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Lime-Cilantro Chicken and Broccoli

3.4

(4)

Top view of chicken and broccoli with cilantro on a white plate with wooden chopsticks.
Photo by Vanessa Tierney

Chicken and broccoli may sound like a ho-hum dish, but you can make it finger-licking with the right marinade and dipping sauce. My version does just that and will have you craving more. It’s also a good example of how you can easily combine healthy fats as part of a dipping sauce (this recipe uses cashews and avocado oil).

Tip

Looking to put dinner on the table in a flash? I pound my chicken breasts thin to speed up the cooking process. Place a breast inside a sealable heavy-duty freezer bag and seal the bag, removing as much air as possible. Pound the chicken to an even 1/4-inch thickness using the flat side of a meat mallet or a rolling pin.

Recipe information

  • Yield

    2 servings

Ingredients

Marinade/dipping sauce:

1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lime juice
½ cup packed cilantro leaves
1 cup unsalted cashews, dry-roasted, raw, or toasted
¼ cup avocado oil
4 garlic cloves, roughly chopped
1 tablespoon tamari
1 tablespoon coconut aminos
1 jalapeño pepper, stemmed, seeded, and roughly chopped

Chicken and broccoli:

2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, pounded thin (see tip below)
1 large broccoli head, cut into florets
2 tablespoons avocado oil

Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Preheat the oven to 475°F.

    Step 2

    In a food processor, pulse all the marinade/dipping sauce ingredients to a pesto consistency. Reserve half to serve as a dipping sauce.

    Step 3

    Place the chicken on a parchment-lined baking sheet and coat it with the remaining marinade. Coat the broccoli with avocado oil, then spread it on the baking sheet with the chicken. Bake for 7 minutes, flip the chicken breasts and broccoli florets, and bake for 7 more minutes, until the chicken is cooked through and the broccoli is lightly browned.

    Step 4

    Serve immediately with the dipping sauce.

Cover of the cookbook featuring the author in her kitchen.
From Body Love Every Day: Choose Your Life-Changing 21-Day Path to Food Freedom © 2019 by Kelly LeVeque. Reprinted with permission by William Morrow, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers. Buy the full book from HarperCollins or from Amazon.
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