This marinated and baked Cuban Mojo Chicken is so juicy and so tender! It’s topped off with a homemade pineapple avocado salsa that features all fresh ingredients that I love. This is one of my favorite summery entrees for both parties and weeknight dinners.
Traditionally, the base of the mojo sauce is a mix of citrus juice, garlic and olive oil. For this recipe, I used delicious fresh oranges, together with a combination of herbs, and the outcome is so good!
What’s in This Mojo Chicken Recipe?
- Chicken Legs: I like to use free-range organic chicken for the very best results.
- Orange Juice: Freshly squeezed orange juice will create the very best flavor!
- Lime Juice: Don’t use bottled lime juice – the flavor will taste artificial. Freshly squeezed is the way to go!
- Garlic: Fresh garlic is what you need, not pre-minced.
- Seasonings: A medley of cumin, dried oregano, salt, and ground black pepper create the best flavor.
- Olive Oil: You can swap this for avocado oil if preferred.
- Onion: A white onion is preferred but a yellow onion can also be used.
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How to Store and Reheat
Once cooled to room temperature, leftover mojo chicken can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days or in the freezer for up to 3 months. Let thaw overnight in the refrigerator before reheating either in the microwave, oven, or air fryer until warmed through.
Tips and Notes
- Marinate the mojo chicken as long as you can (ideally, for at least 3 hours) to get the maximum flavor.
- Use a meat thermometer and insert it into the thickest part of the meat. Cooked chicken should reach an internal temperature of 165ºF.
Cuban Mojo Chicken Recipe
Ingredients
- 4 bone-in chicken leg quarters
- ½ cup orange juice (from 2 oranges)
- 1 tablespoon lime juice (from ½ lime)
- 3 cloves garlic
- ¼ cup fresh cilantro
- 2 teaspoons lime zest (from 1 lime)
- ½ tablespoon ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
- ½ cup olive oil
- 1 onion quartered
Pineapple-Avocado Salsa
- ½ avocado
- 4 ounces pineapple diced
- ½ cup cherry tomatoes
Instructions
Mojo Chicken
- Preheat oven to 350°F.
- Add to the orange juice, lime juice, garlic, cilantro, lime zest, cumin, oregano, salt, and black ground pepper to a food processor.½ cup orange juice, 1 tablespoon lime juice, 3 cloves garlic, ¼ cup fresh cilantro, 2 teaspoons lime zest, ½ tablespoon ground cumin, 1 teaspoon dried oregano, 1 teaspoon kosher salt, ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
- Process for 10 seconds. You don’t want the sauce to become too creamy.
- Add the olive oil and process for 5 seconds, just to combine slightly.½ cup olive oil
- Add the chicken and chopped onion to a large bowl.4 bone-in chicken leg quarters, 1 onion
- Pour half of the mojo sauce over the chicken and onions. Cover with cling film, and marinate in the fridge for 3 hours.
- Set aside the remaining half of the mojo sauce for later use.
- When the chicken is done marinating, add chicken and onions to the baking tray, together with the sauce it marinated in.
- Bake at 350°F for 35-40 minutes, or until cooked through to 165°F internally.
Pineapple-Avocado Salsa
- Meanwhile, chop up the pineapple, avocado, and cherry tomatoes into small pieces and add them in a small bowl. Mix in the remaining half of Mojo sauce you saved earlier. Your salsa is ready!½ avocado, 4 ounces pineapple, ½ cup cherry tomatoes
- Drizzle pineapple-avocado salsa over baked mojo chicken, serve with steamed rice and beans, and enjoy!
Notes
How To Make Cuban Mojo Chicken Step By Step
Prep the Sauce: Preheat oven to 350°F. Add ½ cup of orange juice, 1 tablespoon of lime juice, 3 garlic cloves, ¼ cup of fresh cilantro, 2 teaspoons of lime zest,½ tablespoon of ground cumin, 1 teaspoon of dried oregano, 1 teaspoon of kosher salt, and ½ teaspoon of ground black pepper to a food processor.
Blend the Sauce: Process for 10 seconds. You don’t want the sauce to become too creamy. Add ½ cup of olive oil and process for 5 seconds, just to combine slightly.
Marinate the Chicken: Add 3 bone-in chicken leg quarters and 1 chopped onion to a large bowl. Pour half of the mojo sauce over the chicken and onions. Cover with cling film, and marinate in the fridge for 3 hours. Set aside the remaining half of the mojo sauce for later use.
Arrange the Chicken: When the chicken is done marinating, add the chicken and onions to the baking tray, together with the sauce it was marinated in.
Bake the Chicken: Bake at 350°F for 35-40 minutes, or until cooked through to 165°F internally. Serve with the remaining mojo sauce drizzled over top, or use it to make pineapple avocado salsa!
More Chicken Leg Recipes we Love
Note: This recipe is one of those few exceptions on our site that has more than 10 ingredients. We try to keep things VERY easy around here, and limiting ingredients and time spent is one of our favorite ways. That being said, this recipe is too delicious to leave out of our recipe box! It’s an exception that is so flavorful and worth the extra ingredients if you have the time and resources to make it.
It was very good. However, it took me almost 1 hour to fully cook the chicken.
I’m sorry it took so long! I am glad you did enjoy it though!
Just wondering if that is a 1/3 a cup of lime juice or juice from 1/3 of a lime?
1/3 of a lime!
The smell is amazing and I can’t wait to taste it but you’re cooking temp and time are way off. There’s no way that 4 leg quarters will cook in a half hour at that temp. I needed to jack the heat up and am planning to turn the broiler on for a minute or two to get that char in the pics…
Great ideas, Mary! Thank you!
Yes, had to do the same. And flavor never came out. Boring!
So bland. Took way longer to cook and never looked like the picture. Put the sauce on rice and still so bland. Kids hated. The salsa was good but you literally cannot eat with a chicken quarter without fighting bones and gristle
I’s so sorry this recipe didn’t turn out well for you guys!
Do not use this cooking time!!!!!! Says 45 minutes I’m up to 90!!!!!! Ruined all my rice and veggies
I’m sorry this didn’t work out for you!
It was okay. It was bland to us. I would added more seasoning. And cooked it on a higher temperature
I’m sorry you didn’t enjoy this recipe!
Why so high in carbs? It’s chicken!
This recipe is really good. I poked the chicken with a fork a bunch of times before marinating. Instead of the 35 to 40 minutes I did it for an hour at 350 and then finished it off with 5 minutes in the boiler. I read the recipe wrong and I used 1/3 of a cup of lime juice instead of 1/3 of the lime juiced. But it really worked well. My little girl ate 3 legs. My whole family said to put it on the keep list. Thank you for the fantastic recipe.
Isn’t it nice when things still work out? Thanks for sharing Seana!
Great recipe ….very flavorful and easy to follow. Delicious loved it.
Why thank you, Gloria!
It typically takes 45 – 60 mins to fully cook leg quarters at 350 degrees. It depends on how big the leg quarters are and if you choose to leave the skin on or off. Since I use leg quarters typically, I know 30-35 mins wasn’t enough time. Also, the mojo marinade is very good, but I would suggest seasoning the meat as well, so it has some flavor and then add the marinade for about 6 hours. 3 hours isn’t enough time to penetrate the meat unless you inject it. The way her chicken looks in the picture, you’d have to brown it with some butter or oil to get a similar look, otherwise it will look like typical baked chicken, which is what this recipe says. I put mine in a cast iron skillet with some unsalted butter and let it brown and get crispy and then I baked it. The pineapple avocado salsa was really good. Overall, this recipes needs some tweaks but it’s actually a good mojo marinade.