This Chili Lime Chicken is one of our family's favorite grill recipes, it is so quick and easy to make! The skinless chicken breasts are marinated in a delicious homemade chili lime sauce, then smoked to perfection on the grill. The chicken is so amazingly moist, tender, and bursting with flavor. Plus it is perfect if you are doing keto, whole30, paleo, low carb, or meal prep!
In case you don't know yet, I love to make delicious recipes that are quick and easy. Now that the weather has warmed up, my favorite place to cook is outside, on the smoker.
We recently purchased a pellet grill and everything we have made in it is just so darn good! You just set it and forget it! No flare-ups to worry about, and you don't have to worry about flipping the meat every 5 minutes.
Everything I have smoked is so tender, moist, and loaded with flavor!
I like to mix up the marinade in the morning and let the chicken soak up the delicious flavor all day before I put it on the grill. But if you don't have time, 1 hour in the marinade is all it takes for the chicken to be full of delicious flavor.
Another plus, this smoked chicken is ready in just 1 hour! While the chicken is cooking you can prepare your sides or salads.
My friend Lexa over at Lexa's Recipes has a fantastic Melon and Prosciutto Salad that goes perfectly with this smoked chicken. Give it a try!
This chicken is good any day of the week, or on weekends, or to serve friends and family. Just make sure you double or triple the recipe though, it'll be gone fast!
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Why we love this recipe
This chicken has such an incredible and amazing flavor. It has a bright, fresh taste from the lime and just a hint of spice from the chili powder. It has a nice, light flavor that goes well with anything!
This chicken can be sliced and enjoyed as-is, or sliced and served with Perfectly Fluffy Rice or Carrot Salad. It is also super delicious sliced thinly and served in tacos or on a salad.
This chicken is also great if you are doing keto, whole30, paleo, or low carb diets as there is absolutely no sugar in this marinade.
Ingredients
You only need a few simple ingredients to make this delicious meal.
- Chicken breasts
- Garlic powder
- Lime juice
- Olive oil
- Chili powder
- Paprika
- Salt
- Pepper
Equipment
- Wood pellets (our favorite is the Competition Blend)
- Smoker/pellet grill
Instructions
Preheat the smoker. The smoker I use is the Pit Boss 8-in-1 grill and smoker. Set the temperature to 225 degrees F. Make sure you have topped it up with wood pellets of your choice. Our favorite pellets to use are the Competition Blend.
Make the marinade. In a bowl, whisk together garlic powder, lime juice, olive oil, chili powder, pepper, salt, and pepper.
Add chicken. Combine chicken and marinade in a large bowl. Place chicken in marinade and flip it over to ensure all parts of the chicken are coated in the marinade. Let marinate for 1 hour, or all day if you planned ahead.
Smoke. Using tongs, place the chicken breast directly on the preheated grill and put your thermometer probe in. Close the lid and smoke for about 1 hour, until the internal temperature of the chicken is 165 degrees F.
Serve. Remove chicken breasts from smoker immediately, let rest for 5 minutes (if you can wait that long), and slice and serve. Enjoy!!
Tips
- To save money, I buy chicken when it is on sale. When it does go on sale, I buy lots of packages and place them in the freezer. We save so much money every year just by buying meat on sale.
- To save on doing dishes, place marinade in a large zip lock bag and add your chicken directly to the bag. Squeeze out excess air and seal it up nice and tight. When you are done marinating, simply throw the bag away.
- Plan ahead and marinate the chicken all day, it is so much better. The longer it sits the better the flavor.
- Check and make sure your wood pellets are all topped up. Check periodically through the cooking process to ensure you don't run out and top up if necessary.
- Most importantly, use a temperature probe for your chicken. The temperature probe beeps when the meat reaches the appropriate temperature. It is not advisable to keep opening up the lid of the smoker to check the meat, so invest in a good meat probe.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Smoke chicken breasts at a temperature of 225 degrees F, and this will take approximately 1 hour, or until the internal temperature, measured in the thickest part of the chicken breast, is 165 degrees F.
Absolutely! Use whatever cut of chicken you have. The cooking time may vary, but as soon as the internal temperature is 165 degrees F they will be ready.
We've always been taught that seeing pink in chicken means that it is not fully cooked and cannot be eaten safely. However, when you smoke chicken, the meat is cooked low and slow, and the pink tinge is absolutely normal. As long as the internal temperature is 165 degrees F it is perfectly safe to eat.
Freezing
This chili lime smoked chicken is easy to freeze so you can enjoy it later, perfect for meal prep!
Simply let chicken cool, and store leftovers in an airtight container. It will keep in the fridge for up to 4 days, and in the freezer for up to 3 months.
I like to slice the leftover chicken into thin slivers of meat first then freeze on a baking sheet. Then after it is frozen, transfer it to a freezer bag and then you can grab them as you need!
Reheating
To reheat, add your chicken and just enough water to cover the bottom of the pan, and cook on the stovetop over low to medium heat to reheat your chicken.
Alternatively, place in a baking dish with enough water to just cover the bottom, and reheat at 350 degrees Fahrenheit until your chicken reaches an internal temperature of 165 degrees.
Also, you can reheat in the Air Fryer. Preheat Air Fryer to 360 degrees. Place in a single layer in the basket. Reheat for 4 minutes. Check temperature and heat in 2-minute increments at a time until the desired temperature is reached.
Other Smoker Recipes
If you’ve tried The Best Chili Lime Chicken (Smoked) or any other recipe please take a moment to rate the recipe and leave a comment letting me know how you liked it. I love hearing from you! You can also Follow Me on Instagram, Facebook, and Pinterest. Tag me in your photos at #windingcreek_ranch. I would love to see your pictures!
📋 Recipe
Chili Lime Chicken (Smoked)
Equipment
- Pit Boss Pellet Grill
- ThermPro Wireless Remote Digital Thermometer
Ingredients
- 4-5 Chicken breasts boneless, skinless
Chili Lime Marinade
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 2 tbsp lime juice
- 2 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 teaspoon chili powder
- ½ teaspoon paprika
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ⅛ teaspoon pepper
Instructions
- Make the marinade. Add all ingredients for the chili lime marinade to a bowl and whisk together to combine.
- Marinate the chicken. Place the chicken in a bowl or zip lock bag and add marinade. Turn the bowl or bag over a few times to ensure the chicken is coated well. Refrigerate and allow the chicken to marinate for 6-8 hours. If you are pressed for time, 1 hour will still give you delicious flavor.
- Preheat the smoker. Preheat the smoker to 225 degrees F.
- Grill the marinated chicken. Remove chicken from the marinade with tongs and place the breasts directly on the preheated grill. Discard the remaining marinade. Put your thermometer probe in. Close the lid and smoke the chicken for about 1 hour, or until the internal temperature of the chicken reaches 165 degrees F.
- Rest, slice, and serve. Remove the chicken immediately from the grill when it reaches 165 degrees F. Allow to rest 5 minuts before slicing.
- Store and enjoy leftovers. Leftovers are awesome in tacos, on salads, or in weekly meal prep!
Brianna
This chicken turned out amazing! I had all the ingredients already and it was super easy to make.
Jeri
I'm so glad you liked it, Brianna!
Gloria
Yes to grill season. This chicken looks delicious. Love the seasoning. Chili-lime is the perfect match for this summer dish.
Jeri
Thanks, Gloria! It's so easy to make as well!
Brynn
Love the simple ingredients used in this recipe...easy meals are the best meals. Totally using this recipe as reason #456 why I need a pellet grill.
Jeri
Thank you, Brynn, pellet grills make cooking so easy! You would love it!
Kyleigh
This is the perfect recipe for grilling in the summer!! So good!!
Jeri
Thank you, Kyleigh. It is one of my favorite recipes for sure!
Alexandra
Delicious flavours with this chicken - and the smoker adds such great depth! Perfect to enjoy with a green salad for an easy and tasty dinner.