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Grilled chicken a la plancha with avocado salsa {Pollo a la plancha}
4.9 from 171 votes

Grilled chicken a la plancha with avocado salsa {Pollo a la plancha}

This Grilled chicken a la plancha features thin, marinated chicken breasts cooked with a citrus garlic oregano marinade and served alongside a fresh avocado salsa with red onion and chili. The marinade offers zesty, herbal, and slightly spicy notes, while the avocado salsa provides creamy cooling contrast. The dish combines tender grilled chicken with bright, flavorful salsa.

Prep Time
20 mins
Cook Time
10 mins
Servings: 4 people
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: South American, International, Ecuadorian

Ingredients

For the citrus garlic oregano marinade:
  • 2 orange juiced, small
  • 1 lime juiced
  • 4-5 garlic crushed, cloves
  • 1 tbs oregano
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1 tsp black pepper
  • 2 tbs olive oil or avocado oil
  • 1 tsp cumin
For the chicken a la plancha:
  • 2 lbs chicken breast 4 breasts, cut butterfly style and lightly pounded until thin or you can also buy thinly sliced chicken cutlets, boneless
  • 1-2 lime cut in halves or quarters
  • cilantro freshly chopped
For the avocado salsa:
  • 1 avocado cut in slices or diced, ripe but firm
  • ½ red onion sliced or diced, small
  • 1 red Fresno chili pepper seeded and deveined, finely diced - adjust to taste, can also use mini sweet peppers for a non-spicy option, or your choice of hot pepper
  • 1 lime juiced
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil or avocado oil
  • 1 tbs cilantro finely chopped
  • salt to taste
Side dish suggestions:
  • beans Ecuadorian menestra style
  • rice Latin/Ecuadorian style

Instructions

Chicken marinade preparation:
    Cup of Yum
  1. To prepare the chicken marinade combine all the ingredients in a small bowl and mix well.
  2. Pour the marinade over the chicken breasts and let marinate for at least an hour, overnight is ideal, you can marinate the meat in a glass/ceramic container or you can also place them in a resealable bag (and then place the bag in a container to avoid any leaks.
  3. To butterfly the chicken breasts, use a sharp knife to made horizontal cuts on the inner half of each chicken breast, then open it like a book or butter fly. On the same cutting board, cover the butterflied breasts with a piece of wax paper and gently pound the breasts with a meat mallet or your choice of heavy object to help tenderize and thin out the meat.
Avocado salsa preparation:
  1. For the avocado salsa, rinse the red onion slices or diced pieces in cold water with a sprinkle of salt – this will help remove their bite. The mix all the ingredients - diced avocado, diced red chili pepper, onions, lime juice, cilantro, oil, and salt to taste – in a bowl. You can prepare the avocado salsa right before cooking the chicken or a few hours before – it can be refrigerated until ready to serve.
To cook the chicken a la plancha style:
  1. Heat the plancha, grill, griddle or pan that you will be using to a high temperature. You can lightly grease with a drizzle of oil it if it’s prone to sticking.
  2. Grill the chicken breast fillets for about 5 minutes on each side or until fully cooked – the exact time will vary based on the thickness of the chicken filets as well as the temperature of the griddle.
  3. Remove the chicken from the griddle, drizzle with lime juice and sprinkle with freshly chopped cilantro.
  4. Serve immediate with chunky avocado salsa on the top or on the side, and your choice of additional side dishes.

Notes

  • Leftover marinade can be safely cooked by boiling and reduced to make a mojo-style sauce with added sautéed red onions.
  • The mojo sauce can be served as a topping or as an alternative to the avocado salsa.