This cilantro lime chicken simmers in a creamy flavor-packed sauce and comes together in just one pan and in around 40 minutes from start to finish. This easy chicken dinner recipe is a favorite in my home—and many readers’ homes too—all year round!
I originally published this recipe in 2015 and have since added new photos and more helpful success tips. And based on reader feedback, increased the amount of creamy sauce! 😉
While I enjoy baking desserts the most, dinner is an everyday adventure. And if you’re like me, you’re constantly searching for quick and easy dinner recipes. Well, you’ve come to the right place! This is my one-pan creamy cilantro lime chicken, a consistent crowd favorite.
One reader, Marci, commented: “Thank you for this recipe. My family has been obsessed for months; we have it at least once a week and I recommend it to everyone. ★★★★★“
Another reader, Rose, commented: “Omg what a flavor bomb!!! This was absolutely delicious!! … Wish I made a double batch, but will be making again and again!! ★★★★★“
And another reader, Allison, commented: “STAPLE DINNER in our house and a GREAT thing to serve to guests! Everyone LOVES this ★★★★★“
Today I’m going to show you that one skillet is all it takes to transform chicken into something you and your family will love. The process is a lot like my skillet apple cider chicken and this creamy lemon thyme chicken. Pan-sear the chicken on the stove, make a flavorful cilantro lime pan sauce, then bake the chicken in the sauce to finish.
Here’s Why You’ll Love This Cilantro Lime Chicken
- Quick and easy 1-pan meal
- Extra tender, juicy chicken
- Creamy, buttery, zesty sauce tastes amazing on rice and vegetables, too!
- Undeniably crowd pleasing, so you’ll want to make it again and again
Grab These Ingredients
- Chicken: I use boneless, skinless chicken breasts. Pound them down to even thickness. You could use boneless, skinless chicken thighs instead if desired.
- Salt & Pepper
- Olive Oil
- Chicken Broth
- Fresh Lime Juice
- Onion: Yellow, white, or red—chef’s choice!
- Cilantro
- Red Pepper Flakes: Adds a bit of heat, but feel free to reduce or increase the amount to your liking.
- Heavy Cream: Just enough to make the sauce taste creamy and rich. See below for a dairy-free alternative.
- Butter: Adds so much delicious flavor!
Start the Chicken, Then Make the Pan Sauce
The process is the same as my lemon thyme chicken and creamy garlic chicken and vegetables, so if you’ve made either of those before you know how easy it is!
Cook the chicken in a large oven-proof skillet until both sides are browned—the chicken will cook again in the oven so if the centers aren’t cooked all the way through yet, that’s fine. Remove the chicken temporarily and set it aside.
If you’re in the market for a new skillet, I own and love this one.
Now, using the same skillet, make the pan sauce. The juices left behind by the chicken are key for flavor, so don’t clean the skillet before making the sauce!
Simmer the pan sauce until it has reduced and thickened.
Add the chicken back to the skillet:
Bake in the oven until the chicken is cooked through. Garnish the saucy chicken with extra cilantro (flavor! flavor!) and a squeeze of lime. Serve with rice and veggies, and smother them with the sauce, too!
Yes! Use full-fat canned coconut cream instead of heavy cream and coconut oil instead of butter for a dairy-free version with a delicious coconut-y twist.
No problem! After you cook the chicken and sauce on the stove, you can transfer both to a baking dish.
Yes, you can use chicken thighs instead if you prefer. No changes necessary!
Yes! The recipe below reflects an almost-doubled portion of the sauce. Before 2025, it made only about half as much, but now there’s plenty to generously coat the chicken and spoon over any sides you’re serving.
Yes, and this 10.25-inch cast iron skillet is a good size. This particular skillet is a workhorse and I use it for nearly everything from bruschetta chicken and walnut crusted chicken to honey skillet cornbread, too.
What to Serve With Cilantro Lime Chicken
We enjoy this chicken with a side of rice and a green vegetable like roasted broccoli (and the cilantro lime sauce poured over everything, of course!), but here are a few more suggestions for tasty pairings:
- Cornbread or cornbread muffins
- Soft dinner rolls or honey whole wheat dinner rolls
- Roasted or steamed asparagus, green beans, or Brussels sprouts
- Mashed or roasted potatoes
- Zucchini fritters or corn fritters
Creamy Cilantro Lime Chicken
- Prep Time: 30 minutes
- Cook Time: 10 minutes
- Total Time: 40 minutes
- Yield: serves 4
- Category: Dinner
- Method: Cooking
- Cuisine: American
Description
This cilantro lime chicken simmers in a creamy flavor-packed sauce and comes together in only 1 pan!
Ingredients
- 1.5 pounds (24 ounces/680g) boneless, skinless chicken breasts
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 1 Tablespoon olive oil
- 1 and 1/2 cups (360ml) chicken broth (I recommend reduced sodium)
- 3 Tablespoons (45ml) fresh lime juice
- 1/2 cup (60g) chopped red onion
- 2 Tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
- 1/2–1 teaspoon red pepper flakes*
- 1/3 cup (5 Tablespoons/80ml) heavy cream*
- 1/4 cup (4 Tablespoons/56g) unsalted butter
- optional: lime wedges and more cilantro for garnish
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375°F (190°C).
- If the chicken breasts are uneven in thickness, pound them down so they’re all even. This way all the breasts will cook through simultaneously. Sprinkle both sides with salt and pepper.
- In a large ovenproof skillet, heat the oil over medium-high heat. Add the chicken and cook for 6–7 minutes, turning once. You want the chicken nice and browned on the outside. (It doesn’t have to be cooked all the way through yet.) Transfer chicken to a plate and cover with foil until step 5.
- Remove skillet from heat and add the broth, lime juice, onion, cilantro, and red pepper flakes. Return to heat. Cook and stir to scrape up the browned bits from the bottom of the skillet. Bring to a boil. Allow to boil, uncovered, for 10-12 minutes or until the liquid is reduced to 1/2 cup. Reduce heat to medium-low, then add the cream and butter. Stir until butter has melted, then remove from heat.
- Add the chicken back to the skillet, turning once to coat both sides in the sauce. Transfer the skillet to the preheated oven. Bake uncovered until the chicken is completely cooked through, about 5–10 minutes (internal temperature should be at least 165°F (74°C)).
- Serve chicken with sauce spooned on top, and garnish with lime wedges and cilantro, if desired.
- Leftovers keep well in the refrigerator for a few days. You can reheat on the stove over medium heat, in the microwave, or in the oven.
Notes
- Special Tools (affiliate links): Meat Tenderizer | Large Oven-Proof Skillet (I own and love this one) | Tongs | Citrus Juicer | Instant-Read Thermometer
- Red Pepper Flakes: Adjust the amount of red pepper flakes to your liking. This amount made the chicken mildly spicy. The cream in the sauce mellows out the spice.
- Heavy Cream: You can use whole milk or half-and-half instead, but for the thickest, richest sauce I highly recommend heavy cream. If using whole milk, make sure it is at room temperature to help prevent curdling.
- Dairy-Free: Use coconut cream instead of heavy cream and coconut oil instead of butter.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 chicken breast + 1/4 of the sauce
- Calories: 396
- Sugar: 1.5 g
- Sodium: 254.4 mg
- Fat: 23.7 g
- Carbohydrates: 4.3 g
- Protein: 40.8 g
- Cholesterol: 165.9 mg
Reader Comments and Reviews
This recipe was a huge hit for my family they absolutely loved it!!
Winner winner chicken dinner❤️
Amazing flavour divine meal and the sauce is to die for.
I made extra sauce as I had read in the reviews how outstanding the sauce was and they were all right it is outstanding.
This will be on repeat in my house for sure.
Thank you Sally for sharing this gorgeous recipe.
I made this for my husband this evening. The chicken turned out tender and juicy. We both loved the flavor. I will definitely make this again- for the two of us or for company.
Wow – what flavor. Made it this past weekend and now my husband wants me to make it for our whole family. Made it exactly as written – no notes.
Made it in my cast iron pan, sautéed broccoli on the side. Leftovers were served on some cilantro lime rice. This will be on the regular rotation!
This was easy and SO delicious. The hands-off times made getting sides done so convenient I will be making it again and again. Thank you, Sally!
Now my absolute favourite chicken recipe. Easy to make with such a rich, layered flavour, I crave it. If you have not tried it, your life is not worth living.
Excellent and my husband raved about it, asked me to please make it again. Thanks again Sally!
This was very easy and extremely tastey! The sauce is delicious…wish I had doubled it!
Deliciuos. My little ones and husband really enjoyed the flavors
This was so good! We used shallots instead of onion and added pickled jalapeños. We shredded the mixture and served with lightly fried corn tortillas as tacos. Delicious!!
This was so delicious. It was such a big head and so easy to make. I’m adding it to my weekly menu. Only one thing I changed, my family likes a thicker sauce, so I added a drop of flour to thicken it some.
Loved the flavours, easy to make and the family loved it. It’s on the repeat list.
I wanted a less calorie dense version so left out the cream and butter and instead thickened it with a standard roux.
We made this tonight and loved it! We went heavy on the red pepper, because we like heat. But this is easily tweaked to individual tastes. This is going to become a regular, since it also pairs well with a lot – rice, corn, beans, pasta, even a bed of lettuce since the sauce could become a dressing.
Husband and I enjoyed this dish with rice. I’m not big on leftovers, but this was really good the next evening. Thanks for another tasty recipe!
So yummy! Made exactly as directed and I can’t wait to have it again tomorrow night. Thanks for the great recipe!
Made for the first time with skinless, boneless, pounded chicken breasts. It was very good and will make again with this change. We like a bit thicker sauce, so will coat the chicken in flour before browning.
Very good! Will make again, maybe a little less pepper flakes!!
Absolutely phenomenal. I used coconut cream instead of cream for alpha gal. I added a little extra lime and pepper and it turned out very well.
So happy this recipe dropped into my email just as I was ruminating on what to make for dinner. made it mostly as written (except I had to use beef broth instead of chicken) and I thought it was great! My husband must’ve said “yummy” to himself at least 5 times lol (so either it’s a really good recipe or ordinarily I’m just a rotten cook). I think this would be a nice one for guests. will make again 🙂
I have tried so many of your cupcake and cake recipes and didn’t even know you had savory recipes until I happen to see this recipe on my feed and I had all ingredients and decided to give it a try. The only change I made to it was use skinless, boneless chicken thighs because my husband does not like chicken breast. Everything else I kept exactly as written and I will tell you this was phenomenal! My husband and I could not stop saying how good it was as we were eating it. Great weeknight dinner and definitely one I will have on my rotation. Thank you!
I really, really wanted to love this dish. It’s my own fault, I know darn well that I don’t care for white meat. But, in my defense, I had a huge package of chicken breasts that my mother had bought for me (as she does in her loving way). And so I used it here. This just didn’t have the punch I thought I would get from a “Sally’s” recipe.
Don’t get me wrong, your site is my go-to for any and all desserts. You are the BEST.
Thank you and much love,
Camilla
Fantastic ! I did with turkey I had to use up, and it worked really well. My husband pronounced it ‘really yummy’ !
This was beautiful, easy and my husband loved it. I made it with with white rice and cilantro slaw so of course we ended up making into tacos and wow. Thanks much
This has become my hands down favourite chicken recipe. It’s easy to make and oh so delicious! So much flavour!! Due to a failure in reading I have never put it in the oven (I seem to have skipped that step) but it is still an orgasmic dining experience.
What can I substitute to make this somewhat low cholesterol!
Hi, my oven isn’t easy to use. Could I cook this on the stovetop, instead? How would I need to change the recipe for that method?
Hi Kimi Wei, absolutely. Add the chicken to the finished sauce, cover, and cooke on low heat until it’s cooked through.
This sounds fabulous. How would it be with salmon?
I’m sure delicious!
I know Im going to love this recipe. I adore cilantro! Just wondering,….Can you finish off the chicken right on the stovetop after adding the pieces back into the skillet, and skip the oven step? This way you wont have to turn on the oven in the hot months. I can understand if one is using bone in chicken thighs, but the breasts cook so fast.
Absolutely. Cover and cook the chicken on low until it’s done.
I will certainly try this recipe!
I appreciate recipes that limit or don’t use prepackaged ingredients, such as canned soup, etc. as I prefer not to use them.
I made this last night as a quick dinner for company staying with us. It was a HUGE hit. Everyone was using their roll to wipe up every bit of the sauce off their plate (fortunately, it was “like family” company, so manners were optional!) It was quick and easy and delicious.
I made this tonight. It was delicious. I used chicken tenders. I served it with steamed asparagus as you suggested. It was very good. Thanks for an easy, tasty recipe.
Did you any adjustments to the recipe when substituting tenders for the breast?
Thanks!