This grilled chicken marinade adds a ton of flavor and tenderizes the chicken breasts. Say Hello to the Best Grilled Chicken!
This is the best-grilled chicken recipe because the chicken has so much flavor and stays juicy.
Why You'll Love the Grilled Chicken Marinade
- Easy: All you have to do to make this grilled chicken marinade is have thawed chicken and a few simple ingredients.
- Make it ahead: This simple grilled chicken recipe is incredibly easy to use for meal prep. It's lean and easy to portion.
- Healthy: Grilled chicken is healthy, and making a batch of this will ensure that you have a serving of healthy protein for several meals all week long.
Recipe Notes
Although this is a grilled chicken breast recipe, you can just as easily use this chicken marinade recipe for a batch of chicken thighs or chicken wings!
Ingredient notes
- Chicken: I usually buy chicken breasts or thighs for this recipe. To make things super easy, buy boneless, skinless chicken.
- Chicken Marinade: Lemon juice, lemon zest, olive oil, garlic, oregano, salt, and pepper.
What Goes Into Chicken Marinade
This grilled chicken is tasty and juicy. You can even freeze this recipe so that you have ready-to-grill chicken in the freezer.
- Add the chicken to a shallow dish or a gallon-sized Ziploc bag.
- Chop. Dice the onions and chop the garlic. Add both of these to the chicken.
- Lemons. Use a grater to zest the lemons. Add the zest to the chicken. Cut the lemons in half and squeeze the juice over the chicken.
- Season. Add the olive oil and the seasoning to the chicken. Toss to coat the chicken evenly.
- Marinate the chicken for at least an hour, but no longer than overnight.
PRO-TIP: Make a second batch of my best grilled chicken recipe and freeze it in the chicken marinade. Then you can pull it out for an easy dinner next week.
Cooking Chicken Breasts On The Grill
- Make sure you've preheated your grill. If you're using a gas grill, heat it up to High.
- Add oil to a paper towel and use tongs to oil the grill grates.
- Place the chicken on the grill, and DO NOT move until it's time to flip it. *Reduce the temperature to Medium.
- Grill 6 to 8 minutes per side.
- Use a probe thermometer to ensure you have the proper temperature or 165℉ at the thickest part.
Make sure that your chicken is cooked to the proper internal temperature. The safe internal temperature is 165℉!
People ask me all the time how long to grill chicken breast. The secret is to use a thermometer. I usually take my chicken off of the grill at 155℉ and let it rest for 10 minutes. The temperature will continue to rise after the chicken is taken off of the grill.
FAQs and helpful tips
If you are grilling bone-in chicken, the cooking time will be longer. Always use a probe thermometer to check the temperature!
A cut up fryer chicken will have different pieces that will all come off the grill at different times. Dark meat tends to stay moister even if it's slightly overcooked.
Don't overthink it—just grill!
A fryer chicken refers to a younger, midsized bird that tends to be much easier to cook than your traditional chicken!
Boneless chicken thighs tend to be smaller, so they'll cook fairly quickly. Start with 4 minutes on each side.
If you're not ready to grill, try my Baked Crispy Chicken Thighs!
Grilled chicken breasts are a blank canvas! Spice them up with countless seasonings and marinades—the choice is yours! The easy grilled chicken marinade I use in this recipe is just lemon juice, lemon zest, olive oil, garlic, oregano, salt, and pepper.
Check out my go-to Seasoning Recipes.
Hungry for more grilled chicken recipes?
Try my Grilled Chicken Curry that is marinated in a super flavorful chicken marinade Or try my easy Grilled Teriyaki Chicken and make a Teriyaki Chicken Bowl for dinner tonight.
The Chicken Satay Kebabs are a reader favorite, and this recipe is all about the flavorful chicken and the Peanut Sauce.
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Grilled Chicken Marinade
Equipment
Ingredients
- 6 to 8 Chicken Breasts or thighs
Instructions
How To Make Grilled Chicken Marinade
- Place the chicken into a glass dish or a zip top bag.
- Onions and garlic. Dice the onions and the garlic and then add them to the chicken.
- Lemon. Zest the lemon and add the zest to the chicken. Slice the lemons in half and squeeze the juice over the chicken.
- Season. Add the herbs, salt and pepper, and olive oil to the chicken.
- Marinate. Toss to coat and marinade the chicken in the fridge until you are ready to cook.
Grilling Chicken
- Preheat the grill on High. Bring the grill temperature to about 500℉
- Add oil to a paper towel and with tongs rub the oil onto the grill grates.
- Add the chicken to the grill, then turn the grill down to a medium heat.
- Cook on side one for 8 minutes.
- Flip and continue to cook on the second side until the chicken reaches an internal temperature of about 155°F. About 6 to 8 minutes. NOTE: Cooking time will vary based on the thickness of the chicken breasts and the temperature of the grill. I always use a probe thermometer when griilling to make sure I get the temperature just right. 165°F is safe cooking temperature for chicken.
- Remove the chicken from the grill and place it on a platter, cover with foil and rest for 10 minutes. (the internal temperature of the chicken will climb during this time.)
Laura's Tips + Notes
- Chicken: I usually buy chicken breasts or thighs for this recipe. To make things super easy, buy boneless, skinless chicken.
- Chicken Marinade: Lemon juice, lemon zest, olive oil, garlic, oregano, salt, and pepper.
