Baked Honey Lime Chicken

by Sabrina Snyder

Published on Last updated

39 Comments

4.58 from 7 votes
5 Servings
Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 35 minutes
Total Time 40 minutes
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Baked Honey Lime Chicken with just 4 total ingredients browned then baked in the same skillet and the results are crispy, citrusy, sweet and tender.

Baked Honey Lime Chicken with just 4 total ingredients browned then baked in the same skillet and the results are crispy, citrusy, sweet and tender. Baked Honey Lime Chicken

Baked Honey Lime Chicken is packed with flavor with practically no effort whatsoever and just a small handful of ingredients. This dish is one of our go-to’s when we’re low on ingredients since we’ve got a lime tree in our backyard.

Honey Lime Chicken hits all your taste buds with sweet from honey, savory from the chicken, umami from the soy sauce and acidity from the lime juice. The only flavor missing? Spice. Add some if you’d like with either ½ teaspoon of chili powder or 1 teaspoon of Sriracha sauce.

How to cook this chicken?

You can make this honey lime chicken basically any single way you want.

  • Cook it in the slow cooker on low for 7-8 hours.
  • Cook it on your grill (I’d double the sauce to baste while cooking)
  • Cook it through in your skillet (I’d use boneless skinless thighs for this)

The easiest chicken you'll ever make, 4 ingredient honey lime chicken.

The flavors in this dish are so simple and completely craveable you’ll enjoy this “sauce” as much as we do. Plus its a pantry dish, assuming you have a lime.  Soy sauce and honey are just sort of always hanging around in our pantry so this recipe takes no planning.

Want to pump up the flavors with more ingredients? Add some minced garlic and ginger, the flavors are literally finger licking good (I’d use two cloves of garlic and 1 tablespoon ginger paste or minced ginger).

Want more delicious chicken recipes?

Tools used in the making of Baked Honey Lime Chicken:
Cast Iron Skillet: This is my most used pan in my kitchen, heavy, keeps heat well and gives the BEST sear ever.
Pig Tail Flipper: I use this to flip the chicken without damaging the skin and its super easy. I use this tool EVERY time I cook something that requires flipping, it is amazing.

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Dinner, then Dessert

Baked Honey Lime Chicken

Baked Honey Lime Chicken with just 4 total ingredients browned then baked in the same skillet and the results are crispy, citrusy, sweet and tender.
Yield 5 Servings
Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 35 minutes
Total Time 40 minutes
Course Main Course
Cuisine American/Mexican
Author Sabrina Snyder
The easiest chicken you'll ever make, 4 ingredient honey lime chicken.
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Ingredients
 

  • 1/4 cup  honey
  • 3 tablespoons soy sauce
  • 1 lime , zested and juiced
  • 5 chicken thighs , bone in and skin on

Instructions

  • Pre-heat the oven to 375 degrees.
  • Add all the ingredients to a bowl or plastic bag and mix them together well.
  • In a large cast iron or oven ready skillet add the chicken on medium high heat and brown with the skin side down for 3-5 minutes.
  • Flip the chicken over so the skin side is up.
  • Add on the remaining marinade and roast in the oven for 30-35 minutes.

Nutrition

Calories: 181kcal | Carbohydrates: 12g | Protein: 23g | Fat: 5g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 107mg | Sodium: 705mg | Potassium: 313mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 10g | Vitamin A: 25IU | Vitamin C: 3.9mg | Calcium: 17mg | Iron: 1.3mg

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About the Author: Sabrina Snyder

Sabrina is a professionally trained Private Chef of over 10 years with ServSafe Manager certification in food safety. She creates all the recipes here on Dinner, then Dessert, fueled in no small part by her love for bacon.

Sabrina Snyder is a professionally trained personal and private chef of over 10 years who is the creator and developer of all the recipes on Dinner, then Dessert.

She is also the author of the cookbook Dinner, then Dessert – Satisfying Meals Using Only 3, 5 or 7 Ingredients, published by Harper Collins.

She started Dinner, then Dessert as a business in her office as a lunch service for her coworkers who admired her lunches before going to culinary school and becoming a full time personal chef and private chef.

As a personal chef Sabrina would cook for families one day a week and cook their entire week of dinners. All grocery shopping, cooking and cleaning was done along with instructions on reheating. As a private chef she cooked for private parties and cooked in family homes in the evenings for families on a nightly basis after working as a personal chef during the day.

Sabrina has been certified as a ServSafe Manager since 2007 and was a longstanding member of the USPCA Personal Chef Association including being on the board of the Washington DC Chapter of Chefs in the US Personal Chef Association when they won Chapter of the year.

As a member of the community of food website creators Sabrina Snyder has spoken at many conferences regarding her experiences as a food writer including the Indulge Food Conference, Everything Food Conference, Haven Food Conference and IACP Annual Food Professionals Conference.

Sabrina lives with her family in sunny California.

See more posts by Sabrina

Dinner, then Dessert, Inc. owns the copyright on all images and text and does not allow for its original recipes and pictures to be reproduced anywhere other than at this site unless authorization is given. If you enjoyed the recipe and would like to publish it on your own site, please re-write it in your own words, and link back to my site and recipe page. Read my disclosure and copyright policy. This post may contain affiliate links.

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Comments

  1. So I’m a pretty good cook and have taken extensive culinary classes but this did not turn out for me. I think if I were to make it again (which I’m pretty sure I won’t) I would not let the marinade touch the skin and would not pour the remaining marinade into the pan before putting it in the oven. The honey burnt and the skin was a black, charred mess. I kind of thought this might happen, but based on positive reviews I thought hey I could be wrong. The pan was also a sticky charred clumpy mess that was also mixed with rendered chicken fat and by no means useable as a sauce, which I assumed would be the purpose. Gonna take a lot of elbow grease to get that pan cleaned. Overall, will not make again, though I do think honey, lime and soy is an unexpected combination with a lot of potential.

    Reply

  3. If I use boneless skinless chicken breast, could I marinate the chicken in the sauce, the day before, to add more flavor to the chicken? Then use that marinade to cook it with?
    Thanks:)

    Reply

    1. You know it’s a winner when they ask for the recipe! Thanks for coming back to let me know how much you all enjoyed it!

      Reply

  8. I made it, it was really easy and so delicious!!! I will be sharing this recipe with family members as a “quick and easy” week night meal. 

    Reply

  9. If I make this in a slow cooker, do I need to add anything else to it besides the 4 main ingredients? This looks so delicious but I need more dinners to be ready when we get home from work!

    Reply

    1. absolutely! If using skinless I would score the top of the chicken with x’s to help the marinade cook with the chicken.

      Reply

  13. I want to make this, but the directions seem confusing and lacking some vital information.
    1. Mix all ingredients together. (Including the chicken? Do you marinate the chicken?)
    2. Brown chicken in skillet. (With a bit of oil? Do you remove it from the sauce before browning? Do you add the sauce back into the skillet before putting it in the oven?)

    It sounds like a nice marinade to be sure, maybe with some minced garlic and ginger for extra flavor?

    Reply

    1. 1. Yes, all four ingredients.
      2. Nope no need to add oil, the good thing about browning with the chicken thigh is it renders the fat which is why I start with skin side down. If you’re nervous about sticking you can start at a lower heat to allow some of the fat to render more first or add a bit of oil. I do it in a dry skillet without issue though.
      3. You can definitely pour the rest of the sauce over it when it goes in the oven. Most of the flavor is coming from what is on the chicken though as it will run into the rest of the skillet. (I’ll add that into the recipe, thanks!)

      Reply

      1. Excellent.. thanks for clarifying!  Making it tonight.. I think I might add some fresh garlic.  I can’t wait.

        Reply

  16. I’m totally drooling over this! It looks super easy to make, too, and I can’t wait to try it soon! Love!!

    Reply