Try this delicious, gluten-free Easy Jalapeño Lime Marinade on all types of meats and vegetables! This versatile marinade can spice up your dishes without adding a ton of work, time, or preservatives!

This marinade is SUPER flavorful and SUPER versatile. Marinate chicken in this, and you’ll find it’s bursting with flavor no matter how you choose to cook it! It’s loaded with garlic, lime juice, Worcestershire, and jalapeño, so you seriously can’t go wrong.

You can even use this with vegetables to add that extra kick! Wraps, quesadillas, nachos, salads… You’ll never want to make them again without this tasty marinade!

What ingredients do you need for Jalapeño Lime Marinade?

You can find the printable card down below, but here’s a quick list of the ingredients you’ll need:

• Lime juice
• Lime zest
• Olive Oil
• Minced Garlic
• Worcestershire sauce
• Green Onions
• Diced jalapeno, seeded
• Spices: Salt, pepper and cumin

This makes roughly 3/4 cup of marinade which is enough for about 1.5 pounds of meat or vegetables. It’s easy to double or triple this to prepare larger meals or to meal prep. Marinades stored by themselves in an air-tight, non-metal container can last several weeks, so feel free to make plenty!

How do you make Jalapeño Lime Marinade?

1. Combine the lime juice, zest, olive oil, minced garlic, Worcestershire sauce, salt, pepper and cumin. 
2. Add the chopped green onions and seeded jalapeño to the marinade and stir well. 
3. Pour the marinade over your meat and/or vegetables OR store in an air-tight, non-metal container in the fridge.

How long should I marinate different meats and vegetables?

• Boneless, skinless chicken cuts: 30 minutes to 3 hours
• Bone-in chicken cuts: 2 to 6 hours
• Whole chicken: 4 to 12 hours
• Tender beef (ribeye, T-bone, tenderloin, etc.) : 15 minutes to 2 hours
• Medium-tender beef (sirloin, chuck steaks, tri-tip, round, flank, etc.): 2 to 6 hours
• Tougher beef cuts (chuck roasts, round roasts, brisket, etc): 6 to 18 hours
• Seafood: 15 minutes to 1 hour
• Veggie proteins (tofu, Beyond Meat, tempeh, etc): 30 minutes to 4 hours
• Soft vegetables (broccoli, tomatoes, greens, etc): 10 to 20 minutes
• Semi-hard vegetables (green beans, asparagus, peppers, etc.): 30 minutes to 4 hours
• Hard vegetables (potatoes, carrots, beats, etc.): 30 minutes to 18 hours

Don’t forget to turn your meats and veggies a few times while marinating! You want all sides and pieces to be exposed so the flavor is consistent throughout. If you’re interested in reading more about marinating times, I found this information from Allegro and The Spruce.

What can I make with Jalapeño Lime Marinade?

This delicious marinade makes amazing tacos! I highly recommend marinating chicken or beef tips to make tacos with these great low-carb, gluten-free Zucchini Tortillas. You could even use this as a marinade and sauce option on this easy Chicken Taco Salad Board!

For a twist on a classic, consider marinating slices of green tomato and making Fried Green Tomato sandwiches! The nice spice added would pair perfectly with a slice of mozzarella and some basil on top, like with this Caprese Chicken Sandwich!

This marinade would even make a great spicy sauce on these Healthy Sweet Potato & Black Bean Tostadas (especially with that Chipotle Cream Sauce!) or on these Shrimp Tostadas.

How should I store this marinade?

This marinade should be stored in an air-tight, non-metal container in the fridge and can be kept for several weeks. Metal surfaces can react to the acidity and alter the flavor, so a food-grade plastic or glass container is best.

Marinades can be frozen for several months, but it is not recommended to freeze meats or vegetables in the marinade. The longer exposure to the acidity can cause them to get mushy, so freeze these separately.