The Best Grilled Lemon Chicken Recipe
May 01, 2017, Updated Apr 28, 2020
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Grilled Lemon Chicken Recipe – Tender and juicy grilled chicken marinated in a delicious lemon sauce. A perfect, easy chicken recipe for a quick dinner or healthy lunch!
GRILLED LEMON CHICKEN
A family favorite, this Grilled Lemon Chicken is packed with fresh lemon flavor and is also healthy, tender, and incredibly juicy!
This Lemon Chicken is what we have every other night during the summer and no one complains because it’s beyond delicious. Simple and bright, this is the kind of main that puts us all in that summer grilling mood.
This Grilled Chicken recipe reminds me of when I was little and still living in Macedonia – looking forward to a great time, my mom would prepare meats and skewers and whatnot for our May-Day picnic. May Day is Europe’s Labor Day, and it’s celebrated on the 1st of May.
Thus, a day off from work meant a 24-hour celebration involving portable grills, a lot of grill-friendly food, shopska salad, and all the soccer gear that your dad could fit in the trunk.
My mom’s Grilled Lemon Chicken was always a part of that day.
LEMON MARINADE FOR CHICKEN
SO, in honor of those picnics and May Day, today we’re marinading chicken in lots of lemon and throwing it on the grill. I will even tell you how to make it perfect on an indoor cast iron grill pan.
This grilled lemon chicken is a major flavor bomb, you guys. I don’t know what I like more; the taste or the juiciness OR the tenderness. It’s all in there.
Let’s start with the marinade… the chicken-inside-the-bag-with-the-marinade which I don’t have a photo OF… #blogfail
But it involves
- olive oil,
- LEMONS,
- and GARLIC.
- Plus 2 pounds of chicken breasts.
SO, please just imagine a ziploc bag filled with that golden liquid up there, and garlic + parsley + chicken breasts, m’kay?
Also, bonus… you can choose whatever herb makes you feel good. If parsley ain’t your thing, go with rosemary. Or thyme. Whatever floats your boats.
And then grill it!
HOW TO MAKE THE BEST GRILLED CHICKEN
- Place marinated chicken on the hot grill; cook without touching it until the chicken breasts start getting some grill marks, about 5 minutes.
- Turn the chicken breasts over, cover the grill, and let finish cooking, about 7 more minutes.
That’s it. You’ve done it. Now EAT IT!
Need a grilling recipe for Chicken Thighs? Grab this recipe ➡️ Grilled Chicken Thighs
HOW TO MAKE GRILL CHICKEN ON A GRILL PAN
- Grease a cast iron grill pan with cooking spray and set it over medium-high heat.
- Add chicken pieces and cook for 4 minutes; flip, and continue to cook for 2 more minutes, or until lightly browned.
- Place grill pan in the oven and cook for 18 to 20 minutes, or until chicken is cooked through.
ENJOY!
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The Best Grilled Lemon Chicken
Ingredients
- 2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts
- 1/3 cup olive oil
- zest of 2 lemons
- 1/3 cup fresh lemon juice, (zest the lemons before juicing)
- 4 cloves garlic,, minced
- 1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
- salt and fresh ground pepper,, to taste
- 1 whole lemon, cut into slices
Instructions
- In a large ziploc bag, combine chicken, olive oil, lemon zest, lemon juice, garlic, parsley, salt, and pepper.
- Seal the bag and shake it all up until well combined.
- Place bag in the refrigerator and marinate for about 4 hours or overnight.
- Preheat the grill to about 375F to 400F.
- Brush grill grates with olive oil.
- Remove chicken breasts from marinade and place them on the hot grill; cook without touching it until the chicken breasts start getting some grill marks, about 5 minutes.
- Turn the chicken breasts over, cover the grill, and let finish cooking, about 7 more minutes, depending on the thickness of the chicken. Chicken is done when a meat thermometer registers 165 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Remove chicken from grill; cover and let rest for 5 minutes before cutting.
- TO PREPARE ON A CAST IRON GRILL PAN
- Preheat oven to 350.
- Grease a grill pan with cooking spray and set it over medium-high heat.
- Add chicken pieces and cook for 4 minutes; flip, and continue to cook for 2 more minutes, or until lightly browned.
- Place grill pan in the oven and cook for 18 to 20 minutes, or until chicken is cooked through.
- Remove from oven and let rest 5 minutes.
- Serve.
Notes
- If you do not want a strong lemon taste, use less lemon zest and less lemon juice.
Nutrition
Nutritional info is an estimate and provided as courtesy. Values may vary according to the ingredients and tools used. Please use your preferred nutritional calculator for more detailed info.
Very good! The lemon was a subtle taste but you could still definitely taste it. Will be making these again!
Totally DELICIOUS! I used a cast iron skillet. After removing chicken, I made a lemon ‘gravy’ in same pan with the drippings, leftover marinade, chicken stock mixed with flours. It was so tasrty with the chicken and the roasted sliced potatoes/red onion I made as a side.
That’s great! I’m very glad you enjoyed it! Thank YOU! 🙂
This was delicious. I used my cast iron pan. Just used 2 chicken breasts and let it marinate for I believe 6 hours. Due to the acid I presume, the chicken did get a bit “cooked” while marinating but didn’t affect the taste or texture. Definitely will make again. Thank you for sharing!
Are the lemon slices used as a garnish, or are they cooked with the chicken?
Hi! Yes, the lemon slices are for garnish.