This simple Taco Lime Grilled Chicken is so juicy and delicious! It’s easy to make and it’s full of the most amazing flavors.
If you love chicken recipes like we do, try our Southwest Chicken Thighs recipe too.
The Best Grilled Chicken
Grilled chicken is a staple in our house. I don’t know about you guys, but we seem to have tacos on a regular basis in our home. This recipe is simple, flavorful and the kids (and husband) love them. I have created a simple homemade taco seasoned and lime grilled chicken that is thinly sliced and mouthwatering inside tacos. You can either marinate the chicken or grill it immediately, whatever you’ve got the time for.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- Flavor Packed. This easy grilled chicken recipe is packed with delicious taco lime flavors.
- Easy To Make. With just a handful of ingredients, this grilled chicken can be made in just minutes.
- Delicious leftovers. You can use this grilled chicken in many other recipes during the week.
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What You’ll Need
Here are the ingredients you’ll need to make your own taco lime chicken at home. See the recipe card at the bottom of the post for full details.
- Ground Cumin– Cumin is used to make a homemade taco seasoning.
- Salt– I use kosher salt in my cooking and baking.
- Pepper– Use freshly ground black pepper for best tasting results.
- Smoked Paprika– Smoked paprika is used to make a homemade taco seasoning.
- Garlic Salt– Garlic salt is also used to make the homemade taco seasoning.
- Boneless Skinless Chicken Breast– Find chicken breast in the meat department of your grocery store. I recommend fresh not frozen.
- Limes– Fresh lime juice adds a fresh bite to the grilled chicken.
Homemade Taco Seasoning
Here’s The Best Homemade Taco Seasoning: ground cumin, salt, pepper, garlic salt and smoked paprika. Regular paprika works too. Sprinkle the seasonings on both sides of your chicken.
How To Make Taco Lime Grilled Chicken
Preheat Grill. Preheat indoor or outdoor grill to medium high heat.
Prepare Taco Seasoning. Place cumin, salt, pepper, paprika and garlic salt into a bowl. Stir to combine.
Season/Marinate Chicken Breast. Place chicken breast into a large bowl or large ziploc bag. Pour seasonings over chicken then squeeze the juice of one whole lime over chicken and seasonings. Stir chicken around with seasonings and lime. You can marinate up 1-5 hours if desired. Can be grilled immediately as well.
Grill Chicken. Spray grill lightly with cooking spray then carefully place chicken onto grill. Let grill 5-6 minutes each side, or until cooked through and juices run clear. Transfer chicken to a large plate and let rest for 10 minutes.
Slice Chicken. Thinly slice chicken and squeeze with juice of last lime over tops. Thinly sliced chicken goes great inside tacos. Top with your favorite toppings.
Recipe Tips For Success
- Make Your Own Taco Seasoning. Use my simple recipe to make a homemade taco seasoning for the grilled chicken.
- Great Leftover Chicken. Use this grilled chicken in lots of other recipes during the week. It’s great in tacos, burritos, salads and more.
How To Serve
Serve this grilled chicken warm inside tacos, burritos, salads and more.
Leftovers
Place any leftover chicken in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
Reheating Instructions
Reheat chicken in a hot skillet with a drizzle of olive oil, stirring until hot. You can also place chicken on a heat proof plate, loosely covered in the microwave for 60-90 seconds.
Try More Chicken Recipes
Taco Lime Grilled Chicken
Equipment
- Grill
- measuring spoons
- cutting board
- serrated knife
Ingredients
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika regular paprika works too
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic salt
- 3-4 medium to large boneless skinless chicken breasts
- 2 limes split
Instructions
- Preheat indoor or outdoor grill to medium high heat.
- Place cumin, salt, pepper, paprika and garlic salt into a bowl. Stir to combine.
- Place chicken breast into a large bowl or large ziploc bag. Pour seasonings over chicken then squeeze the juice of one whole lime over chicken and seasonings. Stir chicken around with seasonings and lime. You can marinate up 1-5 hours if desired. Can be grilled immediately as well.
- Spray grill lightly with cooking spray then carefully place chicken onto grill. Let grill 5-6 minutes each side, or until cooked through and juices run clear. Transfer chicken to a large plate and let rest for 10 minutes. Thinly slice chicken and squeeze with juice of last lime over tops. Thinly sliced chicken goes great inside tacos. Top with your favorite toppings.
Notes
- Make Your Own Taco Seasoning. Use my simple recipe to make a homemade taco seasoning for the grilled chicken.
- Great Leftover Chicken. Use this grilled chicken in lots of other recipes during the week. It’s great in tacos, burritos, salads and more.
Years later, and this is still my go to chicken taco recipe. I made it yesterday for my Father’s Day taco bar, and everyone was impressed. The chicken always turns out so flavorful and never dry. Super recipe!
Came across this recipe recently and finally tried it out. Such great tasting chicken!
Thanks for posting it!
Oh delicious, i love this sort of food, Great recipe.
Simon
Is that a homemade salsa ranch you put on top of the chicken tacos or was it store bought!??
I made these tacos for my birthday and their to die for!!! Their amazing GOOD! The ranch and salsa dressing tops it off!!! I’m making them again soon!!! Thanks for these great taco’s!!!!
I have purchased the Le Creuset grill pan online after reading this recipe. I can’t wait for it to arrive and start using it for your great recipes & more!!!
Can you tell me the nutritional value on this recipe, like how many calories and grams of fat etc ?
Thanks,
This is a really tasty recipe, I was worried the chicken would be dry, it wasn’t. It was very easy to make too.
Out of the 7 years I have been cooking for my fiancé, he told me tonight this is the best meal I’ve ever made him and it was amazing. Our grill was broken so I baked the chicken, cut into strips @350 degrees for 20 min. It was pretty fantastic, even the ranch salsa was pretty awesome. I Served it with a cilantro lime rice and black beans. So thanks for our amazing meal, I can’t wait to try again. 🙂
made these tonight and they were delicious. Going in the recipe box.
So glad to hear it Tiana, thanks for sharing!
Could this meat be made ahead and frozen. We are traveling to a cabin for New Years and I am planning a taco meal for 11 people. Would like to hVe as much done before I go.
I absolutely cannot wait to try this recipe!
Yummo! These look delicious. It’s winter here now so I might have to wait a little bit til the veggies come back into season though – boo…
Just tried this last night and it was great! Added a little more paprika just to make it a little spicy and it was perfect!
OMG this was DELICIOUS!
Thanks, so glad you enjoyed!
Do you use an indoor grill/griddle or a grill pan on the stove? Thanks.
You can use either for this recipe, but I used an indoor grill pan on the stove for this post.
I used this for fish tacos and the seasoning is wonderful. I can’t take anything spicy and this is perfect. Tonight I used it for Taco Rice and it was a hit. Thank you for sharing this recipe.
We love being creative with tacos. It’s always a fun meal to have on movie night. I didn’t know about the grilling pan. We live in FL and grill pretty much year ’round. But it sure would come in handy on the few cold winter days or the really rainy days. Love that you sliced up spinach for these. Always trying to slide it in recipes where my husband won’t realize. LOL
Can the chicken be made in the crockpot?
This recipe was so good. It was my first try making this, I’m glad I did.
Instead of paprika and garlic salt. I substitute the paprika with ground cayenne pepper, and for the garlic salt. i made my own with garlic powder and salt. It was so good , that i shared it with my mom. She loved it! I broiled it, and it made so tasty ^^
I made these for my family a couple of weeks ago and they were delicious! Coming back today to copy your recipe down so that I don’t forget. We are definitely fans. Thank you so much for sharing!
Just found this on Pinterest, look awesome, will make for the kids and I soon!!
made these a few weeks ago and added a little homemade corn, onion and bell pepper relish that I made to them. We made both chicken and shrimp and all were delicious and quickly disappeared. 🙂 Thanks for the recipe.
A trick for squeezing limes is to cut them vertically rather than horizontally. Cut them slightly off center so you get just the lime. Then squeeze away. This is a trick I learned from a bartender in Mexico.
You can also slightly warm the lime in the microwave (no more than 10 seconds). This helps release the juice.
Finally, you might want to invest in a squeezer. Just make sure you buy a metal one. Plastic squeezers will break on you very quickly. Remember to cut vertically and use a lime squeezer and you will end up with every ounce of juice from a lime!
Nuke and roll is the way to go with limes. Going to have to try the lengthwise off center slicing.
Holy moly, that chicken looks incredible! It looks so moist and flavorful!
Thanks Jenny! I tried this recipe and my whole family loved it! My daughter is really picky about chicken, especially taco-type recipes, but she loved it and even wanted seconds! This is definitely a keeper!
Thanks for the feedback Julie!!
Hi Jenny,
These are incredible! I used the Grill Pan & Press from Pampered Chef. It’s non-stick, w/ lifetime warranty. It’s one of the host specials for April, at 60% off, so only $75 for the set. A party can be put together with a minimum $150 order, so can add up quickly with a couple friends ordering. I’m in Wisconsin, but a local Pampered Chef consultant can help…. or I can set up a catalog or Facebook party. Any readers can feel free to contact me at http://www.pamperedchef.biz/joycenyman.
Love your website, recipes… and your new cookbook!
Joyce
I love the taste of lime with chicken. I always add a cilantro lime rice side dish to my tacos, so I might just go a bit lime crazy now!