We featured these Chili-Lime Mango Chicken Skewers recipe years ago at one of our first live cooking demos at Macy’s, in Utah! These sweet and spicy skewers feature tender chicken and sweet juicy mango all grilled up with a sweet and tangy fresh lime marinade. We love it with lime-cilantro rice or sweet and savory coconut rice. While we do prefer the smokiness from a traditional outdoor grill, feel free to use an indoor grill pan, or pop them under a broiler if you need to. TIP: Look for large mangos so there is enough fruit to cut a big enough chunk for the grill, and opt for ripe but slightly firm fruit so it will hold up in the heat. I also suggest buying an extra mango or 2 because sometimes there’s a learning curve to cutting it effectively.
Prep your Mango
If you’ve never cut a fresh mango, there’s a little bit of a learning curve, but it’s not hard! Click here for a little tutorial. My best tip is to look for LARGE mangos because you’ll need larger chunks. The little yellow varieties simply don’t have enough flesh on them to get large enough pieces. Look for the red/green ones as pictured here. Also use them before they get too soft. A ripe, but slighty firmer mango will hold up better on the grill.
Marinate your Chicken in Chili-Lime Marindade
The chicken chunks (and the mango) get a little dip in a sweet and savor mix of fresh lime juice, olive oil, chili powder, and a touch of sugar (don’t leave that part out, it helps caramelize the mango!)
Thread your Skewers
Thread everything onto skewers, while being careful to not overcrowd things. Your chicken chunks should be the same size, or slightly smaller than your mango to help facilitate everything cooking at the same time.
Grill your Chili-Lime Mango Chicken Skewers
Pop them on the grill, turning once or twice until done. We love these with one of our sweet and savory rice combos: Coconut Rice, or Lime-Cilantro Rice with pineapple.
Chili-lime Mango Chicken Skewers
Ingredients
- 6 tablespoons olive oil
- Zest of 1 lime
- ¼ cup fresh lime juice about 2-3 large limes
- 1 teaspoon chili powder
- ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper double that if you like spicy things!
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 Tablespoon sugar
- 4 boneless skinless chicken breast halves, cut into 1-inch cubes
- 3-4 ripe but firm *large* mangoes peeled and cut into 1 1/2-inch cubes
Instructions
- If you're using wooden/bamboo skewers, make sure to soak them in water for 20-30 minutes before you use them.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the olive oil, lime juice, lime zest, chili powder, cayenne, salt and sugar. Place in a bowl, or zip-top bag and add the chicken and mangoes, stirring gently to coat with marinade. Cover and refrigerate for 2-4 hours. Prepare grill (or indoor grill pan) to medium heat.
- Remove the chicken and mangoes from the marinade and thread onto skewers, alternating the pieces and dividing them evenly.
- *When you're making any type of skewer, make sure not to smash everything together tightly. In order for the food to cook thoroughly and evenly, it needs a little room! The pieces threaded on should just barely touch each other.
- Arrange the skewers on the grill and cook, turning until the chicken is nicely charred and cooked through, 6-10 minutes. Serve immediately.
Questions & Reviews
Mango is my favorite fruit but I always eat it raw; never tried it on skewers. I think I’ll try it now. Sounds delicious. especially with chili lime and chicken!
I am so excited to try these! These are happening REAL soon. I know the husband will love them and I get so lazy in my grilling and just resort to burgers and hot dogs :S Plus we are LOVING chicken and mango lately (I’m making a chicken and mango dish today too! Lol) so I know these will go over well. I just need to get me some more mangoes!
Making these tonight!
So happy to have found your site! My first baby is due in 2 weeks and I want to stock my freezer with your wonderful recipes.
For those who asked about doing these skewers in the oven, I have done similar skewers in the past under the broiler (use a broiler pan) with excellent results. Just cook for a few minutes on each side until meat is cooked through.
I made these last night, so amazing! I added some orange and yellow peppers, some cherry tomatoes and some red potato…so good, thank your for all your great recipes!
Made this recipe for an island themed party I had. I swapped out fresh pineapple for mango though and marinated it for about 5 hours. It was DELICIOUS! They went very quickly! They had just enough spice and were so tender.
Can these be baked in the oven? If so, on a rack (?) and at what temperature and for how long?
This was a great recipe! Made it for dinner today. I did think it needed a bit more salt, but other than that, perfecto!
One of my favorites from your site. Yum!!