Honey, Lime & Sriracha Chicken Skewers
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These chicken skewers marinated in honey, lime juice and Sriracha taste every bit as good as they look.
These chicken skewers marinated in honey, lime juice, and Sriracha are every bit as good as they look — and if you haven’t tried Sriracha, the Asian hot sauce named after the coastal city of Si Racha in Thailand, this is the perfect recipe to taste just how delicious it is. Made from sun-ripened chili peppers, distilled vinegar, garlic, sugar, and salt, Sriracha is used in soups, sauces, noodle dishes, omelets, burgers or anything else to add a delicious spicy taste. It has become so popular in the States that you can find it in the international section of most supermarkets.
What You’ll Need To Make Honey, Lime & Sriracha Chicken
Step-by-Step Instructions
Begin by making the marinade. In a blender, combine the zest of a lime, fresh lime juice, honey, soy sauce, vegetable oil, garlic, ginger, and Sriracha. (Even though you’re puréeing the marinade, it’s a good idea to roughly chop the garlic and ginger so they get incorporated — some blenders can’t handle large chunks.)
Purée until completely smooth, then set aside 1/2 cup of the marinade to use as a drizzling sauce.
Next, prepare the chicken. I’ve specified boneless skinless chicken thighs for this recipe because they’re more flavorful than chicken breasts and easier to cook without drying out. I know many people prefer white meat but I’ve tried both in this recipe and, trust me, it’s much better made with dark meat.
The only drawback to using chicken thighs is that they need to be trimmed before you cook them. I think it’s easiest to use kitchen shears as opposed to a knife. So, using scissors, simply cut off any gristle and large chunks of fat (don’t fret over every little bit as it mostly melts away on the grill) and then cut the meat into 2-inch pieces.
Place the chicken in a Ziplock bag with the remaining marinade and refrigerate for at least 6 hours or overnight.
After the chicken has marinated, thread the pieces onto skewers.
Preheat your grill to medium-high heat. Scrape the grates clean to prevent the chicken from sticking, then dip a wad of paper towels in oil and rub the grates until smooth and shiny.
Grill the chicken, turning occasionally to promote even browning, for 10-15 minutes.
Keep an eye on it — the honey in the marinade causes the chicken to caramelize on the grill and turn a beautiful, rich brown color; however, the chicken can burn if the grill is too hot. Lower the heat if the chicken is browning too fast.
Transfer the skewers to a platter and drizzle with the reserved marinade. Sprinkle chopped cilantro over top and serve. Enjoy!
It was a mouth-watering photo from a blog called Kitchen Meets Girl that caught my eye on Pinterest and inspired this recipe.
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Honey, Lime & Sriracha Chicken Skewers
These chicken skewers marinated in honey, lime juice and Sriracha taste every bit as good as they look.
Ingredients
- 3 tablespoons soy sauce (use gluten-free if needed)
- ¼ cup plus 2 tablespoons honey
- 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
- 1 teaspoon lime zest, from one lime
- 3 tablespoons fresh lime juice, from 2 limes
- 4 garlic cloves, peeled and roughly chopped
- 1½ square inch piece fresh ginger, peeled and roughly chopped (see note)
- 1½ tablespoons Sriracha sauce
- 1¼ teaspoon salt
- 2½ pounds boneless skinless chicken thighs (between 8-10), trimmed and cut into 2-inch chunks
- 2 tablespoons chopped cilantro, plus a few whole sprigs for garnish
- Limes, sliced into wedges, for garnishing platter (optional)
Instructions
- In a blender, combine the soy sauce, honey, oil, lime zest, lime juice, garlic, ginger, Sriracha and salt. Blend until completely smooth. Pour ½ cup of the marinade into a small bowl; cover and refrigerate until ready to serve (this will be your drizzling sauce).
- Combine the chicken and remaining marinade in a large Ziplock bag and seal tightly. Place in a bowl (in case of leakage) and marinate in the refrigerator for at least 6 hours or overnight.
- Remove the chicken from the marinade and thread onto skewers, folding the pieces in half if they are long and thin.
- Be sure the grill is clean, then preheat to medium-high heat. To grease the grill, lightly dip a wad of paper towels in vegetable oil and, using tongs, carefully rub over the grates several times until glossy and coated. Grill the chicken kebabs, covered, until golden brown and cooked through, turning skewers occasionally, for 10 to 15 minutes. (Keep an eye on it -- if they are browning too quickly, turn the heat down.) Transfer the skewers to a platter. Warm up the reserved marinade in the microwave and either drizzle it over top or pass it alongside. Scatter the chopped cilantro over top and garnish the platter with lime wedges and cilantro sprigs, if desired.
- Note: Check out easy guidance on how to peel, grate, and chop fresh ginger here.
Pair with
Nutrition Information
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- Per serving (6 servings)
- Calories: 321
- Fat: 10g
- Saturated fat: 2g
- Carbohydrates: 20g
- Sugar: 18g
- Fiber: 0g
- Protein: 37g
- Sodium: 1147mg
- Cholesterol: 180mg
This website is written and produced for informational purposes only. I am not a certified nutritionist and the nutritional data on this site has not been evaluated or approved by a nutritionist or the Food and Drug Administration. Nutritional information is offered as a courtesy and should not be construed as a guarantee. The data is calculated through an online nutritional calculator, Edamam.com. Although I do my best to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures should be considered estimates only. Varying factors such as product types or brands purchased, natural fluctuations in fresh produce, and the way ingredients are processed change the effective nutritional information in any given recipe. Furthermore, different online calculators provide different results depending on their own nutrition fact sources and algorithms. To obtain the most accurate nutritional information in a given recipe, you should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients used in your recipe, using your preferred nutrition calculator.
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Excellent marinade. I made it ahead of time and left the chicken breasts in it for almost 2 days, and it was great. Served it with roasted tomatoes — we live in Northern Canada and August is our month for delicious tomatoes before the first frosts in September!
My 9 year old son has fallen in love with Sriracha sauce thanks to this recipe. These kebobs have the right amount of heat and sweet to be enjoyable. I made the recipe exactly as written, but also think that this marinade/sauce would be great on a hearty fish or pork chops.
Instead of cooking this on a grill (which I do not have), is it possible to broil this in the oven instead? If so, at what temp and what length of time? Thanks so much!
Hi Jenny, Yes that will work — set the oven to broil (at least 500°F) and cook for about same time as specified in recipe.
Jenn,
I just wanted you to know that I made the sriracha chicken, your Thai shrimp recipe with jasmine rice, along with the crunchy Thai salad for company and the Thai quinoa and my company absolutely loved everything!!! They even insisted that I share the recipes with them, which, of course, I was happy to do (as well as told them about your web site). Taking your advice I did store-bought spring rolls (which were better than I anticipated) and did both mango and coconut sorbet with cookies for dessert. This had to be one of the most memorable dinners I ever made, judging from my company’s rave reviews. Thanks again for your advice and providing such wonderful recipes to try. You can be sure I’ll continue coming back to try more of them on a regular basis.
Regards,
Joan
So glad, Joan! Thanks for letting me know 🙂
Joan,
It sounds like an awesome menu. The honey, lime, sriracha chicken is the best. I have to try the thai shrimp recipe I hope the weather cooperates.
Jenn,
I just wanted you to know that I made the sriracha chicken, your Thai shrimp recipe with jasmine rice, along with the crunchy Thai salad for company and the Thai quinoa and my company absolutely loved everything!!! They even insisted that I share the recipes with them, which, of course, I was happy to do (as well as told them about your web site). Taking your advice I did store-bought spring rolls (which were better than I anticipated) and did both mango and coconut sorbet with cookies for dessert. This had to be one of the most memorable dinners I ever made, judging from my company’s rave reviews. Thanks again for your advice and providing such wonderful recipes to try. You can be sure I’ll continue coming back to try more of them on a regular basis.
Regards,
Joan
Hi Jenn. Tomorrow night I’m going to make the sriracha chicken, your Thai shrimp recipe with jasmine rice, along with the crunchy Thai salad for company, but I’m struggling with what to make for appetizer and dessert to go with all the Thai dishes. Given all this cooking, I’d like something easy and light to go with the Thai theme. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Thanks so much!
Hi Joan, I think for appetizers you could do store bought…what about crispy spring rolls (hors d’oeuvre size) with Thai Sweet Red Chili Sauce (comes in a bottle) and an Oriental-style rice cracker mix? Or you could make my cocktail meatballs and instead of the sweet and sour sauce, you could serve them with the Thai Sweet Red Chili Sauce. For dessert, I’d do something light and fresh, like my Summer Berry Trifle, which you can make ahead. My coconut dream pie would also be delicious with your menu, but it’s a project! If you want to keep dessert super simple, store bought coconut ice cream or mango sorbet with some cookies (like my banana oatmeal or almond biscotti) would be lovely. Hope that helps, and please let me know how everything turns out 🙂
Hi Jenn. The reviews sound wonderful but I cannot eat very spicy things and wondered how spicy the Sriracha will make this dish. Would I need to modify the amount of Sriracha or will the honey offset it enough that there really is no very “hot” taste?
Hi Joan, It’s really not that spicy — my kids eat it — but you can cut the Sriracha in half to start. You can always add more to taste at the end.
Could I use this marinade on a pork tenderloin and then grill it (not on kabobs)?
Hi Stephanie, Yes I think that would work well. Please let me know how it turns out 🙂
I made this tonight for dinner. So delicious! The men in my house didn’t stop raving about them. I heard the words “restaurant quality” more than once. I made the recipe as is and will not change a thing the next time (which will be very, very soon!)
Could this marinade be used on fish instead?
Hi Danielle, Yes, that would work but be sure to only marinate for 30 minutes or so, otherwise the acid in the marinade will “cook” the fish.