Chili Lime Chicken is wonderfully moist, tender and exploding with flavor from an EASY rub – perfect for salad, burritos, pasta, tacos etc. You will love having this on hand!
Chili Lime Chicken brings the flavor party to everything! Serve this juicy, marinated, fiestalicious Chili Lime Chicken with your favorite Mexican Rice, pile it on your favorite Mexican Salad (like my Southwest Pepper Jack Salad – yes please!), as filling overflowing tacos, burritos, wraps fajitas, etc. The possibilities are endless for this chicken and so is the flavor AND its as easy as rub, cook, eat! (Photos updated 6/1/202- same amazing recipe!)
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How to Make Chili Lime Chicken Video
Ingredients for Chili Lime Chicken
- Olive oil: use extra virgin olive oil for the best flavor. The olive oil adds moisture and the oil-soluble flavors evenly distribute the marinade throughout the chicken so it’s permeated with flavor.
- Lime juice and lime zest: Please use fresh limes for this recipe because you also need the zest. Their fresh tanginess is the perfect complement to the smoky, earthy blend of seasonings. You can also squeeze fresh lime juice over chicken after it’s cooked. You can freeze extra lime juice by the 1 tablespoon ice cubes so it’s always handy.
- Honey: Always a favorite with lime and chili. It cuts through the sourness of the lime and the earthiness of the chili powder. You may substitute with brown sugar if you don’t have honey on hand.
- Seasonings: Aromatic fiesta spices of chili powder, chipotle chili powder, cumin, smoked paprika, garlic and onion powder are mixed with olive oil and lime juice to tenderize the chicken so its oh so juicy and flavorful.
Chipotle Chili Pepper
The only seasoning you might not be familiar with is chipotle chili pepper. It is a seasoning is made of dried, smoked jalapeño peppers crushed into a powder. It boasts smoky moderate heat with fruity undertones as opposed to pure heat like cayenne pepper. It is easy to find at your grocery store under any of the following names: “chipotle chili pepper,” “ground chipotle chile,” or “chipotle powder.”
How to Make Chili Lime Chicken
The wet chili lime rub is what makes this Chili Lime Chicken. It is wonderfully delicious but super simple. is a simple mixture of olive oil and all my favorite Mexican flair spices: chili powder, chipotle chili powder, cumin, smoked paprika, cayenne pepper, onion powder, garlic powder, salt, and pepper all brightened by fresh lime juice and lime zest. To make, combine these ingredients in a bowl which takes all but a couple minutes…
Then slather your pounded and tenderized thin chicken with the rub to drink up the rainbow of chili lime spices. At this point, if you are pressed for time, you can cook your chicken right away, or if you have 30 minutes, let your chicken rest while you prepare the rest of your meal to further tenderize the chicken and allow the flavors to develop OR for an even greater explosion of flavor, marinate the chicken with the rub for up to 8 hours. A-M-A-Z-I-N-G!
Add your chicken to your hot skillet for a few minutes on one side, flip, cover and cook for 5-7 minutes or until golden deliciousness is achieved. You can also use a grill pan or outdoor grill for extra smokey deliciousness.
Finally, let your Chili Lime Chicken rest for 5 minutes to reabsorb all of its juices…if you have the will power.
Slice and devour a few strips for quality control…
And continue to consume plain, or add Chili Lime Chicken to virtually anything to transform it into a meal almost instantly from my Mango Salad, Mexican Rice or Cilantro Lime Rice, Southwest Salad, Avocado Pasta, etc.
This Top 5 Carlsbad Cravings Recipe (a must try) Chili Lime Chicken Tacos with Grilled Pineapple Salsa.
Juicy fiestalicious Chili Lime Chicken. An effortless party of flavors awaits!
LOOKING FOR MORE EASY CHICKEN MARINADES?
- Chipotle Chicken
- Salsa Verde Chicken
- Lemongrass Chicken
- Cilantro Lime Chicken
- Greek Chicken
- Buffalo Chicken
- Lemon Basil Chicken
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All Purpose Chili Lime Chicken Rub
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Ingredients
- 1 pound chicken breasts pounded to ½ inch thickness
Chili Lime Rub
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 teaspoon chili powder
- 1/4-1/2 teaspoon chipotle chili pepper (optional for more heat)
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 3/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon pepper
- 1 teaspoon brown sugar
- fresh-squeezed lime juice from 1 lime (about 2 tablespoons)
- Lime zest from 1 lime
Instructions
Marinate Chicken
- In a small bowl, whisk chicken rub ingredients together. Rub evenly all over chicken breasts in a shallow dish.
- Time permitting, allow chicken to rest for 30 minutes at room temperature or refrigerate up to 8 hours then bring to room temperature for before cooking.*
STOVETOP DIRECTIONS
- If chicken has been refrigerated, let sit at room temperature for 15-30 minutes (time permitting).
- Heat a large non-stick skillet over medium high heat. Once very hot, add chicken and cook, undisturbed for 3-5 minutes, or until nicely browned (or blackened if you prefer) on one side. Turn chicken over, cover, and reduce heat to medium.
- Cook for approximately 5-7 more minutes (depending on thickness of chicken), or until chicken is cooked through.
- Remove to a cutting board and let rest 5 minutes before slicing. Garnish with extra fresh lime juice if desired.
GRILLING DIRECTIONS
- If chicken has been refrigerated, let sit at room temperature for 15-30 minutes (time permitting).
- Meanwhile, preheat the grill to medium heat, 375-450°F, clean and grease.
- Grill chicken undisturbed for for 5-7 minutes per side, or until chicken is cooked through. (An inserted thermometer should read 165 degrees F.)
- Remove chicken from grill and let rest 5 minutes before slicing.
Video
Notes
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Gayathri Palanisamy says
Hi!!! I simply love this recipe! It’s so gd! I grill the meat in my ninja foodi and comes out so moist and yummy!!! This is my go to recipe now! One qn. Can we use this rub for wings? Thanks in advance!!!!
Jen says
Thanks for the glowing review Gayathri, I’m so pleased it’s a favorite! Yes, you can absolutely use this rub on wings – yum!
Sherry says
Hi,
Looking over your recipe does this mean use 1 teaspoon to 4 1/2 teaspoons of the chipotle chili pepper?
1-4-1/2 teaspoon chipotle chili pepper (optional for more heat)
What happens if you don’t use the chipotle chili pepper? Will it still taste good?
Thanks!
Jen says
Oh my goodness, after years no one has ever pointed that out, thank you Sherry! It is supposed to be 1/4-1/2 – just fixed! It will definitely be tasty without the chipotle pepper, just won’t have that same kick of heat. If you don’t love heat, then omit it, if you like heat but don’t have chipotle pepper, then add just a pinch of cayenne pepper (it’s much spicier than chipotle). Hope that helps!
Lisa Traverse says
Wow. Delicious!! So happy I found your site. Thank you! New staple for our rotation.
Jen says
Welcome Lisa! I’m so pleased this recipe is a new favorite!
Lesley says
Do you think this can be shredded and used in tamales?
Jen says
Yes! You might have better luck shredding it though if you sear it on each side then add 1 1/2 cups chicken broth (plus more as needed) and cover and reduce heat to medium and simmer 10 minutes, then flip chicken over and continue to cook 5-10 minutes or until chicken is cooked though and tender enough to shred. Add additional chicken broth or water if the liquid absorbs before the chicken is cooked through.
Mability says
Wow. I see why this marinade is your busband’s favorite! I made the marinade using most of the directions on the recipe. I can’t eat fresh garlic so I used garlic infused EVOO.
It tasted so good I ended up cutting the chicken up into slightly smaller pieces just so I could get the marinade in all the nooks and crannies.
I ended up making another batch to put on the Greek Salad I made as an accopaniment. With lemon rice and Pita, this made a perfect Greek dinner for all. I love this marinade, can’t wait to try Chile LIme and some of the others. Your flavors are always spot on and I like being able to use mostly dried spices in most of your recipes. THANK-YOU!
Jen says
Yay! Thank you so much, Mability! I am so happy you love this marinade so much! Thanks for the glowing review!
Jillian says
We loved this minus one tweak that I think might be a mistake? Ours came out incredibly salty, almost inedible. I wonder if it was suppose to read 1/4 tsp salt instead of 3/4 tsp??
Jen says
I am glad you loved it! A 3/4 teaspoon of salt should not make the dish overly salty, perhaps you used tablespoons?
Rae says
What do you pour on cooked chicken in your recipe video?
Jen says
That’s my Honey Lime Vinaigrette from my Mango Chicken Salad recipe, so good! https://carlsbadcravings.com/mango-salad/