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Easy Chili Lime Chicken: Chili lime-seasoned chicken baked with garlic and butter, and finished with my chili lime sauce made with butter, spices, chilies, fresh lime juice, and honey! This is the simplest dinner to make and comes together in no time at all!
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What’s your comfort meal? The one you can easily make any night of the week and know it will hit the spot? For me, it’s a chicken and rice dish.
As a kid, my dad would make chicken and rice on rotation a couple of times each week. Mostly a lot of potato chip chicken, chicken baked with simple seasonings, or grilled chicken. And anytime we had chicken, we had rice. Chicken and rice – a Gerard family classic, just like my dad’s tacos.
As I got older, I became bored with the chicken and rice dinners. This is actually when I started cooking and having fun creating meals for my family. I was very adventurous back then. I had a lot more time to dedicate to cooking! One of the chicken dishes I’d made a few times was baked chili lime chicken.
I think it was a Rachel Ray recipe. I know I adapted it to what my mom kept the kitchen stocked with. But either way, this chili lime chicken was always such a family pleaser.
I recently decided to make a variation on this chicken. It ended up being so yummy I thought I’d share the recipe! This is really quick to make and uses mostly just spices, a sauce, plus fresh cilantro and basil. I used a lot of lime juice in my sauce, but I think it suits well when paired with the honey and chilies. It’s the perfect balance of spicy, sweet, and tangy flavors!
Serve the chicken with rice and extra sauce. I like to make coconut rice, I love the flavor and creaminess. It’s my favorite!
Serve this to your family tonight, but don’t overlook it for a dinner party. It’s simple to create, healthy, and looks pretty!
The Details
Ingredients – for the chicken
- Chicken thighs or breasts – we like thighs best, but my mom prefers breasts
- Ground cumin
- Smoked paprika
- Salted butter
- Basil
Ingredients – for the sauce
- Salted butter
- Onion powder
- Garlic powder
- Cayenne pepper
- Chipotle chili powder
- Fresno peppers – or use chili flakes
- Honey
- Limes
- Cilantro
Special tools
You will need a baking dish and small sauce pot.
Steps
Step 1: season the chicken
To season the chicken I like to use ground cumin, smoked paprika, salt, and pepper. Then a handful of fresh chopped garlic cloves and butter.
It’s not fancy, but a good base. The sauce is where all the yummy flavor comes in.
Step 2: bake
Bake the chicken with the butter slices on top. As the chicken bakes, the butter melts over the chicken and cooks the chicken perfectly creating the best flavor.
Step 3: the honey-lime sauce
While the chicken is cooking, I mix the sauce on the stove. I use more butter, but you could use olive oil too. I then add onion and garlic powder, cayenne pepper, chipotle chili powder, and a Fresno pepper. If you don’t have a Fresno pepper, use chili flakes.
Remove the pan from the heat and add honey, lime juice, and cilantro. Then season with salt.
Step 4: serve
When the chicken comes out of the oven, spoon the sauce over the warm chicken. Don’t waste any of the sauce in the pan. Scoop it all up and serve it over bowls of rice with lots of fresh basil leaves, or you can use additional cilantro.
You could then add some cojita cheese, which would be so delicious! And maybe an extra sprinkle of sea salt. This will be a fun family dinner! Chips are yummy for scooping as well.
Looking for more simple Mexican recipes? Here are a few favorites:
Crockpot Crispy Chicken Tinga Tacos with Avocado Jalapeño Crema
Slow Cooker Chipotle Chicken Tortilla Soup with Salty Lime Chips
Cauliflower Al Pastor Quesadillas with Lime Smashed Avocado
Mushroom Al Pastor Tacos with Garlic Lime Special Sauce
Healthier Homemade Crunchwrap Supreme
Crispy Chipotle Chicken Tacos with Cilantro Lime Ranch
Lastly, if you make these Easy Chili Lime Chicken, be sure to leave a comment and/or give this recipe a rating! Above all, I love to hear from you guys and always do my best to respond to each and every comment. And, of course, if you do make this recipe, don’t forget to tag me on Instagram! Looking through the photos of recipes you all have made is my favorite!
Easy Chili Lime Chicken
Ingredients
- 2 pounds small boneless chicken breasts or thighs
- 4 cloves garlic, chopped
- 2 teaspoons smoked paprika
- 2 teaspoons cumin
- salt and black pepper
- 2 tablespoons cold, salted butter, sliced
- steamed rice and naan for serving
- 1/2 cup fresh basil
Chili Lime Sauce
- 4 tablespoons salted butter
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon chipotle chili powder
- 1 fresno pepper, seeded and sliced
- 1/3 cup honey
- 1/3 cup fresh lime juice
- 1/2 cup fresh cilantro, chopped
Instructions
- 1. Preheat the oven to 400°.2. In a baking dish, toss together the chicken, garlic, paprika, cumin, salt, and pepper. Arrange the butter slices over the chicken. Bake for 20-30 minutes, until the chicken is cooked through. 3. Meanwhile, make the sauce. In a sauce pot, warm 4 tablespoons butter or olive oil with onion powder, garlic powder, cayenne, and chipotle chili powder. Add the fresno pepper or chil flakes to taste. Cook over low heat until melted. Remove from the heat, whisk in the honey and lime juice. Add the cilantro. Season with salt.4. Spoon the sauce over the warm chicken. Serve the chicken and sauce over bowls of rice with fresh basil and additional sauce.
Nutrition
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Did you make this recipe? Please rate & comment below.
hi! this looks delish! Wondering – onthe tik tok you mention chili powder and chipotle powder but in recipe its paprika. Actually chili and chipotle sounds good, could you pls let me know if this would be instead of paprika in same amounts?
thanks so much Tieghan!
Hey Veronica,
You could really do either or. If you want to use the chili and chipotle powder, I would do a teaspoon of each. I hope you love this recipe! xx
Easy to make and good flavours. The source pulls it together so you may want a little extra. I also replaced the butter with a drizzle of olive oil over the chicken and just used olive oil in the sauce and it still worked really well
Hi Maire,
Happy Monday! So glad to hear this recipe was enjoyed, thanks for making it and your comment!!
My family loves this recipe! I’ve made it a few times now. We dice up the cooked chicken and make the BEST quesadillas with it!
Hey Kate,
Fantastic!! I am so glad to hear this recipe was a winner, thanks for making it and your comment! x
Absolutely love a recipe that’s this easy and this delicious! This is a new staple on busy school nights for sure. Would love to see more super fast & flavorful dishes like this.
Hey Megan,
Fantastic!! I’m so glad to hear this recipe turned out well for you, thanks a bunch for making it:)
Absolutely delicious. Great combination of sweet and spicy. I’ll probably do a little less honey next time. Easy and quick, the family loved it
Hey Taylor,
Amazing!! Love to hear this recipe turned out well for you, thanks for giving it a try! xT
Easy to make and tasty. My husband has already requested that we make this again.
Thanks so much, Angie! I’m so glad to hear you enjoyed this dish and appreciate you making it! Have the best week! XxT
How do you make your coconut rice?
Hey Gail,
Here is the recipe for coconut rice:
https://www.halfbakedharvest.com/skillet-chicken-adobo/
Please let me know if you have any other questions! xxT
A great weeknight meal! We made it with sweet potato fries. Lessened the heat for the young kids, and there’s none leftover.
Thanks so much, Taylor! I’m so glad to hear you enjoyed this dish and appreciate you making it! Have the best week! XxT
This recipe is a winner!! It seems like a lot of butter, but it all comes together very well. So many flavors and very easy to make. My husband was so wowed-we are definitely keeping this in our rotation. Thank you for all your creative recipes!
Hi Mary,
Thanks so much:) Love to hear this recipe turned out nicely for you, I appreciate you making it! Happy Sunday! xx
This was a very nice recipe. My husband and I both enjoyed it tonight and are looking forward to leftovers tomorrow!
Hey Susan,
Happy Sunday!! Love to hear you enjoyed this recipe, thanks for making it and your comment! XxT
Very tasty! Love the sauce… do you think avocado in top would taste good with this?
Thanks so much, Tanya! Glad you enjoyed the sauce:) Totally, avocado would be a great addition! xx
Tieghan,
My family and I can’t thank you enough for your flavor creativity. We eat your recipes often throughout the week and are always gratified. I appreciate the time you spend on your feet making this possible.
The star of this recipe was the sauce. YUM! I also added some red and yellow bell peppers to the top of the chicken while baking and it was money. Thanks again!! XX Kayla
Hey Kayla,
Thanks so much! Love to hear this recipe turned out well for you! Thanks for your kind message and trying so many recipes. Have the best weekend:) xx
Too much butter for my liking, very oily
Hi Carol,
Thanks so much for trying this dish and sharing your feedback, so sorry to hear it was not enjoyed. Please let me know if I can help with anything! xx
I would love to see dishes without so much butter!
Why did you make it if you don’t like dishes with too much butter? Giving it one star because you made something with an ingredient you know you don’t like isn’t helpful.
Amber, I never said I didn’t like butter. I said this dish had too much butter for me. I trusted the recipe, and I didn’t like how it came out. l’m entitled to leave an honest review that isn’t 5 stars for a recipe that I did try! It’s ok that I didn’t like it!
Thanks Amber!
I made this recipe for my family and it was a big hit. I will definitely be making this again.
Thank you!
Hey Lynn,
That’s awesome!! Thank you so much for making this recipe and your feedback, love to hear it was enjoyed! xx
Hi Tieghan,
My comment deleted as I was posting it! Very frustrating.
I was asking if you’d call this recipe more Mexican inspired or Indian inspired, because you call for naan. I have some picky eaters in my home and I’m trying to figure out the flavor profile. Thanks in advance for your response.
Hi Jane,
Sorry for any frustration. I would say this has more of a Mexican vibe to it:) Naan is totally optional, tortilla chips are also great for serving. I hope this helps! xx