Description
This Best Grilled Chicken Breast recipe features flavorful, tender boneless chicken breasts marinated in a tangy lemon and honey mixture with dijon mustard and spices, then grilled to juicy perfection. Perfect for a quick and healthy dinner, the marinade ensures moist, delicious chicken every time.
Ingredients
Scale
Chicken
- 4 boneless-skinless chicken breast thin cutlets (approximately 1 ½ – 2 pounds total weight)
Marinade
- ⅓ cup fresh lemon juice
- ⅓ cup canola oil
- ¼ cup honey
- 3 tablespoon dijon mustard
- ¾ teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
Instructions
- Prepare Chicken: In a large, heavy duty, zip top bag place the boneless-skinless chicken breast cutlets and set aside.
- Make Marinade: In a mixing bowl, whisk together fresh lemon juice, canola oil, honey, dijon mustard, smoked paprika, dried thyme, salt, and black pepper until fully combined.
- Marinate Chicken: Pour the marinade over the chicken inside the zip top bag. Seal the bag, squeezing out as much air as possible. Place the bag onto a plate and refrigerate to marinate for 1 hour.
- Preheat Grill: Preheat outdoor gas grill to 400°F (204°C).
- Grill Chicken: Place the marinated chicken breasts on the grill and close the lid. Cook for 8 minutes.
- Flip and Continue Cooking: Flip the chicken over and cook for another 8 minutes or until the internal temperature reaches 165°F (74°C).
- Rest and Serve: Remove grilled chicken to a plate, turn off the grill, and allow chicken to rest for 5 minutes before slicing and serving.
Notes
- Using pre-portioned chicken breast cutlets makes preparation quick and easy. Alternatively, butterfly or pound larger cutlets for uniform thickness to ensure even cooking.
- The marinade can be doubled or halved depending on the amount of chicken used.
- This universal marinade keeps the grilled chicken moist and tender.
- If using thicker or bone-in chicken breasts, marinate up to 8 hours. Note that grilling time will be longer for those cuts.
- You may substitute canola oil with olive oil, vegetable oil, or avocado oil.
- Dried thyme is used for convenience; fresh thyme can be used but increase quantity to 2 teaspoons as fresh herbs are less potent.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 serving
- Calories: 320 kcal
- Sugar: 8 g
- Sodium: 600 mg
- Fat: 15 g
- Saturated Fat: 2 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 12 g
- Trans Fat: 0 g
- Carbohydrates: 14 g
- Fiber: 0.5 g
- Protein: 35 g
- Cholesterol: 85 mg
