Fiesta Lime Chicken...just the words alone make my mouth water. Our recipe features lean chicken flavored with a simple zesty marinade. Oh ...and let's not forget our super fast and fresh pico de gallo. You can save this meal for weekend grilling if you want, but it is easy enough to throw together on a week night. We did!
Fiesta Lime Chicken with Fresh Pico
Measure out about ⅓ cup of freshly squeeze lime juice. I promise, using fresh limes is so much better than bottled.
For our marinade we used spices with traditional Mexican flavors...chili powder, cumin, chipotle, onion powder and garlic. These spicy and smoky flavors combined with the lime juice really give the Fiesta Lime Chicken WOW flavor.
After the chicken has marinated, time to grill! We used our Char-Broil Grill with Infrared Technology. This year was our first grilling season using Infrared, and we love our grill. Everything cooks evenly with no flare ups and cleaning is easier than with a traditional grill.
However, you can use a trusty charcoal small grill.
Cook until done, there is no pink inside the chicken and the juices run clear. Here is a handy reminder of the FDA Internal Cooking Temperature guidelines! Just don't over cook your chicken.
We highly recommend using a meat thermometer to get perfectly juicy chicken every single time.
When I was preparing the chicken, I was thinking to myself "I need a side dish ...what do we have?" I wanted something fresh and bright to pair well with the chicken, but not a plain salad. Rice sounded great, but I was trying to eat light.
Tomato, onion, and cilantro...yep, I've got all three. Sometimes the most amazing food comes from simple ingredients and preparation. Pico de gallo is one of those foods.
Pico is excellent with chicken, with fish, on tacos, with chips. This particular pico is good enough to eat on a spoon. Alone. Pico de solo.
Doesn't this look so yummy? Full of flavor, fit and fresh, and fun to make and eat. Fiesta Lime Chicken is definitely a keeper recipe.
Every bite is perfect.
Fiesta Lime Chicken with Fresh Pico
Ingredients
For the Chicken
- 3 chicken breasts cut in half "filet" style to make 6 cutlets
- ⅓ cup fresh lime juice
- ¼ cup oil vegetable, olive, canola
- 1 TB chili powder
- 1-2 teaspoon minced garlic to taste
- 1 teaspoon chipotle seasoning blend
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- ½ teaspoon cumin
- ½ teaspoon onion powder
For the Pico
- 1 cup white onion chopped (about half of a large onion)
- 1 cup fresh tomato chopped (about one medium tomato)
- ½ fresh jalapeno seeded and finely chopped
- ½ or more to taste fresh cilantro, chopped
- ¼ teaspoon salt
Instructions
For the Chicken
- Combine the lime juice, oil and all seasonings. Pour over the chicken cutlets, move the chicken around to make sure each piece is well coated. Cover and refrigerate for 30 minutes to 1 hour.
- Heat grill to medium high. Cook chicken on both sides until the juices run clear and the center is no longer pink. Do not over cook. Cooking time will vary according to grill temperature and thickness of cutlets.
For the Pico
- In a medium sized bowl, combine all ingredients well. Let sit at room temperature for at least 30 minutes before serving, stirring occasionally.
- Serve grilled chicken with fresh pico.
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