It’s chicken time again! Check out this delicious chili lime chicken. Oven-roasted chicken breasts, flavourful chili lime sauce with a touch of coconut and fresh cilantro. Oh, what a combination! It is very easy to prepare, so darn tasty, healthy and paleo-friendly. Chili lime chicken is perfect for either summer, winter, lunch or dinner. A second serving is guaranteed!
Before we start, let’s talk about chicken. I was looking for chicken thighs, but I didn’t find them (sadly). I love chicken thighs (check one of my top chicken recipes). They are juicy and they have a totally different flavour compared to other chicken parts. However, in the end, I decided on chicken breasts. Even though they are the leanest part of the chicken, the amazing chili lime sauce will keep them moist.
Regarding the sauce: It’s „oh“, „mmmm“, „yummy“, basically heavenly good! There are not many ingredients in it, yet it is incredibly rich in flavour. Besides chili flakes, paprika and lime juice, I added some coconut milk as well. Psst, we „cleaned“ the baking dish afterwards, that’s how good it was!
Chili and lime
On one hand, chili and lime are two complete opposites (one spicy, the other sour) on the other hand they complete each other. Sounds like a great marriage to me. Wink.
By the way, lime is a wonderful addition to your dishes. It’s way more than just a drink flavour or a garnish. You can check also my other recipes with lime, such as avocado soup recipe with lime, sweet potato salad, a delicious beef pho or something sweet as an avocado lime tart.
Moreover, if you are concerned about how all these ingredients go together. Here is how; chili gives the lovely heat, lime takes some heat away and adds the light tangy note (I am not sure which one comes first, but you can taste both for sure) and the coconut brings the creaminess and rounds up the whole sauce into something delicious.
Also, make sure to use full-fat coconut milk, which usually comes in a can. I love it. Already one spoon makes a difference in any dish. If you need more inspiration check out the crunchy coconut pickles, purple rice with bok choy and as dessert a delicious sorbet or panna cotta.
One last thing; in this recipe, you’ll have to move the dish from the stove to the oven. If you have an ovenproof pan, perfect. Ultimately, you can transfer everything in a baking dish. Yeah, nothing will stop us from making chili lime chicken!
Ingredients for 2-4 portions of chili lime chicken:
- 2 chicken breasts (or 6-8 chicken thighs)
- 2-3 Tbsp chili flakes
- 2 Tbsp paprika powder
- salt ad pepper
- coconut oil or olive oil
- 1 red onion (sliced)
- 3 cloves of garlic (chopped)
- 250 -300 ml chicken stock
- 4 limes (2 for juice, 2 cut in slices)
- 3 Tbsp full-fat coconut milk (from a can)
- 10 -15 black olives
- fresh cilantro
Before anything else, preheat the oven to 160ºC. Then, in a small bowl mix chili flakes, paprika powder, salt and pepper. In order to reduce the cooking time, I cut the chicken breasts into 5 pieces each. Once you decide and cut the chicken (skip that if you have chicken thighs), roll them in the chili mixture. Make sure to cover evenly on all sides.
Furthermore, in a larger non-sticking frying pan, melt some coconut oil. When it melts, add the chicken and brown it for 4-5 minutes on each side. After the chicken gets that lovely golden-brown and maybe, in this case, black-red colour, remove from the pan and put it aside. Relax, the black colour is just the chili mixture crust. Wink.
Moreover, using the same pan, add the sliced onion and chopped garlic and cook until a little glossy. At this point, pour in the chicken stock and add the lime juice (from two limes). Using a wooden spoon, scrape the bottom of the pan, to catch all of the chicken flavours. Bring to a light simmer.
At this stage, if you have an oven-proof pan, lay the chicken topped with some lime slices back in it and place it in the oven. In another case, transfer the liquids from the pan to a baking dish, place the chicken with lime slices in it and put to bake for 35 minutes.
Last but not least, after 35 minutes add the coconut milk and the olives. By using a small spoon, I swirled the coconut milk in between the chicken pieces. Push the dish back in the oven for 5-7 more minutes.
In conclusion, slice some more lime and wash the cilantro. Cilantro is just one of the herbs that goes perfect with lots of chicken dishes. It makes a great combination with spicy sauces and lime. Of course, you can also use parsley instead. But in this case, I prefer cilantro.
I like to serve the chili lime chicken in the baking dish in the middle of the table. For the final touch, place some fresh lime slices on it and sprinkle the fresh cilantro or parsley. Divide the chili lime chicken into individual portions and make sure to add the sauce, too. As for advice, take double portions before others do. Wink.
Enjoy!
PS
If you like the recipe, if you make the recipe or if you have any new ideas how to improve or change it, let me know in the comments section below or alternatively share your photos and reactions with me on Instagram (@Passionspoon), Facebook or Twitter (@PassionSpoon1). Simply use the hashtag #passionspoonrecipes in your posts. I would love to see them! (wink)
