Years ago when I was backpacking in Mexico I came home with my bag significantly heavier. No normal souvenirs for this food lover. Instead I packed as many cans of chipotle chillies in adobo sauce as I could fit.
I also had a beautiful collection of exotic dried chilli peppers. But unfortunately the customs officers in Sydney decided they were a risk to national security and had to be incinerated on the spot. Well it wasn’t actually on the spot but I was heart broken none the less.
Thankfully my chillies in cans were given the OK. And I was rewarded for my efforts with many incredibly delicious meals.
So you can imagine my delight 15 years later when my local supermakret started stocking this magical ingredient. In glass jars!
Ever since then I’ve always had some in the house. Ready to add a Mexican flare at a moments notice.
They are especially well suited to bringing a big burst of flavour to good old chicken. Add some zesty lime juice and you have the perfect marinade / sauce.
I love this with drumsticks or chicken wings so you get lots of beautiful bones to gnaw on. But it will be faster, easier and more suitable for polite company if you use boneless chicken thigh fillets.
If limes are really expensive, I’ve made it with apple cider vinegar instead and it was just as delicious (and easier because I didn’t have to squeeze the limes).
It looks like a lot of ingredients but the salt and oil don’t count :). And for lower carb option use almonds instead of cashews.
Lime & Chipotle Chilli Chicken
Ingredients
- 50 g lime juice or apple cider vinegar
- 100 g chipotle chillies in adobo sauce
- 1/2 teaspoon fine salt
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 6 chicken drumsticks or 4 chicken thigh fillets
- 4 medium zucchini (courgette) approx 800g
- 1 handful handful roast cashews or almonds approx 50g / 2oz
- 1 small bunch mint or coriander (cilantro)
Instructions
- Turn your oven to 250C (480F).
- Combine lime juice or vinegar, chipotles and sauce, salt and oil in a small bowl. If your chillies are chunky, chop them first.
- Line a large rimmed baking sheet / large oven tray with baking paper (for easier cleanup). Place chicken on the tray. Slice zucchini into rounds about 1/2 inch (1.5cm) thick and scatter on the tray around the chicken.
- Drizzle over the chipotle sauce and toss to combine so the sauce coats the chicken and veg. Make sure the all the chicken is touching the oven tray and not resting on top of any zucchini so it cooks quicker.
- Pop in the oven and set your timer for 15 minutes. When the timer goes stir the zucchini and turn the chicken.
- Return to the oven and cook for another 10 minutes for drumsticks or 5 minutes for thigh fillets. Or until chicken is well browned and cooked through. If you're not sure, cut into the chicken to make sure it isn't still pink.
- To serve scatter cashews / almonds and herbs over the cooked chicken and let everyone dive in. If using drumsticks serve with wipes or serviettes so everyone can enjoy eating with their fingers.
Nutrition
Variations & Substitutions
short on time – use boneless chicken. And crank the oven as high as it will go.
Keto / ultra low carb – use almonds or skip the nuts.
vegetarian – chicken = tofu, tempeh, mushrooms or eggplant.
nightshade-free – try this lemon basil chicken instead.
more substantial (carb lovers) – potatoes, rice, tortillas.
no chipotle chillies in adobo sauce – use tomato passata and 2-3 teaspoons smoked paprika and some chilli flakes or chopped fresh serrano or thai birds eye chilli peppers.
more substantial (low carb) – avocado, sour cream, more nuts, more chicken.
family-friendly – I roast some chicken and veg on a separate tray for the boys.
different vegetables – eggplant, mushrooms, sweet potato, cauliflower, cabbage, broccoli, red bell peppers (capsicum).
different protein – chicken wings are divine! OR sausages or salmon or meatballs or see the vegetarian options.
more fancy / for entertaining – serve with zucchini tortillas or other tortillas. Or the Mexican version of my reliable cabbage salad. Or add some avocado.
Waste Avoidance Strategy
lime – will keep in a plastic bag in the fridge for months.
apple cider vinegar / chipotle chillies in adobo sauce / salt / olive oil / roast cashews or almonds – keep them in the pantry.
chicken – freeze it.
zucchini – will keep for 2 weeks or longer in a plastic bag in the fridge. To keep it even longer, cook sliced zucchini in a little butter until just soft then store in an airtight container in the fridge.
mint – best to use for another meal. leaves can be frozen but will wilt when defrosted so not ideal. Alternatively make a mint oil by packing washed and dried leaves in a clean dry glass jar and covering with extra virgin olive oil.
coriander – best to use for another meal. Can be frozen but will wilt when defrosted.
Problem Solving Guide
bland – more salt!
too dry – overcooked chicken. Next time get it out earlier. For now an extra squeeze or some avocado or lime would help.
no oven – you could pan fry the chicken and zucchini and pur the sauce over to warm through just before serving.
sticking to the pan – next time use baking paper.
Prepare Ahead
Best when fresh out of the oven! Leftovers will keep in the fridge for up to 1 week or can be frozen.
Add to my Old Favourite Recipes
I totally varied this according to what I had to hand. I used chicken breast cut into strips, broccoli instead of zucchini, tomato paste (watered down) with smoked paprika. I added a yellow bell pepper that needed using up. It only took 10 minutes to cook all together and to serve I scattered over roasted cashews, fresh coriander and preserved lime. Plus a dollop of yogurt. Delicious and added to my favourite 🙂
ooh LOVE your adaptations Nicola 🙂
This was almost too hot for me…the added cashews and serving with Jules’ Amazing Avo Sauce helped with toning down the heat. I’ll definitely make again, but will try to find another brand of the chipotle chilies to see if that makes a difference.
or just use less chipotle Melanie 🙂
Love how your site works for me -scored a bag of limes cheaply recently so searched your recipes and up came this little darling! Cooked it last night subbing in passata and paprika as rural Tassie shops don’t do adobe sauce! We had the chicken with added hot tortillas and sour cream with almonds and mint – and it was so quick to prepare though took slightly longer to cook. Very succulent and tasty! Told this was a keeper
Fantastic Jane! You can order chioptles in adobo saue online if you ever want to experiment 🙂
Thanks Jules – I was thinking of getting some to try next time I was in Hobart
They sell it in the Mexican section of my WOolies – so they should have it in Hobart Jane
This looks amazing. I love chipotles in adobo. I always have it on hand. Once the can is open, it stays in a jar in the fridge for a long time. To tame the heat, I sometimes, alright maybe often, open the pepper and take out the seeds.
Yes they’re a great ingredient Anita. And if you don’t like the heat, that’s a great idea to remove the seeds 🙂
I would automatically do this one with the substitute for chipotles in adobo – because the one time I tried adobo, it tasted awful to me. I would probably use a combination of chipotle powder and smoked paprika. I’ll have to think seriously about trying this. No guarantees, but I will consider it.
I find different brands vary a fair bit Susan – and the adobo isn’t something you’d want to eat on it’s own. Like fish sauce it’s better cooked into things.
But a teaspoon each smoked paprika and chipoltle powder (more of the latter if you want some heat) would be lovely with the lime