Cilantro Lime Chicken

This Cilantro Lime Chicken recipe uses fresh cilantro, lime juice, garlic, olive oil, and a touch of honey to turn simple chicken breasts into a flavorful, juicy dish.

Prep Time10

Cook Time12

Refridgerate Time1

Total Time1 22

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: American, Mexican

Keyword: Cilantro Lime Chicken Recipe

Servings:

Calories: 264kcal

Ingredients

4 boneless skinless chicken breasts, approximately 1 ½ pounds, trimmed and pounded to ¾ inch uniform thickness
4 tablespoons olive oil, divided (3 tablespoons for the marinade and 1 tablespoon for the skillet)
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro leaves, plus additional for garnish
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1 teaspoon honey
1 teaspoon fresh lime zest
1 teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon ground cumin
¼ teaspoon black pepper

Garnish

Fresh cilantro leaves, chopped
Lime wedges

Instructions

Add the boneless skinless chicken breasts to a heavy duty large zip top bag. Set aside.
In a small mixing bowl whisk together 3 tablespoons olive oil, fresh lime juice, chopped fresh cilantro leaves, minced garlic, honey, fresh lime zest, salt, ground cumin and black pepper.
Pour the marinade mixture over the chicken breasts in the zip-top bag. Seal the bag, squeezing out as much air as possible.
Place the bag of marinating chicken into the refrigerator for 1-2 hours, or up to overnight, to allow the chicken breasts to absorb as much of the marinade as possible before cooking.
Remove the marinating chicken breasts from the refrigerator 15-20 minutes before cooking to allow them to come to room temperature.
Heat a large (12 inch) heavy duty skillet over medium-high heat. Once the skillet is hot add the remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil. Remove the chicken breasts from the marinade and place them into the hot skillet. Reserve the remaining marinade.
Cook the chicken breasts for 6-8 minutes on the first side, or until seared to golden brown, then flip the chicken breasts over. Add the reserved marinade to the skillet and cook the second side for another 6-8 minutes or until golden brown and the internal temperature reaches 165°F.
Remove the skillet from the heat and allow the chicken breasts to rest for 5 minutes before garnishing with an additional sprinkle of fresh chopped cilantro leaves and lime wedges and serving. The rest time will allow the juices to redistribute into the chicken breast pieces ensuring that the chicken is moist and tender when sliced.

Notes

For best results when browning the chicken, do not move the chicken breast pieces once placed into the very hot skillet. This will help to ensure a beautiful golden brown sear on the outside of the cilantro lime chicken.
You will want to rinse your fresh cilantro under cool water, then pat dry really well, before using them in this recipe. They are oftentimes very sandy, or gritty, when sold in bulk at the grocery store or produce stand. This is due to how they are grown.
Be sure to zest your limes before squeezing them for the juice.
If your limes are hard, you can roll them on the counter, applying gentle pressure with the palm of your hand, to help release the juices for squeezing.
Once the chicken breasts have marinated, and been removed to add to the hot skillet, then you will want to dispose of the zip top bag with the remaining marinade in it. You do not want to use this for anything else as it has raw chicken juices in it.
You can grill these cilantro lime chicken breasts on medium high heat (approximately 400-425* F) for 6-8 minutes per side or until the internal temperature reaches 165* F on a meat thermometer.
You can chop up any leftovers and add them to a salad, or a tortilla wrap, for a great lunch the next day.

Nutrition