Mojo Chicken (Oven, Air Fryer, or Grill)

This Cuban-inspired Mojo Chicken recipe is packed with garlicky citrus flavor! It’s super delicious and versatile—you can make it in the oven, air fryer, or on the grill using easy to find ingredients. Plus, it’s naturally keto-friendly, Whole30, paleo, and gluten-free!

An overhead shot of a platter of paleo, keto, and whole30 Cuban-inspired Mojo Chicken on a round platter surrounded by sliced oranges and limes.

What is Cuban Mojo?

Cuban mojo is a versatile no-cook sauce that can be used both as a marinade and a dipping sauce. The traditional preparation is made with sour orange juice, loads of garlic, salt, and olive oil or lard. Some versions also include oregano and cumin to impart extra flavor. This tangy and garlic-forward sauce is often drizzled on fried yucca or used to marinate various proteins.

I’ve riffed on the traditional recipe by adding shallots to balance the sharpness of the raw garlic. Also, in place of sour orange juice, I use a combination of freshly squeezed orange juice and lime juice. It still hits the perfect savory, acidic, and garlicky notes expected from a classic mojo!

An overhead shot of the mojo marinade in the blender before it is blended.

Do you have to stick with chicken thighs?

Nope! I like to use bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs for this recipe (in my opinion, it tastes the best, and it’s hard to overcook), but you can substitute chicken breast or skinless and boneless chicken. Just make sure you decrease the cooking time and check that the internal temperature reaches at least 165°F for dark meat and 150°F for white meat. Not a chicken fan? This recipe also works well with pork and shrimp.

An overhead shot of mojo chicken with golden brown skin in a bowl next to a bowl of dipping sauce.

Can you make Mojo Chicken in an air fryer or on the grill?

Yes! If you don’t want to heat up your kitchen, you can definitely make Mojo Chicken in an air fryer or on the grill. Instructions are below—or you can just jump to the printer-friendly recipe card at the bottom of this post.

What do you serve with it?

Traditionally, Cuban-style Mojo Chicken is served with black beans and rice and fried sweet plantains. I like to serve this chicken dish with a big green salad, cauliflower rice, roasted vegetables, and/or fried green plantains.

Ingredients

Garlic: Yep—you’ll need almost a whole head!
Shallot: It’s not a traditional component in mojo, but it adds subtle sweetness to the marinade and sauce. No shallot? Just use 4 more cloves of garlic or ¼ of a sweet onion.
Orange zest and juice: Buy 2 oranges to make sure you have enough juice.
Lime zest and juice: Buy 3 limes to make sure you have enough juice.
Extra virgin olive oil
Ground cumin
Dried oregano
Diamond Crystal kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper
Chicken thighs: it’s my favorite, but as I mentioned above, you can definitely change up the protein in this recipe!

How to make Mojo Chicken

Blend the mojo sauce

In a high speed blender, combine the garlic cloves, shallot, kosher salt, zest, cumin, oregano, black pepper, juices, and olive oil.

An Asian woman is blending mojo sauce in a red blender

Blitz until smooth.

An overhead shot of mojo sauce blended in a blender.

Reserve some mojo sauce for serving

Pour out about ⅓ cup of the marinade so you can use it as a dipping sauce when the chicken is served.

Pouring mojo sauce from a blender into a liquid measuring cup.

Marinate the chicken

Toss the chicken with some kosher salt…

Someone in a gray apron is sprinkling salt on chicken thighs in a glass pan.

…and add the remaining marinade.

An Asian woman is pouring mojo sauce on chicken thighs in a glass container.

Cover and marinate the chicken in the fridge for at least an hour and up to a day.

Adding a cover to a glass container filled with chicken thighs and mojo marinade.

Roast in the oven

Heat the oven to 400°F on convection mode or 425°F on regular mode with the rack in the middle position. Place the chicken skin-side down in a single layer on a stainless steel wire rack in a rimmed baking sheet.

An overhead shot of someone holding a baking tray of mojo chicken ready for the oven.

Pop the chicken in the oven and roast for 20 minutes. Then, flip the chicken skin-side up and rotate the tray 180°.

Flipping mojo chicken skin-side up at the halfway point of roasting

Roast for an additional 15 to 25 minutes or until the skin is brown and crispy and a meat thermometer inserted in the thickest part is at least 165°F. (If you’re cooking chicken breasts, aim for an internal temperature of 150°F to 155°F.

Closeup of a tray of oven roasted mojo chicken right out of the oven.

Air Fryer instructions

Cook the chicken thighs in a single layer in the air fryer at 400°F for about 20 to 25 minutes, starting skin-side down and flipping the thighs skin-side up at the halfway mark. Repeat until done.

Grill instructions

Set the grill on high, and once it’s hot, place the chicken pieces on the grates. Then, immediately decrease the heat to low.

Grill the chicken for approximately 25 minutes (or until the internal temperature reaches at least 165°F or 150°F to 155°F for breasts), turning every 5-7 minutes. Be patient: Don’t go and flip the chicken before they naturally release from the grill surface; otherwise, you’ll leave a lot of tasty, crispy, marinated skin stuck on the grates!

Serve with the mojo chicken with the reserved sauce!

Closeup of the Mojo chicken on a platter with mojo sauce on the side.

Leftovers can be stored in the fridge for up to 4 days or frozen for up to 4 months. The sauce can be kept in the fridge for up to 4 days in a sealed container. If the sauce separates, just whisk again before serving.

More Nom Nom Paleo chicken thigh recipes

Got a hankering for more nomtastic chicken recipes? Here are some of my faves:

Looking for more recipe ideas? Head on over to my Recipe Index. You’ll also find exclusive recipes on my iPhone and iPad app, and in my cookbooks, Nom Nom Paleo: Food for Humans (Andrews McMeel Publishing 2013), Ready or Not! (Andrews McMeel Publishing 2017), and Nom Nom Paleo: Let’s Go! (Andrews McMeel Publishing 2021).

PRINTER-FRIENDLY RECIPE CARD