This mango chicken is fresh, delicious, and anything but boring. The mango marinade is bright with tropical mango flavours combined with fresh lime. Optional jalapeño gives it a beautiful hint of spice. This chicken dish is what summertime grilling dreams are made of.
It only takes 7 ingredients, and it's so easy to make, too! Simply blend the marinade, marinate, grill, and drizzle.
My tropical rice with coconut milk went perfectly with this mango chicken. Next time I think I will even mix small pieces of chopped, fresh mango into the rice. For something a bit faster to throw together, easy Thai coconut rice or cilantro lime rice are great pairings, as well.
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Ingredients
- Boneless, skinless chicken thighs
- Fresh mango
- Freshly squeezed lime juice
- Palm sugar (or brown sugar)
- Jalapeño (optional)
- Olive oil
- Salt
See the recipe card below for quantities.
Instructions
Mango marinade
Use a blender to purée the mango, lime juice, jalapeño, olive oil, and sugar together.
Set aside about three tablespoons of the mango marinade in a small container and store in the refrigerator until you need it. This is for the mango drizzle since you won't want to use the portion that had raw chicken sitting in it.
Pour the rest of the mango marinade into a large zip top bag with the chicken thighs. Remove any extra air and smoosh it around to make sure that all of the chicken comes into contact with the marinade. Set it in the refrigerator to marinate overnight, or for at least 4-5 hours.
Grilling the chicken
Heat your grill to 400°F / 200°C. Remove the chicken thighs from the bag and set them on the grill, spread out so that they heat evenly. Sprinkle with a bit of salt to season. Grill for 8-10 minutes on one side, then flip them over.
Spoon a bit of the marinade (from the bag) on top, and sprinkle a bit of salt on this side as well. Grill for another 8-10 minutes, until the meat reaches an internal temperature of 170°F / 77°C.
Using a pastry bag (or a zip top bag with a tiny part of the corner cut off), drizzle the reserved mango purée onto the plated chicken. Top with some minced jalapeño.
Substitutions
Chicken thighs - These can be substituted with boneless, skinless chicken breasts. However, I like to use thighs for this recipe because the meat is extra tender.
Palm sugar - Substitute with brown sugar.
Fresh mango - I prefer to use fresh mango in this recipe. You can use frozen, however, make sure to thaw it first.
Variations
Non-spicy mango chicken - Omit the jalapeño from the marinade and replace the garnish with minced green onion.
Healthy mango chicken - This dish is already fairly healthy, but to make it even healthier swap out the coconut rice side for brown rice, quinoa, and vegetables.
Equipment
For this recipe you will need a blender, a grill, a food thermometer, a large zip top bag for marinating, and a small zip top bag or pastry bag for the mango drizzle.
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Storage
Store any leftover cooked chicken in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3-4 days.
You can freeze grilled chicken for up to 4 months. After cooling completely, store in an airtight, freezer-safe container in the freezer. Thaw in the refrigerator overnight.
What to serve with mango chicken
This dish goes splendidly with rice, especially Thai coconut rice, which is jasmine rice infused with coconut milk!
Mango chicken also goes great with vegetables, especially avocados and red or green bell peppers.
You could also alternatively serve it on a bun as a delicious mango chicken burger. I would put a bit of crunchy, shredded cabbage on top.
Print📖 Recipe
Mango Chicken
- Prep Time: 10 minutes (+ time marinating)
- Cook Time: 20 minutes
- Total Time: 30 minutes
- Yield: 4 servings 1x
- Category: Main Dish
- Cuisine: American
Description
Mango chicken is fresh and delicious with a mango marinade is bright with tropical mango flavours combined with fresh lime.
Ingredients
8 boneless, skinless chicken thighs
Marinade
1 ½ cups (250g) fresh mango, chopped
3 tablespoons lime juice
1 ½ tablespoons brown sugar
1 tablespoon jalapeño, diced (optional)
1 tablespoon olive oil
salt to taste
Optional garnishes
minced jalapeño
edible flowers
Instructions
Add all marinade ingredients into a blender and puree until smooth.
Put about 3 tbsp of the marinade in a separate container to be used as drizzle. Store in fridge until needed.
Pour sauce into a large zip top bag with chicken thighs and let marinate in fridge - overnight preferably, but at least 4-5 hours.
Heat grill to 400°F. Remove chicken from the bag, and place on the grill spread out so that they heat evenly. Season with a bit of salt and grill for 8-10 minutes.
Flip the chicken over to cook the other side for another 8-10 minutes (until it reaches an internal temperature of 170°). Spoon a bit more of the marinade (from the bag) on top of the chicken and season with a touch of salt on this side as well.
Plate chicken and drizzle with reserved mango puree. Optionally, top with some minced jalapeño.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 2 chicken thighs
- Calories: 399
- Sugar: 4.1 g
- Sodium: 283.7 mg
- Fat: 14.7 g
- Carbohydrates: 4.6 g
- Protein: 58.8 g
- Cholesterol: 280.1 mg
Keywords: mango chicken
Jess says
This is going to be awesome for bbqs this summer!
Asha says
Yes!!
Nate says
Awesome marinade. It came out so well.
Asha says
Thanks for sharing 🙂
Kate says
Made this at our BBQ and everyone loved it. We doubled the recipe to feed a crowd.
Asha says
That's great!
Marsha says
Outstanding. Grilled with jalapeno.
Asha says
Thanks! Yum, that sounds amazing
James says
Surperb. Thanks for recipe.
Asha says
Thanks for leaving a review 🙂
Chelsie says
Added the jalepeno. This was over-the-top delicious.
Asha says
Thanks!
Ariel says
Tried this recipe over the long weekend on our camping trip. Prepared the chicken before time and put on ice.
Turned out superb.
Asha says
That's such a great idea. Thanks for sharing 🙂