A Sweet Pea Chef
menu icon
subscribe
search icon

Cilantro Lime Chicken

Updated: · Published: by · This post may contain affiliate links which won’t change your price but will share some commission. · 37 Comments

Jump To Recipe!

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 this RECIPE

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 lot of chicken marinades.

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

Cilantro Lime Chicken

Cilantro Lime Chicken

Lacey Baier
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.
4.73 from 11 votes
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Prep Time 2 hours
Cook Time 12 minutes
Total Time 2 hours 12 minutes
Course Dinner
Cuisine Mexican
Servings 4
Calories 302 kcal

Equipment

*This post may contain affiliate links for products I use often and highly recommend.

Ingredients
  

  • 4 boneless skinless chicken breasts
  • 2 limes approx. 4 tbsp. juice, juiced
  • 1 teaspoon ground cumin
  • ½ teaspoon sea salt
  • ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
  • ⅛ teaspoon cayenne pepper
  • ½ cup chopped fresh cilantro*
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil

Instructions
 

  • In a large mixing bowl, combine the chicken breasts, freshly squeezed lime juice, ground cumin, sea salt, ground black pepper, cayenne, and fresh cilantro.
  • Toss to combine and coat the chicken well.
  • 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.
  • Heat a skillet over medium-high heat with the olive oil.
  • Remove the chicken from the fridge and place in the hot oil.
  • 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.
  • Allow to rest for 5 minute before slicing and serving.

Video

Notes

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

Nutrition

Serving: 1 gCalories: 302 kcalCarbohydrates: 2.1 gProtein: 53.5 gFat: 7.5 gSaturated Fat: 1.5 gCholesterol: 172.3 mgSodium: 400.9 mgFiber: 0.7 gSugar: 0.3 g
DID YOU MAKE THIS RECIPE?Tag @asweetpeachef on Instagram so we can check it out.

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

«
»

Reader Interactions

Comments

    4.73 from 11 votes (3 ratings without comment)

    Leave a Comment

    Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

    Recipe Rating




    This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

  1. Jen

    How long do you bake it for? Temperature?

    Reply

  2. Cynthia Salazar

    Can it be baked ??..

    Reply

  3. Ashley

    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?

    Reply

    • Crystal

      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!

      Reply

  4. Jenni

    Delicious!

    Reply

  5. Sage

    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.

    Reply

    • Allison

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

      Reply

  6. Marinade Paste

    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.

    Reply

  7. Helen

    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.

    Reply

  8. Patty

    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

    Reply

  9. Chris

    53 g of protein? Really? Gonna try this tonight!

    Reply

  10. Susan

    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

    Reply

  11. Gertrude Bryant

    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.

    Reply

  12. David Air Fryer

    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.

    Reply

  13. Dustin

    5 stars
    Great recipe for meal prepping when we start up again 🙂

    Reply

    • Lacey Baier

      Yea, this is perfect for meal prep and sounds so good!

      Reply

  14. Jennie

    We made this for dinner tonight and it was amazing. I love your recipes!

    Reply

    • Lacey Baier

      Yay, so glad you enjoyed it! Thanks so much!!

      Reply

  15. Lisa

    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?

    Reply

    • Lacey Baier

      I'd add a little lemon juice to go with the lime. It won't be quite the same, but should still taste really good 🙂

      Reply