Jalapeno Chicken Thighs with sweet, salty Honey and Lime Marinade is an easy weeknight Chicken Dinner Recipe that adds a little East meats Southwest to your family mealtime.
The best of both worlds, spicy Southwest flavor in a sweet and salty Asian marinade is delicious on this grilled chicken recipe.
I don't know about you, but everyone in my family loves Southwest and Asian flavors mixed together. Some of our favorite recipes combine these flavors together.
Easy. Flavorful. Healthy. What more could you want in a weeknight entree?
Truly, it only take a few minutes to whisk the honey, soy sauce, garlic, green onions, jalapenos, lime juice and zest together for this sweet and spicy Jalapeno Chicken Thighs marinade.
Favorite Chicken Thigh Recipe
This Jalapeño Chicken Thighs recipe has been a favorite of our family's ever since it was first posted way back in the early, start up days of the blog
In fact, this recipe finishes in the Reader's Favorite Top 10 Recipes Category every year. So, I thought this Fan Favorite deserved a modern "make over." I have updated this post with new pictures and an easy print out version of the original recipe.
Tips for Cooking Chicken Thighs
Tip for Chicken Thighs- Chicken thighs can be moist and flavorful. Grill them with the skin on and bone in for more flavor. However, if you don't eat the skin, remove it so that the marinade will cling to the chicken thigh and not be torn away when the skin is removed later.
One of the questions people ask me is, " Can I turn this recipe into a Chicken Thigh Tray Bake and cook it on a sheet pan?" Yes! You can, just be sure to spray the pan with cooking spray and line the pan with parchment for easy cleanup.
Extra tip: When cooking on a sheet pan, I put the chicken thighs in without the sauce and let the skin get crispy before covering in sauce.
Another easy tip: Air Fryer Breaded Chicken Thighs are delicious in this recipe, the sauce soaks in and makes them yummy!
Cook extra so you will have leftovers to make Asian Chicken Lettuce Wraps.
Ingredients for Jalapeno Chicken Thighs with Honey Lime Marinade
- Chicken Thighs can be very large these days. Remove the bone and cut the chicken thigh in half lengthwise to have a single serving out of each thigh.
- Jalapeños- Donna's family likes things on the hot side, she uses 4 jalapeños. I don't, I only use 2 to 3 jalapeños and I reserve some of the sliced jalapeño for the garnish.
- Soy Sauce
- Honey
- Olive Oil
- Garlic Clove
- Green Onions
- Lime Juice and Zest
NOTE: Make extra marinade if your chicken thighs are large.
Note: Remove all of the seeds and the veins from the inside of the jalapeños to reduce the heat, if you wish.
Jalapeno Chicken Thigh Recipes
If you love this recipe, check out these Honey and Jalapeño recipes including this fun and easy chicken thigh recipe right here on Everyday Southwest.
Bacon Wrapped Jalapeno Chicken Bites, Everyday Southwest
Honey Jalapeno Drumsticks, Choosy Beggars
Here is Donna's original post. You can find more of her recipes on her new blog, where she blogs with her daughter, Anne.
We are much better at photography and food styling now than we were when this Jalapeno Chicken Thigh recipe was posted.
I have recently discovered the sublime taste of honey and jalapenos. A match made in heaven. So, I decided to try this heavenly taste with chicken. Sure enough, it's a winner. Highly, highly recommend when you need an easy meal. This really is 20 minutes from grocery bag to table.
And, yes. I know. Soy sauce is not technically a southwest ingredient. But. It adds umami as well as saltiness. Again, a winner. -- posted by Donna
Don't worry, the recipe is exactly the same, I have only added a couple of other options for garnishes and added minced jalapeños as an option to the sliced (scroll down for the original post).
The biggest difference in this update is the photograph of the finished dish. I have added a gorgeous photo that highlights this delicious recipe.
We hope you love this recipe!
Easy Jalapeno Chicken Thighs with Honey Lime Marinade
Equipment
- Grill pan (optional)
Ingredients
- ¼ cup honey
- 3 tablespoons soy sauce
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 3 garlic cloves pressed
- 2 green onion, thinly sliced (tops included) reserve some for garnish (optional)
- 4 large jalapeno peppers seeds and core removed and thinly sliced or minced (reserve some for garnish, optional)
- 1 lime, juice and zest
- 2 pounds boneless skinless chicken thighs
- Cilantro for garnish optional
Instructions
- Whisk together the honey, soy sauce, olive oil, garlic, green onions, jalapenos, lime juice and zest.
- Cut chicken thighs into half lengthwise. Place thighs and marinade in a zip lock bag then, let sit at room temperature for at least 30 minutes to 1 hour, turning over occasionally.
- Heat a grill pan or saute pan to medium-high heat and coat with a thin layer of oil.
- Drain marinade from zip lock bag into a small sauce pan and place chicken thighs on the grill pan. Simmer the marinade until reduced in half, while cooking the thighs on the grill pan, turning once, until cooked through.
- Heat a grill pan to medium-high heat. Coat with a thin layer of oil. Drain marinade from zip lock bag into a small sauce pan and place chicken thighs on the grill pan.
- Bring the marinade to a boil and reduce heat to simmer until reduced in half while the chicken thighs are cooking ( NOTE: do not use marinade for a sauce without bringing it to a boil to cook the chicken juices left by the chicken thighs).
- Cook the chicken thighs for 4 to 5 minutes on each side, turning once, or until cooked all the way through.
- Serve Jalapeno Chicken Thighs drizzled with sauce and sprinkled with minced cilantro, green onions or jalapeno slices.
Photo credits:
Original Jalapeno Chicken Thighs photo by Donna Kelly
Grilled Jalapeno Chicken Thighs-
Vertical Grilled Chicken Thighs - © Voltan1 - Dreamstime.com
Horizontal and Square - Photo © Voltan1 - Dreamstime.com
Raw Chicken Thighs - Photo © Natallia Ploskaya - Dreamstime.com
Judy @Savoring Today
Sweet and spice, a favorite combo around here ... and chicken thighs too! Your recipe sounds like a perfect blend, YUM!
Donna
Judy - These truly are bursting with flavor!
Donna
LOVE sweet and spicy together!
SeattleDee
Sounds delicious, all that honey/soy/jalapeno marinade giving pale chicken thighs a southwest suntan.
Donna
Seattle Dee - You make me smile!
mjskit
I love the combination of sweet and spicy! What a great chicken marinade!
Donna
Thanks - sweet + spicy + heat = winner!
Susan
It's unfortunate that I can't copy or print this recipe. It sounds good, but you've made it extremely difficult for people who want to print it for themselves.
Sandy
So sorry, Susan. I will check on that post to see why the recipe is not loaded into our recipe plug-in that allows printing. Thank you for the heads-up on that!
Judy
Made this for dinner tonight.....LUV the 30 minute marinade!! The chicken was great!! As a side I roasted tiny Yukon Gold potatoes in a screaming hot cast iron skillet on the stove top! It is too hot to turn the oven on!! For anyone on the fence about trying the recipe, it does not make a lot of marinade but it was more than enough for 8 chicken thighs!!
Sandy
I'm so glad you liked it, Judy! Your potato recipe sounds delicious!
Allyssa
Thank you so much for sharing this amazing honey jalapeno chicken thighs recipe! Will surely have this again! It's really easy to make and it tasted so delicious! Highly recommended!
Paula
We loved this jalapeno chicken, thanks so much for the great recipe.