Oven Baked Honey Lime Chicken
Crispy chicken marinated in lime, honey, olive oil, and spices that you don’t need to make by standing in front of the grill.
Personally, I don’t love grilling. While my husband doesn’t mind grilling occasionally, he much prefers to be the bartender than be responsible for the main dish at a dinner party, so this is my way of making a crispy chicken. The trick with this recipe is baking the chicken on the highest rack in the oven, and rotating halfway for even baking.
I developed this recipe to go with my Honey Themed Dinner Party that I hosted in collaboration with Party Trick, a party planning tool free for home hosts for all types of parties.
Step-by-Step Instructions
Serves 8
Prep time: 15 Minutes
Marinating time 4 hours - 24 hours
Cook time: 30-35 minutes
Ingredients
4 1/2 - 5 lb Bone in skin on chicken thighs
1 tablespoon dijon mustard
2 tablespoons honey
2/3 cup olive oil
1/3 cup fresh lemon juice
4 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1 tablespoon sea salt
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes (optional)
Method
Make the marinade: In a medium bowl combine the dijon, honey, olive oil, lemon juice, minced garlic, black pepper, sea salt, and red pepper flakes if using. Pour oven chicken thighs in a gallon bag or a 9x13 (23 cm x 33 cm) baking pan, and stir or flip the chicken to make sure it’s all in contact with the marinade. Cover so that it’s airtight. If you’re using a bag, place it on a rimmed baking pan to make sure any liquid doesn’t spill into your refrigerator.
Marinate: Place in the refrigerator to marinate for four or up to 24 hours.
Bake: Remove chicken from the refrigerator while the oven preheats to take the chill off. Preheat the oven to 425°F (220°C) and line a rimmed 13”x18” (33 cm x 45 cm) baking sheet with foil or silicone baking mat. Place chicken evenly across the baking sheet. Bake for 30-35 minutes and rotate halfway through. Chicken is ready when it temps at 165°F (75°C) in its thickest part.
Let cool for five to ten minutes before serving, and serve within thirty minutes. Can cover in a heat insulated container if it will be longer to serve.
Frequently Asked Questions:
Can this recipe be frozen? I would freeze the marinated uncooked chicken, thaw overnight in the refrigerator before cooking.
Can this recipe be grilled? Definitely! Just keep an eye on the cook time and cook over medium. I find it’s a little trickier to evenly cook bone in chicken on the grill.
Can this be made in advance? I would serve it immediately after baking and cooling, since it can be tricky to reheat chicken with the skin on.
Crispy Honey Lime Oven Baked Chicken
Crispy chicken marinated in lime, honey, olive oil, and spices that you don’t need to make by standing in front of the grill.
Ingredients
Instructions
- Make the marinade: In a medium bowl combine the dijon, honey, olive oil, lemon juice, minced garlic, black pepper, sea salt, and red pepper flakes if using. Pour oven chicken thighs in a gallon bag or a 9x13 (23 cm x 33 cm) baking pan, and stir or flip the chicken to make sure it’s all in contact with the marinade. Cover so that it’s airtight. If you’re using a bag, place it on a rimmed baking pan to make sure any liquid doesn’t spill into your refrigerator.
- Marinate: Place in the refrigerator to marinate for four or up to 24 hours.
- Bake: Remove chicken from the refrigerator while the oven preheats to take the chill off. Preheat the oven to 425°F (220°C) and line a rimmed 13”x18” (33 cm x 45 cm) baking sheet with foil or silicone baking mat. Place chicken evenly across the baking sheet. Bake for 30-35 minutes and rotate halfway through. Chicken is ready when it temps at 165°F (75°C) in its thickest part.
- Let cool for five to ten minutes before serving, and serve within thirty minutes. Can cover in a heat insulated container if it will be longer to serve.
