Baked Cilantro Lime Chicken
Baked Cilantro Lime Chicken marinates all day; then bake the chicken while you make a side dish for a delicious low-carb dinner! And everyone who likes lime and cilantro will love this baked chicken recipe!
PIN Baked Cilantro Lime Chicken to try it later!
For this week’s Friday Favorites pick I’m reminding you about this Baked Cilantro Lime Chicken that’s loaded with flavor and easy to make. I first posted this recipe long before you could buy roast chicken in every supermarket, but even though roasting chicken yourself is a bit more work than just buying one, when I make chicken in the oven at home I love the smells filling my house, and this is a pretty effortless idea for a chicken dinner.
The only part that’s a bit fussy in the cilantro lime chicken recipe is the step of wiping off the dried cilantro from the marinade before you cook the chicken, and that’s definitely optional. (I like the flavor the dried cilantro adds to the chicken while it marinates but don’t love the look of the finished chicken with those bits of cilantro.)
I also like to tie up my chicken with kitchen string before I roast it, but that is 100% optional as well! If you haven’t cooked roast chicken at home, I hope you give this Cilantro Lime Chicken a try and see what you think.
What ingredients do you need?
(This is only a list of ingredients; please scroll down for complete printable recipe. Or if you use the JUMP TO RECIPE link at the top of the page, it will take you directly to the complete recipe.)
- whole chicken
- fresh-squeezed lime juice or I used my fresh-frozen lime juice
- Olive Oil (affiliate link)
- Garlic Powder (affiliate link)
- Onion Powder (affiliate link)
- dried cilantro (affiliate link)
- Green Tabasco Sauce (affiliate link) (or your favorite green hot sauce, optional)
Can you make this baked chicken recipe without cilantro?
Definitely you can omit the cilantro in the marinade for this Baked Cilantro Lime Chicken if you prefer; the chicken infused with the flavors from lime juice, garlic powder, and onion powder will still be delicious!
Can you cook Cilantro Lime Chicken in the Air Fryer?
I haven’t tried cooking a whole chicken in the Air Fryer, but follow the instructions in that recipe if you want to try it. The cooking time is not that much shorter though, so you may want to just use the oven and let the smells fill up your house!
How low in carbs is the Baked Cilantro Lime Chicken?
This delicious chicken flavored with lime and cilantro only has 3 net carbs per serving!
More whole roasted chicken to try:
Check out my very popular recipe for Greek Lemon Chicken for another roasted chicken variation that’s delicious and easy to make!
How to Make Baked Cilantro Lime Chicken:
(This is only a summary of the steps for the recipe; please scroll down for complete printable recipe. Or if you use the JUMP TO RECIPE link at the top of the page, it will take you directly to the complete recipe.)
- Tie the chicken with string or not, your choice.
- Mix together marinade ingredients and put the chicken and marinade into a Ziploc bag and let chicken marinate all day in the refrigerator.
- When it’s time to cook, preheat the oven, wipe the chicken with a paper towel to remove the cilantro if you wish, and let chicken come to room temperature.
- Then just roast about 15 minutes per pound. Use a meat thermometer (affiliate link) if you have one to be sure the chicken is at least 165F/74C.
- Let chicken stand about 10 minutes and then cut and serve.
Want more ideas for baked chicken?
Chicken is a favorite dinner ingredient for most people and if you’d like more ideas for low-carb chicken dinners take a look at my huge collection of Low-Carb and Keto Baked Chicken Recipes.
Make it a Low-Carb Meal:
If you want a vegetable that cooks at the same temperature to share the oven with this baked chicken recipe, how about Roasted Broccoli with Garlic, Roasted Cabbage with Lemon, or Roasted Green Beans with Mushrooms, Balsamic, and Parmesan for a low-carb meal!
More Easy Chicken Dinners:
- Roasted Lemon Chicken and Green Beans Sheet Pan Meal
- Air Fryer Marinated Chicken Breasts
- Artichoke Chicken Bake
Weekend Food Prep:
This cilantro lime chicken recipe has been added to a category called Weekend Food Prep where you’ll find recipes you can prep or cook on the weekend and eat during the week!
Baked Cilantro Lime Chicken
This Baked Cilantro Lime Chicken marinates all day; then just roast the chicken while you make the rest of the meal.
Ingredients
- 1 whole chicken, about 5 pounds
Marinade Ingredients:
- 1/2 cup fresh lime juice (see notes)
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 2 tsp. garlic powder
- 2 tsp. onion powder
- 2 T dried cilantro (optional)
- 2 tsp. Green Tabasco Sauce (or your favorite green hot sauce, optional)
Instructions
- Remove giblets from inside chicken and discard. Rinse chicken inside and out with warm water. Tie chicken with kitchen string if desired.
- Mix marinade ingredients. Put chicken in large Ziploc bag and pour marinade over chicken.
- Marinate 6-8 hours in refrigerator, or longer is okay.
- When you’re ready to cook, preheat oven to 450F/230C.
- Remove chicken from marinade and wipe off the cilantro with a paper towel. (Optional, but I like to wipe off the cilantro so it doesn’t burn.)
- Let chicken come to room temperature. (If you cover the roasting pan with foil it’s easier to clean.)
- Roast the chicken 15 minutes per pound. If you have a meat thermometer (affiliate link) you can use it to tell when the chicken has reached a temperature of 165F/74C, which is the recommended minimum temperature for roasted or grilled chicken.
- Let stand 10 minutes, then serve.
Notes
I used my fresh-frozen lime juice for this recipe.
Recipe created by Kalyn.
Nutrition Information
Yield
6Serving Size
1Amount Per Serving Calories 329Total Fat 23gSaturated Fat 5gTrans Fat 0gUnsaturated Fat 16gCholesterol 88mgSodium 126mgCarbohydrates 3gFiber 0gSugar 0gProtein 28g
Nutrition information is automatically calculated by the Recipe Plug-In I am using. I am not a nutritionist and cannot guarantee 100% accuracy, since many variables affect those calculations.
Low-Carb Diet / Low-Glycemic Diet / South Beach Diet Suggestions:
Baked Cilantro Lime Chicken is a perfect main dish for low-carb or Keto diet plans. This recipe can work for any phase of the original South Beach Diet, but remember the South Beach Diet recommends meat with less than 10% fat, so give the fattier parts to other family members and eat the white meat if you’re a South Beach dieter.
Find More Recipes Like This One:
Use Chicken Recipes to find more recipes like this one. Use the Diet Type Index to find recipes suitable for a specific eating plan. You might also like to follow Kalyn’s Kitchen on Pinterest, on Facebook, on Instagram, on TikTok, or on YouTube to see all the good recipes I’m sharing there.
Historical Notes for this Recipe:
The recipe for Baked Cilantro Lime Chicken was first posted in 2005, probably with a photo that would make me shudder these days. The recipe was last updated with more information in 2024.
23 Comments on “Baked Cilantro Lime Chicken”
Why do you use dried rather than fresh cilantro?
I prefer dried herbs for marinades. The cilantro will just get soggy as the chicken marinates. But if you want to try it with fresh cilantro, no problem.
What would you suggest as a good side dish pairing?
There are some suggestions in the recipe, after the last photo.
I found these suggestions before the recipe. There were several photos after that. I’d this what you mean?
If you want a vegetable that cooks at the same temperature to share the oven with this baked chicken recipe, how about Roasted Broccoli with Garlic, Roasted Cabbage with Lemon, or Roasted Green Beans with Mushrooms, Balsamic, and Parmesan for a low-carb meal!
Yes, those are the suggestions I mean. Sorry it was not exactly after the last photo. All or almost all my main dish recipes have a section like that that says “Make it a Low-Carb Meal” with side dish suggestions.
There's nothing better than the aroma of a chicken roasting in the oven. But I confess that with the easy availability of rotisserie chicken, I don't roast my own as much as I used to.
Lydia, me too. But I do love a home-roasted chicken for a treat!
Arghh, I was talking about roasting racks with Steve R from Virginia and we both accidentally deleted our comments. He asked if I used a rack and I said no, but you could use one if you wanted. It might shorten the cooking time by a little.
Yeah, sorry about that. As I had said, I tried to repost for others' reference. I'm glad you fixed it, as I'm sure others will want to know, too. Thanks.
Thecla, that's great! Congratulations on the 11 pounds and I'm so glad you're enjoying the recipes.
My husband and I have been on the South Beach Diet for almost two weeks. I have tried this diet in the past and failed. I am a young wife and had very few healthy recipes in my cooking repertoire. We were eating baked chicken and green beans everyday. Needless to say, we were sick and tired of baked chicken, and we didn't stay on the diet long. About two weeks ago, my husband and I decided to tackle the diet once more. I searched online to find recipes and found this website. I made this chicken tonight with the avocado,tomatoe, and edamame salad and the cumin-lime vinagrette. It was a hit. Thank you so much for posting all of these recipes! I have used these recipes for every meal so far. I have lost 11 pounds! I couldn't have done it without this blog.
Anonymous, you should not eat the skin for South Beach. The recommendation is for meat with less than 10% fat, so the white meat would be best. (Thanks for the question. I think I should edit this old post to make it more clear!)
for SBD, do you remove the skin, or leave it on? thanks.
Lime & Cilantro are my favorite flavors…your page looks yummy, I will visit it often!!!
Lime + cilantro = goodness. Delicioso!
If you don’t have a rotesserie, try pepein’s method…
stuff under the skin of the breasts something to protect it. He suggests a mix of herbs and butter, but low fat folks can think of something else. Then you roast for 25 minutes on one side at 425, 25 minutes on the other, and finish with 20 some minutes breast up. You baste only once or twice in the last 20 minutes. check to see if it’s done. Truss if you don’t have a rack (but it’s not requried.) You don’t need a special pan, any thing oversafe, including cermic will work. easy easy easy.
Wow, that chicken looks so juicy!! Fantastic!
I just have to ask, what is cilantro?
That chicken looks really good! : )
Ok! Thanks for enlightening me Kalyn! So now I know something more about mexican cooking!
Cilantro is the leaf of the coriander plant. In Europe I believe it is called coriander leaf, but I’m not 100% sure. The spelling Cilantro comes from Mexican cooking. I am totally nuts about it. I just wish the snails would not eat it in my garden.
I love Chickens, Cilantro and Lime! Thanks ! 🙂