Cilantro Lime Chicken Marinade

“This Cilantro Lime Chicken Marinade is our favorite!! It is so full of flavor and so delicious!” – Shannon

We agree with Shannon. This is one of our favorite chicken marinades. The cilantro, lime, and garlic marry together to create this fresh, citrusy Chicken Marinade.

Ingredients in Cilantro Lime Chicken Marinade

Marinating chicken is THE key to infusing flavor into typically lean, bland poultry cuts. This fresh and citrusy marinade only requires a few ingredients and yet turns that lackluster cut into something that makes your tastebuds sing.

• Avocado oil or olive oil – The base for almost any chicken marinade.
• Juice and zest of 2 limes – We highly recommend using fresh limes for marinades. The store-bought kind just doesn’t have the same flavor in our opinion.
• Chopped fresh Cilantro – One of our favorite fresh herbs! Chop up the leaves AND stems for this marinade. Here are some great tips on how to chop cilantro.
• Garlic cloves – I almost always have a jar of minced garlic in my fridge. It’s such a time saver for recipes like these.
• Ground cumin – A seasoning common to most Mexican recipes.
• Salt & red pepper flakes – Don’t worry, it doesn’t make it too spicy.

How to Make and Store the Marinade

If you find that you are using this chicken marinade frequently, you could make a large batch of it (scale it up 2-3x) and store it for future use. There are two main ways to store the marinade: The refrigerator or the freezer.

Store it in the Refrigerator

The marinade will store in the refrigerator for up to 5 days in a jar to use when ready.

Store it in the Freezer

Here is an out of the box idea: make a big batch of Cilantro Lime Chicken Marinade and freeze it in small portions! If you freeze it in a mason jar, be sure to allow at least 1 inch of headspace at the top because the contents will expand.

Scaling up the recipe is a great use of time and resources too. Just one of the many reasons we love freezer meals!

When ready to use the marinade, let it thaw (if necessary) and pour it over chicken in a zip-top bag or container with a lid. Let it marinate for at least 2 hours and up to 24 hours to infuse flavor.

Use Cilantro Lime Chicken Marinade as a Freezer Meal

Another great use of your time is prep a few freezer meals out of this marinade. Like most of our chicken freezer meals, simply combine the ingredients (the marinade & the chicken) and freeze for later. No need to let the chicken marinate before freezing either. When you want to use it, let the chicken thaw one of these safe ways.

Then, grill, slow cook, pressure cook, or bake your marinated Chicken. You choose your method! We’ve included instructions for how to cook boneless chicken breasts any of these ways in the recipe below.

WAYS TO COOK CHICKEN BREAST

There are so many ways to cook your marinated chicken. Here are some basic guidelines.

Bake Chicken Breast in the Oven

Preheat oven to 400°F. Place chicken in a casserole dish or on a rimmed baking sheet. Bake uncovered for about 20-25 minutes, until done.

Cook Chicken Breast in the Slow Cooker

Place chicken and marinade in slow cooker. Cover and cook on LOW for 3 to 3 1/2 hours. Really! That’s all it takes to get it done, otherwise you’ll overcook and dry it out. Here is a whole post about how long to cook chicken in the Crockpot if you’re interested!

Cook Chicken Breast in the Instant Pot

Place chicken, marinade, and 1/3 cup chicken broth in a 6 quart Instant Pot. (Note: If using an 8 quart, add an additional 1/2 cup of broth.) Lock and seal the lid. Cook at high pressure for 7 minutes and use a quick release of the pressure when the cook time is up. (Note: It will take 10-15 minutes to come to pressure before the cook time starts.)

How to Grill Chicken Breast

Pound out the chicken to about 3/4 inch thick (or cut it in half lengthwise) to help with fast and even cooking. Preheat grill to medium-high heat and clean the grates well. Grill for about 4-5 minutes per side, maybe longer depending on the thickness, until done.

Ways to Use Cilantro Lime Chicken Marinade

There are all sorts of ways to use this recipe. Here are some ideas to get you started!

Serve in our Mexican Chopped Salad – Fully cook it in one of the ways mentioned above, chop or shred the chicken and serve on top of this delicious salad with our Cilantro Lime Vinaigrette.

Make Shredded Chicken Nachos – After marinating and cooking the chicken, cook it using one of the methods above. Then make nachos using the instructions in our Shredded Chicken Nachos recipe!

Serve it over our Instant Pot Cilantro Lime Rice – A super healthy and simple meal!

Make Chicken Tacos – Use our Shredded Beef Taco Recipe but use chicken instead.

MORE CHICKEN MARINADES YOU MUST TRY

Try some of our other favorite healthy chicken marinades to mix things up:

• Lemon Garlic Chicken Marinade
• Honey Dijon Chicken Marinade
• Balsamic Herb Chicken Marinade
• Asian Sesame Chicken Marinade
• Southwest Chicken Marinade
• The BEST Savory Chicken Marinade

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