Look no further for the best chicken marinade! It’s so easy and healthy and produces no-fail moist and delicious grilled chicken. This easy grilled chicken breasts recipe can be enjoyed with any vegetable for a quick weeknight meal. Use up any left overs in a salad or sandwich the next day!
5 STAR REVIEWS
I think everyone should have a good basic steak marinade and chicken marinade for grilled chicken breasts in their arsenal. This one is mine. The marinade is made up of garlic, herbs, and lemon. It’s so incredibly simple, but so bright and flavorful. It’s honestly all you need to season most food, really! The key is using the freshest ingredients and allowing the chicken to marinade a good amount of time, which renders tender and moist results.
Helpful Tips
- Herbs. I use a blend of parsley, thyme, oregano, and rosemary, but you can really use a mix of any herbs – it’s perfect if you have an herb garden! Fresh herbs are ideal in this recipe and provide the absolute best flavor. If you’re in a pinch, you can use a mixture of 2 & 1/2 teaspoons (total) dried Italian herbs instead.
- Additional seasoning. These are optional ingredients, but I always include a bit of crushed red pepper flakes for heat and a few teaspoons of mustard, to add some tang.
- Marinade time. Chicken can be safely marinated for 1-2 days, but marinade containing acids (like this one with lemon juice) can cause the meat to get mushy, if it’s longer than that. I recommend marinating for a minimum of 4 hours, ideally 8 hours for best flavor. If you’re in a pinch, you can get away with only 1 hour, but the longer the better.
- How long to grill chicken breast? I pound out the chicken breast to an even 1/2-inch thickness. Grilled over medium-high heat for 10 minutes, flipping halfway through. More importantly than time is the internal temperature, which should register 165°F. Use a thermometer to be sure.
Grilled Chicken Breasts
Ingredients
- 1 & 1/2 pounds skinless chicken breasts
- 1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 3 cloves garlic , minced
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- 2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh parsley
- 1 teaspoon finely chopped fresh thyme
- 1 teaspoon finely chopped fresh oregano
- 1/2 teaspoon finely chopped fresh rosemary
- 3 tablespoons lemon juice
- crushed red pepper flakes , for heat, optional
- a few teaspoons of mustard , for tang, optional
Instructions
- Place chicken breasts in-between 2 sheets of plastic wrap and, using a meat mallet, pound out to an even 1/2-inch thickness.
- Place chicken in a large resealable ziploc bag. Add all the other ingredients and massage to evenly coat. Seal bag and marinate in the refrigerator for 4 hours (ideally overnight for best flavor.)
- Preheat an outdoor grill to medium-high. Clean and oil the hot grill grates. Place chicken directly on grill and cook for 5 minutes; flip and cook for another 5 minutes or until a thermometer registers 165°F
- Transfer to a plate and let rest for a few minutes. Slice and serve!
Nutrition
Other Notes
Serving Suggestions
Grilled chicken pairs so well with many sides, like potato salad, coleslaw, or macaroni salad, and a simple side salad for a complete meal.
Proper Storage
As mentioned above, the chicken can marinate in the fridge for up to 2 days. A minimum of 4 hours is recommend, ideally 8 hours for best flavor. Once you remove the chicken from the marinade, it should be discarded – do not re-use marinade. Any leftover grilled chicken should be stored in an airtight container in the fridge and eaten within 3 days.
More Grilling Recipes
- Turkey Burgers
- Hawaiian Pineapple Chicken Kabobs
- Huli Huli Chicken
- Spiral Grilled Hot Dogs
- Grilled Pineapple
I hope you love this delicious and easy recipe – be sure to give it a review below! Also don’t forget to follow Belly Full on TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest, and YouTube!
Amazing! O
Explosion of Flavors!!
I’ve been making your recipe for years! It’s one of my favorite grilled chicken recipes and so versatile. Sometimes I don’t have fresh herbs and just cut the measurements down and use dried herbs.
Thank you!!
easy and delicious. My large family loved it.
Perfectly delicious!!
This was so delicious! I just planted new herbs and this was a great use for them. Will be using this as a go to recipe whenever I need to use up some herbs. I seared my chicken in a stainless steel pan and it worked great.
Cooking with fresh herbs makes everything taste so much better!
Explosion of Flavors! Loved this recipe.
How long can I store this in the fridge? As I’m only one people & it’s hard for me to finish all of it in one go
I wouldn’t marinate more than 12 hours/overnight.
This was incredible. My husband and I loved it. It was delicious and so juicy. Thank you so much.
I don’t even ask anymore how much gas my mom uses for her grill…and it’s better this way. :) Love that you kept it simple with these. Perfect for summer.
I’m like you, I grill like fiend. I can’t get enough of it. I have propane, charcoal and a smoker. But I live for the day I have natural gas. We put in a line for our dual fuel stove when we moved in and I really wish I had just had them run the line for the grill at the time. Hindsight right? So silly, I should have just done it at the time. Live and learn.
Grilled chicken is the best thing ever. You marinade sound wicked good. I’m such a lemon girl. Although for some silly reason I dig the meyers, I think it’s that sweetness. I’m such a sugar girl. But any lemon is perfection in my book. Particularly paired with chicken.
I am so making this tonight. That chicken looks so herby and delicious.
That’s good to know that Foster Farms is humane certified (not to mention antibiotic-free). What an awesome grilling recipe for summertime!
I saw these on Pinterest and knew I had to stop by for a visit. This chicken looks amazing. My aunt has her grill hooked up to a gas line. Let’s just say I’m jealous in a major way.
I am seriously so glad I read this post! I am visiting one of Tyson’s chicken farms at the end of the month through an organization. . and was wondering about some things. . I’m all about Organic and Antibiotic-Free Chicken and will look into what “American Humane Certified” means . . thanks for this!
You know I love everything about these girl!! Love the fresh herbs!
That chicken looks so tender and delicious! Fantastic job :)
Happy Blogging!
This is the most perfect grilled chicken I’ve ever seen. We go through a ton of propane tanks because someone *cough* husband *cough* forgets to close the valve.
This looks fantastic, love the flavors! I’m adding this to my list to try soon!
Foster Farms is the ONLY chicken I’ll buy. Love this recipe!!
I’ve always thought hooking your grill up to the house propane was genius, but of course I’ve never accomplished that. This chicken is right up my alley, so much flavor!
I am gearing up to start the Whole 30 eating plan in a few weeks, and this recipe is PERFECT! Thanks for sharing. :)