Spiced Chicken with Creamy Chili Herb Sauce
You can never have enough chicken recipes in your arsenal! Anyone who knows me, knows I'm not too big on spicy food. But I love this recipe! Smoky, spiced chicken thighs are grilled and topped off with a bright, fresh sauce made of parsley, lime juice, jalapeño, and a drizzle of half-and-half for a little body. Both the spice rub and the herb sauce take minutes to whip up, so this is a great option for weeknights! Let's get cookin!
What You Need:
For the Chicken/Marinade:
- 1 tbsp evoo
- 1 tbsp lime juice
- 2 tsp minced garlic
- 2 tsp smoked paprika
- 1 tsp sugar
- 1 tsp cumin
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/4 pepper
- 4 bone-in chicken thighs
For the Creamy Chili Herb Sauce:
- 2 tbsp evoo
- 1 tbsp lime juice
- 1 tsp minced garlic
- 1/2 tsp sugar
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/4 pepper
- 2 cups fresh flat-leaf parsley
- 4 tbsp half-and-half
- 1 small jalapeño, seeded and diced
The ingredients for the Creamy Chili Herb Sauce!
What To Do:
- In a bowl, combine 1 tbsp olive oil, 1 tbsp lime juice, 2 tsp minced garlic, smoked paprika, 1 tsp sugar, cumin, 1/4 tsp salt, and 1/4 pepper. Whisk everything together until it's completely incorporated.
- Rinse and pat dry the chicken thighs with paper towels. Place them into a gallon zip-lock bag and pour the spice rub onto the chicken. Zip the top and give the chicken a good massage! :)
- The chicken needs to sit for a while; at least 30 minutes, but as usual, the longer the better! :)
- Now you've got time to start the Creamy Chili Herb Sauce. Wash, dry, and de-stem the parsley. In a food processor, combine 2 tbsp olive oil, 1 tbsp lime juice, 1 tsp minced garlic, 1/2 tsp sugar, 1/4 tsp salt, 1/4 tsp pepper, jalapeño, and the parsley. Once you pulse the food processor a bit and break down the parsley, drizzle in the half-and-half until the mixture becomes a nice, smooth sauce!
- Once you're ready to eat, it's time to grill up the chicken. You can cook this chicken on the grill or in a skillet. I love using my Lodge Cast Iron Grill Pan - you get great flavor and grill marks! :)
- Preheat the grill/pan to medium. Coat the grill with cooking spray or olive oil. Using tongs, remove the chicken from the marinade and get rid of the marinade. Lightly season the chicken with salt and pepper.
- To achieve perfect grill marks, place the chicken on the grill, facing 10:00. After about 4 minutes, turn the chicken to face 2:00. Cook for another 4 minutes, and flip to cook the other side of the chicken the same way. Use a meat thermometer for best results, cooking until 165F internal temp. Place the thermometer into the deepest part of the meat after you've flipped the chicken over.
Serve the chicken immediately with the Creamy Chili Herb Sauce drizzled over the top.
I love how bright and fresh this sauce tastes! It's perfect with the smoky flavor of the chicken. This spice rub is quick and easy and gives the chicken a ton of flavor! This would be perfect alongside a nice little salad or some cous cous :) I hope you all have a great week! If you've cooked anything from the blog, I'd love to hear from you! Snap a pic and tag #brokeandcooking on ig or twitter!