This easy marinated grilled chicken is a staple. It comes together quickly and the result is so flavorful! Serve it with grilled veggies for a full summer bbq meal!
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Ingredient notes
This marinade is packed with some of my favorite ingredients: garlic, lemon, chili flakes, and Italian seasoning.
I find that balsamic vinegar-based marinades can sometimes be overpowering for chicken, which is why I use a milder vinegar, champagne vinegar.
The chili flakes add a very slight amount of heat but feel free to remove if you are sensitive to spice, or increase the amount if you love spice.
How to set up your grill for chicken
Since the marinade has oil in it, it can cause flames on the grill. Be careful to not burn the chicken by grilling it over direct heat the whole time. To set up your grill for this:
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- For coal grills: heat the coals on one side of the grill and grill on the non-coal side.
- For gas grills: turn the burners on one side of the grill and grill on the side without burners turned on.
Once the chicken is almost fully cooked, transfer it over to direct heat to finish cooking and to get golden brown grill marks.
Expert tips
- For the most flavorful chicken, marinate it for at least 1 hour, or up to overnight. Do not marinate the chicken for more than 24 hours as the proteins can begin to break down at this point.
- Since the marinade has oil in it, it can cause flames on the grill. Because of this, you want to grill the chicken on indirect heat and then transfer it to direct heat at the end to get those beautiful grill marks.
- This marinade could be used on any type of chicken, such as chicken thighs. Cook time will vary based on what you use.
Side dishes to serve with marinated grilled chicken
I hope you love this easy-marinated grilled chicken as much as I do. If you make it please, let me know what you think in the comments!
📖 Recipe
Easy Marinated Grilled Chicken
Ingredients
- 4 boneless skinless chicken breasts about 2 pounds total
- ½ cup extra virgin olive oil
- 3 tablespoon champagne or white wine vinegar
- 2 tablespoon lemon juice
- 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
- 1 tablespoon lemon zest
- 1 tablespoon grated garlic
- 2 teaspoon Italian seasoning
- 1 teaspoon Kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon freshly cracked black peper
- ½ teaspoon red pepper flakes
Instructions
- Add all ingredients into a large sealable bag or container. Remove air from the bag and seal tightly. Gently massage all the ingredients together, making sure each chicken breast is coated in the marinade. Refrigerate and marinate for at least one hour, up to overnight.
- Heat grill on high heat (see notes below for how to set-up your grill). Remove each chicken breast from the bag and grill on indirect heat for 10 minutes, flipping halfway, or until chicken is fully cooked, the juices run clear, and the center is no longer pink (center should be 165 degrees Fahrenheit). To create grill marks, move the chicken over to the direct heat the last minute or two.
Notes
- Cook time does not include the marinating time. Ideally, marinate the chicken for 1 hour to overnight.
- Since the marinade has oil in it, it can cause flames on the grill. Grill on indirect heat. For coal grills, this means heating coals on one side of the grill and grilling on the non-coal side. For gas grills, this means turning the burners on one side of the grill and grilling on the side without burners turned on.
- This marinade could be used on any type of chicken, such as chicken thighs. Cook time will vary based on what you use.
Want to save this recipe to come back to it?
I'll email this recipe to you, so you can come back to it later!
cynthia chapline says
I love this recipe! My husband has never liked to grill chicken or eat grilled chicken. But he loved this chicken and especially loved the instructions for grilling it to perfection! We will be making and enjoying this often!!
Caitlin from CC's Table says
Thank you so much! I'm so happy that you loved it and thank you for the kind review!
Mollie Pine says
LOVE this marinade!! We pulled some marinade out prior to marinading the chicken to drizzle over the cooked chicken.... it was bomb!
Caitlin from CC's Table says
Oh I’m so glad you loved it! Thank you so much for trying it and for your kind words!!