Easy Mexican Chicken with homemade Guajillo Sauce

A simple sauce made from dried guajillo chili pods serves as both the marinade and finishing sauce for this delicious chicken dish. Topped off with a little melted cheese this chicken recipe is sure to satisfy your cravings for Mexican cuisine.

This healthy chicken recipe has roots in Mexican Cuisine. And quite honestly has a flavor profile of a chicken enchilada, but without the tortilla. This chicken dish develops rich earthy flavor from a homemade sauce made from dried guajillo chilies. Yes, it takes a few extra minutes to prepare the sauce, but I promise the flavor is worth the effort.

Guajillo Chilies

The guajillo chili is the backbone for this chicken recipe.  It produces a thick fruity sauce that is low in heat but big on flavor. With this sauce, it is easy to bring authentic Mexican flare to a number of dishes. Enchiladas, tamale pie, burritos and eggs are just a few that come to mind.

Dried Guajillo Chili pods are made into a simple sauce with four simple ingredients. Dried chilies, water, salt and fresh garlic are cooked together and pureed into this magical sauce that can be used in a variety of ways.

As this sauce recipe is homemade there are no additives, preservatives or sugar added, making this a healthy low-calorie sauce. And yes it takes a bit more effort than opening a can of canned enchilada sauce. But I’m confident that once you taste the rich deep flavor this sauce offers, you will find that it is well worth the few extra minutes of effort it takes to make it.

Simple Steps to Making Homemade Guajillo Chili Sauce

• Place all ingredients in small sauce pan.
• Cover with 1 1/2 cups of water.
• Bring to a boil and reduce to a simmer for 5 minutes and remove from heat.
• Place cooled mixture into a blender, food processor or blend with an immersion blender in pot.
• Pass pureed mixture through a sieve to remove any remaining chili skins.

Making homemade sauce from dried chilies is that easy. While it does take a little effort and time, the task is very simple. But the payoff in flavor is well worth the effort. Additionally, this recipe can easily be doubled and frozen for use at another time.

Easy Meal Prepping

This sauce is perfect for meal prepping. When refrigerated, prepared sauce will store nicely in an air tight container for several days. Or better yet, make extra and freeze some. Simply defrost and pour over chicken breasts to marinade. When ready to cook, bake in oven or take it to the grill. In 30-45 minutes, dinner will be ready to serve.

Additionally, this sauce can be used to make enchiladas. Or use it to spice up your breakfast eggs by placing a tablespoon of sauce in the pan before adding the eggs to cook. Alternatively, try adding a few teaspoons of sauce to the pan a minute before the eggs are finished cooking.

For delicious low-fat refried beans, try this bean recipe for Skinny Refried Beans. Instead of using taco sauce to flavor the beans, add a few teaspoons of Guajillo sauce to the finished dish.

Cooking Options:

For Grilling:

When cooking the marinated chicken, I often switch my method based on the weather. If the weather allows, I will often take the chicken to the grill. Once the chicken is grilled it is plated in a baking dish and the finishing sauce is poured over the top and topped with the cheese. For finishing, the chicken is placed in a preheated oven or toaster oven for the final blast of heat in order to melt the cheese and heat the sauce.

For Baking:

When the weather is inclement for grilling, I bake the chicken in a baking dish or in a cast iron grill pan. Either of these options work nicely. Once the chicken breast have cooked to 120 degrees, the sauce is poured over the baked chicken and sprinkled with cheese. Pop the pan back into the oven for the final stage of cooking. Chicken breast is cooked when the temperature taken with a digital thermometer register 135-140 degrees.

Weight Watchers and Waist Watchers

Each serving of chicken is 2 WW Smart Points or 417 calories.

The dish makes four 5-ounce servings of chicken smothered in flavorful sauce.  For a quick and easy dinner idea, serve with Skinny Refried Beans and a Green Salad.

Buon Appetito!

Mexican Chicken with Homemade Guajillo Sauce

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5 from 2 reviews

This healthy chicken recipe gets its authentic Mexican flavor from guajillo chili sauce that is made from scratch.  This easy homemade chili sauce serves as both a marinade for the chicken as well as the finishing sauce, making meal prepping a cinch.   Our recipe includes easy to follow steps on how to make a rich earthy sauce with authentic Mexican flavor for creating healthy food ideas.

• Author: Mia
• Prep Time: 15 minutes
• Cook Time: 20 minutes
• Total Time: 45 minutes
• Yield: 4 Servings 1x
• Category: Entree
• Method: Grill or Oven
• Cuisine: Mexican

Ingredients

Units USM Scale 1x2x3x

For the Sauce:

• 1 1/2 Cups (320 grams) Water
• 5 (35 grams) Dried Guajillo Chilies, seeds and stems removed
• 3 Garlic cloves, peeled and halved
• 3/4 teaspoon Kosher Salt

For the Chicken:

• 26 ounces Chicken Cutlets (about 2 lbs.), rinsed and patted dry
• 1 1/2 teaspoons Kosher Salt
• 1/2 teaspoon Black Pepper
• 3–4 Tablespoons Guajillo Sauce, for marinade
• 1/4 cup Guajillo Sauce for finishing dish
• 2 oz Gouda Cheese, finely shredded (optional)*

* Cheddar or Jack cheese may be used as an alternative cheese

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Instructions

For the Sauce:

1. In a small saucepan bring 1 1/2 cups of water to a boil.
2. Meanwhile remove the stems and seeds from the dried Guajillo chilies.   You will find it easier to remove the seeds by breaking the chili pods open.  There is no need to keep them whole.
3. When the water has begun to boil, add the chilies, garlic cloves and salt to the water and reduce the heat to a simmer, cooking the chilies until softened about 5-7minutes. 
4. Remove from heat and allow to cool slightly.
5. Remove the chilies and garlic from the cooking liquid, reserving the liquid.  There should be a minimum of 1 cup of liquid remaining in the pot depending how long the water boiled.  If there is less add enough water to bring the liquid to a full cup.
6. Transfer the cooked chilies and garlic to a blender or food processor along with 1 cup of reserved liquid.  Blend according to your manufacturer’s directions into a smooth sauce.
7. Strain the finished sauce to remove any stray seeds and skin fragments.  You may need to help push it through the strainer with the back of a spoon or small spatula to extract the chili puree. 
8. Refrigerate until ready to use.

For the Chicken:

1. Season the chicken breasts with salt and pepper.
2. Place the seasoned chicken in a large container and pour 1/2 tablespoon of sauce over each piece, about 1/4 cup total.  Rub the sauce to cover the chicken and turn each piece over to make sure it is distributed on both sides.  Allow chicken to marinate for 1-2 hours or overnight.  This is ideal for meal prepping as the marinade will not cook the chicken.  The longer the chicken marinates, the more flavor will develop.

COOKING MARINATED CHICKEN:

For the Grill:

1. Preheat barbecue over medium-high heat.
2. Reduce the heat under one burner to low heat and place chicken on grill, cooking over the low flame. 
3. If using chicken breasts, cook for about 8 minutes per side or until a digital thermometer registers 120-125 degrees.   If using chicken cutlets, cook for about 5 minutes per side.  (The chicken will finish cooking to 135-140 during the second bake.)

COOKING TIP:  

Before turning the cutlets over, look for signs of doneness.  For instance, check the top edges of the cutlets.  As the chicken cooks underneath, the top-side edges will begin to turn white.  This is a sign that they are ready to turn over.

For the Oven:  

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
2. If using a cast iron griddle, place griddle in oven as it preheats.  This step will allow the cast iron to heat up and sear the chicken as if it were grilled.  Alternatively, the chicken may be baked on a baking sheet or tray following the same guidelines below.
3. Once oven and griddle are preheated, carefully spray with cooking spray (Bak Klene ZT). 
4. Place chicken breasts on preheated griddle and cook in oven for about 8 minutes.  If using chicken cutlets, cook for about 5 minutes.
5. Remove pan from oven and turn chicken over.  SEE COOKING TIP ABOVE
6. Continue to bake chicken breasts for an additional 6-8 minutes (120 -125 degrees).  If using chicken cutlets, cook for an additional 4-5 minutes or until a digital thermometer registers 120-125 degrees.  

TO FINISH CHICKEN:

1. Remove chicken from oven and place in an oven-proof serving dish, slightly overlapping. 
2.  Baste with an additional 1/4 cup of sauce.   
3. Sprinkle evenly with cheese and place back in the oven for about 4-5 minutes.  Cook just until the cheese is melted and internal temperature reads between 130-135 degrees F.
4. Serve immediately.   

 

Notes

A word about Bak Klene ZT.  I recommend this product because it is the only cooking spray that I have found that will not leave a sticky residue on your pans.  I have ruined many good pans with market brand sprays that leave behind a sticky substance that seems impossible to remove.  Bak Klene ZT is used by professional bakers and will leave your pans residue free.  It is available from William Sonoma for $9.95 a can.  The only other place I have been able to purchase it is Amazon.  However, it is only available in a set of 3 cans for $24.00.

Weight Watchers and Waist Watchers

Makes four 5 ounce servings at 2 WW Smart Points per serving.

Nutrition

• Serving Size: 5 ounces