This grilled cilantro lime chicken with mango salsa is filled with so much flavor and perfect for cilantro lovers. It’s such an easy recipe that it will become your favorite recipe. Bursting with sweet, spicy and citrus flavors it’s truly a treat for your taste buds. If you like dishes with a Mexican flair, you may also like this Qdobe inspired grilled chicken, Creamy poblano chicken casserole, or these loaded sweet potato fries.
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Given we eat a lot of chicken in our house, sometimes another chicken dish can be ho-hum. However I like to switch things up with my marinades to help reinvent what is otherwise just a plain protein. While I typically cook chicken breasts, I decided to use chicken thighs for this dish as they truly are so hard to mess up. Topping it with a fresh mango salsa amps up the flavors and makes it feel super bright.
HOW TO MAKE CILANTRO LIME MARINADE
Cilantro-lime chicken is truly one of my go-to marinades for chicken. It’s so bright and citrusy that I love the way it pairs with most proteins. While you can pick up a pre-made marinade at your local grocery store, I prefer to make it fresh as you can control the quality of ingredients.
Ingredients:
- Cilantro
- Red Onion
- Fresh squeezed lime (or lime juice)
- Black pepper
- Extra Virgin olive oil
Throw everything into a food processor or blender and you have this great chicken marinade.
MANGO SALSA
I love mango salsa because it is the perfect addition to top most meals like this cilantro lime chicken with mango salsa or could even be paired with jerk shrimp or jerk chicken. The citrus flavor helps balance out the spiciness in these types of marinades. To make the mango salsa, I have this super simple 5 ingredient Mango salsa, that is easy and truly no fuss.
Salsa Ingredients are:
- Ripe Mangos
- Red onion
- Red bell pepper
- Fresh Cilantro
- Jalapeño peppers
- Lime juice
HOW TO MAKE GRILLED CILANTRO LIME CHICKEN WITH MANGO SALSA
In a blender or food processor, place all your marinade ingredients for the cilantro lime dressing and blend until smooth. Place the chicken in a large resealable bag and pour about a cup of marinade over the chicken thighs. Shake the marinade around to ensure the chicken is evenly coated and let sit for at least 30 minutes. Ideal marinading time is 4 hours to overnight as this will really allow the marinade to penetrate the meat.
While your chicken is marinading, make your mango salsa by chopping all of the ingredients and placing in a medium-sized bowl. Mix throughly and set aside allowing the flavors to meld together.
Next heat your grill or grill pan to medium-high heat. Once the grill is hot, spray with cooking spray like avocado oil and place the chicken thighs on the grill grates. Allow the chicken to sear and cook prior to flipping. You will know when the chicken is ready to be flipped as it will pull away easily from the grill, generally about 6 – 7 minutes per side. Cooking times may vary depending on the size of the grill or cooking method used. Using a meat thermometer, ensure you cook your chicken to an internal temperature of 165 degrees.
Once the chicken is cooked through, remove from the grill and allow to rest so the juices redistribute.
HOW TO SERVE MANGO SALSA CHICKEN
There are a variety of ways you can serve your grilled cilantro lime chicken with mango salsa. The first way is to pair it with a healthy carb like:
- Jasmine rice
- Brown rice
- Coconut rice
- Cilantro lime rice
If you want to keep low carb you can serve with:
- Cauliflower rice
- Side salad
- Broccoli
This great recipe is perfect for meal preps as it tastes even better the next day. To serve for meal prep, simply pair it with your side of choice and place the grilled chicken, mango salsa and rice (or other side) in individual containers.
If you make this recipe, feel free to drop a comment down below. Also, let’s stay in touch! Feel free to follow me on my social media as I share more healthy recipes, fitness workouts and motherhood. Give a follow at: Instagram, YouTube and Pinterest!
Grilled Cilantro Lime Chicken with Mango Salsa
Equipment
- 1 Grill Grill pan or Griddle works too
Ingredients
Cilantro Lime Marinade
- 1/3 cup Cilantro
- 1/4 Red Onion
- 1/2 Lime juice fresh squeezed
- 1 tbsp Black pepper
- 1/4 Extra virgin olive oil
Mango Salsa
- 1 ripe Mango
- 2 tbsp Red Onion
- 2 tbsp Red Bell pepper
- 1 tsp Jalapeno
- 1 tbsp Cilantro
- 1 tbsp Lime juice
Grilled Chicken
- 1 lb chicken thighs
Instructions
Cilantro Lime Marinade
- Add all ingredients for the cilantro lime marinade to a food processor or blender
- Blend until smooth
Mango Salsa
- On a large cutting board, dice your vegetables including the red onion, red pepper, and jalapeno peppers.
- Place the diced vegetables in a medium mixing bowl and sprinkle with a touch of salt.
- Next, dice the mango into to cube size pieces. Place the diced mango in the bowl along with the other ingredients.
- On the cutting board, take your bunch of cilantro and roll it into a thin roll and run your knife through it gently chopping it.
- Place the cilantro in the bowl with the remaining ingredients.
- Lastly, juice the lime over the fresh fruit salsa and give it a good stir to throughly combine all the flavors.
Grilled Chicken
- Heat your grill or grill pan to medium-high heat.
- Once the grill is hot, spray with cooking spray like avocado oil and place the chicken thighs on the grill grates.
- Allow the chicken to sear and cook prior to flipping. You will know when the chicken is ready to be flipped as it will pull away easily from the grill, generally about 6 – 7 minutes per side.
- Using a meat thermometer, ensure you cook your chicken to an internal temperature of 165 degrees.
- Once the chicken is cooked through, remove from the grill and allow to rest so the juices redistribute.
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