Best Grilled Chicken Recipe (2024)

It doesn’t get much better than this simple, all-time best grilled chicken marinade recipe for perfectly juicy and flavorful grilled chicken breast or chicken thighs every single time!

For more easy chicken recipes, try my Sheet Pan Chicken, Potatoes and Green Beans, Lemon Chicken in Dill Cream Sauce, or One Pan Herb Chicken and Asparagus.

I often go back and forth between simple meals and really simple meals. Having 3 little kids means I don’t have time to spend hours in the kitchen each night, but you all know my food has to taste good as well as be easy to make.

In addition, one of the most-requested recipes I get is for easy chicken recipes. Everyone wants simple chicken dinners and it’s not hard to see why. Chicken is easy to find, budget-friendly, loved by most, and takes on the flavors of just about anything you can throw at it.

The beauty of this simple and satisfying marinated chicken is that you can make it and eat it for days in many different ways. You’ll wonder where this easy grilled chicken recipe has been all your life — really.

Why This Recipe Works

Pantry ingredients — You have the chicken. Now what? Grab some olive oil, vinegar, sugar or honey, soy sauce, garlic, and an Italian seasoning blend. That’s it!

Honey — Speaking of ingredients, for me it’s that little bit of sweet added to the marinade that really kicks up the chicken flavor a notch. Mixed with the garlic and acidic balsamic, it’s a real treat for the tastebuds.

Easily feeds a crowd — Have some unexpected guests or aren’t sure what to grill out for a picnic? This chicken can be doubled, tripled (or more) to take care of that problem.

So versatile — See more on this below, but I love to put this chicken on everything: salads, wraps, quesadillas, sandwiches, or plain with a side of BBQ sauce.

Here’s How You Make It

1. First, make the marinade by stirring together the oil, vinegar, sugar (or honey), soy sauce, garlic, red pepper flakes (optional) and dried spices.
2. Pour that delicious marinade into a large, resealable bag, add the chicken, seal, and chill for 30 minutes.
3. Transfer the chicken to a preheated grill using tongs. Throw out excess marinade. Grill the chicken for 6-10 minutes on each side over medium heat until the chicken is cooked through.
4. Serve right away!

Ideas for Serving this Recipe

This grilled chicken really is so good and you can eat it with just about anything thanks to a flavorful marinade that goes along with so many different flavor profiles. Before I go into the ways I like to devour this chicken, though, I want to mention that you’re probably going to want to go ahead and double this recipe right off the bat. If you can’t eat it all within a few days, you can always freeze it.

• Eat this healthy grilled chicken with a side of just about any veggie or grain/carb combo and you’re dinner is set!
• Cut up a the easy grilled chicken in strips or cubes and add it as a healthy protein to your favorite salad for a quick, packable lunch.
• Quesadillas or tacos! Dice or slice your chicken any which way and sandwich it between two tortillas or on top of a tortilla. Add cheese, jalapenos, pickled onions, cilantro, black olives, or any ingredients your little heart desires. Cook up on both sides until the tortilla gets a little brown and crispy and cut with a pizza cutter.
• Layer the chicken (cut or shredded) to the top of a store-bought pizza crust. Make an Italian chicken pizza with some fresh sauce, buffalo mozzarella, and basil. Viola!
• Take the ingredients for a pizza and instead make a Caprese sandwich. A hoagy roll or other nice, crusty roll will do. Slice it in half and layer in all the yummy goodness. Try this with any sandwich combo you’d enjoy.
• Grain bowls are all the rage, and so easy to put together. Start with a grain base and layer in that healthy grilled chicken, plus other healthy toppings like lettuce, avocado, tomatoes, beans, and cheese. Top with a dollop of sour cream or Greek yogurt.

How to Microwave Leftover Chicken

Basically everything I listed for ways to serve the chicken will work with leftover chicken as well. The only difference is that a) I’d pay attention to how old the chicken is and b) I’d watch when you reheat it.

According to the USDA cooked chicken will keep in the fridge about 3 to 4 days. After that, it has to go.

When you reheat chicken, you should either cut it into smaller pieces before microwaving (to make the cooking time faster so it doesn’t dry out as quickly) or you can microwave it with a wet paper towel over the top to keep it moist while it cooks. You can also eat cooked chicken cold — there’s no shame in that and I’ve done it many a time!

Expert Tips

• If you aren’t going to eat the leftover easy grilled chicken chicken right away, go ahead and freeze it. Make sure it’s cooled at least to room temperature before freezing, or refrigerate it first. Once it’s cooled, you can put it in an airtight container or baggie and seal it shut, with as little air in it as possible. For defrosting, pull it out of the freezer and let it thaw in the fridge before reheating.
• Chicken should be marinated for a minimum of 30 minutes, but will develop deeper flavor if marinated up to 8 hours or overnight.

More Grilling Recipes

• Greek Avocado Chicken Salad
• Chicken Salad with Grapes
• Best Broccoli Salad (without mayo!)
• Strawberry Pasta Spinach Salad with Orange Poppy Seed Dressing
• Greek Lemon Rice

Did you try this amazingly easy and tasty grilled chicken recipe? YAY! Please rate the recipe below!