Grilled Cilantro Lime Chicken

Hello summer and cooking chicken on a grill! I don’t know about you, but sometimes I struggle with grilling chicken breasts.

The meat can very easily end up charred and dry on the outside or ends, while still raw on the inside. What we’ve done here helps result in juicy chicken breasts, with nice grill marks to boot.

First we pound the boneless, skinless breasts to an even thickness, which will help the meat cook more evenly, so you don’t have the extremes of raw and dry.

Then we marinate the chicken in an acidic marinade made with lime juice. It’s almost like using buttermilk, but lime flavored. The acid helps tenderize the meat for grilling.

Since the chicken breasts have been formed into rather thin cutlets, we take them directly from the refrigerator to the grill. That way, they don’t overcook in the time it takes to get nice grill marks on them.

Cilantro lime chicken is a classic Southwestern favorite. Not everyone likes cilantro though, so if that’s you, change it up a bit and try adding grated fresh ginger to the marinade instead. Or maybe some minced garlic and chopped parsley. Enjoy!

Grilled Cilantro Lime Chicken Recipe

The lime is the predominant flavor in this chicken recipe. We've paired it with cilantro. You could also try it with minced ginger, some garlic, or even mint.

We pound the chicken breasts to an even thickness and then chill them before grilling. Chilled, even-thickness chicken breasts will be less likely to overcook in the time it takes to get grill marks.

Ingredients

• 2 pounds skinless, boneless chicken breasts
• 2 Tbsp olive oil for the marinade plus more for grilling
• Grated zest from 2 limes
• Juice from 2 limes, about 1/4 cup
• 3 Tbsp chopped cilantro
• 1/2 teaspoon sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
• Lime wedges, fresh sprigs of cilantro, and slices of avocado to serve

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