Limoncello-Glazed Chicken
This chicken is glazed in a lemony-sweet mixture, with just a touch of heat from fresh jalapeno peppers.
Set aside 1/4 -1/2 cup of the marinade to use for the finishing sauce at the end, then pour the remaining marinade into a dish (or Zip-Loc bag) and add chicken pieces. Marinate in fridge for at least 4-5 hours (although because of its low acid content, you could marinate overnight as well).
When preparing the reserved marinade, start it just as the chicken is finishing cooking. Once you bring it to a boil, because of its high sugar content (from the limoncello and honey) the mixture will quickly turn into a hard candy if reduced too much. As soon as it starts to thicken and get syrup, quickly pour it over the chicken, tossing to thoroughly coat.

Limoncello Chicken
Ingredients
- 4 portions chicken breasts, thighs, legs
Marinade
- ¾ cup limoncello
- ¼ cup olive oil
- 1 Tbsp rosemary
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 1 tsp green jalapeno pepper finely chopped
- ½ tsp salt
- ½ Tbsp honey
Instructions
- Whisk together all the marinade ingredients until smooth. Set aside 1/4 -1/2 cup of the marinade to make finishing sauce.
- Pour remaining marinade into a covered dish (or Zip-Loc bag) and add chicken pieces. Marinate in fridge for 4-5 hours.
- Discard marinade and sear chicken in a hot oiled skillet on both sides, then cover and continue cooking until no longer pink, turning chicken as needed. Transfer to a plate.
- Pour reserved marinade into skillet and bring to a boil and reduce until just starts to thicken. Due to its high sugar content (from the limoncello and honey) mixture will quickly turn into hard candy if reduced too much.
- Return chicken to skillet and toss with sauce to thoroughly coat.
will you please provide the recipe for the limoncello used in this chicken recipe?
Do you take your own photos? My mouth is watering just looking at that chicken.
Sorry I forgot to add the link, thanks for letting me know! I updated the recipe. Something to keep in mind – if lemons are expensive where you live, it may be cheaper to just buy limoncello at the liquor store.
Thank you, yes I do take all my own photos. That is exactly my goal every time – mouthwatering! On that day the sunlight and the food all worked together perfectly. This is one of my all-time favorite chicken dishes, if you give it a try let me know what you think!
Looks very tempting. Can’t r wait to try.
I have an orange liquor from Mexico . What do you think as a substitute? Hate to buy something if I can use what I have
Hmmm…there is a dish called Chicken a la Orange, so I would think that combination would pair good together (although I’ve never tried it). I would give it a try! Please let me know how it turns out!
Can I leave out chili flakes?
Of course you can leave out the chili flakes or jalapeno peppers, although that is what helps to balance the sweetness of the other ingredients. But feel free to change up anything you like!
What is the nutritional value on this dish?
476 calories, 23.8g fat, 4.5g carbs