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Tequila Lime Chicken with Tomato Corn Salad

Tequila Lime Chicken with Tomato Corn Salad
Tequila Lime Chicken is tender, juicy tequila lime chicken made easy right in your oven. Bursting with bright Southwest flavors and served up with a side of tangy tomato corn salsa, this Margarita Chicken recipe is anything but boring!
Heather - A Wicked Whisk
Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 25 minutes
Marinade Time 4 hours
Total Time 4 hours 30 minutes
Serving Size 4

Ingredients

TEQUILA LIME CHICKEN

  • 4 skinless, boneless chicken breasts
  • 3 tablespoons olive oil
  • 4 tablespoons tequila
  • 2 limes, juiced and zested
  • 5 cloves garlic crushed
  • 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
  • 1 teaspoon chili powder
  • 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
  • 2 tablespoons honey

TOMATO CORN SALAD

  • 1 cup chicken stock
  • 1 cup brown rice / quinoa
  • 15 ounces canned whole kernel corn, drained
  • 1/2 cup red onion, diced
  • 1 jalapeno ribs and seeds removed, diced
  • 1/2 avocado, diced
  • 1 lime, juiced
  • 2 tablespoons cilantro, diced
  • 1 pint cherry tomatoes, halved
  • salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

TEQUILA LIME CHICKEN

  • Start this recipe with the most important part .. the tequila lime chicken marinade. To make your tequila lime marinade, grab a large zip-top bag and add tequila, lime juice, lime zest, crushed garlic, olive oil, smoked paprika, salt and honey. 
  • Using your hands, moosh (real world, people!!) it around so it's well combined. Add in your chicken breasts and again, moosh it around so that all sides of your chicken are coated in the marinade. 
  • Move your tequila lime marinade bag to a refrigerator safe container to contain any possible leaks and let your chicken marinate in your fridge for at least 4 hours and up to overnight.
  • Once your marinating time is done, remove chicken from the bag. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Bake for 25 minutes or until chicken reaches 160 degrees internally. You can also add your chicken to a cast iron grill pan if you have one, cook on medium high 3 minutes each side before moving the grill pan to the oven to finish baking for 20 minutes. Remove from oven and let sit for 5 minutes before serving.

TOMATO CORN SALAD

  • While your chicken is cooking, prepare your Tomato Corn Salad. Bring chicken stock to boil in a medium sized cooking pot. Once boiling, add in brown rice or a mix of brown rice and quinoa and cook following package instructions. Cover pot with lid and remove from heat.
  • In a large bowl, add corn, diced red onion, chopped cilantro, lime juice, salt and pepper, halved tomatoes and diced avocado. Once rice has finished cooking, add to the mixing bowl with the other ingredients and gently stir together. Finish with another squeeze of fresh lime juice and serve up with your Tequila Lime Chicken.

Notes

  • Pro Tips for Perfect Southwest Chicken

    • Hate cilantro? Leave it out! Substitute with fresh parsley instead.
    • This tomato corn recipe can be made using brown rice, quinoa, barley, farro or a combination of any or all of them together. I found in the rice aisle of my grocery store a brown rice/quinoa mix that was perfect for this recipe.
    • I used spicy honey for this recipe because I had it and hadn't tried it in any recipes before but any honey you like would be perfect. 
    • Be sure to zest those limes before you squeeze them. So much extra concentrated lime flavor in the zest.
    • This Tequila Lime Chicken recipe also works great with chicken thighs and wings.. just be sure to adjust the cooking times.
    • Add your large zip-top bag to a large cup or bowl before adding your ingredients. It helps hold your bag upright and open.
    • Use a mini food processor to chop your garlic and jalapeno .. super easy, super time saver and no more spicy fingertips.
    • Still not sure about the tequila? Leave it out and substitute it with agave. It will still be amazing!