Ditch the bottle and make your own marinade. This Grilled Cilantro Lime Chicken is fresh, flavorful, and from scratch!
Summerrrrrr! I know you’re out there. We saw a glimmer of it in May, but lately it’s been cool and drizzly and much more Spring like than summer. No matter, in this household there is no grilling “season.” You’ll find my husband next to the grill in the snow, sleet, rain, wind, hurricane, tornado, tsunami, zombie apocalypse… Man loves his grill. And I love giving him all the things to grill, like this new Grilled Cilantro Lime Chicken!
By now, you all know that this household is all about fresh. Oh, there was a time when those pre-made bottled marinades were on my weekly shopping list. They’re so easy, I know! But making your own, from scratch, fresh marinade is also so easy. And you’re not getting high fructose corn syrup, xanthan Gum, sodium benzoate and a whole host of other preservatives. You know what’s in this marinade? Olive oil, honey, fresh cilantro, fresh garlic, salt. Remember those Breyers ice cream commercials with the little kiddos reading the ingredients of their ice cream vs. the ingredients of their competitors? Every time I make something from scratch, I think of a little one reading the ingredient list of what I’ve just made – hey, maybe you’ll hear M in some upcoming recipe videos doing just that! 😉 
So much fresh cilantro deliciousness! Of course, as long as you like cilantro? Cilantrophobes, read no further! 
Next, marinate! We received an amazing Food Saver for Christmas from my mom which has been sooo awesome to not only store homemade stock, soup, and meats, but also to marinate! I left this to marinate overnight but it could be left for a couple of days or even frozen! Currently, we have a bunch of Cornell Chicken in the freezer just waiting for the grill!
Speaking of grill… we are in love with this bad boy (a new house treat for us!) Nothing like a stainless steel Weber!
Grilled to juicy perfection! This was sooo flavorful and perfect to just pull out of the fridge when we got home from work and toss on the grill. Paired with some 10 minute Garlic Kale and we had a super healthy, easy, dinner ready in about 20 minutes. I thought that our Mediterranean Grilled Chicken was my favorite marinade, but this Grilled Cilantro Lime Chicken may be a new favorite!
Check out all of the other grilled goodies we’ll have our on summer grilling menu here, and also don’t forget to follow me on Facebook, Instagram, and Pinterest!
Grilled Cilantro Lime Chicken
Ingredients
- 4 large chicken breasts
- 6 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 1/2 tablespoons raw honey
- 4 large garlic cloves minced
- 1 large bunch fresh cilantro minced
- The juice from 3 large limes
- 2 teaspoons salt to season chicken
Instructions
- Generously salt both sides of the chicken breasts and place in a large zip lock bag or food saver bag.
- In a medium bowl, mix the remaining ingredients.
- Add mixture to the bag with the chicken and carefully move around the chicken in the bag to ensure they are all coated with the marinade.
- Remove as much air as possible from the bag, seal, and marinate for at least 2 days and up to 2 days.
- Grill for about 5-7 minutes on each side, until internal temp is 165 degrees F or juices run clear.
- Serve immediately and enjoy!
I am so happy grilling season is finally here. This chicken sounds delicious. I know my family would enjoy it for sure. Leftovers would make great chicken salad sandwiches too.
I put cilantro and lime on literally everything (my husband jokes that all he needs to do to find me is follow the trail of cut limes I leave around the house), so this chicken is right up my alley! I will give the marinade a try with chicken skewers rather than chicken pieces because when I tend to grill for a lot of friends, and it just seems easier that way. Great recipe!
I love easy peasy summer grilling dishes like this so much because I am tied to my grill all summer but want to have plenty of options for switching those chicken breasts up. I’m glad that this marinade comes together with delicious, clean ingredients and I don’t have to fuss much to get big flavors! This would be perfect paired with a simple summer salad or even some grilled veggie drizzled in a bit of the marinade as well!
We are ecstatic with grill season. We love cooking out and make as many dishes as we can on the grill. Now, I believe cilantro and lime belong together. They are such a great marinade combination and have made it many times. You’ve reminded me that I need to kick up our chicken meal with a cilantro lime marinade.
I love recipes that use a lot of cilantro, not only because I love the taste of cilantro, but because I always seem to end up with more of it than I know what to do with. I hate throwing out old cilantro, and yet it happens all too often! I’m going to have to start using this as my go-to when I’ve got a bunch of cilantro to finish up. The lime and honey are perfect flavours to balance the greens, and amazing with chicken, so I can see myself using this quite a bit (and in quite a few different ways!). Do you know how long the marinade would keep on its own in the fridge?
Hi Sean! While it’s best to use citrus based marinades as soon as possible (because over time you’ll lose the potency of the citrus) 3 – 4 days would be fine for this marinade. The biggest concern is that fresh lime juice starting to ferment, but that’ll take awhile. 🙂
Haha my man loves his grill too! And his smoker and his charcoal bbq. He would adore this homemade sauce for so many things. Gotta try it out ASAP! Maybe Father’s day….. 🙂
Ooh…love the fresh cilantro and lime combo. Can’t wait to try this super simple marinade for grilled chicken. Just the right flavors and the touch of honey…YUM.
GRILLING SEASON! I can already smell this wafting around in my backyard. I love how simple and refreshing this is. This chicken is great as a main, and I’m thinking in a hearty salad as well. So many options!