Enjoy the flavors of summer ANY time of year with this delicious key west grilled chicken recipe! This time of year fresh limes are inexpensive and this tasty recipe combines the flavors of fresh lime, zesty soy sauce, garlic and just a smidgen of honey to make a fabulous marinade.
The wonderful part about this recipe is that it doesn’t take long for the meat to marinate, which means it’s a quick delicious throw together meal during the busy work week. It’s a versatile chicken recipe- the flavors of honey and lime are complemented well with a touch of garlic and cilantro. If you happen to have a bit of mango- a tablespoon or two finely minced impart a tropical flavor that can’t be beat!
Key West Grilled Chicken Video
If you prefer a spicier kick to your chicken, you can substitute a red jalapeno pepper for the red bell pepper, the honey and jalapeno combine to create a delectable sweet heat that you’re sure to love!
Here’s the low-down on how to throw these together! You’ll notice in the video that we use these handy bag holders to keep the chicken and marinade mess free.
A quick note about the skewers, if you happen to be using wooden skewers, fill a tall glass with water and soak them for about 5-10 minutes prior to use. This ensures that they don’t catch on fire and burn up while they’re on the grill. For an added touch of flavor, you can add a teaspoon of smoke flavoring to the water while they soak.
Key West Grilled Chicken
You’ll Need:
3 tablespoons soy sauce or Coconut Aminos
2 Tbs. honey
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
Juice of 1 Lime
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1 teaspoon fresh cilantro, finely chopped
2 Tbs. Red Bell Pepper, Finely Chopped
4 boneless chicken breast halves
In a shallow bowl combine soy sauce, honey, vegetable oil, lime juice, garlic, bell pepper and cilantro, mixing well.
For Grilled Breasts
Place chicken breast halves into the mixture, and turn to coat. Cover, and marinate in the refrigerator at least 30 minutes.
For Grilled Kebabs (or Skewers)
Cut the chicken into 1-2″ cubes, skewer onto bamboo sticks that have been soaked in water for 5 minutes, and marinate for at least 30 minutes.
Grill the marinated meats over medium-high heat for 6 to 8 minutes on each side, until juices run clear. For the skewers, grill about 3 minutes per side, turning occasionally.
Serve with fresh salad, steamed veggies, grilled potato wedges or any of your favorite sides.
For Grilled Shrimp:
For Key West grilled shrimp, substitute 2 pounds of fresh jumbo shrimp for the chicken. The shrimp will take 2-5 minutes to grill depending on the size. Rule of thumb- when the shrimp looks like the letter “C” it’s done. If it looks like an “L”, it’s still raw/rare, and if it looks like an “O”- it’s overdone!
Key West Grilled Chicken Print Recipe
Key West Grilled Chicken
Ingredients
- 3 tablespoons soy sauce ( or Coconut Aminos)
- 2 tablespoons honey
- 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
- Juice of 1 Lime
- 1 teaspoon minced garlic
- 1 teaspoon fresh cilantro (finely chopped)
- 2 tablespoons Red Bell Pepper (Finely Chopped)
- 4 boneless chicken breast halves
Instructions
- In a shallow bowl combine soy sauce, honey, vegetable oil, lime juice, garlic, bell pepper and cilantro, mixing well.3 tablespoons soy sauce2 tablespoons honey1 tablespoon vegetable oilJuice of 1 Lime1 teaspoon minced garlic1 teaspoon fresh cilantro2 tablespoons Red Bell Pepper
For Grilled Breasts
- Place chicken breast halves into the mixture, and turn to coat. Cover, and marinate in the refrigerator at least 30 minutes.4 boneless chicken breast halves
For Grilled Kebabs (or Skewers)
- Cut the chicken into 1-2″ cubes, skewer onto bamboo sticks that have been soaked in water for 5 minutes, and marinate for at least 30 minutes.
- Grill the marinated meats over medium-high heat for 6 to 8 minutes on each side, until juices run clear. For the skewers, grill about 3 minutes per side, turning occasionally.
- Serve with fresh salad, steamed veggies, grilled potato wedges or any of your favorite sides.
For Grilled Shrimp:
- For Key West grilled shrimp, substitute 2 pounds of fresh jumbo shrimp for the chicken. The shrimp will take 2-5 minutes to grill depending on the size.
- Rule of thumb- when the shrimp looks like the letter “C” it’s done. If it looks like an “L”, it’s still raw/rare, and if it looks like an “O”- it’s overdone!
Video
If you altered the ingedients above by doubling or tripling the recipe, you may also need to change the pan/dish size and adjust the cooking/baking time.
Nutrition
© Can Stock Photo / robynmac
Made this tonight, we loved it. Added 2 Tbsp green jalapeno along with the red pepper. Was surprised it had no heat.
Will definitely make again, but will add more jalapenos.
Leave the seeds in the jalapeno, that is where the heat is. If you did this, next time try smaller jalapenos that are not so firm. These will usually be hotter than the larger ones.
And the firmer jalapenos may have not had a chance to ripen as long as they needed.
If you like spicy, try to find jalapenos that have light brown ridges on them. Those are spicy, if they have a smooth surface they tend to be mild, or you can use serrano peppers instead and 9 times out of 10 they will have spice to them; especially if grilled!
My husband and kids who are all picky eaters loved this!!! Have made this many times and will continue to make it as long as the family is eating it.
Thus looks delicious!! Yummy. I only ask how many chicken breasts per the recipes amount of marinade?
I might have misssed seeing it, if I did I’m sorry.
4 boneless chicken breast halves
Hi! I’ve been excited to try this and realized I’m out of soy! Any suggestions for a substitute?
I hoped this recipe was going to taste like TGI Friday’s Key West Shrimp. The soy sauce took over and it was another Asian marinade. Good but not my favorite!
Anhhh.., marinated for almost 8 hours. Chicken was tender, grilled quickly but really didn’t have flavor I had hoped for. Extremely mild. Don’t think this is a winner in my book. Pretty bland
Well this was a very tastie dish! Had a nice zing from the lime juice! Very moist! I used chicken tenders. I put some fresh herbs in the marinade. Served it with a fried rice and tzatziki sauce. Yummo! Will definitely repeat this recipe! Had it sitting for about 3 hrs. For a bit of heat I may add some chilies as I didn’t have a jalapeño.
I’m so glad I tried the Key West Grilled Chicken recipe. The marinade was bursting with flavors, and the grilled chicken turned out tender and juicy. It’s a fantastic recipe to add some Caribbean flair to your dinner table! I served it with creamy coconut rice.
I made this recipe and was pleasantly surprised how good it was. I like the option of adding jalapeño which I may do next time.