It has been a warm spring in the South this year. By mid-May, we’ve had temperatures reaching into the low nineties. Not that I am complaining. I love warm weather. I enjoy being outdoors, working in my flower garden and playing with the baby. But there is a secret reason I enjoy warm weather; it’s grilling season. Grilling season means I can send one of the men in the family outdoors and have them cook. Sshhhh. It will be our secret. We’ve been eating a lot of chicken lately and I am constantly trying to find new recipes. I decided to adapt one of our favorite carne de res recipes (literally “beef meat) to carne de pollo (chicken meat.) My creation was this Cilantro Lime Grilled Chicken Recipe. It tastes so fresh and delicious. We like to serve it with black beans and rice.
Cilantro Lime Grilled Chicken Recipe
For this recipe, using fresh ingredients is preferred. While you can use dried cilantro and bottled lime juice, the taste will not be the same. I also suggest using freshly made corn tortillas. The carnicerias in our area sell made from scratch tortillas on weekends, so if you have one in your area, it’s worth a look.
The recipe is simple and can be adapted to taste. You’ll need salt, pepper, cilantro, fresh limes, oil of your choice (I use veggie oil) and chicken. Dice the cilantro (or just pulse it in the blender for a few seconds), juice the limes and chop the chicken into strips. Mix all ingredients together and place in a large freezer bag. Allow the ingredients to marinade in the fridge for at least 30 minutes. You can marinate up to 24 hours if you want so this recipe is great to make in advance. Leftover chicken also freezes well.
Remove the chicken from the marinade and grill until the internal temperature reaches 165 degrees Fahrenheit. Remove chicken from grill and serve with fresh tortillas, queso fresco, crema, black beans and rice and avocados. Or, if you can’t find some of those ingredients just use shredded Mexican cheese, sour cream, and shelf staple tortillas.
Printable Recipe
- 1 pound of chicken breasts, sliced into strips
- 1/2 cup freshly squeezed lime juice
- 1/2 cup cilantro, diced
- 1/2 cup oil (I used vegetable)
- salt and pepper to taste
- Additional Optional ingredients
- 1 can (16 ounces) black beans
- 2 cups COOKED rice
- 1 avocado, cut into slices
- 1/2 cup queso fresco OR Mexican cheese
- 1/2 cup crema OR Sour Cream
- Additional diced cilantro and lime slices for topping
- Finely dice the cilantro and juice limes until you have enough for 1/2 cup of juice. Slice the chicken into strips, if desired. (You can leave the chicken in larger slices, but it marinades better when cut into slices.)
- Mix cilantro, lime juice, oil, salt, pepper and chicken into a large freezer bag. Allow to marinade for at least 30 minutes (but up to twenty -four hours.) Grill chicken until internal temperature reaches 165 degrees F.
- Serve chicken with optional additional ingredients. You can freeze the leftover chicken.
What is your favorite summer recipe?
I haven’t tried adding a lime to a chicken, although we tried lemongrass! I will try this recipe thank you!
I would love this recipe! My family will need a little convincing…
Cilantro and lime.. I love these in my recipes! This recipe sounds amazing and easy enough to put together!
Such a cool recipe! Will make sure to cook it for my boyfriend as I’m not eating meat and poultry
Wow! That looks good. I might to try this dish. My husband will surely like this.
You had me at lime. We love chicken recipes around here.
That chicken sure looks tasty. I will be adding this to our weekend grill plan. Thanks for sharing the recipe.
I am going to marinate the chicken on Friday, and grill it the following day. That would make it more flavorful! I can’t wait to make this. I am sure my family will love this new twist to their favorite grilled chicken!
I have a few friends and family who don’t like cilantro. I love it! This sounds delish!
I love grilled chicken and it’s nice to make this recipe for the whole family. I’m sure my kids will love it. It’s always been nice to combine chicken and some citrus, like lime, lemon, or orange.
This recipe sounds so delicious and fabulous. I love the combo of cilantro and lime.
This looks like a perfect weeknight dinner! I love adding lime to my chicken recipe. This one’s a must try!
This cilanto line grilled chicken recipe sounds delicious. I have not yet made anything with cilanto before but will have to try this recipe. I thing my family would love it. Thanks for sharing the recipe.
Girl you had me at Cilantro and Lime, and yes fresh is definitely best! And any post that includes the word ‘carniceria’ gets a thumbs up from me!
My mom swears by her Nexium and won’t use anything else!
My oldest is the pickiest eater. Thankfully there aren’t many chicken recipes she will turn down. This will appeal to all of us.
This looks super delish! I love chicken dishes and am always looking for new ones to add.
Oh YUM! I absolutely adore the flavor of cilantro and lime! What’s weird is that I pretty much hated cilantro as a kid (I thought it tasted like dirt) but I LOVE it now!
Oh I know I will love the cilantro and lime combo! Definitely going to try this recipe soon!
What a delicious way to prepare a chicken dish! Perfect for summertime cookouts!
This is such a wonderful recipe to try. I love the taste of lime mixed with grilled chicken.
This recipe looks super yummy and would require me to take Nexium also. I take it everyday and it allows me to enjoy my favorite dishes and new ones like this one.
What an amazing looking dish, I love Cilantro and Lime and Chicken. Sounds like a healthy choice for sure.
We had a party this weekend and served Mexican food. I needed some Nexium after all that spicy food!
Cilantro Lime is my absolute favorite flavor combination! We love to do it on beans and rice, I am going to have to try your recipe for sure!
I would love to make some chicken this way soon. I think the queso fresco sounds super good with it!
Oh yum this sounds absolutely delicious, I could most definitely enjoy this for dinner one night.
This is practically making me drool just looking at it. I like anything with cilantro and I never thought about putting that on chicken like this. I’m going to make this for Memorial Day.
Heartburn is the worst. I’m glad you found something that works for you.
A friend of mine made something like this last week and it was heavenly. I cannot wait to try this recipe out it will be something very different than what I normally make.
that looks so good. I made a lime corn on the cob recipe that surprised me how good it was. I’ll definiitely make this over the weekend.
Oh, that looks really good! I love lime and all citrusy foods. I know I’ll be trying this!
Mmm, this sounds delicious. I’m a fan of anything with lime so I know I’ll like this.
I’ve heard good things about Nexium!
That sounds so good! I love cilantro and lime on almost anything. It’s perfect on chicken like this and also in salads and on seafood. I can’t wait to make this.
This recipe sounds so tasty. I love the combination of cilantro and lime, and it’s always good to have Nexium on hand.
That really does sound like a great combo! I am looking forward to trying it 🙂
My husband takes his Nexium every day! He’s got serious digestive issues and that really helps him. Now I can make this amazing recipe for him and he won’t have heartburn!