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!

Roasted Chicken with Cilantro and Lime finished chicken on serving plate

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.)

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!

Roasted Chicken with Cilantro and Lime process shots collage

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.)

  1. Tie the chicken with string or not, your choice.
  2. Mix together marinade ingredients and put the chicken and marinade into a Ziploc bag and let chicken marinate all day in the refrigerator.
  3. 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.
  4. 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.
  5. 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.

Baked Cilantro Lime Chicken shown on serving plate

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:

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 shown on serving plate
Yield: 6 servings

Baked Cilantro Lime Chicken

Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 1 hour 15 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 20 minutes

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

  1. Remove giblets from inside chicken and discard. Rinse chicken inside and out with warm water. Tie chicken with kitchen string if desired.
  2. Mix marinade ingredients. Put chicken in large Ziploc bag and pour marinade over chicken.
  3. Marinate 6-8 hours in refrigerator, or longer is okay.
  4. When you’re ready to cook, preheat oven to 450F/230C.
  5. 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.)
  6. Let chicken come to room temperature. (If you cover the roasting pan with foil it’s easier to clean.)
  7. 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.
  8. Let stand 10 minutes, then serve.

Notes

I used my fresh-frozen lime juice for this recipe.

Recipe created by Kalyn.

Nutrition Information:

Yield:

6

Serving Size:

1

Amount 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.

Did you make this recipe?

Did you make this recipe? Please leave a star rating (under the PRINT button in the recipe) or share a photo of your results on Instagram! THANKS!

Baked Cilantro Lime Chicken shown on serving platter.

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.

Pinterest image of Baked Cilantro Lime Chicken

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