The BEST Grilled Chicken Breasts (juicy, tender and out-of-this-world delicious!)

These Grilled Chicken Breasts are moist, tender and full of great flavor. Marinate them for 30 minutes or overnight... they never fail to bring rave reviews!

"Wow, so good!" That's what everyone says when they taste the first bite of these fabulous grilled chicken breasts!

We've been enjoying these Grilled Chicken Breasts all summer and I thought it was time to share the recipe with you. It takes less than 10 minutes to throw together the marinade then you decide how much time to let them sit and soak in the goodness. The chicken needs at least 30 minutes in the marinade but you can also let them go overnight with excellent results. There's no lemon juice (often included in chicken marinades) so there's no worry about the meat starting to macerate from the lemon acid.

The ingredient list for the marinade is simple: olive oil, garlic, a splash of white wine, finely chopped fresh herbs, dried oregano a pinch of sugar, salt and freshly ground black pepper. You can use a ziplock bag or a ceramic baking dish, whichever you prefer. The oil is the key here. Chicken breasts are very lean and tend to easily dry out. A soak in oil (and the other marinade ingredients) before grilling keeps them super moist and tender.

A small portion of the marinade is reserved for brushing over the chicken while it's being grilled. The oil allows you to get a nice exterior char without drying out the interior. The garlic and herbs, well they just add fabulous flavor!

These moist, tender chicken breasts are wonderful with grilled or roasted veggies, warm pasta salads, tiny potatoes, polenta, black rice and so much more.

Because there are a zillion things that can be done with the leftovers, I often make a double batch.

We've enjoyed these Grilled Chicken Breasts on all sorts of salads, especially the one pictured above. I call it a Farmer's Market Caprese Salad with grilled chicken, fresh peaches, lots of tomatoes, fresh corn, red onion, toasted pine nuts and our Goes with Everything Balsamic Dressing. It's also insanely delicious drizzled with our Sweet Basil Vinaigrette!

I've also used it for sandwiches, wraps and on pizza. One of our favorite summer meals is warm naan (just heat a sauté pan with a tiny splash of olive oil, then warm the naan on both sides till starting to get a little golden) topped with a smear of our Green Goddess Hummus then layered with sliced chicken, halved cherry tomatoes, sliced cucumbers, crumbled Feta cheese, fresh basil leaves and a drizzle of our Zoe's Copycat Dressing  - this is what I call "summer nirvana"!

6 easy but important steps for making The BEST Grilled Chicken Breasts

1. Pound - Chicken breasts generally come with one thick end and the other thin and pointed. It's important to pound the breasts to an even thickness. If you don't, you'll end up with the thinner end dry and overdone even if the thicker part is the perfect temperature. I usually pound them right in the marinade bag, no sense in going through an extra step. I really like this meat pounder - a few whacks with this guy and you'll have perfectly uniform chicken breasts.
2. Marinate -  Chicken breasts are super lean with minimal fat. That's good in that they're healthy, have lots of protein and are low in calories. But that also means they can easily dry out. Giving them a bath in an oil/herb mixture is a wonderful way to give them a moisture (and flavor) burst.
3. Medium temperature - Heating your grill too high can also cause the breasts to dry out. We like to go for about 400-450˚F and maintain it right around there.
4. Baste - In this BEST Grilled Chicken Breast recipe, you'll prepare the marinade and reserve a small portion for basting. Basting keeps the breasts nice and moist as they grill so you don't develop a tough exterior.
5. Check the temperature - Chicken breasts are perfectly "done" at 160˚F but they can easily be over or undercooked. Neither one is desirable! But it's easy to get it right. Instant thermometers are reasonably priced and worth their weight in gold! They will tell you the exact temperature of the interior of each breast and will save you lots of money in the long run, preventing over and under-cooked meat. We like to take the breasts off of the grill at right around 155˚F as the temperature will continue to rise a bit. If your portions are different sizes, you may need to take them off individually, when the temp reaches 155˚F.
6. Tent - Allowing the chicken to rest for 8-10 minutes will help the delicious juices to settle back into the meat before you begin slicing yielding tender, juicy chicken.

That's it! None of these steps take much time or effort on your part but will result in super delicious, super tender, super juicy grilled chicken. You know, the kind that everyone says, "Wow, so good!" with the first bite!

Café Tips for making these Grilled Chicken Breasts

• The marinade time for this recipe can be as short as 30 minutes or as long as overnight (24 hours). I've done 30 minutes with good results but, if you have more time, go for it!
• You can also purchase chicken breasts, put them in a ziplock bag with the marinade and freeze them. When you're ready to thaw, you'll be one step ahead!
• I look for smaller chicken breasts. I think they're more tender and they're also nicer for serving, especially if you plan to serve one per person.
• Organic chicken breasts tend to be smaller and more tender as the chickens aren't fed antibiotics.
• This recipe doesn't indicate the number of chicken breasts you'll need but rather the total weight as chicken breasts can vary so much in size.
• Sometimes I add a good pinch of red pepper flakes (about ⅛-¼ teaspoon) to the marinade. It doesn't make the chicken spicy hot but just adds a little "zip".
• A half cup of olive oil sounds like a lot but you need that much for a good marinade and brushing sauce. There will be a decent amount of oil that you will discard after the chicken is marinated but don't skimp on it. If you prefer to use a less expensive neutral-flavored oil, that will also work.
• The nutritional information includes all of the oil so the fat and calorie counts will actually be a fair amount less.
• There is a teaspoon of sugar in the marinade. It won't make the chicken sweet but helps with the browning on the grill, which adds an additional layer of flavor. Feel free to swap it out for honey.

Thought for the  day:

Praise the Lord, my soul;
    all my inmost being, praise his holy name.
Praise the Lord, my soul,
    and forget not all his benefits.
Psalm 103:1-2

What we're listening to for inspiration:

10,000 Reasons

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The BEST Grilled Chicken Breasts

Chris Scheuer

These Grilled Chicken Breasts are moist, tender and full of great flavor. Marinate them for 30 minutes or overnight... they never fail to bring rave reviews!

5 from 2 votes

Prep Time 10 minutes mins

Cook Time 15 minutes mins

Total Time 25 minutes mins

Servings 6

Calories 383

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Ingredients

 

US CustomaryMetric

 

.5x1x2x

• 2-2 ½ pounds skinless boneless chicken breasts
• ½ cup extra virgin olive oil
• 2 tablespoons white wine vinegar or white balsamic vinegar
• 4 medium garlic cloves, finely minced
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 1 ¼ teaspoons salt
• ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 2 teaspoons fresh thyme or rosemary, or a combination of the two
• ½ cup finely chopped fresh parsley, tightly packed
• large pinch red pepper flakes, optional

Instructions

 

1. Combine all of the marinade ingredients in a small bowl or measuring cup. Reserve ¼ cup of the marinade and set aside for grilling.
2. Use a fork to poke each chicken breast a few times on each side then place them in a large ziplock bag.
3. Add the marinade. Squeeze the air out of the bag and seal well. Massage the bag for about 30 seconds to coat each breast with the oil mixture.
4. Use the smooth size of a meat mallet or a small heavy pan to pound the chicken breasts a bit where they are thicker to an even thickness.
5. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes and up to 24 hours.
6. Preheat the grill to medium (about 400˚F) Clean and oil the grates well.
7. Gently shake the marinade off of each piece of chicken and place them on the grill. Discard the remaining marinade.
8. Cook for 3-4 minutes until light golden brown on the side facing the grill. The chicken should release easily from the grill. Flip to the other size and brush with the reserved marinade. Cook for another 2-3 minutes then flip again and brush with the oil. Continue flipping and brushing every minute until the internal temperature is 155˚F with an instant thermometer.
9. Remove from the grill to a clean plate and tent with foil for 8-10 minutes before slicing and serving.

Notes

See Café Tips above in the post for more detailed instructions and tips to ensure success.

If you prefer to use Metric measurements there is a button in each of our recipes, right above the word “Instructions”. Just click that button to toggle to grams, milliliters, etc. If you ever come across one of our recipes that doesn’t have the Metric conversion (some of the older recipes may not), feel free to leave a comment and I will add it.

***The nutritional information includes all of the oil so the fat and calorie counts will actually be a fair amount less.

Nutrition

Calories: 383kcalCarbohydrates: 2gProtein: 40gFat: 23gSaturated Fat: 4gPolyunsaturated Fat: 3gMonounsaturated Fat: 15gTrans Fat: 0.02gCholesterol: 121mgSodium: 707mgPotassium: 742mgFiber: 0.4gSugar: 1gVitamin A: 485IUVitamin C: 10mgCalcium: 27mgIron: 1mg

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Course: Main/Meat

Cuisine: American