Jalapeño Lime Pan Seared Chicken

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Pan Seared Chicken is juicy on the inside and slightly crisp on the outside. It’s one of my favorite recipes for cooking chicken on the stove top!

If you love this chicken recipe, you’ll also love this Air Fryer Chicken, Chicken Parmesan Burgers, or this Weeknight Skillet Chicken.

sliced chicken on a wood serving board

Pan Seared Chicken Recipe

If you want to spice up your night with some delicious, juicy chicken, then you certainly came to the right place!

One of the reasons I love cooking with chicken is because it’s basically a blank canvas ready for all types of flavors!

There are so many ways to prepare it so you don’t get bored. It’s also a great source of lean protein.

Pan-Seared Chicken Ingredients

Meat: For this recipe, I used boneless, skinless chicken breasts. You can use bone-in chicken breast, or chicken thighs, but you might need to adjust the cook time a bit.

Jalapeños: A key ingredient! Fresh jalapeños are best, but you can substitute with canned or jarred jalapeños if necessary.

You can also use serrano peppers instead, but be careful because they are about 5 times hotter than a jalapeño!

seasoned chicken on white parchment paper

Spices: You will need a handful of pantry staple spices like: paprika, dried parsley, and coriander.

Wet ingredients: dijon mustard, Worcestershire sauce, and lime juice.

Butter: I used ghee to keep this recipe Whole30 compliant, but you can substitute with butter or olive oil.

Did you know: Ghee is a clarified butter that originated in ancient India!

How to Make Pan Seared Chicken

1. Season the chicken. In a small bowl, combine the paprika, coriander, dried parsley, salt, and pepper. Sprinkle the seasoning mixture over both sides of the chicken breasts.

2. Prepare the marinade. In a small bowl, whisk together the dijon mustard, Worcestershire sauce, lime juice and zest, olive oil, and jalapeño.

marinating chicken in a white bowl

3. Marinate the chicken. Pierce the chicken with a fork all over and place in a large Ziploc bag with the marinade. Let the chicken marinate for at least 30 minutes, 2-3 hours is ideal.

4. Cook the chicken. Heat a large, heavy-bottomed skillet (I love my enameled cast iron) on medium heat with a splash of olive oil.

Sear the chicken for 5-7 minutes, flip and add 1/2 tbsp of ghee and cook 5-7 minutes on the other side. Transfer the chicken to a plate and let rest, covered, for 5 minutes before serving.

seared chicken in a pan

Note: if you want to make your chicken a little spicier, you can include some of the jalapeño seeds in the marinade or you can put all the marinate ingredients in a food processor or blender so the jalapeño becomes more incorporated.

What to Serve with Pan Seared Chicken

One thing I love about chicken is the variety of sides that go with it! You can keep it simple and serve it over jasmine rice or Cilantro Lime Farro. Or you can top it with some Mango Salsa for some added flavor.

pan seared chicken with mango salsa

If you’re doing Whole30 or eliminating grains from your diet, try serving it with cauliflower rice or zucchini noodles!

More Delicious Side Dishes

Whole30 Jalapeño Lime Chicken

Whether you are following Whole30 or not, you are going to love this chicken recipe!

This Jalapeno Lime Pan Seared Chicken is a flavor-packed meal that deserves a permanent spot on in your dinner rotations.

It’s one of my favorite ways to make chicken when doing a Whole30 because it has SO much flavor.

pan seared chicken with mango salsa in a white dish

If you are unfamiliar with Whole30, it’s a consumer-friendly version of an elimination diet that cuts out potential food sensitivities for 30 days, as well as drastically decreases inflammatory food intake and increases key anti-inflammatory foods like fruits, vegetables, and omega-3 fatty acids.

Questions you may have

Is pan seared chicken healthy?

Overall, pan-searing food is considered healthier than deep-frying due to it using less oil. I recommend using olive oil because it is stable at high temperatures.

If you’re concerned about cooking with oil, you might want to try air frying!

What does it mean to sear the chicken?

Searing (or pan searing) is a technique used in grilling, baking, braising, roasting, sautéing, etc., in which you cook food (usually meat or seafood) at high temperatures until a browned crust forms.

Can you cook raw chicken in a pan?

Yes! To cook raw chicken in a pan, add a teaspoon of olive oil in a medium skillet over medium heat, place chicken breasts in the pan.

Cook until edges are opaque which is roughly 5-7 minutes. After the 5-7 minutes has passed, flip the chicken and cover the pan, lower the heat, and cook for another 10 minutes.

Is it better to sear chicken before baking?

Yes! Here is my cooking secret…sear the chicken in a hot pan on both sides and then slide the pan into a pre-heated oven for a few minutes.

This creates the perfecting browning on the outside, while sealing in all the flavors from your seasoning, and the oven will finish off the cooking.

Is pan seared the same as frying?

No, pan searing and pan frying are two completely different cooking techniques.

When you pan-fry something, it’s done when the chicken has reached an internal temperature of 165 F. This technique is much more unhealthy as it requires a lot more oil.

Searing is done in a pan on the stove and can also be part of a two step cooking process.

More Chicken Recipes To Try

Whole30 Recipes You Might Like

WANT TO TRY THIS PAN SEARED CHICKEN RECIPE?

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pan seared chicken pin

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5 from 1 vote

Jalapeño Lime Pan Seared Chicken

Pan Seared Chicken is juicy on the inside and slightly crisp on the outside. It's one of my favorite recipes for cooking chicken on the stove top!
Prep Time5 minutes
Cook Time10 minutes
Marinate Time30 minutes
Total Time45 minutes
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: American
Servings: 2
Calories: 500
Author: Jordan

Ingredients

Instructions

  • In a small bowl, combine the paprika, coriander, dried parsley, salt, and pepper. Sprinkle the seasoning mixture over both sides of the chicken breasts.
  • In another small bowl, whisk together the dijon mustard, worcestershire sauce, lime juice and zest, olive oil, and jalapeño.
  • Pierce the chicken with a fork all over and place in a large ziploc bag with the marinade. Let the chicken marinate for at least 30 minutes. 2-3 hours is ideal.
  • Heat a large, heavy bottomed skillet (cast irons work great) on medium heat with a splash of olive oil. Sear the chicken for 5-7 minutes, flip and add 1/2 tbsp of ghee and cook 5-7 minutes on the other side. Transfer the chicken to a plate and let rest, covered, for 5 minutes before slicing.
If you tried this recipe, please leave a review letting me know how it was!

Notes

  • If you want to increase the spice level in the marinade, place the whole jalapeño with the rest of the marinade ingredients in a food processor. Simply adding sliced or diced jalapeños to the marinade will only give it a slight kick of heat.

Nutrition

Calories: 500kcal | Carbohydrates: 8g | Protein: 25g | Fat: 42g | Saturated Fat: 9g | Cholesterol: 82mg | Sodium: 244mg | Potassium: 431mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 2g | Vitamin A: 1893IU | Vitamin C: 19mg | Calcium: 41mg | Iron: 2mg
Nutrition information is approximate and was calculated using a recipe nutrition label generator.
Tried this recipe?I’d love to see your dish, mention @jzeats or tag #jzeats!
5 from 1 vote (1 rating without comment)

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