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Cilantro Lime Chicken

This easy Cilantro Lime Chicken recipe is quick to make and has tons of flavor.  Perfect chicken marinade for grilling, baking, or sautéing and freezes well, too.

Cilantro Lime Chicken | This easy Cilantro Lime Chicken recipe is quick to make and has tons of flavor.  Perfect chicken marinade for grilling, baking, or sautéing and freezes well, too.| asweetpeachef.com

Okay, peeps.  It’s time we talk about this cilantro lime chicken recipe right here.

Now, I’m gonna go out on a limb and assume you’re into the whole flavorful, healthy, easy, and filling thing with your dinners.  <— Nice!

I’m also going to assume you like cilantro and lime

And, well, chicken, for that matter.

Assuming all those assumptions are correct, I’d like you to prepare your tastebuds for shockingly easy deliciousness.

Ingredients set out for the cilantro lime chicken marinade, including sea salt, pepper, cumin, cayenne pepper, cilantro and limes. Also pictured are the chicken breasts which will be marinated. Freezer bag filled with boneless skinless chicken breast and cilantro lime marinade, ready to seal and place in the refrigerator or freezer to marinate.

This Cilantro Lime Chicken recipe is my absolute favorite chicken marinade recipe.  And I have a ton of them.

Not only does this easy cilantro lime chicken marinade result in tender, juicy chicken every time, it’s also so simple to make.  It comes together very easily and freezes well, too.  I like to prepare the marinade in a 1 quart freezer bag and add the chicken to marinate.  That way, if I don’t get to cooking it in time, I can toss it in the freezer and defrost at a later date.

I’ve baked, grilled, and sauteed with this marinade and all work perfectly.  It’s a no-fail recipe, for sure.

Overhead close up of a fry pan filled with cooked cilantro lime chicken and topped with fresh lime and cilantro. Ready to eat.

How To Meal Prep Chicken

During the week, Dustin and I like to meal prep our meals for the next several days so we have easy-to-grab lunches and dinners that make it as painless as possible to eat healthy.

Because, when you have easy-to-grab, healthy and delicious food in your fridge, you EAT it.

And it just so happens that, in addition to be super yummy right when you make it, this cilantro lime chicken recipe also reheats very well.

A quick tip: If you are gonna meal prep, try dicing the chicken into bite-sized cubes and storing in these handy containers.  This makes it SO MUCH easier to reheat the chicken, which — in turn — makes it stay as juicy as possible.  Because we want to keep in all that cilantro lime juiciness. And dry chicken breast is no fun at all.

The more marinades you use during the week to keep up the variety, the less you’ll get tired of your meals, too.  Check out these tasty chicken marinades for more easy ways to marinate and meal prep your chicken.

Large skillet filled with cooked cilantro lime marinated chicken breasts and garnished with fresh lime and cilantro, ready to eat.

What Goes With Cilantro Lime Chicken?

Okay, so we have this delicious, juicy, and flavorful chicken all ready to go.  So, what do we serve with it?  Here are some great ideas:

In summary, eat this cilantro lime chicken.  It’s magical.

Cilantro Lime Chicken

4.75 from 8 votes
Cilantro Lime Chicken - Square Recipe Preview Image
Cilantro Lime Chicken
Prep Time
2 hrs
Cook Time
12 mins
Total Time
2 hrs 12 mins
 

This easy Cilantro Lime Chicken recipe is quick to make and has tons of flavor.  Perfect chicken marinade for grilling, baking, or sautéing and freezes well, too.

Categories: Clean, Easy Weeknight Dinner, Healthy
Difficulty: Easy
Keyword: cilantro chicken, cilantro lime chicken, lime chicken
Servings: 4
Calories: 302 kcal
Author: Lacey Baier
Ingredients
  • 4 boneless skinless chicken breasts
  • 2 limes approx. 4 tbsp. juice, juiced
  • 1 tsp ground cumin
  • 1/2 tsp sea salt
  • 1/2 tsp ground black pepper
  • 1/8 tsp cayenne pepper
  • 1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro*
  • 1 tbsp olive oil
Instructions
  1. In a large mixing bowl, combine the chicken breasts, freshly squeezed lime juice, ground cumin, sea salt, ground black pepper, cayenne, and fresh cilantro.

  2. Toss to combine and coat the chicken well.
  3. Cover with plastic wrap (or close Ziplock bag tightly) and place in the fridge for at least 30 minutes, preferably 2-3 hours, to allow the marinade to work.
  4. Heat a skillet over medium-high heat with the olive oil.

  5. Remove the chicken from the fridge and place in the hot oil.
  6. Cook the chicken until well-browned on both sides and cooked through, about 4-6 minutes per side, or until the chicken reaches 165 degrees F internal temperature.

  7. Allow to rest for 5 minute before slicing and serving.

Recipe Video

Recipe Notes

If you happen to not care for cilantro, you could easily replace with italian parsley.

Prep time includes time for marinating.

Nutrition Facts
Cilantro Lime Chicken
Amount Per Serving (1 g)
Calories 302 Calories from Fat 68
% Daily Value*
Fat 7.5g12%
Saturated Fat 1.5g8%
Cholesterol 172.3mg57%
Sodium 400.9mg17%
Carbohydrates 2.1g1%
Fiber 0.7g3%
Sugar 0.3g0%
Protein 53.5g107%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

This post contains affiliate links for products I use regularly and highly recommend. 

Lacey Baier

Hey there! I’m Lacey Baier and I’d like to welcome you! I’m a healthy lifestyle influencer and the creator of this clean-eating blog and YouTube channel, as well as cleanish, my clean-eating supplement brand. My recipes have been published on Food Network, Good Morning America, FoxNews, Tastemade, Fitness Magazine, and much more. I live in Austin, Texas with my husband and four kiddos. Let’s get started!

37 thoughts on “Cilantro Lime Chicken

  1. How do I join the mailing list? I was recently placed on a low sodium diet and these marinades will be a fantastic start~ Thank you .

  2. The breasts I find are very thick and take FOREVER to cook thoroughly. Do you recommend cutting in half or will that make all the juices come out?

    1. 5 stars
      My best advice to you, Get a pan with a little bit of oil & Cook chicken then top it with lid let it sit for about 10 mins I tell you not comes it juicy!!! Through cooked well.

  3. Does this have to made with breasts? My concern is that they can become dry very easily. Maybe thighs s well?

    1. Hi Keith – Thank you for your question! I am Lacey’s blog moderator and can help you with this. Lacey’s general take is that chicken breasts have the highest protein content and the least amount of fat. So, health wise she’ll usually choose this cut. But this recipe will certainly work with any cut of the chicken depending on your preference. Just keep in mind that the cooking time and nutrition facts will change slightly. I hope this helps! Be sure to comment if you make this recipe and how it goes : ) Jen

  4. I have made this many time through out the last two years. It’s a big hit! I wonder if I’d get the same results in a slow cooker?

    If anyone has tried it let me know how, please. I’m getting super busy with school and I need more slow cooker meals.

    TIA 🙂

    1. Hi! I don’t have a slow cooker, but this recipe works great in my InstantPot. I bet it would work wonderfully in a slow cooker as well.

  5. Hoping to find out what the estimated weight of each chicken breast should be?? Is there just a total weight I need to use for 4 or serving or is there a specific weight for each breast? Is it weighed prior or post cook?

  6. I can’t wait to make this!! Would this be considered Whole30 compliant? Thanks!!!

  7. 5 stars
    I baked the chicken in an air fryer! Came out perfect! 390* for 20 min on roast setting

  8. Great recipe – the flavor was great and we thought it would be fantastic a cauliflower tortilla taco I wonder is there a conversion to this recipe for a slow cooker? so we can get the great flavor and the shredded chicken??

    1. 5 stars
      To answer your question, I did this in the crock pot tonight and it was awesome!! I added a couple cloves of garlic. Other than that didn’t change the recipe just dumped it all in the crock pot.

  9. The calories seem a bit high for just some seasoned chicken breasts. By my calculation, it would only be 200 calories per serving. What’s driving it up?

    1. The problem is the “4 chicken breasts”. We don’t know how much they weigh. What I did is just put 1lb of chicken and reduced the seasonings by half to enter into MFP. It comes out 186 calories per serving – there are 3 servings for 1lb of chicken. Hope that helps!

  10. 5 stars
    Great recipe, thanks for sharing! Have made this multiple times now, and is one of my ‘go to’ recipes for easy and healthy week night meals. Its very simple, yet extremely flavourful and satisfying. I usually pair with Mexican Rice and Mexican cumcumber salad. Hubby loves it too.

    1. Thanks for the cucumber salad recommendation to pair it with! Trying it tonight.

  11. I have tried this recipe, but I had used paneer and vegetables and marinades paste to make BBQ. I must say, use of marinades paste for BBQ makes most yummiest dish.

  12. 4 stars
    I liked the combination of lime and cilantro. But this one came a little bit too salty and strong for me. Maybe because I did pour the rest of the marinade while I cooked it.

    Will do this again and will try to use less measurements.

  13. Lacey, I really like your easy recipes and links to other recipes especially side dishes. Its hard to be creative and and at the same time delicious. I’m looking forward to trying this Cilantro Lime chicken!! Thanks so much. Patty

  14. Hi, I really love your posts/recipes; however, I’m a little confused about the 1g/serving listed in a couple of the nutritional analyses (cream of broccoli soup/cilantro lime chicken). Are those amounts correct? I am type 1 diabetic, so carbohydrate amounts/serving are important for knowing how much insulin I need. Thanks in advance for your reply.
    Susan

  15. Superb recipe. I love chicken and eggs dishes. As professional women, i did not get time to cook at home. Most of the time I had my food at out. I thought this will be easy to do and delicious to taste.

    Thank you Lacey. Keep sharing.

  16. 4 stars
    awesome post, I like your post because you talked about the how to make the cilantro Lime chicken and you provide the full recipe of the cilantro lime chicken so your post is really useful and helpful. please keep sharing the post. thanks for sharing the post.

  17. I’m getting ready to try this and don’t have enough fresh lime on hand. Would combining lemon and lime work, or maybe a bit of olive oil?

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