With a light and bright marinade, these cilantro lime chicken tacos offer a blast of summertime flavor.
The easiest way to put some zip into your grilled chicken is by using a citrus-based marinade. Not only does a citrus marinade provide bright acidic notes to your meal, but it goes to work quickly and is usually ready in about an hour. This is perfect for people, like us, who frequently forgot to start the marinade until it's nearly dinner time!
One of the best ways we've found to apply the marinade is to place it in a resealable container with your meat. Then you can just go to town shaking it up, so you get nice even coverage. If you're planning on cooking right away, you can leave it out. But if you're going to let it marinate overnight, be sure to return it the cooler.
We grilled the chicken using hardwood lump charcoal. However, if your grill grate isn't in stellar condition (many of them aren't) using a cast iron skillet works just the same. Whether you're grilling or searing in a cast iron, the goal is to get the temperature up to medium-high heat. That way you can some toasty burnt ends before the meat overcooks.
The last touch is to warm up the tortillas. Whether you do that over the grill or in a cast iron, nothing beats a warm, slightly toasted tortilla. Just keep an eye on them because it only takes a few seconds to go from warmed to charred.
Put some zest in your next taco night with these cilantro lime chicken tacos.
Cilantro Lime Grilled Chicken Tacos
Makes 2-4 servings
Prep time: 25 minutes + 2 hours marinating time)
Ingredients
Marinade
- 4 boneless, skinless chicken thighs (about 1 lb)
- 2 tablespoons chopped cilantro
- 2 limes juice + zest
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon chili powder
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
- 1 tablespoon oil
Taco Assembly
- Tortillas (corn or flour, depending on your preference)
- Pico de gallo
- Cheese
- Cilantro
Directions
Step 1
Prepare the marinade by mixing the oil, lime juice and zest, cilantro and spices together in a small bowl. Place the chicken into a tupperware or sealable bag and pour the marinade over, shaking to ensure that the chicken is coated evenly. Place the chicken into a fridge or cooler to marinate for at least an hour, or up to overnight.
Step 2
Remove the chicken from the marinade and place on a prepped grill. Cook until the internal temperature reaches 165F, turning as needed to ensure even cooking (approximately 5-8 minutes on each side). Remove from the heat and chop into bite-sized pieces.
Step 3
To assemble the tacos, layer chicken, pico de gallo, cheese, and fresh cilantro into tortillas (warmed over the grill if you prefer).
