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If you are looking for an easy way to impart big flavor to chicken, this Easy Cilantro Lime Chicken Marinade is here to wake things up. Made with fresh lime juice, garlic, cilantro, and simple pantry staples, this marinade works beautifully with both chicken breasts and chicken thighs and delivers juicy, flavorful chicken with bright, zesty flavor in every bite.
If this recipe looks a little familiar, you're not imagining things. It was inspired by my Honey Lime Chicken Fajita recipe because the chicken marinade with cilantro and lime was simply too good to reserve for fajita night alone. Sweet, tangy, and packed with fresh flavor, this marinade works beautifully for everything from quick weeknight dinners to a full backyard cookout menu.
Cilantro Lime Chicken Marinade At-A-Glance
- Yield: Marinade for 1 pound of chicken; easy to double or triple
- Best For: Boneless, skinless chicken breasts or thighs
- Marinating Time: 30 minutes to 2 hours
- Versatile Cooking Options: Grill, bake, or use grill pan
- Meal-Prep Friendly: Marinate, then cook for easy lunches, salads, tacos, rice bowls, and more throughout the week
- What Will Win You Over: The bright lime, fresh cilantro, and touch of honey create bold, fresh flavor fast. No long marinating or lengthy ingredient list required.
Recipe Highlights
Kristen's Key Tips
Marinating chicken with cilantro and lime juice is an easy way to impart big flavor. But without paying attention the following tips, your chicken can turn out mushy, mealy, or overly acidic.
- Use both the zest and juice of fresh limes. The zest adds concentrated flavor, while the juice provides the acid that helps to tenderize the chicken.
- Don't skip the olive oil. I often get asked if you can simply omit oil from a liquid marinade, and the short answer is no. The oil works to distribute the flavor evenly, keep the chicken moist, and prevent the chicken from sticking to the pan when being grilled (or baked).
- Don't marinate longer than 4 hours. Similar to how the acid in lemon juice will break down chicken in my Greek chicken marinade, the acid in lime juice will begin to break the proteins down too much in the chicken, causing the texture to be off and unpleasant. 30 minutes in the marinade is sufficient, 1-2 hours is the sweet spot. 4 hours is the ABSOLUTE maximum time. I personally don't like to go past 2 hours.
- Cook to temperature. Chicken breasts should be cooked to 165°F; chicken thighs are best cooked to 180-185°F.
Happy Cooking! xo Kristen
Notes on Ingredients
- Chicken: Boneless, skinless chicken breasts or thighs.
- Limes: Look for fresh limes that are vibrant green and heavy for their size. You will need both the zest and juice for the marinade.
- Cilantro: If you find cilantro tastes soapy to you, simply skip the addition. Even though this is designed to be a cilantro heavy marinade, it will have plenty of flavor without this fresh herb.
- Olive Oil: If you plan to grill the chicken, use pure olive oil as it has a higher heat tolerance. For baking, extra virgin olive oil works just fine.
- Honey + Garlic + Cayenne: Honey to sweeten, garlic for depth, and cayenne for a touch of heat. Feel free to increase/decrease or even omit cayenne as desired.
How to Marinade and Cook Chicken with This Honey Lime Marinade
While you can find detailed instructions in the recipe card, this section is provided to help you achieve perfect results with helpful photos along the way.
Step One: Make the Marinade
I typically whisk together the marinade in a large shallow dish that can fit both the marinade and chicken. However, if you are planning to marinate the chicken in a storage bag, prepare the marinade in a glass measuring cup for easy pouring.
- To the shallow dish or measuring cup, add honey, olive oil, garlic, salt, cayenne, and minced cilantro.
- Using a microplane or zester, zest the limes right over the dish. Stop when you get to the white part of the lime (the pith), as that is bitter.
- Once the limes have been zested, cut them in half and juice right over the bowl.
- Whisk to combine.
Step Two: Prep the Chicken
Before seasoning the chicken with the prepared dry rub, remove and discard any fat or grizzle off the chicken thighs or breasts. If you have a pair of chicken shears, they make quick work of the process.
Step Three: Marinade the Chicken
Plan on at least 30 minutes to impart the most flavor, and under no circumstances should you leave the chicken in the marinade longer than 4 hours, but I strongly recommend not exceeding 2 hours, as I find lime juice to work to tenderize the meat quite quickly.
- Add the trimmed chicken right to the marinade or place them in a large storage bag and pour the marinade over the chicken and toss to coat.
- Cover the bowl, or seal the bag, and place the chicken in the refrigerator to marinate.
- Marinate for 30 minutes to 2 hours.
- If you are around, it is best to turning the chicken once halfway through marinating. If you forget (and I have many times!), the chicken will still be delicious. 😉
Step Four: Grill or Bake Chicken
When it comes to cooking, you can grill or bake the marinated chicken. Personally I love using the grill or grill plate which helps to caramelize the honey in the marinade and adds slight smoky undertones to the chicken. But the most important things to remember are to cook the chicken to temperature and discard the marinade.
- To Grill Marinated Chicken: Remove the chicken from the marinade, place the chicken onto a preheated grill or grill pan, and discard the marinade. Cook for 5-8 minutes per side or until the chicken thighs reach an internal temperature of 185℉ or chicken breasts reach 165℉.
- To Bake Marinated Chicken: Place the marinated chicken into a shallow baking dish and discard the marinade. Bake at 425℉ for 17-22 minutes, or until the chicken thighs reach an internal temperature of 185℉ or chicken breasts reach 165℉.
Step Five: Rest Before Serving
After cooking the chicken, remove it from the grill or oven, tent with foil, and let rest for 5-10 minutes. This will allow the juices to redistribute, keeping every bite juicy.
Serving Suggestions
The ways to serve marinated cilantro lime chicken are endless. Below are a few of my favorite suggestions.
- As a Plated Dinner: Serve alongside grilled vegetable kabobs, grilled corn on the cob, or roasted red potatoes.
- Add to a Salad: Works well on any salad, but especially delicious on either southwestern chicken salad and Mexican quinoa salad.
- Make a Rice Bowl: Especially delicious over Instant Pot cilantro lime rice. Add pineapple mango salsa to really take your dinner over the top!
- Add to Wraps: Dice it up and add to a wrap with lettuce and toppings of choice or refried bean burritos to make them more hearty.
- Make a Tacos or Quesadillas: Use the cooked, diced cilantro lime chicken for tacos, taco pizza, or add to a cheese quesadilla.
How to Use for Meal Prep
Even with a short marinade time, this cilantro lime chicken marinade recipe works well for meal prep. Sometimes I freeze the chicken right in the marinade to have on hand for a simple dinner, but most often I double or triple the marinade and then grill off the chicken a couple hours later. Then I have flavorful protein that is ready to add to salads, wraps and more!
- Refrigerate: Marinate and cook the chicken as recipe directs. Let the chicken cool, then store in an airtight container in the fridge up to 3 days and reheat or enjoy cold as desired.
- Freeze: Place chicken breasts or chicken thighs in freezer-safe bag, add the marinade and immediately freeze. Store in freezer for up to 2 months. Defrost in the fridge and cook within 12 hours (or as soon as fully defrosted), any longer results in mushy texture.
- Note on Meal-Prepping with Chicken: Thighs are best here. They stay juicy longer and hold up well to reheating.
FAQs on Cilantro Lime Chicken Marinade
Yes, with caution! Add the chicken and marinade a freezer-safe storage bag and immediately place in the freezer. Let thaw in the refrigerator for 12-18 hours, then grill or bake immediately. The chicken will marinate as it defrosts and once fully defrosted, it should be cooked shortly. Any longer results in an unpleasant texture.
Absolutely! It works well for beef, pork, and some thicker cuts of seafood. For beef or pork, plan on 30 minutes to 4 hours to marinate. For fish, I would recommend 15-30 minutes.
The honey adds a bit of sugar to the marinade. I would suggest omitting it to keep this recipe diabetic-friendly.
More Flavorful Marinade Recipes
- London Broil Marinade
- Honey Soy Chicken Thigh Marinade
- Jerk Chicken Marinade for Chicken Kabobs
- Greek Chicken Marinade
- Honey Garlic Marinade for Pork Chops
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Cilantro Lime Chicken Marinade
Video
Ingredients
- ¼ cup olive oil
- ¼ cup honey
- ¼ cup cilantro leaves, chopped
- 2 tablespoons minced garlic
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 2 large limes, zest and juice
- 1 pound boneless skinless chicken thighs, or breasts
Instructions
- Add ¼ cup olive oil, ¼ cup honey, ¼ cup cilantro leaves, 2 tablespoons minced garlic, 1 teaspoon kosher salt, and ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper to a large shallow dish or glass measuring cup. Zest 2 large limes over the dish, then cut the limes open and juice them over the dish.
- If needed, remove any excess grizzle on chicken. Then, place the chicken into the marinade. Toss the chicken in the marinade to coat, cover, and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes, but no longer than 2 hours, turning the chicken once halfway through marinating.
- After the chicken has been marinated, preheat a grill to medium-high heat and lightly oil the grates. Alternatively, heat a greased grill pan over medium-high heat on the stove or preheat the oven to 425℉ (220℃).
- To Grill Chicken: Remove the chicken from the marinade, discard the marinade, and place the chicken onto the preheated grill or grill pan. For thighs, cook for 5 minutes, flip and continue to cook for 6-7 minutes, or until the chicken thighs reach 185℉ (85℃). For chicken breasts, cook for 6 minutes, flip and continue to cook for 6-8 minutes, or until the chicken breasts reach an internal temperature of 165℉ (74℃).
- To Bake Chicken: Remove the chicken from the marinade, discard the marinade and bake in a single layer in a glass baking dish. For chicken thighs, bake for 17-20 minutes, or until the thighs reach an internal temperature of 185℉ (85℃). For chicken breasts, bake for 18-22 minutes, or until the breasts reach an internal temperature of 165℉ (74℃).
- Remove the chicken from the grill or oven, tent with foil, and let rest for 5-10 minutes before serving.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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