Agave Lime Chicken
The other night while I was tucking in my super snuggly 10 year old into bed, we discussed possibilities for the next night's dinner.
"Fennel" he suggested, "I really like it because it's sweet and also very healthy!"
"What would you like for our protein dish?" I asked. "What about that roasted chicken I made the other night that you guys gobbled up?"
"No, something else, something sweet and sour," he replied.
"Ok," I said. "What about agave lime chicken?"
"Yum! That sounds great." my little gourmand answered.
After that we snuggled up some more and I asked him what he was thankful for.
"That I get to go to school, eat pizza and play my instrument," he said babbling on happily about still other things for which he is grateful.
Having children is a lot of work, as we all know. And yet, there seems to come a point (when they can dress themselves and then help with the household chores some) that they start to become a lot more fun and a lot less work. That's the point that we're at now. We've been there for a while and I am relishing every moment of the time we spend together (except when they're fighting, that's a bit loud).
On a different night, my son begged to come along to a class I taught at the fabulous Culinary School of the Rockies (the place is amazing and I highly recommend ALL of their classes).
He pleaded with me, "just tell them you have an assistant and he teaches with you."
I left the house without him and still had a delightful time teaching in their stunning facilities with a great bunch of students and the amazing CSR staff helping out to boot. Maybe next time I'll take him ;-) For now, he'll have to settle for the agave lime chicken.
1 whole chicken
1-3 tablespoons olive oil
¼ cup agave nectar
1 tablespoon celtic sea salt
3 limes
2 onions
1 head garlic
dash cumin
dash chili powder
- Rinse the chicken and pat dry
- Place chicken in a 9 x 13-inch oven proof baking dish
breast side down
- Drizzle with olive oil and agave, then sprinkle with salt, cumin and chili powder
- Stuff one lime into the cavity of the bird
- Cut the other 2 limes and place in the pan
- Cut the onions in half and place in the pan (I left the skin on)
- Leaving the skin on the garlic, break the head apart and scatter the cloves around the pan
- Bake at 350° for 45+ minutes until the skin starts to brown
- Remove chicken from oven and raise heat to 450°
- Turn the chicken over so that breast side is now up
- Bake for an additional 15 to 25 minutes or until thigh temperature (taken with an instant read meat thermometer
) is 170°-180°
- Remove chicken from oven
- Carve chicken and drizzle with pan juices before serving
I may have first heard about agave lime chicken from ~M, who discussed it long ago in the comment section of one of my posts.
The original credit for this recipe goes to the Goddess. The Goddess of Gluten-Free that is. She has a delightful looking recipe for this combo and I give her full credit for coming up with it. Thanks Karina! I love your down to earth ideas and super sassy writing style.
Posted on January 30, 2009 in entrees by Elana
other entries you may like: Chipotle Lime Salmon
or Mustard Lime Chicken
or You Missed the Orange Ginger Chicken…
subscribe to my site feed get recipes by email
print this post
email to a friend
15 comments
15 comments 
leave a comment
Before you leave a comment...
"Check out Elana's FAQ page for info on substitutions -- there are just too many possibilities so she can't answer all of these : ) But the Forums are an excellent resource and I highly recommend posting your substitution questions there; everyone is friendly and helpful." -Katie
YUM! You had me at 3 limes and my husband at 1 head of garlic (not peeled? even easier!) This looks delicious, and I would love to hear about the fennel. Maybe your son could do a guest post! :) Thanks for the awesome recipe!
What an intriguing flavor combination!
Agave is such a good alternative. I've only used it once in baking but I'm eager to incorporate it in more things. Its low in terms of its glycemic index which is good, but its high in fructose which can be bad. I guess everything in moderation. YUM, I'll definitely try this. Thank you.
I'd be interested to try this in a crockpot. would I still have to turn the chicken over if I did it that way?
Lime goes terrific with chicken. One of my all-time favorite recipes is garlic lime chicken. I am sure this recipe with agave added to the mix will be wonderful. Can't wait to try it. Will pick up some limes on my next grocery trip. ;-)
Shirley
This sounds amazing! I love how your little boy understands a little bit of the culinary fun! Way to get them started on healthy food at a young age :) Your blog is quickly becoming one of my favorites. With your recipes I don't have to substitute out the sugar, or other unhealthy ingredients. Pure, simple and taste good food. thank you!
-Meagan
I've never roasted a whole chicken, but after this recipe, I think I'm going to try! It sounds so tasty. What size chicken is best? Your son has good taste, fennel is great in salads and topping for fish.
I'm checking out the articles on your recommendation list, the peanut butter article is appalling and just shows how trustworthy the FDA is. And wow about our genes remembering sugar hits! That's crazy!!
FYI, I think that I've convinced my mom to make this (either chicken or turkey) for Passover :) Yipee! She loves your chipotle chicken too, but we are entertaining spice-phobes! :)
~M -You're too funny. Maybe I will let him do a little guest post one of these days. Congrats on convincing your mom. How is everything going post-move, etc.? Thanks for another great comment!
Alisa - Thank you!
Katya -Agave is my go to sweetener as an alternative to sugar. But I still watch my intake. I've been cutting back on it lately. Everything in moderation ;-) Thank you for your comment.
Tzvi -No need to turn the chicken if you cook it in a crockpot --that was to brown the skin on both sides of the bird.
Shirley -Sounds great! Let me know how it turned out. Thanks.
Meagan -Thank you very much! I'm honored my blog is becoming one of your favorites :-)
Emily -I get a regular sized organic chicken from the health food store, I don't ask for any specific size. That sugar article is crazy, isn't it? Thanks for another great comment!
When do you put on the cumin and chili powder? I just put this in the oven for dinner!
Thanks.
Kristin
Kristin,
Thanks for pointing out that omission; I've changed the directions to include adding spices along with the salt.
Elana
Elana-I made this the other day and everyone loved it. My 6-year old daughter refuses to eat meat without putting BBQ sauce on it. She finished her meat immediately without asking for any sauce. Thank you for all the great recipes!
Thanks Elana for sharing this recipe. I created this wonderful agave lime chicken. It was a beautiful golden brown. Our 5 year old announced with conviction that she would not be eating any of the chicken because of the "gross onions and limes." I have gotten away from cooking with onions and garlic because of her particular hate for onions. This is a new year after all!! I'm determined to change her attitude about different and unusual flavors. After she realized that she would not actually be eating an onion or a lime...she decided to try a pc of the chicken. She then said "wow mommy that is really good...ok I do like the chicken...may I have more. She had 2nd's and 3rd's in fact everyone had more. I was so surprised how the limes really did flavor the chicken. I have declared this as a keeper recipe and announced it to the world (or whomever actually reads my blogs on my glutenfreelife blog on livejournal and my facebook) that this is certainly a "thumbs up" recipe compliments of you and from your amazing and helpful website. A BIG THANKS to you! You have changed my 5 year olds way of thinking about "gross" things like onions, garlic and of course limes! My next adventure is your recipe for Chicken and cherries.
[...] this wonderful recipe was taken from Elana’s Pantry. [...]
I made this once, and it was like the best thing I ever tasted - even edged out he Roasemary Apple Chicken, which is the bomb.
I made it again, and it was GROSS.
I have no idea what the difference was, or what happened,and I'm scared to try again! Darn it!
This was YUMMMMMY! Thanks, Elana!