Grilled Cilantro Lime Chicken with Avocado Salsa – a healthy, easy, 30 minute meal packed with fresh zesty flavors.
Recently we were in Breckenridge celebrating a late Christmas with my husbands family. My sister-in-law kept repeating all weekend… there are 17 of us… 17!!!
The coolest part of the weekend was that my husbands brother and his family (wife and two boys) were able to fly in from Cuenca, Ecuador where they are doing mission work! This was the first time in a year and half that they have been in the US. Kinda crazy right!?
It was actually kinda funny seeing their reaction to certain things. They were craving Chick-fil-a, Tex-mex food, long walks through Target, Panera Salads, and buying in bulk at Costco. I think I walked through Costco with them for like 45 minutes as they just looked at up and down the aisles throwing everything they couldn’t get back in Ecuador in the cart!
They ended up with eight suitcases, one cooler, and one rubbermaid container full of things from the states when they left Colorado! I’d say that was a successful trip! 🙂
In the midst of the all the shopping my sister-in-law looked at me and said, “if you were in Ecuador for a year what would you miss most?”
Without even thinking about it I said, TEX-MEX food! I have been spoiled living with a plethora of Mexican food options in Texas and I would definitely miss it. The queso, the margaritas, the fajitas, the creamy enchiladas, all the chilis and spicy peppers … I’m not sure I could do without!
Or at least it would be really really hard!
So in honor of my sister-in-law and her similar love for Tex-Mex food and all things yummy, today’s recipe is all about the zesty flavors of latin cuisine!
This Cilantro Lime Chicken is marinated with fresh zesty lime juice, earthy ground cumin, and fresh cilantro. You could pan sear it if you’re under 2 feet of snow or if you want a real delicious juicy chicken, grill it to create a charcoaled taste and sear in all flavor.
While the Chicken itself is amazing, the kicker and element that takes this dish over the top is the avocado salsa on top!
Holy Hannah is this stuff good! Although, can anything with avocado in it be bad? I think not!
The Avocado Salsa is creamy, zesty from the lime juice and red wine vinegar, slightly spicy from the red pepper flakes, and absolutely addicting! The combo of the Grilled Chicken with the Avocado Salsa will blow your taste buds out of the water!
I hope this recipe makes you think of summer! Enjoy my sweet friends and happy Monday!
Bon Appetit!
Prep Time:
Yield:
Category:
Print
PinIngredients
Cilantro Lime Chicken:
- 1.5 lb. boneless chicken breast
- 1/4 cup lime juice
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1/4 cup fresh cilantro
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
Avocado Salsa:
- 4 avocados, diced
- 1/2 cup fresh cilantro, diced
- 3 tablespoons lime juice
- 1/2 tablespoon red wine vinegar
- 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 1 garlic clove, minced
- salt to taste
Instructions
- To a small bowl, add 1/4 cup of lime juice, olive oil, 1/4 cup of fresh cilantro, ground cumin, and 1/4 teaspoon of salt. Whisk until mixed.
- Add chicken and marinade to a large ziplock bag. Let chicken marinade for 15 minutes.
- Preheat grill to medium high heat (about 400 degrees). Place chicken on grill and grill each side for 4-6 minutes, until chicken is no longer pink. Remove and let sit.
- To make the avocado salsa: add avocado, 1/2 cup fresh cilantro, 3 tablespoons lime juice, red wine vinegar, red pepper flakes, garlic clove, and salt to a small bowl. Gently toss to mix.
- Top Cilantro Lime Chicken with fresh Avocado Salsa.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 6 oz. chicken + salsa
- Calories: 373
- Sugar: 1 g
- Sodium: 227 mg
- Fat: 29 g
- Carbohydrates: 14 g
- Fiber: 10 g
- Protein: 15 g
- Cholesterol: 33 mg
IF YOU MAKE THIS RECIPE, BE SURE TO SNAP A PIC AND HASHTAG IT #JOYFULHEALTHYEATS. I LOVE SEEING WHAT YOU MAKE!
Want More Chicken Recipes?
Smoky Coconut Milk Braised Chicken
Lighter Baked Chicken Parmesan with Zucchini Noodles
Skinny Chicken Alfredo Pasta with Broccoli
cilantro + avocado are two of my favorite things…adding this to the meal plan for next week!
hurray… enjoy Lori. You’re family is going to love it!
Super delicious!! I can’t wait to try it. I love anything with avocado!! Thanks for the recipe 🙂
You’re welcome! This Chicken is seriously the bomb! You’ll love it!
What side would you serve with this meal? My family are meat and potatoes people and I usually get comments like “Is this it” when I serve something like this on its own. Do you have any suggestions?
Hey Alyssa, you could probably sure this with my Easy Garlic Ranch Potatoes and the Grilled Chili Lime Sweet Corn Salad. Your fam will be sure to love those! 🙂
What exactly is the serving size you used for the salsa in the bottom nutrition panel? Thanks 🙂 P.S. I made this last week and i’m already wanting to make it again! I am training currently for a bikini contest and need the serving size for my macro calculations 🙂
★★★★★
I want to say it was around 1/2 cup of the avocado salsa per chicken. Woohoo go girl, bikini contest it up! 🙂 Honored your eating my food.
Can the chicken be marinated overnight?
absolutely! It will give it more flavor!
Wow, Krista – this looks amazing! So many of my favourite flavours in one dish. Pinning this on my Must Make board 🙂
Awesome! so glad to hear it! 🙂
I made this last night…yummy and certainly a keeper. The grill ran out of gas (sigh) and I finished it up on the stove in a very hot skillet.
The Salsa is great!
★★★★
Ugh… been there before! That’s the only bad thing about gas grills! But so glad you liked it Julie!
I made this tonight and my family loved it – it was super flavorful and tender!
★★★★★
Hurray! So pumped to hear it Andrea! 🙂 Yeah for tasty meals!
Do you have any suggestions for making the chicken in the oven? Or on the stove top?
You could definitely make it on the stove top, just seared it in about a tablespoon of grapeseed oil or olive oil for 5-7 minutes per side. I wouldn’t recommend doing it in the oven, your not going to get the same crust that you will with grilling or searing in a pan. 🙂
I made this for my boyfriend the other night and he loved it! Thanks for the recipe.
Woohooo! Go Jenna! So glad it worked out well for you guys, it’s one of our favorites!
I tried making this, and the salad came out tasting very tangy, not creamy at all. Any thoughts on what might have caused this. I went over the ingredients 4 times to make sure I put in the right amount of everything. I even used fresh cilantro out of my own garden. Could the avocado not being completely ripe have anything to do with it?
Hmmm… the avocado could definitely have something to do with it Dave because the flavor is probably not the same. You could try leaving out of the vinegar next time and see if that takes away some of the tang too. Fingers crossed it turns out for you next time, because this dish rocks! 🙂
The avocado salsa on this is the freaking bomb. I don’t have a grill so I ended up pan searing the chicken. Really loved it. Adding the red onion for garnish (like you have in the picture) added a good snap in each bite. I usually end up altering recipes (pretty much always in one way or another) but this has such an awesome flavor profile that I wouldn’t change a thing. Great recipe!
★★★★★
Ohhh… thanks so much Kate so glad to hear it! And yes that avocado salsa is EVERYTHING! Totally addicted. i would just eat it out of the bowl! 🙂
I plan on adapting this to “finger food” size for my Oscar Party…cut the chicken to smaller pieces, a nice dollop of the avacado salsa with the red onion curl for a garnish, served on one of those swanky little bamboo skewers with the bow on the end…great recipe!!
★★★★★
Love that! Such a great idea Susan!
This is such a great recipe! Full of flavor and so easy.
★★★★★
Thanks Sherry! It’s one of our favorites!
Do you think I could use my broiler in lieu of a grill or would I be better off just cooking on my stove top in a cast iron pan? If so, do you think five minutes per side is good?
Thank you for posting this recipe!
I think it would be better to cook it on the stove top with a cast iron pan, it will give a nice sear. 🙂 And yes about 5-7 minutes per side would be great!
can’t wait to try this, love cilantro chicken.
It’s divine Gretchen, you’ll love it!
Made this tonight- added jalapeño, tomato and onion to the salsa and it was all delicious!! Usually I see cilantro lime with honey and never tried it without, definitely a keeper!! Thanks for the recipe!
★★★★
YEAH! So glad to hear it! And yum on adding the tomatoes and jalapeno!
Having this for lunch today… Just made the salsa and it is delish…. Hoping the chicken is as good as it smells….
★★★★
ohhh it will be! Enjoy Regina!
This was like out of this world good. Has all my favorite flavors. And it was Easy! Thank you!
oh thank you so much lindsay, you totally made my day!
This looks amazing! Look forward to trying it
It came out delicious..i made it with a black bean, corn and tomato salad. Im 25 and starting to try and make different dinners every night for my family and my 2year old. And this was perfect.
★★★★★
Ohhh love that black bean salad you served it with. Delish! thanks for the review Ashley!
Loved this dish so much. The avocado salsa was amazing! I will definitely make it again. I served it with corn on the cob and fresh strawberries! Thank you so much!
that sounds like one perfect meal! Pumped you liked the chicken and avocado salsa so much!
This was absolutely outstanding! We always pound our chicken breast down so it only took minutes on the grill. So flavorful and sooo tender. We’ve used the marinate several times now. The salsa is the best. Thank you:)
woohoo! so glad to hear that you and the family love it Bonnie!
I’m grilling this right now and cannot wait to eat it!!!
★★★★★
Looks like an awesome recipe… I will surely try… And I know the Avocado would give it the healthy effect that it needs. thanks for sharing
★★★★★
this is one of my favorites to make in the summer, especially with a light spinach salad
What side dish could I serve with the grilled cilantro lime chicken with avocado salsa?
And could the chicken be marinaded longer than 15 minutes?
Also, can the avocado salsa be made ahead of time or will it get mushy?
Thankyou
Janet
Yes the chicken could definitely be marinated longer than 15 minutes, you could do it a whole day ahead of time if you’d like. 🙂 I wouldn’t recommend making the salsa ahead of time, because yes it will get mushy and lose it’s fresh taste. AS far as sides to go with it you could make my Grilled Corn on the Cob with Creamy Roasted Jalapeno Sauce, Garlic Herb Smashed Potatoes, or Grilled Chili Lime Sweet Corn Salad. Enjoy Janet!