The Best Grilled Chicken
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Say goodbye to dry, bland grilled chicken breasts. This recipe guarantees juicy, flavorful chicken every time.
Sometimes in cooking the simplest dishes are the hardest to get right, and grilled chicken is a perfect example. Because boneless chicken breasts are so lean, they often turn out dry, rubbery, and bland. Contrary to popular belief, marinating alone will not prevent grilled chicken from drying out; in fact, it’s often the marinade that causes the problem!
My technique and marinade ensure tender, juicy, and flavorful grilled chicken every time. You can serve the fillets on their own as a healthy main course (kids love them), topped with cheese on a toasted bun, or, as I often do, sliced over a Caesar salad. Bonus: the recipe is quick and easy. You do all of the prep ahead of time and you won’t even dirty a single bowl.
What You’ll Need To Make THE BEST Grilled Chicken
STEP-BY-STEP Instructions
Step 1: Pound the Chicken
Place the chicken breasts in a 1-gallon freezer bag and pound to an even ½-inch thickness. This both tenderizes the meat and ensures even cooking. Left in their natural shape, the thin side of the fillet dries out while the thicker side finishes cooking. If you don’t have a meat mallet, a rolling pin or a saucepan will both work well.
Step 2: Make the Marinade
Lemon is a key ingredient in this marinade, but I only use the zest. Contrary to conventional wisdom, acidic ingredients (such as vinegar or lemon juice) do not tenderize lean boneless chicken breasts. Just the opposite: they “cook” the exterior of the meat and give it a leathery texture. The zest gives the chicken ample lemon flavor without affecting the chicken’s succulent texture.
The best tool for zesting citrus is a fine or microplane grater. Simply rub the lemon in one direction against the blades, turning the lemon as you go. Be sure to remove only the yellow part; the white pith underneath is bitter.
Once you’ve zested the lemon, mix all of the marinade ingredients except for the chicken together in a 1-gallon zip-lock bag (go ahead and use the same one you used for pounding if it is still in good shape).
Add the chicken breasts to the bag and massage the marinade into the meat until evenly coated.
Step 3: Marinate
Seal the bag and place in a bowl in the refrigerator (the bowl protects against leakage); let the chicken marinate for at least 4 hours or overnight.
Step 4: Grill
When you’re ready to eat, preheat your grill to high heat and oil the grates (clean, oiled grates will give you the best grill marks). Be sure your grill is very hot before cooking the chicken; you want nice grill marks and char in the short amount of time it takes to cook these. When pounded thin, chicken breasts only need 2 to 3 minutes per side…no more! If you try to flip the chicken and it feels stuck, try giving it 30 seconds. It’ll release naturally when it’s ready.
You’ll notice that the recipe calls for the grill to be covered while the chicken is cooking. This creates convection heat which helps give the chicken a nicely charred exterior and a tender, moist interior.
After removing the chicken from the grill, let it rest for 3 to 4 minutes before cutting into it. This will help keep the juices in and retain the meat’s moisture. (The timing is perfect as it’s just enough to get it onto plates, add sides, and put on the table).
While this chicken is best right off the grill, it’s also the kind of thing you can make a double batch of and freeze for future use in salads, pastas, and sandwiches.
video tutorial
Freezer-Friendly Tips
- Make sure the chicken is completely cooled before freezing it.
- Keep the chicken pieces whole (no slicing before freezing).
- To avoid multiple pieces stuck together (which extends defrosting time), wrap each piece individually in plastic wrap and then place them all in a ziploc bag. This also allows you to defrost one piece at a time if you’d like.
You May Also Like
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- Grilled Chicken Fajitas
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- Grilled BBQ Chicken
The Best Grilled Chicken
Say goodbye to dry, bland grilled chicken breasts. This recipe guarantees juicy, flavorful chicken every time.
Ingredients
- 1¾ lbs boneless, skinless chicken breasts
- 6 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 4 large garlic cloves, minced
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- ½ teaspoon dried oregano
- 1¼ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 1½ teaspoons lemon zest, from one lemon
Instructions
- One at a time, place the chicken breasts in a 1-gallon zip-lock bag; using a meat mallet, pound to an even ½-inch thickness.
- Mix all of the ingredients except for the chicken together in a 1-gallon zip-lock bag (go ahead and use the same one you used for pounding if it is still in good shape). Add the chicken breasts to the bag and massage the marinade into the meat until evenly coated. Seal the bag and place in a bowl in the refrigerator (the bowl protects against leakage); let the chicken marinate for at least 4 hours or overnight.
- Preheat the grill to high heat and oil the grates. Place the chicken breasts on the grill and cook, covered, for 2 to 3 minutes per side. Do not overcook. Transfer the chicken to a platter and serve.
- Note: The nutritional information includes all of the ingredients for the marinade, so one serving is likely significantly lower in calories and fat than the numbers below
Pair with
Nutrition Information
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- Per serving (4 servings)
- Serving size: 1 chicken breast
- Calories: 413
- Fat: 25 g
- Saturated fat: 4 g
- Carbohydrates: 2 g
- Sugar: 0 g
- Fiber: 0 g
- Protein: 42 g
- Sodium: 958 mg
- Cholesterol: 127 mg
This website is written and produced for informational purposes only. I am not a certified nutritionist and the nutritional data on this site has not been evaluated or approved by a nutritionist or the Food and Drug Administration. Nutritional information is offered as a courtesy and should not be construed as a guarantee. The data is calculated through an online nutritional calculator, Edamam.com. Although I do my best to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures should be considered estimates only. Varying factors such as product types or brands purchased, natural fluctuations in fresh produce, and the way ingredients are processed change the effective nutritional information in any given recipe. Furthermore, different online calculators provide different results depending on their own nutrition fact sources and algorithms. To obtain the most accurate nutritional information in a given recipe, you should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients used in your recipe, using your preferred nutrition calculator.
Gluten-Free Adaptable Note
To the best of my knowledge, all of the ingredients used in this recipe are gluten-free or widely available in gluten-free versions. There is hidden gluten in many foods; if you're following a gluten-free diet or cooking for someone with gluten allergies, always read the labels of your ingredients to verify that they are gluten-free.
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Hi Jenn, I plan on marinating this on Saturday to serve mid day on Sunday for a group of 50. If I cook these late morning and put in a professional warmer (it’s at a church), do you think they will dry out or be rubbery if they are in the warmer for 3 ish hours??
I LOVE your recipes by the way!!!! 🙂
Hi Chari, 3 hours may be pushing it a little, but it should be okay.
Hi,
I have a small George Forman grill I like to use for chicken breasts, which grills both sides at the same time. Would I just do 2-3 minutes once rather than 2-3 minutes per side? Or would I increase the cooking time to say 3-4 minutes once?
Hi Natalie, I’m not certain as I’ve never cooked with a George Forman grill but because it cooks both sides at the same time, I’d check it after about 3 minutes to see if it’s cooked through. If not, I’d add another minute or two on. Hope that helps!
Just commenting to make it 667 🤣
This chicken is AWESOME. My fiance asked for me to pick any dinner for my birthday. I know he likes steak but I like chicken. We had all ingredients except for a lemon. W/ this economy- u can’t go wrong. We both Loved it!!! TY!
So amazing. Everyone raves about this chicken… I will do this forever! I’d love advice on how to reheat without it going rubbery?
So glad you like it! I would reheat the chicken, covered with foil, in a 325°F-oven until hot.
Made this tonight. It was really delicious. The only thing I have to say is it took much longer to cook (before the middle wasn’t pink!). I did pound it. I guess my grill isn’t as hot. But either way, it was not a big deal and the chicken was juicy and tasty!
This is my go to for grilled chicken. I have been using fresh thyme as I have an abundance from my garden! Delicious, easy and I always double the recipe for the leftovers! Thanks Jen.
Hi Jenn! I would like to use this recipe for a dinner party but my friend can’t eat lemons or limes due to the acid. Is there an alternative for the lemon zest?
Hi Deborah, you can omit it. If you have lemon pepper on hand (and she can tolerate that), you can sprinkle a bit of that on top. Just look at the ingredients on the bottle — if it has salt, you’ll want to cut back on the salt in the recipe (and I’d cut back on the pepper a bit).
I have made this multiple times now, and it’s always a winner! Great in a time crunch too – comes out tender, flavorful, and juicy every time. I’m not always wonderful at the grill, but this recipe makes me an “ace!” Thank you so much! We pretty much only use Once Upon A Chef recipes in this household.
Aloha Jenn!
What a flavor bomb! This was so moist and tender. I’ve never been a fan of chicken breast until two weeks ago! It’s so good that I’m making it again tonight, this time for my husband and myself. We’ll have grilled chicken salad tomorrow with the leftovers. Thank you for your wonderful recipes! ❤️