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Pan-Roasted Honey Lime Chicken Thighs - one of the best chicken thigh recipes you'll ever try! Easy, delicious, simple ingredients.

I love cooking chicken thighs - they are so easy to handle, and always come out moist and juicy. Can't really go wrong with this cut of meat. You'll love this simple recipe - perfect for a quick, weeknight dinner, and very budget-friendly too!

Often, chicken thigh recipes involve baking the thighs in the oven, but here I am browning the chicken in a large skillet on the stove top, then add honey-lime mixture to the same skillet and let the thighs cook in its own juices on lower heat for about 20 minutes. During the cooking process the chicken thighs release their juices which get mixed in with the honey-lime mixture to produce really delicious sauce which you will then drizzle over the chicken before serving. You can also drizzle these pan juices over a side dish, such as rice. YUM! By the way, if you need an idea for a yummy side dish recipe, here is a rice recipe which will be perfect with these chicken thighs: Cilantro-Lime Black Bean Rice.
Also, many people really like chicken thigh recipes with cilantro and lime, and I have a great recipe for you that has all the ingredients you'll love, everything is cooked in one-pan, which makes the clean-up a breeze. Check it out: Chicken Thighs with Cilantro-Lime Black Bean Rice.


Honey Lime Chicken Thighs
Ingredients
- 4 tablespoons lime juice freshly squeezed
- 2 tablespoons honey
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce
- 7 chicken thighs (about 7 or 8 chicken thighs, depends on the size of your skillet)
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 2 tablespoon olive oil
- 2 green onions chopped
- 1 lime sliced (for garnish only)
Instructions
- In a small bowl combine lime juice, honey, soy sauce.
- Salt the chicken thighs with ½ teaspoon of salt (or more) thoroughly, all over, including under the skin.
- In 12-inch skillet, heat olive oil over medium-high heat. Add chicken thighs, skin side down, and cook for about 5 minutes until the chicken skin side gets nicely browned (make sure to get really nice brown, not just pale brown - it makes a difference in presentation).
- Turn chicken, so that skins sides are up and add lime-honey mixture to the skillet. Reduce heat to low; cover and cook 14 to 18 minutes longer or until done (chicken should register 180 degrees F on instant thermometer). While cooking, covered, chicken thighs will release their own juices, as well.
- Transfer chicken to plates. Drizzle chicken with pan juices. Top with chopped green onions and serve with lime slices.
Nutrition
Nutrition Disclaimer:
The nutritional information on this website is only an estimate and is provided for convenience and as a courtesy only. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed. It should not be used as a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
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I love lime honey chicken. I like adding grated lime peel and instead of frying put it in the oven in ovenproof dish. I usually serve it with rice. It's delicious!
I like the idea of lime peel! Baked chicken thighs are delicious - great tips, thank you!
How long did you bake it for?
Can you use chicken wings with this recipe
Yes, chicken wings will taste great here!
I also don't get the cilantro ingredient from the photos nor the recipe. In the photo I t looks like there is chopped garlic pieces in the dish as well.
Recipe was delicious! Thank you!
An answer from the author about the cilantro in the title and the the garlic in the pic would be awesome! Several have asked, it's kind of rude not to reply.
I made this tonight for dinner. I noticed the picture had garlic but there was nothing mentioned in the recipe. I decided to follow the recipe. We were not thrilled with the results. The chicken didn't really retain any of the flavor from the lime mixture.
I made this and broccoli tots tonight. The chicken was good, but covering it to finish cooking makes the skins inedible. They get super soggy and ick. I should have known when I covered it, but I was paying attention tof other things. I think maybe finishing in the oven would be a much better idea.
So glad you mentioned the soggy skin. That would have been a sad disappointment.
Amazing recipe! My family loved it. I substituted a few pieces of thighs for breasts and it was perfect!
So it looks like there is garlic in pictures, but it doesn't say there is any in the recipe. Please let me know if there is any. I made this for my family. They loved it. But I'm thinking if I had garlic it would've taken it to the next level.
Will be making this again!!!!!
This recipe looks great! I am litterally cooking it right now. But I don't see anything about cilantro except in the title. Am I blind?
Chicken thigh is my favorite part of chicken. These look so good. I am saving the recipe to try soon. 🙂
PS: I hope you to see you and your delicious recipes at our party at Fiesta Friday http://fiestafriday.net
...nice try...but will not be doing it again! The sauce, because of the honey, was not something we could pour over the chicken. And there as no flavor of lime in the chicken....
Too sweet, I could cut the honey in half, and maybe even less then that. And add more soy sauce or salt.
The dark meat of the thigh does not pair well with that very sweet sauce.
Whe. I make this I typically use about 1/2 cup chopped cilantro that I add about 5 minutes before its done. I also add about 1/4 cup of chopped Serrano peppers when I add in the honey-lime mixture to give it a little extra zing. It's a wonderful recipe. I've never been a fan of chicken thighs until I had these!
I made this recipe tonight and thoroughly enjoyed it. Since I live alone, I only used two chicken thighs, but kept the quantities for the sauce the same. I was concerned that the soy sauce would make it too salty and over bearing, so I thought of leaving it out, but I didn’t and was glad of that, since it complimented the lime juice so well. Instead of using the lime slices as a garnish, I laid them atop the chicken thighs while they were cooking. Served simply over boiled rice and then drizzled with some of the pan juices, this dish was very tasty. I will certainly make it again and add it to my favourites.