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Cuban Style Grilled Chicken made with a delicious Cuban Mojo marinade!
Cuban Pollo a la Plancha is one of the easiest and quickest Cuban Chicken dishes that you can make! It’s tasty, juicy, and full of classic Cuban flavors. Even better, you can use this recipe to prepare meals and pair with other dishes.
This Cuban style grilled chicken made with sour orange juice, orégano, cumin, and grilled onions. It’s a dish that you can make on the fly throughout the year. However, this dish is especially popular during the summer when my grill is in heavy rotation.
In fact, this is my mother-in-law’s favorite dish since she loves grilled chicken breasts. As I mentioned before, you can make this dish all year round.
The key to making this dish is to keep it simple and fuss free. The marinade is:
- Orange Juice
- Lime Juice
- Orégano (Dominican or Mexican Oregano is my favorite)
- Cumin
- Garlic
- Kosher Salt
- Black Pepper
- Olive Oil
You can definitely use fresh oranges for the marinade. However, I personally prefer to use orange juice because the extra sugar helps the chicken subtly caramelize while cooking.
Speaking of caramelizing, I even like to add some sugar to the sliced onions so that they grill up perfectly in the end. Lately, I’ve been loving Domino Golden Sugar, which is what I used in today’s recipe.
You can use a stove top griddle or an indoor smokeless grill like The Ninja Smokeless Griddle. And of course, you can definitely make it on a BBQ grill for even better results.
Even though this dish is straightforward and easy, here are a few tips to keep in mind
Tip 1: Thinly slice the chicken breasts so that the chicken cooks quickly and evenly
Tip 2: Don’t marinate the chicken for too long. 20 minutes while you warm up the grill is all you need. Since the chicken is thinly sliced, the acid from the citrus (orange juice) can actually cause the chicken to become tough. Remember, this is a simple dish that comes together quickly.
Tip 3: Cook the chicken for 3 minutes on each side depending on how thin the chicken is. Remove from the heat and then let rest
Tip 4: Make sure to cook the chicken in small batches so that is crisps up perfectly on the outer edges
Tip 5: Next, saute the onions over high heat so that they caramelize quickly while also maintaining a bite
You can pair Pollo a la Plancha with so many different side dishes. Feel free to use this recipe as part of a chicken sandwich, with a side of Cuban Black Beans and Spanish Yellow Rice.
You can also enjoy this with your favorite grilled vegetable. You’ll also love this Carne Asada, Shrimp Fajitas, Chipotle Chicken Tacos, and Flank Steak Fajitas Recipe! In the end, it’s an easy recipe that you’ll never tire of.
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Cuban Pollo A La Plancha | Grilled Chicken
Grilled Pollo A La Plancha marinated in a simple and tasty mojo sauce and dressed with caramelized sautéed onions. Simple, tasty, and easy to make. The perfect grilled chicken recipe for Cuban dinners and meal prepping!
- Total Time50 Minutes
- Yield6 Servings 1x
- DietDairy-Free, Gluten-Free, Keto
Ingredients
Chicken
- 3 lbs Thinly Sliced Chicken Breast
- 1 teaspoon Garlic Powder
- 1 teaspoon Dominican Oregano
- 1/4 teaspoon Cumin
- 1 tablespoon Kosher Salt
- 1 teaspoon Black Pepper
- 1/4 cup Orange Juice
- 1/2 Fresh Lime
- 1 tablespoon Olive Oil
Sauce
- 2 Large Sweet Onions Sliced
- 2 teaspoons Golden Sugar or White Sugar
Instructions
Marinade
- Thinly slice chicken breast and season with salt, pepper, orégano, cumin, garlic powder, ½ fresh lime, orange juice, and olive oil. Mix together until well combined. Marinate for 20 minutes
- Thinly slice 2 large sweet onions. Season with kosher salt and 2 tsp of golden sugar. You can also use white granulated sugar. Set aside
Grilling
- Warm up grill to 375°F. You can also make this on a stove top griddle. If so, set flame to medium-high. Add 1 tsp of olive oil then add the chicken. Make sure not to overcrowd the griddle pan. Cook chicken for 3 minutes on each side depending on how thinly sliced they are. Afterwards, remove chicken and place onto a serving dish. Cook the remaining chicken until all is cooked.
Sauce
- Once the chicken is cooked, saute onions for about 5 until they begin to caramelize. Once onions have softened, remove and place over chicken. Squeeze fresh lime over chicken and enjoy with your favorite side dishes
- Prep Time: 20 Minutes
- Cook Time: 30 Minutes
- Category: Dinner, Lunch
- Method: Grilling, Sautéing
- Cuisine: Caribbean, Cuban, Latin