This super easy Cilantro Lime Marinade is a flavor packed homemade marinade that will liven up any chicken, steak, or shrimp. So light and refreshing – perfect for all of your summer grilling!
The Best Cilantro Lime Marinade
This easy marinade is so flavorful and with spring/summer right around the corner it is back in our regular meal rotation. The best part of this quick marinade is that your meat doesn’t need to marinate for long. Only 30 minutes and it will be packed with flavor and ready for cooking. Making it easy enough for a quick weeknight meal!
Looking for another easy marinade recipe? You have to try our Greek Chicken Marinade!
What You Will Need
- fresh lime juice – it takes a little work, but freshly squeezed limes are definitely the way to go! Otherwise, you can also pick up some lime juice from concentrate at the grocery store.
- olive oil (or avocado oil) – either one will do the trick. Avocado oil would keep it Whole30/Paleo compliant.
- lime zest – just zest the limes that you are about to squeeze the juice out of for even more lime flavor.
- fresh cilantro – one of our absolute favorite fresh herbs that has so much flavor!
- kosher salt – a simple seasoning that is a must when making your own marinade.
How To Make A Cilantro Lime Marinade
To start this easy recipe, you will need to gather the 5 simple ingredients.
Now zest the limes, squeeze out all their juice, and roughly chop the fresh cilantro leaves.
Mix everything together in a medium mixing bowl and pour over chicken breasts, chicken thighs, steak, or shrimp!
Recipe FAQ
- How should I use a cilantro lime marinade: our all-time favorite way to use this marinade is to give our meat a quick marinade before turning them into grilled steaks, grilled chicken breasts, grilled chicken thighs, or grilled shrimp. That little bit of char flavor with the light & refreshing flavors of the marinade are so good!
- How long can you marinate in lime juice: this is called a quick marinade because you only want to let your meat sit for a maximum of 2 hours, at most! The lime juice will start to “cook” or denature the meat after that. Here is a great Guide to Marinating Meats! We suggest only letting it marinate for 30 minutes.
- Freezing: it is NOT a good idea to freeze your meat in this marinade because the lime juice will begin to breakdown the meat fibers.
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Other Marinade Recipes You Might Like
Cilantro Lime Marinade
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 0 minutes
- Total Time: 10 minutes
- Yield: Approx. 1 cup
- Category: Marinade
- Method: Counter
- Cuisine: American
Description
Cilantro Lime Marinade – An amazing homemade cilantro lime marinade that is perfect on steak, chicken, or shrimp!
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup freshly squeezed lime juice (approx. 2–3 limes)
- 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil (or avocado oil)
- 1–2 tablespoons lime zest
- 1 cup fresh cilantro, roughly chopped
- 2–3 teaspoons kosher salt
Instructions
- Combine all ingredients in a medium bowl; stir to combine.
- Pour over meat of choice and allow to marinate for 30 minutes.
- Remove from marinade and cook meat as desired.
- Discard the marinade.
Notes
- Additional Lime Juice: Feel free to add additional lime juice if you want the lime flavor to be more intense
- How long to marinate: It is not recommended to allow meat to marinate in a cilantro-lime marinade for more than 30 minutes, as the acid from the lime juice will start cooking the meat.
Keywords: cilantro lime marinade, cilantro lime chicken marinade, cilantro lime steak marinade
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