These chili lime chicken tacos are easy and full of flavor! Serve them with roasted corn, onion, black beans and drizzle with some avocado dressing!
Chicken tacos are a staple at our house. We eat them a few times a month, and mix up all of the “extras” each time for something a little different. The marinade however, is usually the same. A well-seasoned citrusy blend of ingredients that always yields flavorful, juicy results. It never disappoints!
What I love most about this marinade is that you can leave the chicken sitting in it for 30 minutes or up to a full day. It just depends on your time frame. I’ve only done the full 24 hours once, because lets be honest, I’m a hot mess and I can never remember to prep it the day before. If you’re only going to do 30 minutes, take your chicken out of the fridge, and let it marinate at room temperature for the full 30 minutes. You’ll get a much better sear (without it burning) and your chicken will be a lot juicier!
Let’s talk about cooking options, shall we? We don’t own an outdoor grill. Yikes. I know, I know, that’s crazy, but we always go back and forth on how much it would get used and if it’d be a good investment. Sooo…. we use an indoor grill or our grill pan set over the gas stovetop. They both work wonderfully. If you don’t have either of those, you could simply pan sear them or cook them in the oven. Grilling adds more flavor but isn’t a complete deal breaker- trust me! Just make sure the chicken breasts get nice and crispy on the outside and remain tender on the inside. I usually pull mine off when it reaches an internal temperature of 160 degrees, cover it with foil, and let it rest on the cutting board for 5 minutes before slicing it up.
We almost always use this chili lime chicken for tacos, but sometimes we’ll toss the leftovers in quesadillas or on nachos! It’s super easy to make, flavorful without being too spicy for the kiddos, and always gets devoured. It’s a great recipe to keep in your collection!
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Chili Lime Chicken Tacos Recipe
Ingredients
- 1- 1 1/2 lb chicken breasts
- 1/4 cup lime juice - divided
- 2 tbsp canola oil - OR vegetable oil
- 1 tsp jalapeno - minced
- 1 tsp honey
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp chili powder
- 1/2 tsp paprika
- 1/2 tsp onion powder
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder
- 1/4 tsp cumin
- 1/4 tsp coriander
- 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper*
- 1/4 tsp ground black pepper
For the Filling
- 2 tsp olive oil
- 2 tbsp red onion - chopped
- 1/2 cup frozen corn
- 1/2 cup black beans - rinsed
- 1/4 tsp salt
- pinch ground black pepper
- soft taco flour tortillas
Optional Garnishes
- fresh cilantro - chopped
- avocado - chopped into chunks
- avocado dressing
- lime wedges
Instructions
- In a ziplock bag, add the half of the lime juice and ALL of the remaining marinade ingredients. Close and gently shake to combine. Open, add chicken, close and toss to coat chicken evenly. Refrigerate for up to 24 hours, allow to sit at room temperature for 30 minutes before cooking (NOTE: if you plan on doing the minimum of 30 minutes, just leave it at room temperature instead of refrigerating).
- STOVETOP: Set a large non-stick skillet over medium-high heat. When the oil is hot, add the chicken and cook for 5 minutes, or until browned on one side. Flip chicken and reduce heat to medium. Cook for approximately 5-8 minutes or until chicken is reaches an internal temperature of 160 degrees. Transfer to a cutting board, cover with aluminum foil, and let rest for 5 minutes before slicing. Garnish with remaining lime juice and a bit of zest, if desired.
- GRILL: Grease and preheat the grill to medium heat, about 400 degrees. Grill chicken undisturbed for for 5-7 minutes per side, or until chicken is reaches an internal temperature of 160 degrees. Transfer to a cutting board, cover with aluminum foil, and let rest for 5 minutes before slicing. Garnish with remaining lime juice and a bit of zest, if desired.
- Meanwhile, in a large non-stick skillet set over medium heat, add olive oil. When the oil is hot, add the onion and saute until translucent. Add the corn and cook for 5 minutes, then the rinsed black beans. Season with salt and pepper, cook for 3 minutes; keep warm.
- To assemble, place chicken and filling in soft taco size flour tortillas. Garnish with cilantro, avocado chunks, avocado dressing, and serve with lime wedges, if desired.
NOTES
-Try swapping out the corn and black beans for a fresh pineapple mango salsa!
The chicken marinade is SO GOOD! The combination of all the flavors was amazing!
This marinade on for a couple hrs. made the grilled chicken so great. Even with the basic taco toppings they were DELICIOUS! Wish I had doubled the recipe for leftovers. Keeper! thanks!
Oh, I love to hear that! So, glad you liked it! Thank you so much for letting me know!
I prepped the whole thing and took it camping. The chicken actually marinated for a couple of days. All we had to do was grill the chicken and cook the bean mixture. Since everything was cut up ahead of time, it was really easy as well as delicious. i made your green goddess dressing ahead of time too. Ā This will become a standard for our RV trips in the future.Ā
Perfect for camping! It’s so nice to have it all prepped & ready!
Are you able to make the chicken in a crockpot and shred the chicken for tacos? It’s a lot easier for me but I’m worried about the juiciness…. any thoughts?
I pulled bits and pieces from this recipe for my chicken lime guac burritos – used ground chicken instead of cubed, marinated overnight w/ all ingredients minus the honey and used a dab of sambal oelek chili paste rather than chili powder; browned chicken and then added refried beans to the juice in the pan and heated; made a homemade guac and piled up the beans, then chicken, then guac, then red cabbage slivers and shredded carrots and finished with a cilantro avocado dressing. Holy cannoli, the seasonings on the chicken were great and made the beans taste divine. Not too hot, not too mild. This was a huge hit. Thank you for the inspiration!