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Our Crispy Cilantro Lime Chicken Recipe is full of incredible flavour! Juicy on the inside bone-in chicken thighs with a golden, crispy skin!

Mexican-inspired Crispy Cilantro Lime Chicken that marinates in no time thanks to a rich-in-flavour sauce. Garlic, cilantro and lime takes simple oven baked chicken thighs and turns them into a mouth-watering recipe thanks to all of those flavours mixing through the incredible pan drippings!

Crispy Cilantro Lime Chicken is juicy on the inside, golden and crisp on the outside, cooked in mouth watering flavorful pan drippings!

SUCCULENT CHICKEN THIGHS RECIPE!

No need to go anywhere or get take out when you can have juicy and crispy chicken on your table in no time with everyone feasting on some incredible chicken! The sauce is so good you’ll be licking your plates clean!

HOW TO MAKE CHICKEN

With simple ingredients you may already have on hand that create some explosive flavours in this chicken.:

  • Fresh lime — use fresh lime juice for the best flavour. Don’t go for the bottled stuff.
  • Cilantro — substitute with fresh parsley if you don’t like cilantro.
  • Garlic — you could use green onions/scallions (about 1/4 cup chopped) instead of garlic if you prefer
  • Red chili flakes — if you don’t like a bit of heat, leave it out all together. Or for more heat, add more!
  • Brown sugar — you can also use honey if you prefer. I love brown sugar in this. It balances out the acidity of the lime juice.
  • Cumin

Single piece of Crispy Cilantro Lime Chicken on a plate
CHICKEN THIGHS OR BREASTS?

I used bone-in, skin on thighs in this recipe, but you can use skinless and boneless chicken breasts if you prefer. The cooking time will change slightly, depending on the size and thickness of your chicken breasts. Chicken always needs to be cooked to an internal temperature of 165 degrees F.

SIDES:

Crispy Cilantro Lime Chicken served with coriander leaves

Even though there are many Cilantro Lime recipes out there, I KNOW you guys will love and appreciate this one. Because CRISPY SKIN wins food lovers over EVERY SINGLE TIME.

WATCH HOW WE MAKE Crispy Cilantro Lime Chicken

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4.82 from 55 votes

Crispy Cilantro Lime Chicken Thighs

Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 30 minutes
Total Time: 45 minutes
Servings: 6 people
Crispy Cilantro Lime Chicken is juicy on the inside, golden and crisp on the outside, cooked in mouth watering, flavourful pan drippings!
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Ingredients 
 

  • 3 tablespoons olive oil divided
  • 1/4 cup lime juice fresh squeezed, juice of 2 limes
  • 1/4 cup fresh cilantro chopped
  • 1 teaspoon red chili flakes or pepper flakes
  • 4 cloves garlic minced
  • 2 teaspoons brown sugar
  • 3/4 teaspoon ground cumin
  • 6 bone-in skin-on chicken thighs or bone-off
  • 1 pinch salt to taste
  • 1 pinch pepper to taste
  • 1 pinch fresh cilantro leaves to serve
  • 2 lime slices or wedges, to serve

Instructions 

  • Preheat oven to 425°F (220°C).
  • In a medium-sized shallow bowl, whisk together 2 tablespoons olive oil together with the lime juice, chopped cilantro, chili flakes, garlic, sugar and cumin. Add the chicken thighs to the marinade and toss to evenly coat. Cover and refrigerate thighs for 15 minutes.
  • Heat the remaining one tablespoon of oil in a non stick pan or cast iron skillet over medium-high heat. Add in the thighs along with any marinade left over in the bowl, and sear chicken -- skin-side down -- for 4 minutes on each side until golden and crispy (chicken will not be fully cooked).
  • Transfer to preheated oven and bake until the chicken is cooked through (about 15-20 minutes).
  • Garnish with fresh cilantro leaves and lime slices or wedges.
  • Serve over steamed rice or cauliflower rice, and drizzle with the pan juices.

Notes

Tip: We always tend to use fresh lime in our recipes, rather than the bottled stuff for a fresh, zesty flavour. 

Nutrition

Calories: 392kcal | Carbohydrates: 4g | Protein: 24g | Fat: 31g | Saturated Fat: 7g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 6g | Monounsaturated Fat: 15g | Trans Fat: 0.1g | Cholesterol: 142mg | Sodium: 125mg | Potassium: 336mg | Fiber: 0.3g | Sugar: 2g | Vitamin A: 277IU | Vitamin C: 5mg | Calcium: 23mg | Iron: 1mg

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

Tried this? Leave a comment below!
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Karina eating butter chicken from a gold fork out of a bowl with a nann bread on the side.

Hey Good Food Lovers! It’s nice to see you! My name is Karina. Welcome to Cafe Delites, my beloved space for the last 10 years where my passion for food has flourished and connected millions!

4.82 from 55 votes (10 ratings without comment)

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76 Comments

  1. Kelly McGowan says:

    5 stars
    Excellent! Next time I pat off some of the moisture from the marinade as it splattered the heck out of my stove stop. I still put the remaining marinade into the pan just before going into the oven. Otherwise, I feared the garlic in the marinade would burn on the stove top. Served it over rice! Excellent weekday meal.