The trick to an easy dinner is a simple grilled chicken marinade. Here’s our simple marinade made with budget-friendly pantry spices.
We include grilling instructions, too, but you can use your stovetop or oven. Not every meal has to be an epic feast! Sometimes we are in a hurry or tired and want to throw together a quick dinner.
When I want something yummy but easy, my go-to dinner is grilled chicken with a simple side salad and maybe something starchy.
Grilled Chicken Marinade (With Grilling Instructions)
Ingredients
- 4 boneless skinless chicken breasts
- 1 T paprika
- 1 T onion powder
- 1 T garlic powder
- 1 t chili powder
- 1/4 t salt
- 1/4 t pepper
- 4 T olive oil
- 4 T acid of your choice: lime juice lemon juice, apple cider vinegar, white vinegar, or any other flavored vinegar
Instructions
- Combine all seasonings in a small bowl. (We are about to buy these bowls—they are on sale right now.)
- Rinse the chicken breast with cold water.
- Pat the chicken dry with paper towels or a clean, lint-free kitchen towel.
- Dredge the chicken breast in the bowl of marinade.
- Let chicken sit in marinade while you prep the grill, but no longer than 15 minutes.
- Lightly oil your grill grates.
- Heat the grill to high and allow to heat up.
- Turn grill temperature to medium-high.
- Grill the chicken for 4 to 5 minutes per side. See tip below about checking for doneness.
- To help keep your chicken pieces moist while waiting to serve, we recommend a quick wrap in foil. We love these pull-up foil sheets to allow one-handed kitchen juggling.
Notes
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How to keep grilled chicken moist
When you remove the chicken from the grill and loosely wrap it in foil, allow the chicken breast to rest in the foil for 4 to 5 minutes. This process will allow the juices to settle and for the chicken breast to rest. With this process, it will be even more tender when you are ready to serve it.
How to know when grilled chicken is done
The best way to know when chicken is done is by using a meat thermometer. When the chicken has an internal temp of 165 degrees, it is done.
If you don’t have a thermometer, you can pull one of the chicken breasts off the grill and cut into it. If there is still pink in the middle, it isn’t done. The done chicken will be opaque all of the way through. IF you don’t want to cut into the chicken press on it until juice flows out. If the juices flow clear with no signs of pink, the odds are good that it is done.
We had this exact grilled chicken marinade recipe for dinner last night. As our side, we had these fantastic oven baked potatoes and a simple arugula salad. It was beautiful on the plate and quite yummy. A simple dinner turned into a real treat.
