Here’s a big-time easy, favorite recipe for grilled Cilantro Chicken. This is simply marinated chicken that is grilled and topped with a sweet sauce. Watch the video in the post showing you how to make this, then scroll all the way to the bottom of this post to print out a clean copy of the complete recipe so you can make it at home.
Let me tell you a little story about cilantro. I was once a hater… a very big hater. When my husband and I were newlyweds, we used to eat at a local fish taco place once a week. I always ordered the Shrimp Burrito with NO CILANTRO.
One day my husband brought home a shrimp burrito for me. I took one bite and Pffft! What the heck?! He had forgotten to ask them to leave it out. I disliked the stuff that much. Somewhere along the way, I became okay with cilantro. I won’t eat it raw by the handful, but I definitely use it in my cooking and have found that I finally have a taste for this fresh herb.
Are you a fan of Cilantro?
Even if you ARE a hater, you’re likely still going to enjoy this recipe for Cilantro Chicken.
How to make Cilantro Chicken:
The cilantro is ground up into the marinade. It coats the chicken before grilling, and then the chicken is brushed with sweet sauce before serving. This is my new favorite chicken recipe- shared by a beach house neighbor’s friend named Joyce who was visiting for dinner this summer. Joyce was gracious enough to bring samples over for us to try. It was so delicious that I simply had to have the recipe to share with you. Here you go:
First things first: this recipe is SO easy! You’ll need chicken- I used wonderful skinless thighs with very little fat from Whole Foods Market. I find the thighs that you buy from the regular market are far too full of fat. By the time you remove the fat, there is hardly any meat left. It’s worth it to go to Whole Foods for chicken thighs. You can also use chicken breasts, but you’ll want to make sure they are evenly pounded out so they don’t dry out while grilling.
The marinade is simply made up of olive oil, garlic and cilantro.
And it’s all mixed together in the blender (or food processor) until it is thick and smooth.
I like to marinate my chicken in a large zip baggie. I put the chicken in first and then scrape the marinade into the bag too. Squeeze all of the air out of the bag, zip it closed, and then massage the marinade into every nook and cranny of the chicken. If you do this in the morning, it can marinate all day long. Busy folks can get it all ready the night before and let it marinate all night and into the next day.
It’s been so stinkin’ hot where I live that I decided to go with my stovetop grill pan instead of using the hot BBQ outside. Just a few minutes on each side.
Stack the chicken onto a platter, and give it a generous brush of Sweet Chili Sauce (sweet chili sauce can be found in your market’s Asian aisle- if you can’t find it, ask. And if you don’t have access it, make your own!)
It’s ready to serve! But wait… what will you serve it with?!
Whip up some Easy Coconut Rice (or regular steamed rice). Recipe HERE. Now you’ve got something new to make for dinner! My whole family loves this. The cilantro doesn’t seem to scare anyone- it just makes a wonderful addition to the simple marinade. And the sweet chili sauce is NOT spicy. I love using chicken thighs for grilling because they always turn out a little more tender and juicy than breasts, which have a tendency to dry out on the grill.
Thanks to beach house friend Joyce for sharing such a wonderful recipe this summer! And thank you to my tastebuds for overcoming your resentment of Cilantro 😉
Cilantro Chicken
Ingredients
- 2½ pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs, fat trimmed
- ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
- ¼ cup minced garlic
- ½ bunch fresh cilantro, rinsed and chopped
- 1 cup sweet chili sauce
Instructions
- Place the chicken in a large zip baggie.
- Place the olive oil, garlic and cilantro in a blender or food processor. Process until the mixture is combined and smooth. Scoop the marinade into the bag with the chicken, press the air out of the bag and zip it closed. Knead the marinade into the chicken until it is evenly distributed. Marinate overnight or all day long.
- Preheat the grill to medium heat and coat with oil or grill spray. Remove chicken from the bag and grill 4 to 5 minutes on the first side, until good grill marks are showing. Flip and grill an additional 3 to 4 minutes, or until the chicken is cooked through.
- Remove the chicken to a platter and brush the sweet chili sauce on top.
Notes
- 1/4 cup of minced garlic is quite a lot to mince yourself. I like to buy it already minced for this recipe - either fresh or jarred.
- If you are preparing this recipe as gluten-free, just be sure to use a brand of chili garlic sauce that is known to be GF.
- I like to serve this chicken with Easy Coconut Rice.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Cumin and lemon juice added to the marinade would make it kick arse. I make something similar. You can also add the chilli sauce in with marinade to save stuffing around at the end. OR for the brave – ignore sweet chilli sauce and add fresh chillies and a little brown sugar to marinade
It’s funny how we can go from a cilantro hater to a cilantro lover seemingly overnight. I certainly did. This chicken dish would put a huge smile on my face.
I had such high hopes, but this just tasted like grass with sweet chili sauce on it. I wouldn’t say it was inedible, because the chicken was tender, but the flavor was just not that pleasant. The cilantro was really overpowering. Plus, serving it with broccoli made everything on the plate even more “green” (in color and taste), so that was not an ideal combo. Sorry.
Hmmm- that’s a bummer that it didn’t turn out for you. With my chicken, you could barely taste the cilantro because the garlic overpowers. Wonder if you used too much cilantro?
I am an absolute cilantro lover! This is my kind of chicken dish!
This looks fantastic! Love the brilliant green color. I don’t mind cilantro but I can see how people can hate it – it’s very sharp and distinctive.
I looooove cilantro…and after 15 years of marriage, my husband announced that he doesn’t like it and never has. Poor guy…I’ve been feeding it to him all this time. Wonder if he’d notice? Maybe I’ll call it Parsley Chicken. 😉
Oooh, I love all the flavors in this recipe, it sounds amazing! I used to hate Cilantro too, but definitely learned to like it…funny how that happens.
I’ve made grilled cilantro chicken before, but never glazed it with sweet chili sauce…can’t wait to give that a try!!
I’m marinating the WF thighs as I write! Can’t wait for dinner! I’ll be making the coconut rice too!
What a gorgeous summer dish Lori! The cilantro marinade paired with the sweet chili sauce sounds perfect with the coconut rice!