The smoky cilantro lime grilled chicken is the perfect summer treat with mind-blowing flavor combination – tangy lime with fresh cilantro! Can summer get better than this!
Cilantro with lime is a deadly combination together and you got to taste this amazing thing in this cilantro lime grilled chicken to truly understand its magic! Today’s recipe is a very quick and easy grilled chicken infused in a cilantro-lime marinade with an earthy hint of cumin; this cilantro lime grilled chicken is ideal for your summer barbecue.
Also, you won’t need to marinade the chicken overnight – just couple of hours in the morning will do the trick since the major ingredient is lime juice which breaks down the chicken & infuse it much faster.
Cilantro is my most favorite herb and it’s a quintessential herb in Indian cooking too which is why it always makes me feel nostalgic and brings back childhood memories.
This cilantro lime grilled chicken is one of its kind and I knew from the very beginning that it’s gonna be my new favorite grilled chicken because of cilantro.
I am an herb person and I almost love all kind of herbs with very very few exceptions like dill which doesn’t make much an appeal to me.
Basil is another favorite of mine which very closely competes with cilantro and you got to try my basil pesto roast chicken back to back with this cilantro lime grilled chicken to treat yourself with all the good things life has to offer us.
My hub’s herb garden has been very generous to me thanks to all his hard work and now I don’t have to worry about the fresh sprinkle of parsley or cilantro at the very end.
Herbs really make me happy as they add immense amount of freshness even being so tiny or quite small in amount. Don’t you think so?
Cilantro lime grilled chicken is quite a trending recipe at the moment which is for good reason. If you eat and love chicken, you must try this. Very easy to put together, this cilantro lime grilled chicken comes around in a jiffy.
The marinade takes just few seconds to process and once you mix the marinade with chicken pieces, it starts to do its magic on them. Acidic lime juice starts softening the chicken and fresh cilantro infuse them with incredible flavor.
With the dash of ground cumin, it goes to another level of deliciousness. Finally, you grill them on either your outside barbecue or on a stovetop using a grill pan.
In both cases you will achieve the fancy grill marks with just 10 to 15 minutes per side on the hot grill and you will reward yourself with most flavorful cilantro lime grilled chicken of all time! Your friends will thank you for this!
Before closing the call today, just keep in mind that this is a lime based marinade, hence do not keep the chicken marinated for too long as the lime juice will break the meat too much and it will lose all its flavors.
So, this cilantro lime grilled chicken is a perfect recipe when you do not have overnight time for marinating your chicken but still you want to treat your guests with a very flavorful grilled meat.
Do remember to reserve ¼ of the cilantro-lime marinade to drizzle it on the grilled chicken just before serving – this is the killer sauce to go with and you won’t need anything else!
- Chicken thigh – 6, bone-in and skinless or skin-on
- Salt & black pepper to taste
- Lime juice – ½ cup
- Lime zest – 1 tbsp
- Fresh cilantro – 2 cups, loosely packed
- Extra-virgin olive oil – 2 tbsp
- Cumin powder – 1 tbsp
- Salt – 1 tsp
- Prepare the marinade by grinding together lime juice, lime zest, cilantro, olive oil, cumin powder and salt. Make as much smooth mixture as possible.
- Wash and pat dry the chicken thighs. Season the chicken thighs with salt and pepper to taste.
- Reserve ¼ of the prepared cilantro-lime marinade and pour the rest over the chicken and mix them really well making sure the marinade reaches every nook and corner of each thigh piece. Cover the chicken with a clingfilm and let it chill in refrigerator for at least 2 hours to maximum 4 hours.
- Heat a grill pan and brush some oil over the grids. Place the chicken thighs on the hot grill and enjoy the sizzling sound.
- Grill the chicken thighs for 10-15 minutes each side on medium heat turning them frequently using a tong. Also brush each side of chicken with olive oil before turning.
- To check the doneness of the chicken, cut a piece from one of the thighs with the edge of a sharp knife. If there is no pink left and juices run clear, your chicken is ready to eat. Alternatively, you can also check the internal temperature of the chicken thighs using a meat thermometer and it must register at least 165 F.
- Serve the smoky cilantro lime grilled chicken with extra drizzle of reserved cilantro lime marinade and some lemon wedges. Enjoy!
This chicken looks seriously amazing! Those grill marks have me wanting to get out our grill despite it being the middle of winter here. Love the flavours, especially how you’ve added smokey cumin. Yum!!
Thanks a lot Kate! I am so glad you liked it! 🙂