Grilled chicken breasts are perfect for hot summer days, but after a while, you may run out of ideas for flavouring chicken. These Grilled Cilantro Lime Chicken Breasts are great for a quick weeknight barbecue.

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The Marinade for Grilled Cilantro Lime Chicken Breasts

The cilantro lime marinade for this recipe takes only minutes to make and has only seven ingredients, making this easy to make. It takes only 1 hour for the marinade to flavour the chicken breasts, but the chicken can marinade for up to 4 hours. (any longer than 4 hours and the lime will break down the meat too much)

Equipment Used To Make This Recipe

When making this marinade, a food processor or blender is used to make this marinade creamy. I use a small personal blender that works well for the small number of ingredients used.

I cook these chicken breasts on the barbecue. Gas or charcoal barbecues can be used to make this recipe. If you don’t have a barbecue, these chicken breasts can be grilled indoors using a grill pan.

One of the most important tools you can have when grilling chicken is a thermometer for testing the chicken. You don’t want to overcook the chicken or it will be dry. But most importantly, you do not want to undercook chicken, which can lead to food poisoning. Chicken should be cooked to 165°F internally. A good thermometer will help you to make sure you cook the chicken to the right temperature. You don’t need a fancy thermometer. I use a small pen-sized thermometer for cooking chicken on the grill.

Ingredients For Cilantro Lime Chicken Breasts

Cilantro is one of the main ingredients in this recipe. I like to use fresh cilantro from my garden. Now I know that for some people cilantro tastes like soap. Our daughter is one of those people. But there really is no substitute for the cilantro in this recipe, and for some reason, she doesn’t taste soap when eating this chicken. I have read that it may be because of the processing in a blender and then grilling, which is thought to remove the soapy taste.

Lime is the other main ingredient. I use one whole lime and use a manual citrus juicer to get every last drop of juice from the lime. The lime should be a prominent flavour along with the cilantro.

Avocado Oil is used as the oil to hold the marinade together. It can withstand the high heat of the grill, whether it’s gas or charcoal. It also has a mild flavour that compliments the cilantro and lime flavours.

Garlic, onion powder, and kosher salt and pepper round out the marinade ingredient list.

As for the chicken breasts, I prefer to use boneless, skinless chicken breasts. The marinade helps keep them juicy while grilling, so they don’t dry out. I have also used boneless skinless chicken thighs in this recipe with great results. If you prefer bone-in chicken, that works as well. I do find this marinade works better with skinless chicken.

Serving Ideas

One of our favourite ways to eat this chicken is sliced and used in fajitas, topped with grilled peppers and onions and avocado cream. The Avocado Lime Crema we serve with fish tacos also tastes great with this chicken.

I also like to pair Grilled Cilantro Lime Chicken with Grilled Corn Salad. The flavours of the cilantro and lime go well with the chipotle in the corn salad.

This grilled chicken can also be used as a topping for a fresh salad. And since the marinade in this recipe will cover six to eight chicken breasts, you can have leftovers to use in meal prepping for a couple of days.

For another great BBQ chicken recipe try our BBQ Pineapple Chicken.

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Grilled Cilantro Lime Chicken Breasts

Course Main Course

Cuisine American

Prep Time 10 minutes

Cook Time 20 minutes

Marinating Time 1 hour

Servings 6

Author Stacy

Equipment

• BBQ or Grill
• Blender or Food Processor

Ingredients

• 6 boneless skinless chicken breasts
• salt and pepper for seasoning

Marinade

• ⅓ cup fresh cilantro
• 1 lime, juice and zest
• 3 Tbsp avocado oil
• 2 cloves garlic
• 1 tsp onion powder
• 1 tsp kosher salt
• ½ tsp black pepper

Instructions

• Add all marinade ingredients to blender or food processor
• Pulse until cilantro is broken down and mixture is creamy
• Add chicken to a large bowl or freezer bag
• Pour marinade over chicken and toss to coat
• Cover or seal and refrigerate for 1-4 hours
• Preheat grill to 350°F
• Remove chicken from fridge and allow to rest at room temperature while grill preheats
• Place chicken on preheated grill and season with salt and pepper
• Close lid and allow chicken to cook for 7-10 minutes
• Flip chicken and allow to cook for additional 7 minutes.
• Check temperature of chicken. If it is at 165°F remove from heat. If it is below 165°F continue to cook with lid closed for additional 3-4 minutes, checking again.
• When chicken reaches 165°F, remove from grill and allow to rest for 5 minutes before serving.

The post Grilled Cilantro Lime Chicken Breasts appeared first on BBQ and Baking.

Chicken is a staple for summer barbecues and pairing it with pineapple makes it even more summery. This BBQ Pineapple Chicken is sweet, and tangy and makes a perfect weeknight supper.

A Simple and Flavourful Recipe

This is a simple recipe that is adapted from the numerous Aloha Chicken recipes you can find online. It is grilled on the BBQ and can be ready in 30-40 minutes if you prepare the marinade the night before or even in the morning.

Letting the chicken marinade all day, allows the chicken to soak up more of the flavours of the marinade.

Ingredients

I like to use boneless, skinless chicken breasts for this recipe. Bone-in chicken breasts can also be used. I prefer skinless because it absorbs the marinade better than skin on chicken. I have also made this using boneless, skinless chicken thighs. You can use your favourite cut of chicken to make this recipe.

The marinade has seven ingredients:

Pineapple Juice: unsweetened pineapple juice is used.

Ketchup: French’s is my choice because it is made in Canada from Canadian-grown tomatoes.

Soy Sauce: low sodium soy sauce is used because you want to taste the sweetness of the pineapple and with too much salt you would lose the sweetness

Brown sugar: the sweetness of the sugar compliments the pineapple

Hot Sauce: I usually use Frank’s hot sauce but sometimes I will swap out something hotter. It depends on the mood

Minced garlic and grated ginger: I always have them on hand. Sometimes if I am in a hurry I use jarred ginger and garlic that is already minced or grated.

Serving Ideas

BBQ Pineapple Chicken can be served in so many ways. Over rice. On top of a salad. Sliced in a wrap with vegetables.

When I make this using chicken thigh, I like to serve it on toasted buns with lettuce and tomatoes, and extra BBQ sauce. Topped with coleslaw, like my Apple Coleslaw, instead of lettuce and tomato is another great way to serve this chicken.

Also, a great chicken recipe to make for meal prepping.

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BBQ Pineapple Chicken

Course Main Course

Cuisine American

Prep Time 10 minutes

Cook Time 30 minutes

Marinating 2 hours

Total Time 2 hours 40 minutes

Servings 6 servings

Author Stacy

Equipment

• Barbecue

Ingredients

• 6 chicken breasts
• Salt and pepper to taste
• ⅓ cup BBQ Sauce, for brushing chicken

Marinade

• 1 cup unsweetened pineapple juice
• ½ cup ketchup
• ½ cup low sodium soy sauce
• ½ cup brown sugar
• 1 Tbsp freshly grated ginger
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 Tbsp hot sauce

Instructions

• Place all marinade ingredients in a large bowl and whisk together
• Add chicken breasts to marinade and turn to coat
• Let chicken marinade at least 2 hours to overnight
• Heat barbecue to medium
• Add chicken breasts to grill, season it with salt and pepper and close grill lid
• Cook for 7-10 minutes before turning and cooking additional 7-10 minutes
• When chicken reaches 155°F, brush with BBQ sauce, turn and brush sauce on other side
• Close lid and allow to cook to internal temperature of 165°F
• Remove from grill and allow to rest 5 minutes before serving

The post BBQ Pineapple Chicken appeared first on BBQ and Baking.

Grilled chicken is one of the most grilled meats in our house. Chicken is fast and easy to grill, making it perfect for weeknights. But after a while, you can start getting tired of the same old chicken meals. That is why we are always working on new marinades for our weeknight chicken meals. This Southwest Chicken Marinade is one we turn to for fajitas or serving over rice.

A good marinade has three main elements: an acid, an oil, and flavouring.

Southwest Chicken Marinade has the three elements needed to make a great marinade. All three elements are represented to give the chicken full flavour.

The acid in this marinade is lime juice, which is used in many Southwest dishes as well as drinks. Lime juice not only tenderizes the chicken, it also adds flavour.

The oil used is avocado oil because it has a higher smoke point, making it better for barbecuing and grilling. It doesn’t have a strong flavour so it won’t overpower the flavours of the spices.

The spices used are really what give this dish its flavour. Apart from the lime juice, the true flavours come from the chili powder, ground cumin, and cayenne.

The longer the marinating time, the better the flavour

Chicken should marinate for at least 4 hours, but I prefer to allow it to marinate overnight. A 12 to 15-hour marinate allows the chicken to absorb all the flavours.

We like to use boneless, skinless chicken for this recipe. Breasts or thighs, or a combination of the two. But bone-in chicken can also be used.

The marinade is thick so it sticks to the meat. Because of its thickness, it can also be used as a rub for whole chicken. For a thicker rub, omit the chicken stock.

Uses for Marinated Chicken

We like to grill the chicken and use it in fajitas or serve it over Mexican or Spanish rice with a side salad. The grilled chicken is also excellent on top of a salad or added to a lettuce wrap.

Larger batches of chicken can be grilled and used for meal prep as well. It can be kept in the fridge once cooked for up to 3 or 4 days, making it a great meat for meal prepping.

One other way to serve marinated grilled chicken is on a bun with lettuce, tomato, and chipotle sauce. This way makes a great lunch or quick dinner when you have leftovers.

Instead of grilling, chicken can also be marinated and then cooked in a 350°F oven, covered for 45 to 60 minutes, then shredded for carnitas or tacos. Shredded chicken also tastes great in a burrito.

There are so many ways to use this marinated chicken. It can also be prepared in advance and stored in the fridge in a mason jar for up to a week before use.

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Southwestern Chicken Marinade

Course Marinade

Cuisine Southwestern

Prep Time 5 minutes

Author Stacy

Ingredients

• 4 Tbsp chili powder
• 1½ Tbsp ground cumin
• 1 Tbsp coriander
• 1 Tbsp oregano
• 1 tsp cayenne powder
• 1 tsp kosher salt
• 1 tsp granulated garlic
• 6 cloves garlic, minced
• 3 Tbsp avocado oil
• 2 Tbsp Lime juice
• 2 Tbsp chicken stock

Instructions

• Add all ingredients to a medium sized bowl.
• Mix well. Marinade will be thick.
• Pour over chicken and allow to marinade for 4 hours to overnight.

The post Southwest Chicken Marinade appeared first on BBQ and Baking.