Description
Chili Lime Peach Chicken -a fast and healthy weeknight dinner highlighting fresh juicy peaches. Can be made with breast or thigh meat. 25-30 minutes.
Ingredients
- 1 teaspoon chili powder
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1/2 teaspoon cayenne or ground chipotle
- 1 1/4 teaspoons salt
- 1- 1 1/4 lb skinless chicken breasts or thighs ( I prefer skin-on, bone-in thighs)
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 shallots, sliced into thin rings ( about 1/2 cup)
- 2 large peaches, cut into 1/2 inch thick wedges
- 2 tablespoons lime juice, more for garnish
- 1 tablespoon honey
Garnish: cilantro and lime wedges
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 F (please see notes)
- Prep the chicken. In a small bowl mix chili powder, cumin, smoked paprika, cayenne (or chipotle) and salt. Season all sides of chicken generously with the spice mix.
- Sear. Heat oil in a skillet over medium to medium-high heat and sear the chicken, top side down, until deeply golden, about 5-7 minutes. (If using skin-on, get that skin crispy!). Turn and sear 4-5 minutes, then set the chicken aside and cover lightly.
- Peaches. To the same skillet, over medium heat, add the shallots. Saute, stirring often, until tender, about 3-4 minutes. Add the peaches. Gently sauté for 2 minutes, turning them over after they just begin to soften and caramelize. Don’t overcook them – you want them to hold their shape. Squeeze with a couple of tablespoons of lime juice and drizzle 1 tablespoon honey; stir carefully with the goal of keeping the peaches intact. Once they are heated through, turn the heat off.
- Combine and finish cooking. Nestle the chicken back into the skillet with the peaches, and if using chicken breast, just simmer until cooked through. ( 160F) If using chicken thighs, place in the oven until cooked through.(165F)
- Garnish. Squeeze chicken with lime and garnish with cilantro, serving in the skillet, or place all on a platter, spooning the flavorful pan juices over top, garnishing last.
Notes
Chicken: If using bone-in skin-on thighs, finish the chicken in the oven. If using boneless, skinless chicken breast, skip the oven.
Grill: You can also grill the chicken until cooked through, then nestle in the peaches. If grilling chicken breast, add a tiny bit of olive oil to the spice mix to create a paste, then rub this all over the chicken breast. If grilling thighs, use dry spices. Grill over medium-high heat to get a nice sear, then lower heat to cook all the way through.
Salt: If scaling this recipe, a good rule of thumb is 1 teaspoon salt per pound of chicken.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 x 6 ounce Breast (skinless)
- Calories: 197
- Sugar: 12.2 g
- Sodium: 1212.7 mg
- Fat: 9.1 g
- Saturated Fat: 1.4 g
- Carbohydrates: 15.8 g
- Fiber: 2.2 g
- Protein: 15 g
- Cholesterol: 44 mg
