Recipe Overview
Why you’ll love it: This zesty and flavorful tequila lime chicken marinade is reminiscent of a margarita and perfect for making grilled chicken for fajitas.
How long it takes: 30 minutes, plus marinating time
Equipment you’ll need: measuring cup, resealable bag, grill
Servings: 8
Marinated Grilled Chicken
I’m not quite ready to let go of summer, and readers seem to really love chicken marinades, so I’m bringing you another great chicken marinade option. If you’ve missed some of the other ones, be sure to check them out! My balsamic chicken marinade is one I fall back on frequently, and my honey mustard chicken marinade is also one of my favorites. If you’re digging the idea of booze in a marinade, you’ll love these beer marinated chicken thighs. Greek chicken marinade is another one of my favorites.
Tequila lime Chicken Marinade
Plenty of flavor. Reminiscent of a margarita, this marinade has tequila (obviously) and fresh lime juice. The flavor is kicked up a notch with chili powder, garlic powder, and fresh cilantro. Sweetened slightly with honey and tied together with olive oil, the marinated chicken stays nice and moist.
Versatile. This tequila lime chicken marinade is great if you’re gonna just eat a chicken breast with some sides, but it’s also really perfect if you want to slice up the chicken and use it for fajitas. The flavors of the tequila and lime, along with the flame-grilled flavor you get from grilling the chicken, makes it absolutely perfect for fajitas or a southwest-style burrito bowl.
Tips & Adaptations
Don’t overcook the chicken. The internal temperature when measured with an instant read thermometer should be at least 160 degrees. (The temperature will rise about 5 degrees when you let the chicken rest after removing it from the grill.) Overcooked chicken breasts can be very dry and tough.
To make Whole30. Leave out the tequila and honey. It won’t be exactly the same but it will still be delicious. If you simply want to make the marinade alcohol-free, just omit the tequila. Keep in mind, however, that very little of the tequila is actually absorbed into the chicken and the high heat will burn off any residual alcohol.
Add more garlic flavor. Garlic powder is more mild and achieves the flavor I want without being too obvious. If you love garlic, freshly minced garlic would be fab in this marinade. I’d start with one clove, but if you want to go big, add more!
Skip the cilantro. If cilantro tastes like soap to you, just leave it out.
More Chicken Marinades
Tequila Lime Chicken Marinade
Ingredients
- ½ cup fresh lime juice
- ¼ cup tequila
- ¼ cup olive oil
- 2 tablespoons minced cilantro
- 1 tablespoon chili powder
- 1 tablespoon honey
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon coarse ground black pepper
- 2 pounds boneless skinless chicken breasts
Instructions
- In a bowl or a measuring cup, whisk together lime juice, tequila, olive oil, cilantro, chili powder, honey, garlic powder, salt, and pepper.½ cup fresh lime juice, ¼ cup tequila, ¼ cup olive oil, 2 tablespoons minced cilantro, 1 tablespoon chili powder, 1 tablespoon honey, 1 teaspoon garlic powder, 1 teaspoon kosher salt, ½ teaspoon coarse ground black pepper
- Place chicken in a zip-top bag or a baking dish and pour marinade over, moving chicken around to coat on all sides. If using a bag, put the bag into a bowl to prevent leaks spilling in your fridge. If using a baking dish, cover with plastic wrap.2 pounds boneless skinless chicken breasts
- Place in fridge and marinate for 30 minutes to 4 hours.
- When ready to cook, preheat grill to medium heat (350°F). Remove chicken from marinade. Grill chicken for 15 to 20 minutes, flipping once, until internal temperature reaches 165°F on an instant read thermometer. Cooking time will vary depending on thickness of meat and exact grill temperature.
- Let chicken rest for 5 minutes before slicing or serving.
Notes
- Nutrition: Keep in mind that the nutrition information below is slightly skewed because it’s difficult to determine how much of the marinade is actually absorbed into the chicken, and how much is discarded.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Did You Make This?Share a comment and rating below! I love hearing what you think!
Tequila Lime Chicken was fantastic! We are not fans of cilantro so I omitted that & added some lime zest. I only had 1 lime so I added a little orange juice. My whole family loved it!
So glad you liked it! The addition of orange juice is smart, I bet that was delicious! Thanks for leaving a comment. :)
This marinade was wonderful, thank you for sharing! I added some diced habaneros for a little kick. I made extra marinade and added it to the pan juices after roasting my chicken and reduced it down to make a very flavorful pan sauce. I’m adding this one to my recipe index, thank you!!!
So glad you liked it! Good call on the pan sauce, yum!
You leave out fresh garlic because of Ben? I say kick that garlic powder nonsense to the curb and tell Ben to man the heck up! Fresh garlic is a gift from the Gods.
Haha, this made me laugh out loud. I definitely add it sometimes, but leave it out other times. :)
I made skewers with this chicken, onion, and bell paper. It was great! Fajita on a stick
Sounds fantastic!!! Thanks for sharing that fun twist on this recipe.
I replaced the tequila with fresh squeezed juice from an orange and also included lime peel strips in the individual sous vide bags I prepared for the chicken breasts. After cooking in the sous vide bag to 150°, I returned the bag to the fridge to let the chicken set. After cooling, I cut the chicken into strips and used them as part of skillet fajitas. I also dice the chicken and use as a salad protein. The flavor is amazing!
Sounds like an awesome way to make it! Thanks for taking the time to leave a comment!
Does the alcohol in the tequila cook out? Just wondering if it would be safe to serve to my kids.
Yes it does! :) It’s definitely kid-friendly.
This was so tasty! I probably ought to turn my grill a little lower next time as I did burn it a bit.
So glad you liked the marinade! Grilling can be so tricky.
sounds delicious!
Thanks Denise!
Looks like the perfect chicken recipe!!!
Thanks Sheenam! Glad you like it!
Sounds like a great marinade. Probably could use it for beef as well. Especially for fajitas.
It would be – probably good on shrimp, too!
Hi Rachel,
I’m so with you — I’m in Illinois and this weekend we frolicked through some leaves in the 90 degree temperatures. In the Midwest you take what you can get I guess! I’m always looking for a great chicken marinade — especially for fajitas! Can’t wait to try this!
I hope you love this recipe! Stay cool…crazy to be saying that in September! :-P