Recipe for grilled honey lime chicken

For Cinco de Mayo, I pulled some Puerto Rican black beans from the freezer, made a batch of rice in the rice cooker, and tossed these honey lime chicken breasts on the grill. It was such a perfect pairing that I've decided to serve the same menu on Cinco de Junio (today), Cinco de Julio, and Cinco de Agosto, too. Do as I do, and make your own holidays, or fire up the grill any time at all; this chicken tastes holiday-special, yet it's so easy to make for everyday cooking. The tang of lime -- oh so Mexican -- balances the sweet honey, and cumin adds its smoky goodness. I served the chicken with beans and rice. Next time, I'm going to roll a few slices into a tortilla wrap with a bit of bacon guacamole.

Grilled honey lime chicken

From the pantry, you'll need: canola or vegetable oil, honey, rice vinegar, lime, ground cumin, kosher salt, fresh black pepper, frozen chicken breasts.

Serves 6.

Ingredients

1/3 cup canola or vegetable oil
1 Tbsp honey
1 Tbsp rice vinegar
1 Tbsp ground cumin
Juice and zest of 1 lime
1 tsp kosher salt
1/2 tsp fresh black pepper
6 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (defrosted if frozen)

Directions

In a mixing bowl, combine the oil, honey, rice vinegar, cumin, lime zest (zest the lime before you juice it), lime juice, salt and pepper, and whisk together. Dry the chicken breasts, and add to the mixture.

Pour everything into a plastic zip-lock bag. Press out as much air as possible, and massage a bit to make sure all of the chicken gets coated with the marinade. Place in the refrigerator and let the chicken marinate for 4-6 hours.

When you're ready to cook, preheat a grill to high heat. Grill for 4 minutes on one side. Then, flip the chicken and cook for 2 minutes or until firm to the touch. The total amount of cooking time will depend on the size of the chicken breasts; the lime in the marinade will begin to "cook" the chicken, so it will take less time than it might in a different marinade.

Set the chicken aside for 10 minutes, then slice and serve with black beans and rice. Or, you can chill the chicken completely, and serve it cold, in a wrap or atop a salad.

[Printer-friendly recipe.]

More recipes in The Perfect Pantry:
Grilled tamarind chicken
Brick-grilled chicken thighs
Grilled chile-lime-ponzu chicken
Spicy Asian grilled chicken and pasta salad
Slow cooker chicken in peanut and chile sauce

Other recipes that use these pantry ingredients:
Peruvian grilled chicken, from Andrea Meyers
Lime chicken tacos, from Gluten-Free Goddess
Garlic lime chicken fajitas, from Cooking On the Side
Grilled Mexican chicken salad with cumin lime vinaigrette, from A Farmgirl's Dabbles
Spicy chicken thighs with cucumber avocado salsa, from Cookin' Canuck

Grilled honey lime chicken

From the pantry, you'll need: canola or vegetable oil, honey, rice vinegar, lime, ground cumin, kosher salt, fresh black pepper, frozen chicken breasts.

Serves 6.

Ingredients

1/3 cup canola or vegetable oil
1 Tbsp honey
1 Tbsp rice vinegar
1 Tbsp ground cumin
Juice and zest of 1 lime
1 tsp kosher salt
1/2 tsp fresh black pepper
6 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (defrosted if frozen)

Directions

In a mixing bowl, combine the oil, honey, rice vinegar, cumin, lime zest (zest the lime before you juice it), lime juice, salt and pepper, and whisk together. Dry the chicken breasts, and add to the mixture.

Pour everything into a plastic zip-lock bag. Press out as much air as possible, and massage a bit to make sure all of the chicken gets coated with the marinade. Place in the refrigerator and let the chicken marinate for 4-6 hours.

When you're ready to cook, preheat a grill to high heat. Grill for 4 minutes on one side. Then, flip the chicken and cook for 2 minutes or until firm to the touch. The total amount of cooking time will depend on the size of the chicken breasts; the lime in the marinade will begin to "cook" the chicken, so it will take less time than it might in a different marinade.

Set the chicken aside for 10 minutes, then slice and serve with black beans and rice. Or, you can chill the chicken completely, and serve it cold, in a wrap or atop a salad.

[Printer-friendly recipe.]

More recipes in The Perfect Pantry:
Grilled tamarind chicken
Brick-grilled chicken thighs
Grilled chile-lime-ponzu chicken
Spicy Asian grilled chicken and pasta salad
Slow cooker chicken in peanut and chile sauce

Other recipes that use these pantry ingredients:
Peruvian grilled chicken, from Andrea Meyers
Lime chicken tacos, from Gluten-Free Goddess
Garlic lime chicken fajitas, from Cooking On the Side
Grilled Mexican chicken salad with cumin lime vinaigrette, from A Farmgirl's Dabbles
Spicy chicken thighs with cucumber avocado salsa, from Cookin' Canuck

Comments

you make the best meals
i need to come visit you for one of your fabulous dinners
i'll bring dessert (it's not diet food!)
love honey & lime together, classic

This one is my kind of dish, Lydia. I love grilled chicken and you know I go for anything with honey with us being a beekeeping family. ;-)

Thanks for this recipe and all the serving ideas!
Shirley

Vanillasugar, you are so sweet. Yes, we absolutely need to cook together. This summer???

Shirley, I didn't know you are beekeepers! This would be great to enjoy with your own honey.

Cinco de Junio...thanks for reminding me. Does that mean I can break out the margaritas? This is a perfect anytime dinner during grilling season.

Donna, olé! I love to grill up a big batch of these chicken breasts and keep them on hand for burritos, tacos, etc.

Yum -- I'm going to grill under bricks too!

Lydia, I have to thank you for doing such a great food blog! I've gained so much from you -- information, ideas and recipes! Thank you for your devotion to food, and for all the effort put into it. You're the best!

This recipe reminds me of lemon grass chicken. It's got cripsy skin with heaps of herbs and flavor, the best chicken ever!