Kick up your Taco Tuesday (or Tostada Tuesday) with this easy smoky chipotle marinade. This comes together in minutes, and it is perfect for any preferred protein like chicken or shrimp (both of which are zero points on the WW Freestyle Plan).

The smoky chipotle marinade gets its smokiness from the cumin, paprika, and chipotle pepper–three ingredients I always keep in my pantry. The fresh lime, cilantro, and garlic bring such a brightness to this dish, it’s sure to be a crowd-pleaser for your next cookout.

Upgrade Your Pantry

When I first started to cook, my pantry was pretty bare. It was filled with a lot of spice blends and all of the cheap $.99 seasonings they sell on the bottom shelf of the seasoning aisle of most grocery stores.

These are the spices I grew up with; we didn’t eat adventurous cooking, and we never strayed from the taco seasoning packets for taco nights. If you are still using the taco seasoning packets, this is a great way to step out of your comfort zone with some new spices, but keeping it within your realm.

My smoky chipotle marinade is great for chicken tacos.

God, I love Smoked Paprika. Smoked paprika has become my favorite spice. If you have relegated paprika simply as the ingredient you lightly dust deviled eggs with, you are missing out. I use it all the time for a low, lingering spice.

You can catch me using it in my Zero Point Italian Sausage, my Zero Point Chipotle Chili, and even my Zero Point Crock Pot Pasta Sauce. If you have a Trader Joes near you, I highly recommend picking up the spice there. It comes in a bigger container, and I can’t find it cheaper than at Trader Joes.

Cumin is the mysterious smoky ingredient that deserves more love. I love cumin so much. She’s a complex spice, but you shouldn’t be afraid of her. The first time I ever cooked by myself, the recipe called for cumin, and I walked 20 minutes to the grocery store to buy this mystery spice.

It was unlike anything ever introduced to my childhood pantry. Like paprika, it adds a smoky layer to this dish, but it’s a dry, earthy smokiness that is so aromatic.

I sprinkle it on my corn tortillas when I make Tostadas, and it’s great on roasted veggies like carrots. It’s such a strong, pungent seasoning that there’s no denying it’s in there.

Keep it fresh

I know it is easy to open a packet and sprinkle it all over your chicken. I know it’s even easier to open a jar of salsa and cook chicken breasts all day in the crockpot.

I’ve never been a fan of crockpot chicken, but this recipe involved minimal chopping, and it takes no time at all to assemble. The fresh ingredients make this recipe pop, and they elevate this from convenience to indulgence.

I hope I didn’t scare you away. Legit, all you are doing is juicing to limes, mincing some garlic, and chopping some cilantro. Sure, this is called my Smoky Chiptole Marinade, but it needs fresh ingredients to really shine. You CAN cut corners and by a squeeze tube of garlic and cilantro if your supermarket has it.

If you have a micro-plane, you can grate the garlic cloves instead of chopping. (You can find my recommended micro-plane here, and it’s on Amazon and awesome).

If you don’t add the lime, your flavors can be muddy and all smoke and heat; the limes brighten this to make it more well rounded and makes it scream “eat this outside while drinking a margarita!”

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