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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Delicious and easy. Great for summer grilling.
This is our go to recipe for chicken in the summer! I have done this as skewers or just boneless, skinless chicken thighs and they always turn out fantastic! My kids love it. We usually serve with black beans and lime cilantro rice.
This recipe has become a summertime favorite for our family. Simple yet delicious recipe. I have tried with chicken breast before…..guuurrrl don’t do it! It really is best with chicken thighs. I have used powdered ginger before and it was still great.
Best chicken marinade ever! We just love this recipe… so tasty with the spicy and sweet. While we don’t prefer chicken thighs, it is great with chicken breasts too. In fact, we have some in freezer right now, marinade and all waiting to grill. In the snow.
Hi Jenn, do you think it would make much difference to this recipe without the use of a blender? I can borrow one if you think it’s important, just trying to avoid a little bit of hassle =) Thanks for your help, can’t wait to try this over the weekend!
Hi Mel, It should be doable without a blender; just make sure to finely chop the garlic and ginger and blend everything well. Hope you enjoy!
Amazing blend of flavours, this was a total winner – highly recommended, the chicken morsels were just perfect. We also used the leftover marinade to bake salmon the next day, and this was also delicious. Thanks Jenn!
Just made this & it was delicious! This is the second recipe I’ve tried off this site & both were home runs! I also love the ingenious tip about using kitchen shears to trim the fat! I cook boneless skinless chicken thighs all the time and that tip will not only save me time in the future but also save me from having to sanitize & wash a cutting board. Double bonus! Thanks so much for this awesome recipe, it’s going in my regular rotation.
Superb recipe! I used a tabletop grill as it’s not bbq season here now, and the results were just as great. The meat was tender and succulent and the marinade had a great zing with a little hot kick. Definitely will make again!
Can I use the marinade as a stir fry-style sauce? As in, would it work if I coated the chicken pieces in flour, cooked them in a pan on stove top, and added the marinade last?
Sure, Em, I think that would work. Please LMK how it turns out if you try it!
The flavor was fantastic! I minced the garlic and ginger instead of blending, and added a bit of cornstarch. I think some of its potential was lost because it isn’t meant to be prepared in a stir-fry style, but delicious nonetheless. Gonna try it as a salad dressing next!
So glad that overall, it turned out nicely — thanks for the follow-up! 🙂
I am trying this wonderful recipe for the first time and have been marinating the chicken for about 12 hours now. Something has come up and it looks like we won’t be able to cook the chicken for another 2 days. Should I leave chicken in the marinade for that long or is it better to remove from marinade and then cook it when I can? Or I could possibly freeze the chicken in its marinade? Thank you for your help!!
You could probably get away with marinating it for another two days, but to be safe, I’d recommend freezing the chicken in its marinade and then defrosting when you’re ready to cook it. Hope that helps!
Thanks so much for your reply. I ended up freezing the marinated chicken and grilled the thawed chicken last night. It was terrific. I loved the fact that there was reserved marinade to use as a sauce. I served it with your fabulous Thai Crunch Salad and it was an amazing dinner. Thank you again!
Ok there are about 1,000,000 chicken marinades out there, and most are fine, some are good, this one is GREAT. I cannot stress enough that this is a keeper. One of those add to bookmarks, write it down in your recipe book, tell your friends type of marinades. Make it!