Adobo Chicken Breasts

Adobo Chicken Breasts are brought to life by marinating for only one hour. You’ll love the flavor!

Chicken breasts get a boost of flavor thanks to this simple marinade with adobo. Just an hour of marinating makes all the difference!

What Is Adobo, Anyways?

Well, that’s actually an interesting question because it can mean a couple things. Adobo can be a seasoning or dry rub like in our homemade Adobo Seasoning Blend. But today we’re talking about the sauce version.

If you go to the Mexican section of your grocery store, look for little cans of Chipotles in Adobo Sauce. Buy one. Take it home. Open it. Taste the sauce. Just a tiny bit, it’s hot! But it’s also got this amazing smoky flavor. I add it to all kinds of things, like chili and dips, pasta sauces, taco fillings, and to marinades, which is what I’m sharing with you today.

This marinade doesn’t have much of the adobo sauce so the chicken doesn’t end up super-spicy. It just gets a bit of pique and some of that nice smoke flavor. I think you’re going to really like it.

Since we’re only using some of the adobo sauce, you can freeze the remainder for up to six months in an airtight container so it’s ready for other great recipes. Or just more of these delicious Adobo Chicken Breasts.

How To Make Adobo Chicken Breasts

Along with the adobo sauce, the marinade has vegetable oil, plenty of lime juice, brown sugar, and a bit of salt. This goes into a sturdy zip-top bag along with the chicken to be refrigerated for an hour.

After an hour, preheat your oven to 425°F. Pour off the excess marinade and put your chicken breasts onto a baking sheet. Bake until the internal temperature is 165°F, about 20-25 minutes.

That’s it! Then it’s time to enjoy your juicy, flavorful chicken.

Spicy Marinated Chicken Breasts

Contributor: Christine Pittman

Adobo sauce brings chicken alive in a marinade that takes only one hour.

• Author: Christine Pittman
• Prep Time: 1 hour
• Cook Time: 25 minutes
• Total Time: 1 hour and 25 minutes
• Yield: 4 servings 1x
• Category: Entrée
• Method: Baked
• Cuisine: American

Print Recipe

Ingredients

Scale 1x2x3x

• ⅔ cup vegetable or grape seed oil
• ⅓ cup lime juice
• 1 Tbsp. brown sugar
• 2 Tbsp. adobo sauce (look for a can of chipotles in adobo. Use the sauce that the peppers are packed in)
• ⅛ tsp. salt
• 4 medium boneless skinless chicken breasts

Instructions

1. Line a large bowl with a large open ziptop bag. Measure vegetable oil, lime juice, brown sugar, adobo sauce and salt into the bag. Stir. Add chicken. Seal and refrigerate one hour.
2. Preheat oven to 425⁰F. Pour off the marinade and put chicken on a baking sheet. Bake until the internal temperature of the chicken is 165⁰F, 20-25 minutes.

This post originally appeared in July 2016 and was revised and republished in August 2022.