I’ve discovered something amazing. One pan dish meals. As in – throw everything on the pan and throw it into the oven. I know I am behind the curve on this but I can’t be stopped. It is new to me and I am all,
“Hi Williams Sonoma, can I please order 23 sheet pans?”
You do not need 23 sheet pans for this meal. But as I said, I am crazed happy over here.
Ok, one pan. Some chicken, veggies and tequila. All. The. Good. Vibes.
This meal is versatile and simple. We have to marinate the chicken so it is juicy and flavorful but the great news is we can marinate it the night before and then the next day we just throw everything on the pan. And then we feed our people.
I love feeding my people. I love feeding my neighbors. I love feeding strangers.
You know the 5 Love Languages? It’s about how we give and how we receive love. I feel like for a good 5 years my love language always changed. I love people through physical touch (COME GET YE HUGS!!). Nope, wait, definitely through quality time (you can ask Jeremy about this – I am all, “You have to leave me to go to work, again?! You don’t want to just hang out all day?”).
But over the years of growing up and doing all these adult things I have found that I most enjoy loving my people by feeding them. Come to my table. Sit down. Bring your stories. I’ll bring the meal. And as it turns out, the tequila 😉
Tequila Lime Chicken
Lets talk. This meal can be baked or grilled. I did both. Both were amazing. For grilling I used chicken drumsticks.
For baking I used chicken breasts but you can also use chicken thighs.
I’ll give you the details below for either option in the recipe.
The thing I love about this meal is I can serve it with whatever I have. For example, I once made this, shred the chicken and served it with warmed corn tortillas, black beans, salsa and avocados. Also, how to shred chicken in 1 minute. Life changing.
But I made this last night and I just had some basmati rice. So, basmati rice it was. We set-up a little build-your-own chicken burrito bowl station.
Ok, also, I am #teamwhiterice. A few years ago some of the paleo giants in the cooking world started saying we can add Basmati rice to our diet. Why? It’s gluten free. Some paleo people where like, “BLASPHEMY!” Meanwhile I was at my local grocer throwing bags of basmati rice into my cart and never looking back.
Good news? I do have copycat chipotle lime and cilantro rice on my blog that is made with cauliflower. Paleo. Or, you can just serve this chicken on top of the delicious veggies we baked with it with and add a really flavorful tomato, avocado salad. (Recipe below.)
You see?! WE CAN DO SO MANY THINGS!!!
I hope you love this recipe and I’d love to know how you serve it! Also, go forth and find how you love loving people. Discover it and be grateful for it and practice it.
Print
Tequila Lime Chicken
This easy tequila lime chicken is juicy and flavorful. It is the perfect weeknight meal and I show you how to bake it in the oven for the cold months or grill it for summer!
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 30 minutes
- Total Time: 45 minutes
- Yield: 4-5 1x
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup tequila
- Juice of 2 limes
- Juice of 2 oranges
- 1 tsp cumin
- 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 2–3 garlic cloves mined
- 2 teaspoons kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 2 bell peppers, sliced
- 1 red onion, chopped into wedges
- 1 cup cherry tomatoes
- 4 chicken breasts (or for grilling: 4–6 chicken drumsticks with skin)
Optional: Avocado, rice, extra limes, cilantro for garnish
Instructions
- Combine the tequila, lime juice, orange juice, cumin red pepper flakes, garlic, salt, and pepper in a large bowl. Pour the marinade (reserving 1/4 cup for the veggies) into a gallon size resealable baggie and add the chicken. Refrigerate for up to 4 hours or preferably overnight. Add the veggies to a resealable baggie and pour in the leftover marinade. Place in refrigerator.
- Heat the oven to 375 degrees.
- Remove the chicken and veggies from the baggie, discard marinade. Arrange the chicken breasts on a sheet pan coated in oil (I place aluminum foil on my sheet pan for easy clean-up). Arrange the thick cut veggies around chicken.
- Bake for 30 minutes or until a meat thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the chicken reads 165 degrees.
For grilling drumsticks:
- Heat your grill and brush the rack with oil to prevent the chicken from sticking. Remove the chicken from the marinade and place on grill. Grill on every side to get the skin nice and crispy, about 5 minutes on each side. Remove from the grill to a plate. Cover tightly and allow to rest for 5 minutes. Serve hot or at room temperature.
Easy Tomato Salad (if you did not bake in the oven with veggies):
- Place 1 cup sliced cherry tomatoes, 1 chopped avocado and 1/4 cup diced red onion into a bowl. Add 1/2 tsp salt and 1/4 tsp pepper. Toss with 1 TBS red wine vinegar. Serve chilled!
This looks and sounds delicious! My husband always loves it when a chicken dish is on the menu for the week 🙂
Thank you so much, Yvonne! I think he will enjoy it very much 🙂