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Jalapeno Honey Lime Grilled Chicken is the perfect summer dinner with a little bit of sweet, the perfect hint of sour, and the perfect amount of heat.
If you’ve been searching for grilled chicken recipes, look no further.
Why this recipe works:
If you’re looking for a moist, tender, flavorful grilled chicken recipe, you’re going to love this recipe!
- Really excellent grilled chicken starts with an outstanding marinade. The homemade marinade in this recipe is super quick and easy to make, and the results are worth it.
- The flavor combination of honey + lime + jalapeno + salt is the perfect marriage of flavors. You get a little bit of everything your taste buds could possibly desire.
- Sweet, sour, heat and salt – it’s what every good recipe needs. The marinade adds the perfect flavor to the chicken as well.
Here’s how to make it:
- To make the marinade, simply combine olive oil, honey, lime juice, fresh jalapeno, crushed garlic, and salt in a large resealable plastic bag. I always like to taste my marinades before I add the meat and adjust any of the ingredients to my liking, if necessary.
- Then, add the chicken thighs and allow it to soak, refrigerated, in the marinade for at least an hour. If you’re a planner, you can marinade the meat over night and that will allow even more flavor to penetrate the meat.
- To cook, heat the grill to medium high and cook for about 8-10 minutes on each side or until you’ve reached the desired cooking temperature.
Cooking tips:
- Any cut of chicken will work with this recipe but I prefer to grill chicken thighs because they are inexpensive, dark meat has more flavor and is more tender, and thighs are smaller portions than breasts. I’d rather have the option to have one, two, or three pieces of chicken rather than one really large piece that I can’t finish.
- When you cook boneless skinless chicken thighs, they only need about 8-10 minutes to fully cook when using medium to medium high heat. If you’re using bone-in or skin-on chicken thighs, you’ll need to increase your cooking time a bit.
- The recommended internal temperature of chicken is 165 degrees F.
What to serve with grilled chicken:
So many fantastic side dishes go great with this recipe. On this particular evening, we served our dinner up with some Mexican sauteed corn, refried black beans, warm corn tortillas, and sliced avocado. YUM!
This tasty chicken goes perfectly with some grilled Mexican Street Corn, a perfectly cooked baked potato, and some Grilled Peaches and Cream for dessert!
I can honestly say that this was one of my most favorite grilled summer dinners and the bar was definitely set high for future backyard BBQs!
Other great jalapeno recipes:
Love jalapeno recipes? Then you’ll want to make these:
- Bacon Wrapped Jalapeno Popper Chicken
- Jalapeño Bacon Wrapped Scallops
- Jalapeno Cornbread
- Cheddar Zucchini Bread with Jalapeno Honey Butter
- Mini Bacon Jalapeno Egg Salad Sandwiches
- Bacon Jalapeno Fry Sauce
- Stuffed Bacon Jalapeno Cheddar Burgers
- Cheesy Bacon Ranch Jalapeno Poppers
- Jalapeno Popper Chicken Flautas
- Bacon Jalapeño Deviled Eggs
- Bacon Jalapeño Football Fondue
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Pin ItGrilled Chicken Thighs with Jalapeno Honey Lime Marinade
Ingredients
- 1.5 – 2 pounds skinless boneless chicken thighs
- olive oil spray or alternate cooking spray
Chicken marinade:
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 3 tablespoons honey
- 3 tablespoons lime juice
- 1 large jalapeno stem and seeds removed, minced
- 1 teaspoon crushed garlic
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
Instructions
- Mix marinade: Using a large resealable gallon-size plastic storage bag, combine all marinade ingredients WITHOUT the chicken. Squeeze the bag to mix well. Taste the marinade and adjust if desired.
- Marinate: Add the chicken to the marinade. Seal the bag and refrigerate for at least an hour up to overnight.
- Cook: Heat the grill over medium-high heat. You can use a cast iron grill pan or your outdoor BBQ grill. Spray the grill with olive oil spray to prevent sticking. Cook for 8-10 minutes on each side. Time will vary, but flip when nice grill marks appear. Cook on second side until cooked through and internal temperature reads 165°F. Take care not to overcook.
- Serve immediately. Garnish with cilantro. Enjoy!
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
This recipe was originally posted in June 2017 and has been updated for your reading pleasure
Can you bake chicken in the oven?
Yes! I would probably do 350°F until the internal temp reaches like 160°F and then I would stick them under the broiler for a couple minutes to give them a bit of a crisp.
This is a great recipe however please NEVER wash your chicken before cooking it. It will develop harmful bacteria and can make you incredibly sick. Make this dish but remove that step from this blog and never wash the chicken.
Thanks for seeing that! I actually don’t rinse my chicken any more but haven’t heard that rinsing it can actually cause issues. I can go ahead and remove that from the recipe since I don’t rinse anymore. I just stopped because it seemed unnecessary.
Yes, if you cook it at high enough temperature, it’s meaningless to wash it. We used to do same thing, but you can easily cross contaminate if you wish it in your kitchen sink. It is very hard for cleaning products to 100% kill samenolli (or whatever else), so it’s best to just let the fire kill it (like in less than only a few minutes) when it is cooking at high temp.
Can o bake the chicken if so how long? Also i dont have fresh jalapenos can i use jarred sliced ones instead cause i have those? This looks so good im hoping to yry once i know theses answers dont own a grill and want to make as soon as possible. Always looking for new ways to enjoy chicken
Whenever I bake meat, I always determine when it’s done with a thermometer vs. time. I just cook until it has reached the proper internal temperature. Jarred jalapenos will work but they will definitely taste different. Fresh vs jarred is a matter of preference.
Absolutely fantastic! I made double the marinade, used half for the marinade, and boiled the extra For a couple minutes to meld the flavors. The family loved having the extra to dip their chicken and veggies in!!! Definitely will make again! (PS having a little extra vitamin c and honey is a good thing! That’s how I found this recipe!)
I just finish cooked by follow the recipe. The recipe was so nice especially the sauce. Thanks for sharing the recipe
Does the olive oil go in the marinade or is it listed just because you spray the grill with it?
it goes in the marinade
Made this dish the other night for my family! Absolutely delicious! Winner, winner, chicken, dinner ;0). Very easy to prepare ahead of time. I’m a working mom, so I love easy meals with fresh ingredients. I served with brown rice, tomato & basil salad – also roasted some peppers on the side.
Wondering if it would be too spicy if I left the seeds & stems of the jalapeño ?
its all about personal preference, however I’ve never left the stem on… only the seeds to add more heat.
Holy cow, that dish looks absolutely incredible! Pinned and trying!
How much OJ for this? It kinda merged with the chicken.
The recipe doesn’t call for OJ
I think she meant OI for the olive oil. Easy keyboard error.
Can’t wait to try this. I’m going to use my grill plate on the stove since it’s a bit too chilly and windy out to grill. I have faith!!!