup olive oil
• ¼ cup orange juice
• 1 tsp ground cumin

For the Chicken:

• 4 skinless, boneless chicken breasts
• 2 avocados
• 2 tbsp lime juice
• 1 red onion, finely chopped

For the Salsa:

• 1 lb (500g) tomatoes, chopped
• 1 small red onion, finely chopped
• 3 tbsp olive oil
• 2 tbsp lime juice
• 3 tbsp chopped fresh cilantro
• 2 garlic cloves, crushed
• 1 fresh jalapeño chile, halved, seeded, and chopped
• Salt, to taste

How to Make this Tex-mex Chicken

1. Combine all marinade ingredients in a bowl. Score each chicken breast with several diagonal cuts, then place them in a non-metallic dish. Pour the marinade over the chicken, ensuring it gets into the slashes. Cover and refrigerate for a minimum of 30 minutes, though overnight marinating yields even better results.
2. Prepare the salsa by mixing together the tomatoes, onion, oil, lime juice, cilantro, garlic, chile, and salt to your taste. Cover the bowl and keep it chilled in the refrigerator until you’re ready to serve.
3. Take the chicken out of the marinade and position it under a preheated hot broiler, approximately 4 inches from the heat source. Broil for 3–5 minutes per side (timing depends on breast size) until the chicken is fully cooked and the juices run clear when pierced with a knife.
4. While the chicken cooks, cut the avocados in half, remove the pits, and peel away the skin. Slice them lengthwise into thin pieces and brush with lime juice to prevent browning.
5. Slice the cooked chicken breasts thinly, cutting along the diagonal slashes you made earlier. Arrange the avocado slices and chicken pieces attractively on individual plates, then scatter the chopped red onion around the edges. Add a spoonful of salsa to the center of each plate and serve the remaining salsa on the side.
6. Finish by sprinkling the freshly chopped parsley over the chicken and serve while hot.

Tex-mex Chicken

This Tex-Mex chicken recipe features cumin and orange-marinated chicken breasts topped with fresh tomato salsa, creamy avocado, and zingy lime – a vibrant, healthy dish bursting with bold Mexican flavours. It's wonderfully quick to prepare with simple ingredients, delivering restaurant-quality results that are perfect for weeknight dinners or casual entertaining.

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Prep Time 15 minutes mins

Cook Time 20 minutes mins

Servings: 6

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: Mexican

Calories: 660

Ingredients Method Notes

Ingredients

  

For the Marinade:

• ¼ cup olive oil
• ¼ cup orange juice
• 1 tsp ground cumin

For the Chicken:

• 4 skinless boneless chicken breasts
• 2 avocados
• 2 tbsp lime juice
• 1 red onion finely chopped

For the Salsa:

• 1 lb 500g tomatoes, chopped
• 1 small red onion finely chopped
• 3 tbsp olive oil
• 2 tbsp lime juice
• 3 tbsp chopped fresh cilantro
• 2 garlic cloves crushed
• 1 fresh jalapeño chile halved, seeded, and chopped
• Salt to taste

Method

 

1. Combine all marinade ingredients in a bowl. Score each chicken breast with several diagonal cuts, then place them in a non-metallic dish. Pour the marinade over the chicken, ensuring it gets into the slashes. Cover and refrigerate for a minimum of 30 minutes, though overnight marinating yields even better results.
2. Prepare the salsa by mixing together the tomatoes, onion, oil, lime juice, cilantro, garlic, chile, and salt to your taste. Cover the bowl and keep it chilled in the refrigerator until you’re ready to serve.
3. Take the chicken out of the marinade and position it under a preheated hot broiler, approximately 4 inches from the heat source. Broil for 3–5 minutes per side (timing depends on breast size) until the chicken is fully cooked and the juices run clear when pierced with a knife.
4. While the chicken cooks, cut the avocados in half, remove the pits, and peel away the skin. Slice them lengthwise into thin pieces and brush with lime juice to prevent browning.
5. Slice the cooked chicken breasts thinly, cutting along the diagonal slashes you made earlier. Arrange the avocado slices and chicken pieces attractively on individual plates, then scatter the chopped red onion around the edges. Add a spoonful of salsa to the center of each plate and serve the remaining salsa on the side.
6. Finish by sprinkling the freshly chopped parsley over the chicken and serve while hot.

Notes

Can I Make This Tex-Mex Chicken in a Slow Cooker?

Absolutely, and it’s brilliant for busy days! Simply place your marinated chicken breasts in the slow cooker with half the salsa mixed in. Cook on low for 4-5 hours or high for 2-3 hours until the chicken is tender and easily shreds with a fork. The beauty of the slow cooker method is how the flavours intensify as everything braises together. Once cooked, you can either serve the breasts whole or shred the chicken for tacos, burritos, or burrito bowls. Just prepare your fresh avocado and remaining salsa toppings when you’re ready to serve for that lovely contrast of textures.

Can I Make This Tex-Mex Chicken in a Slow Cooker?

Absolutely, and it’s brilliant for busy days! Simply place your marinated chicken breasts in the slow cooker with half the salsa mixed in. Cook on low for 4-5 hours or high for 2-3 hours until the chicken is tender and easily shreds with a fork. The beauty of the slow cooker method is how the flavours intensify as everything braises together.

Once cooked, you can either serve the breasts whole or shred the chicken for tacos, burritos, or burrito bowls. Just prepare your fresh avocado and remaining salsa toppings when you’re ready to serve for that lovely contrast of textures.

Tex-mex Chicken Substitutions and Variations

Now that you’ve mastered the classic recipe, you can absolutely make this dish your own by swapping ingredients or adjusting flavors to match what you’ve got on hand or what your taste buds are craving. I’d suggest trying grilled fish instead of chicken for a lighter take, or swapping the avocados for crema if dairy’s more your thing.

Can’t find fresh cilantro? Parsley works fine. The jalapeño too spicy for you? Remove those seeds entirely or skip it altogether. I’m tempted to experiment with lime-marinated shrimp next time, honestly. The beauty of this recipe is its flexibility—the marinade plays well with almost any protein, and you could honestly swap tomatoes for mango in that salsa if you’re feeling adventurous.

What to Serve with Tex-mex Chicken

You’ve got this gorgeous, flavorful chicken sitting on your plate, and now comes the fun part: deciding what goes alongside it to round out the meal. I’d serve it with cilantro lime rice, which picks up those fresh flavors from the marinade. Mexican street corn—charred and creamy with cotija cheese—pairs beautifully too. Black beans offer hearty substance without stealing the spotlight. For something lighter, I’d add a simple green salad with lime vinaigrette.

The homemade salsa you’re making is basically a complete side dish itself, so don’t underestimate it. Warm flour tortillas let people build their own wraps if they want. Maybe some roasted poblano peppers for extra depth. Really, anything that complements cilantro, lime, and cumin works here.

Final Thoughts

So here’s the thing about this Tex-Mex chicken—once you’ve nailed the marinade, cooked it through, and surrounded it with all those delicious sides, you’ve basically got a meal that’ll make people wonder if you’ve been secretly taking cooking classes. I’m convinced this recipe works because it doesn’t overthink things. The cumin-forward marinade keeps everything simple, while that fresh salsa brings the real party. You’re not wrestling with complicated techniques or obscure ingredients. Just quality chicken, bright citrus, and bold flavors doing their thing. Want to know what makes this special? It’s how forgiving it is. Slightly overcooked the chicken? That salsa’s got your back. The avocados add creaminess, lime keeps everything balanced, and somehow it all comes together like you actually knew what you were doing.