Easy Lime Chicken Recipe | Gimme Some Oven (2024)

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The school year has officially begun!

Granted, I’m not in school, nor do I have kiddos in school. But for the past 8 years, I have taught music lessonsto a handful of kids on Monday evenings. And boy oh boy, they were overflowing with stories to share this week! I heard about everything from getting the “cool” 5th grade teacher, to strategies on learning new locker combinations, to singing auditions in front of the entire choir class, to starry-eyed news about a first boyfriend, and on and on.

Somewhere in these lessons, I promise we find time for the music. But I always get so excited hearing them getso excited about a new school year! It almost makes me want to relive high school myself. Almost. Ok, actually, nope. Not at all. :)

But still, now that their school year is off and running, I know from their parents and friends and my art-teacher sister that schedules kick into high gear with homework and after-school activities galore. So today I’m sharing one of my favorite quick, easy, healthy, and oh-so-tasty dinner recipes — Easy Lime Chicken!

Easy Lime Chicken

★★★★★4.8 from 9 reviews

Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 45 minutes
Total Time: 50 minutes
Yield: 6-8 servings 1x

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Description

This easy lime chicken takes a small amount of time to prepare, but is BIG on great flavor!

Ingredients

Scale

2 lbs. boneless skinless chicken thighs
1/2 cup freshly-squeezed lime juice
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 Tbsp. worchestershire sauce
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. black pepper
2 Tbsp. melted butter
zest of two limes
1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro
additional lime wedges (for garnish)

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Instructions

Add chicken thighs, lime juice, garlic, worchestershire sauce, salt and pepper to a large ziplock bag. Seal and toss to combine ingredients until the chicken is evenly coated. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes or up to 8 hours.
Preheat oven to 425 degrees F and grease a baking dish with cooking spray. Remove chicken from bag with a slotted spoon, reserving the marinade, and arrange in a single layer in the baking dish. Brush chicken with melted butter, and season with additional salt and pepper if desired. Bake for about 20 minutes, the remove and brush chicken with the reserved marinade. Bake for an additional 20-30 minutes, or until the chicken is cooked through and the juices run clear. (Baking times may shift for different types of chicken.) Remove and sprinkle chicken with lime zest and fresh cilantro.
Serve over rice or quinoa garnished with lime wedges.

posted on August 27, 2013 by Ali

Main Dishes

54 Comments »

54 comments on “Easy Lime Chicken”

Tieghan — August 27, 2013 @ 6:53 am Reply

Mmm! Lime chicken? Yes, please!! I love these flavors and I love how easy it is. It really is the perfect meal for school nights!
- Hayley — September 13, 2013 @ 12:01 pm
  
  Think this would work without the Worcestershire? I’m doing a whole30 challenge and can’t use it.
Madison — August 27, 2013 @ 9:32 am Reply

This looks like a great, easy, healthy weeknight meal. Cannot wait to give it a try!
marcie@flavorthemoments — August 27, 2013 @ 10:31 am Reply

This sounds fresh and delicious with all of that lime flavor!
Laura (Tutti Dolci) — August 27, 2013 @ 10:48 am Reply

This looks so good, love the lime + cilantro!
Melissa @ My Recent Favorite books — August 27, 2013 @ 10:56 am Reply

I love chicken recipes, this looks yummy! =)
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Emily @ Life on Food — August 27, 2013 @ 11:26 am Reply

Looks delicious! I just made something similar but it had honey in it so I am sure a bit sweeter than your version. Will have to try this one soon. You can never have enough chicken recipes for dinner.
Cathy Pollak ~ Noble Pig — August 27, 2013 @ 11:41 am Reply

So…I have a freezer full of thighs and a fridge full of limes, just made a Costco run and I am stocked. Chicken and lime are like the perfect combo and I think you just rock at Food Styling, so pretty as always!
Monique @ Ambitious Kitchen — August 27, 2013 @ 12:29 pm Reply

YES pinning! :)
Robyn Stone | Add a Pinch — August 27, 2013 @ 12:43 pm Reply

This lime chicken looks amazing!!! Must try it!!!
Ruthy @ Omeletta — August 27, 2013 @ 2:17 pm Reply

This looks great! I pretty much only cook with chicken thighs anymore- and I haven’t heard of Just Bare Chicken; must check out if they sell within the NYC area, because I’m super down with all natural chicken. I love cooking with limes over lemons, as well- I read in Bon Appetit recently that “lime is the new salt” and I def agree!
Rachel — August 27, 2013 @ 2:34 pm Reply

This looks fantastic. And so simple! Definitely adding to my recipe roster.
Marie @ Little Kitchie — August 27, 2013 @ 5:14 pm Reply

As a 5th grade teacher myself, I appreciate recipes like this for the new school year! Sounds delicious!
Sues — August 27, 2013 @ 8:04 pm Reply

I took piano lessons my whole childhood through high school and I always remember my high school teacher basically acting as my therapist and listening to me talk. Then in the last 10 minutes we’d say “oops, guess we should play some piano!” :)
This chicken is beautiful and sounds super delicious!
Sommer @ ASpicyPerspective — August 28, 2013 @ 9:20 am Reply

Ali, this looks wonderful! Love the lime flavor instead of the traditional lemon. It’s going on my menu planner right away!! :)
Anna @ Crunchy Creamy Sweet — August 28, 2013 @ 9:43 am Reply

I always looks for ways to jazz up a chicken dish. And if it has “easy” in the name – I am in!
Lauren @ Climbing Grier Mountain — August 28, 2013 @ 3:27 pm Reply

I love the simplicity! Chicken and lime are my absolute favs!
Marie @ Not Enough Cinnamon.com — August 28, 2013 @ 8:09 pm Reply

I’m all about quick and easy meals that you can bring to the table in no time and this recipe looks like the perfect deal for that! I love the addition of worchestershire sauce to the mix, I bet it’s super tasty! Definitely pinning this recipe ;)
Des — August 29, 2013 @ 3:12 pm Reply

I keep hearing about this Just Bare Chicken. I need to get my hands on some. This looks gorgeous Ali!
Nutmeg Nanny — September 5, 2013 @ 4:40 pm Reply

Oh this looks fantastic, I can already taste it :) so perfect!
Tina Manning — November 6, 2013 @ 7:25 pm Reply

Made this for dinner tonight. It was amazing!
Kay — November 25, 2013 @ 12:30 pm Reply

Making this for dinner tonight. It sounds delicious!
Viviana — June 24, 2014 @ 6:08 pm Reply

I made this on the stovetop today with chicken breast and the flavors we’re amazing.
Tanya — March 15, 2015 @ 10:20 am Reply

I don’t have cooking spray, and you don’t get any where I live! Can you suggest a substitute?

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- Ali — March 17, 2015 @ 9:28 pm
  
  Hey Tanya, I would just do a light brushing of oil (olive or vegetable). Hope that helps!
Sarah — March 17, 2015 @ 10:37 am Reply

Thank you so much for this recipe! I cut the finished chicken up & use it to make burrito bowls & tacos with cilantro rice, black beans, sriracha, avocado, etc… It satisfies my Chipotle cravings perfectly & has become a staple for us. Absolutely Delicious!
- Ali — March 17, 2015 @ 9:15 pm
  
  You’re so welcome Sarah, and I love your approach, it sounds amazing! Cheers!
Stacy — August 17, 2015 @ 10:02 pm Reply

Great Reciepe ! This is the third dish I have made from your site ! I’m slowly working my way through all the recipes !!
- Hayley @ Gimme Some Oven — August 17, 2015 @ 10:14 pm
  
  Thanks Stacy, we’re so happy you enjoyed this, and that you’re a fan of the blog! :)
Daniella — March 5, 2016 @ 3:29 pm Reply

Any idea how this would be in a slow cooker? Can I dump all that yummy marinade right in? Looks great!
- Hayley @ Gimme Some Oven — March 6, 2016 @ 8:14 am
  
  Hi Daniella! That’s a good question. We haven’t tried this recipe in a slow cooker, so we honestly can’t say for sure how it would turn out. There are other recipes online that are similar, that are done in a slow cooker —they use breasts instead of thighs though.
jules — March 14, 2016 @ 10:17 pm Reply

This was a great recipe. Made it tonight with Whole Foods organic chicken. Paired it with green beans and cherry tomatoes. Thanks for sharing!
- Hayley @ Gimme Some Oven — March 15, 2016 @ 2:16 pm
  
  We’re so glad you enjoyed it Jules! :)
Andrea — September 15, 2016 @ 5:22 am Reply

I wanted to LOVE this chicken recipe; especially because I love lime & cilantro. However, it was too Citric…way too much lime.
I think I’ll give it a try again but will add some fresh orange juice to the lime mixture to add more sweetness.
Thanks for sharing the recipe. Just wanted to give my personal opinion. :)
- Hayley @ Gimme Some Oven — September 16, 2016 @ 12:57 pm
  
  Hey Andrea! Thanks for sharing your feedback with us —we hope you can adjust the balance of sweet and tart to your liking next time. Thanks for giving the recipe a try!
Bonnie-Lee — October 5, 2016 @ 2:18 am Reply

Looking up a recipes for dinner. This looks like a great dish to try. I love the flavor of lime.
- Hayley @ Gimme Some Oven — October 7, 2016 @ 6:37 pm
  
  Thanks, Bonnie! We hope you enjoy! :)
Cathy Love — May 15, 2017 @ 1:06 pm Reply

I’m making this tonight!
Robin — May 9, 2018 @ 6:00 pm Reply

I had chicken laid out for dinner, so I searched for recipes and came across this one. To say it was easy was an understatement. The recipe was simple to follow and it smelled wonderful in the oven. The best part was that it was a huge hit with my other half! The flavor was spectacular!! I will definitely share this with my friends and family, as well as tune into the site for other fantastic recipes!!
- Kim — September 2, 2021 @ 5:50 pm
  
  I have no cilantro. Will it tase the same?
Mary Ellen — August 13, 2018 @ 4:22 pm Reply

Love this recipe !!! Thank you so much!!!
★★★★★
Caroline — October 23, 2018 @ 9:40 pm Reply

This was so good and everyone in the family wanted seconds. Great flavours, simple.
★★★★★
Anna — January 1, 2019 @ 5:30 am Reply

Good but never should you reuse marinade. Once chicken is out of bag, throw the rest away!
★★★★
Jeff — April 4, 2019 @ 6:36 pm Reply

Easy and tasty. Will be making it again.
★★★★
remi — May 7, 2020 @ 8:39 pm Reply

i am ten years old and i love cooking this is one of the things that was easy to make high five to how ever made this
★★★★★
Bhavesh — May 13, 2020 @ 10:17 pm Reply

I have recently tried this recipe at my home and it is really great. I love this recipe. Also sharing here another best lime chicken salad recipe. Check it out here:
★★★★★
- Linda Adamson — October 25, 2020 @ 11:43 am
  
  how do you make the lime chicken salad pleas??? Sounds wonderful. TY
Jennifer Rivera — June 7, 2020 @ 1:52 pm Reply

You cannot save the marinade with raw chicken and put it on already cooked chicken.
- Keith Isaman — March 16, 2021 @ 10:11 am
  
  The reserved marinade is still being cooked, so there is no issue with brushing it on the chicken after 20 minutes. It will just cook out as the initial marinade did at the beginning.
Chana — June 23, 2020 @ 11:11 am Reply

Hi can I skip the butter step? Maybe brush with olive oil instead or just skip altogether?
Rachel Z — September 21, 2020 @ 2:59 pm Reply

This recipe is a regular in my dinner rotations. My kids love it too!
★★★★★
Laura B — November 27, 2020 @ 1:50 pm Reply

This was so easy and far exceeded my expectations! I added some chillies and bell peppers when cooking and served over arugula. Yum! My husband raved and raved about it as well. Thanks!! Will make again soon.
★★★★★
Jenny — August 31, 2021 @ 8:05 am Reply

This was really good. Even the kids liked it and they hate chicken. After cooking, I used all that extra marinade (which was fully cooked and safe after 30 mins at 425 with the chicken) in a side of quinoa/brown rice/bell peppers/ onions/corn that was a little dry. It made the whole dish amazing. Yum.
★★★★★
Lisa — March 2, 2022 @ 11:41 am Reply

Trying recipe today..let you know how it turned out and how we liked it. Looks and sounds totally yummy !!

Easy Lime Chicken Recipe | Gimme Some Oven (2024)

FAQs

Do you put lime on chicken before or after cooking? ›

Cook on each side for about 5 minutes, or until it's browned and cooked through. Add the remaining chopped cilantro to the cooked chicken. Squeeze fresh lime over the finished chicken or serve with lime wedges so each person can squeeze their own. That fresh pop of lime is 👌.

Show Me More ›

Can I use lime instead of lemon for chicken? ›

Yes! Both lime and lemon juices work to tenderize meat and infuse them with flavor. Any acidic liquid will do the same, and this is includes wine and vinegar.

Discover More ›

How long to leave chicken in lime water? ›

How long to marinade chicken. For this Lime Marinade, chicken is best marinated for 12 to 24 hours. It will make the outside a touch white because the amount of lime juice in this marinade “cooks” the chicken a bit (think ceviche). But it doesn't take it so far that the chicken starts to break down so don't be alarmed.

What does vinegar do to chicken? ›

Acids also tenderize meat a little bit, but that's not much of a concern with chicken, it's already tender as can be. Add a splash of vinegar or a squeeze of lemon for flavor. As long as you don't overcook the meat, moisture and tenderness will be there.

See Details ›

Does lime burn fat in the tummy? ›

There is no scientific evidence to support the claim that drinking lime water at night specifically reduces belly fat. While lime water has some potential health benefits, spot reduction or targeting specific areas for fat loss through diet alone is a myth.

Get More Info Here ›

What do Mexicans use limes for? ›

Limes are used in many different dishes, including fish tacos, chicken curry, and Key lime pie. They are also used to make margaritas, mojitos, agua fresca, (including limonada), and other co*cktails.

See Details ›

Can I drink lime water everyday? ›

In fact, you're more likely to experience the health benefits if you're drinking it every day. Your best bet is drinking lime water first thing in the morning, in lieu of fruit juice or a sugary coffee drink. Sedlacek adds, “Starting your day with a sugary drink will make it harder to stay on track throughout the day.

Keep Reading ›

How do you use lime for chickens? ›

Lime is another best friend to chicken keepers. It's an insect repellent. Lime repels ants, fleas, ticks, lice, mites, aphids, and small hive beetles. Sprinkle some where your flock takes dust baths to prevent mite and lice infestation on your birds.

Find Out More ›

Do you water before or after applying lime? ›

After you've applied the lime, immediately water your lawn to rinse any extra lime off the grass blades to prevent leaf burn.

Learn More ›

Should you add lime juice while cooking? ›

When citrus juice is added to a soup or sauce, it's usually added at the last minute, after cooking. The reason is that when citrus juice is cooked, it looses some of its flavor. As Juhasz mentioned, dried beans should not be cooked with acid. Acid will make them take a lot longer to cook.