Are you getting bored with grilled chicken breast? Try this Grilled Cilantro-Lime Chicken with boneless, skinless chicken thighs instead!
Grilled Cilantro-Lime Chicken
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Everybody knows that you can grill chicken breasts. They are pretty easy to do. And with marinades and spice rubs, you can add a lot of flavor to them. But let’s be honest. Boneless, skinless chicken breasts can get kind of boring. (And if you’re not careful, they can get dried out if you over cook them.) So try this recipe with boneless, skinless chicken thighs instead!
I love boneless, skinless chicken thighs. They are usually pretty economical, and you can get them in a big family package like boneless, skinless chicken breasts. The best thing about the boneless part, is that the meat will lie pretty flat when you’re cooking it. This means that you can get fast, even cooking, without having to worry about taking a bone out or constantly turning the chicken on the grill (or stove, or oven, if that’s your thing).
This Cilantro-Lime Chicken is marinated for a few hours before you grill it. You can set this up in the morning, when you come home for lunch, or even the night before. Put the chicken in a Ziploc bag, mix all your marinade ingredients up (there are only 4 ingredients), pour the marinade over the chicken, and refrigerate it for a bit. That’s it!
The grilling is just as easy! Before you put the chicken on the grill, make sure it’s spread out to lie flat. When boneless, skinless chicken thighs are packaged, they are sort of “rolled up” so they look like a bone-in chicken thigh. All you have to do is “unroll” the chicken, and you’re left with a longer, thinner, flatter piece of meat. They will cook so much faster – and more evenly – if you lay them out flat instead of leaving them rolled up.
Like any time you’re grilling, don’t flip the chicken until it easily releases from the grill. And hopefully, you will only need to flip the chicken over once. Use a meat thermometer like this one, that is designed to be used with a grill, and you won’t have to guess when the chicken is done. Just cook it to 165 degrees F, garnish with some extra cilantro and lime wedges, and dinner is served!
This chicken would be great with this yummy Sweet Corn & Tomato Salad! Pull some rice out of your freezer, and dinner is ready in a flash!
Enjoy!
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Printable Recipe Card for Grilled Cilantro-Lime Chicken
Grilled Cilantro-Lime Chicken
Ingredients
- 2-2.5 pounds boneless skinless chicken thighs
- 1/4 cup fresh cilantro roughly chopped
- 1/4 cup canola or vegetable oil
- 1/2 cup lime juice
- 1 teaspoon salt
- Optional: extra cilantro and lime for garnish
Instructions
- Combine oil, lime juice, and salt in small bowl. Stir to dissolve salt.
- Place chicken in a large Ziploc bag. Add lime juice mixture and chopped cilantro to bag. Press out as much air as possible, and seal bag. Gently massage bag to distribute marinade over chicken.
- Marinate chicken in refrigerator for 2-4 hours, or overnight.
- Remove chicken from refrigerator 15-20 minutes before grilling.
- Preheat grill to high.
- Take chicken out of marinade and place on hot grill. (You should be able to "open" the boneless chicken thighs to lay them flat on the grill. This will give you faster, more even cooking.)
- Grill chicken on high heat for 3-5 minutes per side, turning once, until internal temperature measures 165 degrees F with a meat thermometer.
- Garnish with extra fresh cilantro and lime wedges if desired.
This was really good, I used it to marinate chicken wings and then reduced the marinade after the chicken was on the grill and added a little butter. This was just what I was looking for. But don’t marinate the chicken wings for too long I think mine was over 3 hours and the meat was a little rubbery. But the flavor was goooood.