Marinated grilled chicken breasts are incredibly tender, juicy, and outrageously delicious. The easy, no-fuss, flavor-packed marinade will become your go-to for all your summer grilling recipes!
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Just so you know, we devoured all the grilled chicken breasts in the photos in less than 10 minutes after I put my camera down. They were so good and beautifully charred that I rushed my photo shoot so we could start tearing into them. Glad the images came out as I hoped.
Once you have all the marinade ingredients together, simply pour them into a bowl, stir well, and pour it over the chicken breasts. Nothing complicated here. Let them marinate in the fridge for 2 hours, and grill away.
What Makes a Great Marinade
The base is easy: fat, acid, and umami. I love olive oil for the fat, lemon juice for acid, mustard for emulsifying, and soy sauce and Worcestershire for the perfect amount of umami. Honey provides a little sweetness, and the spices add more flavor to the party.
It took me a couple of attempts before I nailed it, but this ended up being the easiest and tastiest marinade I’ve made so far. Even better, you probably already have most of the ingredients. Try my homemade Creole seasoning, and your future self will thank you. It takes any dish from meh to wow, just like magic.
How to Grill Marinated Chicken Breasts
Make the marinade, add it to the chicken breasts, marinate in the fridge, and grill when ready.
Tips and Notes
- The chicken will absorb plenty of flavor in 2 hours. Lemon juice on its own will tenderize the chicken in 30 minutes, but oil does slow down the process. If you want to marinate it longer but still want the lemony flavor, use the zest, then add the lemon juice at the end.
- Please use a non-reactive container for marinating: a zip-lock bag, glass bowl, or stainless steel bowl works best. Aluminum reacts with the acid in the marinade, and not in a good way.
- Simmer the used marinade until reduced for a tasty sauce to pour over the grilled chicken. Just make sure it cooks long enough to kill the raw chicken bacteria (at least 5 minutes).
- When you’re ready to grill, drain the excess marinade and pat the breasts dry. If you don’t have a grill, a stovetop grill pan or broiler will give you good results as well.
Make Ahead and Leftover Makeovers
We make these often for easy weekday meal prep. They’ll last in an airtight container for 4-5 days in the fridge or around 5 months in the freezer. Slicing and storing in serving-size portions make dinner and lunch come together fast.
Leftovers go great on top of a refreshing salad, in a wrap, and in soup.
What Pairs Well With Chicken Breasts
We frequently top my California spaghetti salad with grilled chicken breasts or serve it with garlic bread and seasoned rice or mashed potatoes and gravy. And my sweet tooth insists on apple cobbler for dessert.
More Easy Grilled Chicken Recipes
This blog post was originally published in April 2018 and has been updated with more tips and gorgeous new photos.
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