Fiesta Lime Chicken Recipe

5 from 14 votes

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Fiesta Lime Chicken Recipe (Applebee’s Copycat) is marinated and grilled, then topped with cheese and fresh pico?! What’s not to like?  I’m sure you and your mom have seen this recipe floating around on Pinterest and other places because it’s simple to make and it tastes really good.  Serve this with a little Mexican Street Corn Recipe or Black Bean Dip Recipe and voila! Tasty dinner that feeds little mouths for days.

Close up of Fiesta Lime Chicken

Fiesta Lime Chicken Recipe | With Fresh Pico De Gallo

One thing you’ll want to do ahead of time is marinate the chicken. Your chicken will absorb the flavors of the marinade after a couple hours, and be fine…but the longer you can let it marinate, the better!

Main Ingredients Needed

This Fiesta Lime Chicken Recipe starts out with a marinade bursting with flavor. It then gets perfectly grilled and topped with Pico de Gallo. Here’s everything you’ll need to make this tasty dinner:

  • Water, Soy Sauce, Lime Juice, Sweet Chile Sauce, Worcestershire Sauce, Garlic, Pepper, and Cumin – a beautiful blend of flavors for the chicken marinade.
  • Chicken – I opted for chicken cutlets but you could easily make this with chicken breasts.
  • Cheddar Cheese – this tops the grilled chicken and gets melted on.

Pico de Gallo

Here’s what you’ll need for the Pico:

  • Tomatoes – fresh is best, diced.
  • Yellow Onion – if you hate raw onion, you can leave this out. The pico won’t be as good though.
  • Cilantro – a fresh and traditional ingredient.
  • Lime – to lighten things up and to add to the lime flavor in the chicken.
  • Salt and Pepper – to taste.
  • Tortilla Strips – a much-needed crunch!
Close up of Fiesta Lime Chicken

How to Make Fiesta Lime Chicken | Directions

Step 1: Make Marinate.

In a large freezer bag, stir together water, lime juice, soy sauce, Chile-lime sauce, Worcestershire, garlic, pepper, cumin, and chicken. Seal the bag well and refrigerate for up to 24 hours to marinate.

Step 2: Cook Chicken

Preheat grill to medium heat. Grill chicken 2-3 minutes per side or until cooked completely. When you flip your chicken to cook on the second side, top with the shredded cheese to melt. Cover grill or cover chicken with foil to finish cooking. Remove.

Step 3: Make The Pico De Gallo

Stir all ingredients together in a small bowl. Top the chicken with the pico and tortilla strips and serve. Yum yum!

Side Dishes

Looking for some tasty and easy side dishes to serve alongside Fiesta Lime Chicken? Look no further!

Storing Leftovers

Store chicken and pico in airtight containers and keep in the fridge for up to 3-4 days. The pico will become more juicy, the longer it sits. You may want to drain a little bit of the juices off if its too soupy after the first day.

More Chicken Recipes to Try!

The printable recipe below! Have a wonderful, well-rested day!

Close up of Fiesta Lime Chicken
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5 from 14 votes

Fiesta Lime Chicken Recipe

Fiesta Lime Chicken Recipe (Applebee's Copycat) is marinated and grilled, then topped with cheese and fresh pico?! What's not to like? 
servings 4 servings
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 10 minutes
Total Time 1 day 25 minutes

Ingredients

For the chicken-

  • 1 cup water
  • 3 tablespoons fresh lime juice
  • 2 tablespoons soy sauce
  • 1/4 cup sweet chili sauce
  • 1/2 tablespoon Worcestershire
  • 2 cloves garlic minced
  • pepper to taste
  • 1/2 teaspoon cumin
  • 4 chicken cutlets
  • 1/2 cup cheddar cheese grated

For the pico-

  • 3 roma tomatoes diced
  • 1/4 cup yellow onion finely diced
  • 1/4 cup chopped cilantro
  • 1 lime juiced
  • salt & pepper to taste
  • tortilla strips

Instructions

  • In a large freezer bag, stir together water, lime juice, soy sauce, chile-lime sauce, Worcestershire, garlic, pepper, cumin, and chicken. Seal the bag well and refrigerate for up to 24 hours to marinate.
  • To cook chicken, preheat grill to medium. Grill chicken 2-3 minutes per side or until cooked completely. When you flip your chicken to cook on the second side, top with the shredded cheese to melt. Cover grill or cover chicken with foil to finish cooking. Remove.
  • For the pico de gallo, stir all ingredients together in a small bowl. Top the chicken with the pico and tortilla strips and serve. Yum yum!

Nutrition

Calories: 276kcal | Carbohydrates: 5g | Protein: 41g | Fat: 9g | Saturated Fat: 3g | Cholesterol: 123mg | Sodium: 815mg | Potassium: 816mg | Sugar: 2g | Vitamin A: 645IU | Vitamin C: 13.5mg | Calcium: 118mg | Iron: 1.4mg
Course: Dinner
Cuisine: Mexican
Keyword: fiesta lime chicken, fiesta lime chicken recipe

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Recipe Rating




35 Responses
  1. Vicki

    5 stars
    I made your peach galette for a dinner guest. It was delicious and so easy. Thanks so much. I did substitute sugar for sweetener because we are diabetic.

  2. David

    Hello,

    This looks good. Do you think it would work good with steak also? I tried Citrus Lime Sirloin at Applebee’s back in 2014 a couple of times & loved it. But then it disappeared from the menu. When I google it, I find some pictures of it, but no recipes. Thanks!

  3. Nora

    5 stars
    I was really excited to try this recipe especially because I love sweet chili sauce! It was phenomenal and my hubby said it’s definitely going to be part of our rotation! I cooked the remaining marinade down with a little water and cornstarch and served it on the side and it was so good! Thank you for this ❤️

  4. dee

    Sorry I’ve never heard of “sweet chile lime sauce” Is there a name brand? I’d really like to try this recipe. thanks

  5. John Benediktson

    mm, think I will try this recipe day after tomorrow; maybe with a corn & bean salad as you suggest. Since I don’t have an indoor grill, maybe broil the chicken.

  6. Kelly Sidhu

    5 stars
    This dish is always a favorite in our house. I meal plan 2 weeks at a time and continuously use your blog for more inspiration!! Your recipes are simple for us busy moms but delicious!

  7. Sara

    I am always looking for new marinade recipes. I like to marinade the chicken in a ziplock pop it in the freezer right away and then it marinades as it thaws another day and we grill it up!

  8. Dani C.

    This looks delicious! Do you have a particular brand of sweet chili lime sauce that you use or do you make your own? Thanks Lauren!

  9. cookbook queen

    I can’t ever have enough chicken recipes for weeknight dinners — this looks so yummy! And girl — I’m operating on about half of my brain 99% of the time. I don’t know if I’ll ever have it all back 🙂

    1. Selina

      5 stars
      This recipe is amazing! We make it at least once a month if not more often. Super quick,super simple, & very easy to prep ahead of time for busy/working moms like me.

  10. Giselle @ The Busy Spatula

    Hang in there, Lauren! I’m sure that the hard work will pay off soon. The chicken looks so good. I might have to try it for dinner tonight 🙂

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