Delicious, juicy, savoury chicken with a hint of lime and green onions. This easy green onion lime chicken is made with minimal ingredients and packed with flavor! If you're a lime-lover, you'll love this dish!
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This Green Onion Lime Chicken features tender juicy chicken thighs marinated in lime juice, honey, garlic, green onions, ginger, soy sauce, sugar and sesame oil. It's packed with Asian-inspired flavors!
The chicken tastes savory and sweet with nutty flavors accented with lime juice! I love serving this easy chicken recipe as a main with white rice or brown rice with Asian greens like bok choy or vegetables.
I created this recipe years ago because I had a lot of limes on hand and I thought it would be such an interesting twist to an Asian chicken dish.
In Chinese cuisine, limes are not usually used for acidity. But to my surprise, the lime worked so well and this is a chicken dish I now often make.
This is a great dish to make for busy weeknight dinners for the whole family! It's easy and comes together with simple ingredients. You can prepare the chicken in advance by marinating it overnight in the fridge.
Ingredients & Substitutes
Please scroll down to below recipe card for exact measurements.
- Skin-on Bone-in Chicken Thighs: no boneless skinless chicken thighs and no chicken breast for this recipe! We want dark meat with the bone intact for that juicy meat.
- Neutral oil: like avocado oil, sunflower oil, peanut oil, vegetable oil or canola oil. Avoid olive oil or any heavy scented oils.
Chicken Marinade
- Green onion: avoid substituting with white onions.
- Fresh lime juice: make sure it's freshly squeezed and not that artificial stuff! The fresh stuff always tastes significantly better.
- Garlic cloves: for that garlicky flavor!
- Fresh ginger: fresh ginger is a must. It's more potent than ginger powder.
- Honey: any honey will work except any flavored honey. Or substitute with maple syrup.
- Low-sodium soy sauce: I'm using low-sodium for this recipe but you can substitute with less regular soy sauce. If you’re gluten-free, substitute with tamari sauce, coconut aminos or a gluten-free soy sauce.
- White granulated sugar: or substitute with cane sugar to balance out the salty flavors.
- Sesame oil: this adds a nutty flavor to our dish. If you're allergic, please omit.
Expert Tips
- Use chicken thighs with skin-on and bone-in for juicy tender meat!
- Make sure the chicken is fresh and doesn't have an odor when you purchase it.
- Poke holes into the chicken so the marinade can further seep into the meat.
- Allow the chicken to marinate overnight for best flavor!
- Allow the chicken to brown and don't move it around in the pan constantly. Let the pan do the work.
- Fresh lime juice is key! Don't use the artificial stuff.
Instructions
Below are step-by-step instructions on how to make green onion lime chicken:
- In a large mixing bowl, combine marinade ingredients and whisk until sugar has dissolved.
- Add in chicken thighs and marinate overnight for maximum flavor or at least 3 hours. Tip: if you poke holes into the chicken with a fork this helps the marinade seep deeper into the meat.
- Heat vegetable oil in a large pan on medium-high heat, add chicken thighs skin side down. Brown on each side for 2-3 minutes per side. Once you lay the chicken down, do not constantly move it around. Allow the pan to do its work so it can evenly brown.
- Pour the remaining marinade over the chicken.
- Lower heat to medium and cover with a lid. Cook for 15-20 minutes until meat is cooked at the bone and juices run clear or until an internal temperature of 165 F with a digital instant read thermometer. Transfer cooked chicken to a serving dish.
- Deglaze the pan with a few tablespoons of water and pour the juices over the chicken. Serve and enjoy!
Storage
- Leftovers will last up to 4 days stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator. To reheat: microwave for 2-3 minutes until hot or reheat in a pan on medium heat.
- Freezer friendly? This can be stored in a freezer friendly bag and frozen up to 3 months or until you see freezer burn. To reheat, defrost it and reheat in the microwave or on the stovetop in a pan.
Pairing Suggestions
This green onion lime chicken serves well with:
- white rice, brown rice, or cauliflower rice for a low calorie option
- over a salad
- plain noodles or soup noodles
- starters like egg rolls, crab rangoons, egg drop soup, hot and sour soup
- cooked vegetables like bok choy, spicy garlic bok choy, choy sum, gai lan, garlic green beans or stir fried snow pea leaves.
FAQ
This can be made in advance and stored in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days. To enjoy, reheat it in the microwave or in a pan on the stovetop on medium heat.
Feel free to substitute the chicken with marbled pork. I don't suggest beef or seafood as substitutes.
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📖 Recipe
Easy Asian Green Onion Lime Chicken
Ingredients
- 5 skin-on bone-in chicken thighs
Marinade
- 3 green onion chopped
- 4 tablespoon lime juice fresh
- 4 cloves garlic minced
- 2 tablespoon ginger chopped
- 2 tablespoon low-sodium soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon honey
- ¾ teaspoon white sugar or cane sugar
- 1 teaspoon sesame oil
Instructions
- In a large mixing bowl, combine marinade ingredients and whisk until sugar has dissolved.
- Add in chicken thighs and marinate overnight for maximum flavor or at least 3 hours. Tip: if you poke holes into the chicken with a fork this helps the marinade seep deeper into the meat.
- Heat vegetable oil in a large pan on medium-high heat, add chicken thighs skin side down. Brown on each side for 2-3 minutes per side. Once you lay the chicken down, do not constantly move it around. Allow the pan to do its work so it can evenly brown.
- Pour the remaining marinade over the chicken.
- Lower heat to medium and cover with a lid. Cook for 15-20 minutes until meat is cooked at the bone and juices run clear or until an internal temperature of 165 F with a digital instant read thermometer. Transfer cooked chicken to a serving dish.
- Deglaze the pan with a few tablespoons of water and pour the juices over the chicken. Serve and enjoy!
Odom
That lime juice with the green onion was perfection.