Oven Baked Lime and Pepper Chicken
Moist, tender, refreshing and SUPER tasty, this Oven Baked Lime and Pepper Chicken is ideal for your weekly meal prep but also works great as family dinner…
Most folks who are real serious about hitting the gym every day, who work out intensely and regularly or are on some kind of a meal plan in an effort to bulk, cut, or lose a few pounds have one thing in common: they have a tendency to prep all their meals on the week-end and then eat the same thing day in, day out, for the rest of the week.
How else are you going to easily and efficiently track your macros?
With this kind of meal planning, chicken breasts happen to be a very popular choice because they are a tremendous source of lean protein that’s widely available, easy on the wallet and they’re also super easy to prepare. If not seasoned properly, however, chicken breasts tend to be a little dry and tasteless, which may result in one getting totally fed up with them rather quickly…
Well, it doesn’t have to be that way! There’s nothing wrong with chicken being juicy, moist AND tasty while still remaining super healthy, too. This Oven Baked Lime and Pepper Chicken is the very proof of that!
In fact, it’s so moist, so tender so refreshing and most of all, so SUPER tasty, you’ll actually look forward to eating it today, and tomorrow, and the day after, and the day after that…
Oh, but hey, there’s nothing wrong with making it for the fam to enjoy the very same night either, you know. You don’t absolutely HAVE to make this dish specifically with the intent of preparing lunches for the whole week. That was only a suggestion.
Ultimately, the choice is all yours…
Plus, the fam they’d be all over that one. Hopefully, though, there will be leftovers for you to make at least one or two lunches!
First course of action: marinate the chicken. This is key to making it super tender and flavorful.
In a large mixing bowl or glass measuring cup, combine all the ingredients for the marinade; which go as follows:
- ¼ cup (60ml) freshly-squeezed lime juice
- ¼ cup (60ml) extra-virgin olive oil
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp ground black pepper
- 1 tsp powdered red pepper flakes (you could also use cayenne pepper or chili pepper flakes)
- grated zest of 2 limes
Whisk until well combined and pour over the chicken breasts, which you will have previously placed in a baking dish that’s just big enough to accommodate them in a single layer.
You could also use a large resealable zip bag, if that were easier for you…
Toss the chicken breasts delicately until all of them get an equal share of the marinade and are completely coated.
Cover with a piece of plastic film and place the chicken in the refrigerator to marinate for at least 4 hours, or even better yet, up to overnight.
When you are ready to cook your chicken, preheat your oven to 375°F. Then, in a large, heavy skillet, heat a few tablespoons of healthy cooking oil or fat over medium-high heat.
Once the pan is hot enough, add the chicken breasts, 2 or 3 at a time, and sear them for a minute or two on each side, until they become nice and golden brown.
Don’t go adding all the chicken breasts at once, otherwise they’d end up boiling as opposed to browning, which would completely defeat the purpose of searing them in the first place. Also, don’t concern yourself with all the fat that’s in the pan, cuz that’s exactly where it’s gonna stay: in the pan!
Transfer the seared chicken breasts to a Dutch oven or other oven safe dish that possesses a tight fitting lid and repeat the searing process with the remaining chicken breasts.
Then, pour the remaining marinade over the chicken breasts: you really wouldn’t want to let that go to waste! It’s got so much flavor to give and it’s definitely not done infusing the chicken with all of it…
Now put the lid on and and bake the chicken breasts in the oven for 25 minutes, then remove the lid and continue cooking for another 5 minutes to crisp up the top some.
Your chicken is now ready to be served! Now you can choose to eat this right now, or to divide it between individual lunches to last you all week!
Or, you could have some now AND make lunches with the leftovers.
Me, I used a sharp knife to score my chicken breasts with pretty little diamond shapes just to make them look that much yummier and served them on a bed of cooked arborio rice, drizzled with the cooking juices (again, DO NOT let those go to waste, they now have even more flavor to offer than they did before) and garnished with slices of lime and a handful of freshly chopped parsley.
If that chicken doesn’t scream healthy, juicy, refreshing AND tasty, I don’t know what will…
Oven Baked Lime and Pepper Chicken
Ingredients
- 2-3 tbsp healthy cooking oil or fat of your choice
- 6 large boneless skinless chicken breasts , (about 300g/ 10.6oz each)
For the marinade
- 1/4 cup freshly-squeezed lime juice
- 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 tsp salt, I use Himalayan salt
- 1 tsp ground black pepper
- 1 tsp powdered red pepper flakes
- grated zest of 2 limes
To garnish
- 1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
- slices of lime
Instructions
- In a large mixing bowl or glass measuring cup, combine all the ingredients for the marinade and whisk until well combined.
- Place the chicken breasts in a baking dish that's just big enough to accomodate them in a single layer and then pour the marinade right over. Toss delicately until all the chicken breasts are evenly coated, cover with plastic film and place in the refrigerator to marinate for at least 4 hours, or up to overnight.
- Preheat your oven to 375°F.
- In a large, heavy skillet, heat a few tablespoons of healthy cooking oil or fat over medium-high heat. Once the pan is hot enough, add the chicken breasts, 2 or 3 at a time, and sear for a minute or two on each side, until nice and golden brown.
- Place the seared chicken breasts in a Dutch oven or other oven safe dish with tight fitting lid and repeat with the remaining chicken breasts.
- Pour the remaining marinade over the chicken breasts, put the lid on and and bake in the oven for 25 minutes, then remove the lid and continue cooking for another 5 minutes to crisp up the chicken.
- Serve immediately, drizzled with the cooking juices and garnished with slices of lime and a handful of freshly chopped parsley.
Nutrition
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16 Comments on “Oven Baked Lime and Pepper Chicken”
What a delicious looking dish of chicken. YUM!!
I would like to make this for someone that is GF,DF but she is allergic to garlic. Would it still have a good flavor without garlic?
Maybe with ginger instead of garlic and coriander instead of parsley.
Very good suggestions, that!
THANK YOU!!
I was searching for some new and interesting recipe to cook for the weekend. and I am happy I found one 🙂
I just made this and it was delicious!! Served with jasmine rice seasoned with lime zest and zucchini. Thanks for sharing this recipe!!
How did u fix the zuchini
How would I make this without a Dutch oven? I dont have anything that could sub for it
In step # 6 it says pour the remaining marinade over the chicken and bake. What remaining marinade are you referring to? The marinade the raw chicken was sitting in?
That is correct, Jen.
Made this today and it was amazingly delicious. Even my kids loved it!! Def going to become a regular recipe in my book.
Thank you! My chicken is marinating as we speak! Instead of a lid can I cover with foil?
Love this recipe!
Of course I didn’t find this recipe early and go through all proper preparation, I slapped it together at the last minute and tossed it in the convection oven at about 325 for about 32 minutes. It turned out tender and delicious. Next time, and there will certainly be a next time, I’ll try all suggested steps and have some fresh parsley as this sounds like a nice finishing touch. Thanks!
This recipe was delicious. Finally, boneless skinless chicken breasts that aren’t dried out and tasteless. I marinated in a ziplock bag. Left out the red pepper flakes because my husband can’t have spice. This was a real winner.
Thank you Laine! Glad to hear it was to your liking! 🙂