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A delicious recipe for Cuban Mojo Chicken. Thighs and legs roasted in the oven with a citrusy mojo marinade alongside yams and peppers. An easy sheet pan dinner!
This Cuban Mojo Chicken is SO zesty and bright! The chicken’s amazing flavor is from a Cuban-style marinade called Mojo (pronounced moho), made with fresh oranges and lime, juice and zest, fresh cilantro, garlic cloves and cumin seeds. Colorful bell peppers, onions and yams are roasted alongside thighs and drumsticks.
Mojo is made traditionally made with Seville oranges. They have a very sour, bitter profile-great for cooking but are often hard to find. The lime combined with fresh orange mimics this flavor.
To get the best flavor start the chicken marinating in the morning or the night before, and while you’re at it, soak some black beans and make Cuban Black Beans for the perfect accompaniment. If pressed for time, marinating for at least an hour will work.
Table of Contents
Ingredients In Mojo Chicken
Ingredient Notes
Oranges and Lime– traditional mojo is made with Seville oranges, very sour, bitter oranges that are great for cooking but often hard to find. The lime mimics this flavor.
Chicken- thighs and legs, bone-in and skin-on for the most flavor, succulent texture and golden brown exterior.
See the recipe card below for a full list of ingredients and measurements.
How To Make Mojo Chicken
Make marinade: Zest oranges and lime add to a food processor or a blender along with juice from lime and orange, cilantro, mint, garlic, oil, salt, pepper, cumin. Blend together until mostly smooth.
Pour the larger portion of the marinade over the chicken in a sealable container, making sure it is well distributed.
Whip the marinade up in the morning, and it will be ready by dinner! It is best if marinated 6 hours or overnight and up to 24 hours in the refrigerator, at the minimum, marinate for at least one hour.
After the chicken marinates, scrape the marinade off of the top skin side of the chicken. Lay it on a parchment-lined sheet pan and pat the top of the pieces dry with a paper towel. This is to ensure a crisp golden brown exterior!
Toss the peppers, onions, and yams with a bit of olive oil and a sprinkle of salt (if desired), and arrange around the chicken on the pan. Bake in the top third of the oven for 30 minutes.
Brush the reserved marinade over the chicken and veggies and bake for another 15 minutes until the chicken golden brown registering 185 (175 is safe, but 185 will be more tender).
Garnish with more zest, lime juice and fresh cilantro.
What to serve with Mojo Chicken
Mojo Chicken FAQS
Cuban food is very mild. The flavors are simple and fresh, relying on seasonings such as citrus, garlic, bay, cumin and oregano.
Mojo (pronounced mo-ho) is a Cuban marinade made from citrus, garlic and herbs.
Yes, you can use chicken breasts, skin off- they will not get as brown. Start checking the temperature after 30 minutes. For utmost juiciness, keep them around 165F. Grilling is also an option for chicken breasts to give them more flavor.
Serve with Cuban Black Beans, Cilantro Rice and Pineapple Salsa. Finish with fresh zest and cilantro.
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Mojo Chicken
- Prep Time: 30 minutes (not including marinating time)
- Cook Time: 45 mins
- Total Time: 1 hour 15 minutes
- Yield: 6-8 1x
- Category: Chicken
- Method: roasted, baked
- Cuisine: Cuban
- Diet: Gluten Free
Description
A delicious recipe for Mojo Chicken. Thighs and legs roasted in the oven with a citrusy mojo marinade alongside yams and peppers. An easy sheet pan dinner!
Ingredients
- 3 pounds bone in chicken thighs and legs
Marinade:
- 1/2 cup cilantro stems and leaves, chopped
- 1 tablespoon fresh mint leaves (optional)
- 2 teaspoon oregano, dried
- 2 tablespoons orange zest, about 2 oranges
- 1 teaspoon lime zest, 1 limes worth
- 1/2 cup fresh juice- orange & lime combined (juice the zested orange and the lime)
- 6 garlic cloves
- 2 teaspoon salt (adjust to taste, we use mineral salt. Table salt will be saltier)
- 1/2 teaspoon pepper
- 1 1/2 teaspoons cumin, ground
- 1/3 cup olive oil
—–
- 1 yam, cut into 1/2 inch cubes, about 3 cups chopped
- 1 large onion- cut in large wedges
- 2 bell peppers- sliced into 1 inch thick pieces
- Garnish: cilantro, lime wedges, zest
Instructions
- Make marinade: Zest oranges and lime add to a food processor or a blender along with juice from lime and orange, cilantro, mint, garlic, oil, salt, pepper, cumin. Blend together until mostly smooth. **Set aside 1/4 cup of the marinade to use on the chicken while baking.
- Pour the larger portion of marinade over the chicken in a sealable container, making sure it is well distributed. It is best if marinated 6 hours or overnight and up to 24 hours in the refrigerator, at the minimum marinate for at least one hour. Whip the marinade up in the morning and it will be ready by dinner!
- Heat the oven to 425F.
- Take the pieces of chicken out of the marinade. Scrape the marinade off of the skin side of the chicken. Lay on a parchment lined sheet pan, skin side up and pat the top of the pieces dry with a paper towel. (This is to ensure a crisp golden brown exterior). Brush the bare chicken with a light coating of olive oil.
- Toss the peppers, onions and yams with a little oil and sprinkle of salt, arrange around the chicken on the pan. Bake in the top third of the oven for 30 minutes.
- Remove from oven and brush the reserved 1/4 cup of marinade over the chicken and veggies and bake for another 15 minutes until chicken golden brown registering 185 (175 is safe but 185 will be more tender and higher is ok too. Thighs and legs will retain their juicy goodness).
Garnish with more zest and lime juice, fresh cilantro.
Serve with Cuban Black Beans, Rice and Pineapple Salsa.
Notes
Note: Best to marinate chicken for 6 hours or overnight or at least 1 hour. 12 hours refrigerated will enhance the tenderness, juiciness and flavor.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 piece of chicken and 1 cup veggies
- Calories: 375
- Sugar: 5.5 g
- Sodium: 570.2 mg
- Fat: 15.7 g
- Saturated Fat: 3.1 g
- Carbohydrates: 24.4 g
- Fiber: 4 g
- Protein: 33.8 g
- Cholesterol: 151.2 mg
Keywords: mojo chicken, mojo chicken recipe, baked mojo chicken, roasted mojo chicken,sheet pan mojo chicken, cubanmojo chicken
Question: I bought boneless, skinless chicken thighs. How would I modify the cooking if there is no skin to brown?
You can cook the same way. It won’t get as brown on top but it will still be yummy!
I made this for 4 of us the other evening and it was a hit and the others said it’s definitely worth making again. I didn’t read the recipe through before hand so when I did I only had about 1..5 hours to let the chicken marinade ahead rather than over night or at least 4-5 hours. Even so, it turned out delicious. Looking forward to making it again with an overnight marinade prior to cooking and imagine the flavors will be even more delish!
★★★★★
So glad you gave this a go!
Hi so I have made this easily 10x and almost positive the recipe was always a WHOLE CHICKEN but now it reads as PIECES. Did the cooking time change too? I have a 5.25# chicken defrosting right now so hopefully it doesn’t change much….or am I losing my mind and this was always for PIECES haha
Yes Sandy! We changed the recipe. It was for the whole chicken, this seemed so much simpler. Cooking time is shortened. You can use the same marinade and cook the whole bird, like you did before, cooking until thigh reaches 170F
So delicious!!
★★★★★
So happy to hear Melissa!
This has so much flavor! Like a party in my mouth. I used chicken breast cut into strips but other than that I followed the recipe exactly.
★★★★★
Great to hear Rebecca!
Hi
Is the combined orange and lime juice a combined 1/2c, equal portions of each? Or how ever it works out? Or 1/2c each, combined? Thanks for clarifying!
1/2 cup total fresh juice (orange + lime). I made it more clear in the recipe. Thanks EC!
Oh my goodness! Soooo delicious. And really easy—even the marinade comes together fast. The crispy skin on the chicken is dangerously good. Next time I’ll make a second pan of veggies because I love them so much, and I may go all thighs because they’re my fave!
Made this, plus the black beans, pineapple salsa and cilantro/lime rice, to take to dinner with friends last night. I was a little intimidated because they’re fancy food people—but they said it was one of the most memorable meals they’ve had in their home. (I clarified that they meant memorable in a good way!)
I’ll be making this a LOT.
★★★★★
Anna, that is amazing! So happy you gave it all a try and everyone enjoyed!
When do you add the 1/2 c cilantro & the mint; I don’t see them mentioned in the marinade instructions. Thanks. I am looking forward to making it.
Hi Luana, Recipe is updated to make that more clear!
Thanks!
How much oil goes into the marinade? The recipe says “2 Olive Oil” but doesn’t state 2 of what… teaspoons, tablespoons, cups?
2 tablespoons! Sorry about that!
I used chicken breast instead of a whole chicken, and let the whole thing simmer in a pan on the stove. I roasted yams, and provided rice and black beans for additional side dishes. Definitely a go-to meal. I made this as a birthday dinner for a Cuban friend of mine and she thoroughly enjoyed every bite.
★★★★★
Great to hear Julie!
It is mentioned to lower heat to 400 but it does not seem to mention the temperature before hitting the 400…
Oops, sorry about that, fixed it Nick!
Do you coo with the lid on Dutch oven? Thank you
No Suzanne, leave the lid off. 🙂
Fabulous recipe! Our favourite meal now. Thank you for sharing!
★★★★★
As a Cuban, who learned her cooking at my Mother’s side, I would recommend you substitute sour orange (they are also called Seville oranges) for the lime and orange juice. Fresh sour orange juice is the best, but a good substitute would be the bottle juice in the Hispanic aisle of the supermarket. I love this recipe, and cook it often accompanied by rice and black beans, of course. Yum!
No… leave it uncovered!
Am I supposed to cover chicken when I put it in the oven?
Made this last night with wine that hubby had to run out to buy. 🙂 So yummy and easy to prepare! Had leftovers for lunch and just as delicious. Can’t wait to make again!
I’m making this tonight and looking forward to every delicious bite. The photograph is just so retty, I had to try preparing it. We’re not having yams but long grain wild rice. Didn’t have white wine so had to send hubby out for that. Darn, LOL, hate when that happens!
I do too! Good luck and let me know how you like it.
Seriously the most delicious roast chicken i have ever made! I did not have any white wine so i substituted with chicken stock and a splash of cooking sherry. served over mashed potatoes because i was out of sweet potatoes.
Sounds delish! Thanks for sharing!!
I can just about smell this – so delicious!
I made this for dinner tonight. It was so delicious! My hubby loved it! Thanks for another great inspiration, Sylvia.
Thanks Karen– glad you liked!
This sounds fantastic!
This looks amazing! What beautiful comfort food. I love yams brightened with lime and chili, too. Thanks for the idea.
This is so gorgeous! I love the fresh garnishes on top, and the yams sound like the perfect compliment too. I’ll have to cook this and reminisce about my years of eating Cuban food in Miami. Thanks!!