This Sweet Chili Lime Grilled Chicken is full of sweet, tangy, and zesty flavors. It's an easy summertime dish that's delicious served with salad or rice!
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It's that time of year when my husband's vacation days start kicking in again. It's always fun having him home, but he can be a major distraction! Especially when the weather is nice and all I want to do is hang outside with him, or he wants to take an impromptu ride somewhere, or there are home projects that we want to tackle together. By the end of the day, I really don't feel like making a big, elaborate dinner.
Thankfully, summertime food is pretty good when it comes to avoiding prep time and cooking. Throw some meat on the grill. Done! Make a cold salad. Done! We usually do a ton of grilling when my husband's home. And one of the easiest ways to take your grilling up a notch is with a killer marinade that amps up the flavor of anything from grilled meats, seafood, or veggies!
A couple weeks ago, we kicked off my husband's vacation week with this Sweet Chili Lime Grilled Chicken. It took the place of our summertime grilled pizza night due to severe thunderstorms. It definitely wasn't a bad replacement! The marinade is *chef's kiss* good!
Just like the summer sun, I like a touch of heat in my food. Not enough to scorch or burn, but enough to let you feel it. That's why I love sweet chili sauce. It has more of a zesty flavor to it than a spicy kick making it a nice addition to summertime dishes. It's great as a dip, but I recently discovered it's really tasty in a marinade for chicken, too!
Sweet Chili Lime Grilled Chicken
The zestiness of the sweet chili sauce is paired with soy sauce, Hoisin sauce lime, honey, garlic, and ginger to create an Asian inspired marinade that's packed with flavor! Although I used this marinade on grilled chicken breasts, it's definitely not limited to just chicken! Use it on shrimp, London broil, or even tofu!
The first thing we need to do is whip up our marinade. Consider this like an Asian barbecue sauce, but maybe a little thinner in consistency. In a bowl or large measuring cup, whisk together the soy sauce, Hoisin sauce, sweet chili sauce, lime juice, lime zest, olive oil, honey, garlic, and ginger.
Now, we're going to place the chicken in a sealable container (you could even use a large freezer bag) and pour the marinade over the chicken. Make sure to toss the chicken so it's evenly coated in the marinade. Allow the chicken to marinate for at least 30 minutes. Longer is always better so the chicken can soak up all of that flavor!
Once the chicken has marinated for a sufficient amount of time, heat the grill on medium heat. Remove the chicken from the marinade and season with salt and pepper. Then, grill the chicken for 5-7 minutes on each side, or until it's completely cooked through.
When the chicken is cooked, plate it up, and garnish with some sesame seeds, chopped green onions, or lime wedges.
Sweet Chili Lime Grilled Chicken
Ingredients
For the marinade:
- 3 tbsp. soy sauce
- 1/4 cup Hoisin sauce
- 1/2 cup sweet chili sauce
- 2 limes juiced
- Zest of 1 lime
- 1 tbsp. olive oil
- 2 tbsp. honey
- 2 cloves garlic minced or grated
- 1 tsp. ground ginger
For the chicken:
- 4 boneless skinless chicken breasts
- Salt and pepper to taste
- Optional: sesame seeds chopped green onions, lime wedges for garnishing
Instructions
For the marinade:
- In a small mixing bowl or large measuring cup, add the marinade ingredients.
- Whisk everything together until combined and set aside.
For the chicken:
- Place the chicken in a large freezer bag or sealable container. Then, pour the marinade over the chicken.
- Toss chicken so it's covered with marinade. Stick it in the fridge to marinate for at least 30 minutes.
- Once marinated, remove the chicken from the marinade and season with salt and pepper.
- Heat grill on medium and cook chicken 5-7 minutes on each side, or until it's completely cooked through.
- Once the chicken is cooked, garnish with sesame seeds, chopped green onions, and lime wedges, if desired.
This sweet chili lime marinated chicken is a quick dish that's easy to throw on the grill and serve within minutes! Serve this dish with rice or a nice garden salad for an easy summertime meal.
Did you make this Sweet Chili Lime Grilled Chicken recipe? Share it on social media using the hashtag #holokahome. Don’t forget to tag me @holokahome!
