Chicken Carnitas

Do a much healthier version of carnitas. This low-fat chicken version is packed with flavor and spicy goodness. Just follow these easy step by step photo instructions.

Table of Contents

• 🐓The Chicken
• The Citrus
• The Veggies
• 📖Carnitas Options
• 🖼️Step-by-Step Photo Instructions
• 📖Recipe
• 💬 Comments

Introduction

Chicken Carnitas AKA Carnitas de Pollo, just the name will get some people going. After all, carnitas are pieces of fatty pork cooked in more fat...right?

But to me, carnitas are "little Mexican spiced up pieces of meat" so it fits, for me. With an infusion of great citrus flavor, you'll love this healthier version of carnitas. All in less than an hour with less than 5 grams of fat.

Based on my own Healthier Pork Carnitas with Pork Tenderloin, you can have a great Mexican meal on the table in less than an hour.

My Rating

This may be a little generous, but I loved the citrus taste and the fall-apart chicken. I did put it in my top picks.

🐓The Chicken

I used skinless boneless chicken breasts cut into generous chunks. You can use chicken thighs with only a little increase in the fat. You do not want to do anything with skin or bone.

Other meats can be used similarly, but this is a chicken recipe. The pork tenderloin carnitas recipe is very nice.

The Citrus

I call for a lime and an orange in this recipe. The citrus is common in carnitas recipes, and the chicken picks up those flavors very well.

The Veggies

It is not only the chicken that makes this a five but the veggies. Cooked in the same pan, you get all the great spices and citrus taste in your meal.

Pick the additional veggies you like, but a couple of peppers in contrasting colors and an onion do very nicely.

📖Carnitas Options

Easy Oven Carnitas

Crock Pot Pork Carnitas

Healthier Pork Carnitas with Pork Tenderloin

This recipe is listed in these categories. See them for more similar recipes.

🖼️Step-by-Step Photo Instructions

Heat oil in a large pan over medium-high heat.

Trim and cut about 2 pounds of skinless boneless chicken breast (or thighs) into 1 to `1 ½ inch cubes.

Mix the chicken with kosher salt, paprika, cumin, and pepper. Stir well to coat.

Add the chicken to the hot oil and occasionally stir until browning well — about 7 minutes. You do not need to cook completely, just brown.

While chicken is cooking, mince one jalapeno and two cloves of garlic.

After chicken is browned well (about 7 minutes) add the jalapeno and garlic and cook two more minutes.

Add one 14 oz can chicken broth and the juice of one orange and one lime.

Adjust the temperature to get a firm boil. Do not cover and do not stir. Just let it reduce to almost nothing — about 20 minutes. Your house will smell wonderful.

While the chicken is reducing, clean and slice one red pepper, one green pepper, and a large onion. When the pan is almost dry, move the chicken to a plate and cover with foil.

Add the veggies to the pan over medium-high heat and cook until tender (about 7-8 minutes). Stir frequently and scrape some of the fond off the bottom of the pan.

If needed, add a couple of tablespoons of chicken broth for moisture. Lots of great flavors here.

📖Recipe

Chicken Carnitas AKA Carnitas de Pollo

From Dan Mikesell AKA DrDan

Do a much healthier version of carnitas. This low-fat chicken version is packed with flavor and spicy goodness. Just follow these easy step by step photo instructions.

Tap to leave a Rating

4.46 from 11 votes

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Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 40 minutes

Total Time: 50 minutes

Servings #/Adjust if desired 8 servings

Ingredients

US Customary - Convert to Metric

• ▢ 2 pounds skinless boneless chicken breasts - or thighs
• ▢ 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• ▢ 1 teaspoon paprika
• ▢ 1 teaspoon cumin
• ▢ ½ teaspoon pepper
• ▢ 1 jalapeno
• ▢ 2 cloves garlic
• ▢ 14 oz chicken broth
• ▢ 1 orange - juice only
• ▢ 1 lime - juice only
• ▢ 1 green pepper
• ▢ 1 red pepper
• ▢ 1 onion - large

Instructions

• Heat 1 tablespoon of oil in a large pan over medium-high heat.
• Trim and cut about 2 pounds of skinless boneless chicken breast (or thighs) into 1 to `1 ½ inch cubes.
• Mix the chicken with one teaspoon kosher salt, one teaspoon paprika, one teaspoon cumin and ½ teaspoon pepper. Stir well to coat.
• Add the chicken to the hot oil and occasionally stir until browning well. About 7 minutes. You do not need to cook completely just brown.
• While chicken is cooking, mince one jalapeno and two cloves of garlic.
• After chicken is browned well (about 7 minutes) add the jalapeno and garlic and cook two more minutes
• Add a 14 oz can chicken broth and the juice of one orange and one lime.
• Adjust the temperature to get a firm boil. Do not cover and do not stir. Just let it reduce to almost nothing. About 20 minutes. Your house will smell wonderful.
• While the chicken is reducing, clean and slice one red pepper, one green pepper, and a large onion.
• When the pan is almost dry, move the chicken to a plate and cover with foil.
• Add the veggies to the pan over medium-high heat and cook until tender (about 7-8 minutes). Stir frequently and scrape some of the fond off the bottom of the pan. If needed add a couple of tablespoons of chicken broth for moisture.

See the step-by-step photos in the post. Some recipes have an option to display the photos here with a switch above these instructions but the photos DO NOT print.

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Recipe Notes

Pro Tips:

1. Use skinless chicken breasts or thighs if you wish.
2. Please do not skip the orange and lime.
3. When cooking the peppers and onion, be sure to scrape the bottom of the pan frequently.
4. Cut the jalapeno if you want but it is not a very hot dish and it adds some nice taste.
5. Nutrition is for everything listed in the ingredients but not for tortillas or toppings.

To adjust the recipe size:

You may adjust the number of servings in this recipe card under servings. This does the math for the ingredients for you. BUT it does NOT adjust the text of the instructions. So you need to do that yourself.

Nutrition Estimate

Calories : 179 kcal (9%) | Carbohydrates : 7 g (2%) | Protein : 26 g (52%) | Fat : 5 g (8%) | Saturated Fat : 2 g (10%) | Cholesterol : 73 mg (24%) | Sodium : 149 mg (6%) | Potassium : 588 mg (17%) | Fiber : 2 g (8%) | Sugar : 3 g (3%) | Vitamin A : 734 IU (15%) | Vitamin C : 47 mg (57%) | Calcium : 25 mg (3%) | Iron : 1 mg (6%)

Serving size is my estimate of a normal size unless stated otherwise. The number of servings per recipe is stated above. This is home cooking, and there are many variables. All nutritional information are estimates and may vary from your actual results. To taste ingredients such as salt will be my estimate of the average used.

Course : Main dish

Cuisine : Mexican

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Editor's Note: Originally Published October 19, 2013. Updated with expanded options, refreshed photos, and a table of contents to help navigation.