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This Ultimate Marinated Grilled Chicken is the absolute best grilled chicken breast recipe and made with only good for you ingredients. You’re going to love how flavorful it is thanks to an easy marinade!

Update: This recipe was originally published in 2019 and has been republished with all new photos.

It’s grilling season, friends! If you know me then you know that grilling chicken is one of my favorite pastimes. It’s right up there with reading books, laying in hammocks, and drinking coffee. Grilling is such an easy way to prepare healthy meals in very little time. Plus the time you spend preparing the meal is actually enjoyable! Sit outside with a glass of wine while dinner is cooking? Yes please! Sign me up for that.

I have several marinated chicken recipes on my blog but this Ultimate Marinated Grilled Chicken includes my favorite flavorful marinade. You can (and should) use it for everything.

This is the chicken we have almost weekly in my home when the weather is warm. In the morning I just dump the marinade ingredients in a bag with the chicken. Then toss it on the grill in the evening. It’s such an easy recipe and the end result is super delicious.

Plus it includes no sugar (or honey or maple syrup or any sweeteners really). It’s also dairy free, gluten free, and Whole30 compliant. So enjoy it as often as you want!

Craving more easy chicken recipes for the grill? I’ve got you covered. Try my Italian Marinated Grilled Chicken, Lemon Herb Marinated Grilled ChickenHoney Balsamic Grilled ChickenBest Marinated Grilled Chicken Thighs, or Chipotle Lime Grilled Chicken.

Ingredients for Ultimate Marinated Grilled Chicken

  • Chicken breasts or thighs: Boneless skinless chicken breasts or boneless skinless chicken thighs both work well. You can use skin-on chicken thighs too if youโ€™re wanting the fun of crispy skin!
  • Coconut aminos: Coconut aminos is commonly considered a soy sauce substitute. Itโ€™s slightly sweet but contains a lot less sodium. Low sodium soy sauce will work here too but it will still taste saltier than coconut aminos. Most grocery stores carry it on the aisle with soy sauce or marinades.
  • Balsamic vinegar: Balsamic vinegar adds a punch of tanginess to our chicken marinade recipe. It balances out the sweetness of the coconut aminos.
  • Minced garlic: Minced garlic is delightful and pungent. You can mince your own fresh garlic or use a jarred variety.
  • Seasonings: The incredible flavor in this simple marinade comes from a blend of a few simple seasonings. Weโ€™re also using a few dried herbs because they pack more flavor than fresh herbs. For this recipe youโ€™ll need dried parsley, dried basil, onion powder, chili powder, crushed red pepper flakes, salt, and black pepper.

How to Make Ultimate Marinated Grilled Chicken

To make this easy grilled chicken recipe we’ll start by marinating our chicken. If you have very large chicken breasts you may want to slice them horizontally to create thinner cutlets to avoid a longer cook time. That’s really just a matter of preference though.

In a gallon Ziplock bag or large covered bowl combine chicken and all marinade ingredients. Flip occasionally so marinade is coating all parts of the chicken. Let marinate for a minimum of 30 minutes or as long as 12 hours.

Preheat grill to medium-high heat.

When itโ€™s time to cook, oil the grill grates with a bit of olive oil or avocado oil to prevent sticking. Grill your chicken on an outdoor grill. I use a gas grill just because itโ€™s so easy but a charcoal grill is a great option. To grill, remove each chicken breast from the bag and place on a hot grill over medium heat. Throw away any excess marinade remaining in the bag.

Grill with the lid closed 4 to 5 minutes on each side, flipping only once for nice grill marks. Your chicken should be a beautiful golden brown and juices should run clear.

If you find that you regularly overcook chicken I recommend getting a meat thermometer. This will ensure you get juicy chicken breasts every time! You want the thickest part of the chicken to have an internal temperature of 165 degrees F. It will continue to cook once removed from the grill so take it off at around 150/160 degrees in order to avoid it drying out.

How Long Should You Marinate Chicken?

For the most flavorful chicken I recommend marinating for at least one hour and up to 12 hours. The longer you marinate the more pronounced the flavor will be. You can of course marinate for as little as 30 minutes. I donโ€™t recommend longer than 12 hours because your meat can start to breakdown and the texture changes if it sits in a marinade for too long. (That goes for any marinade.)

How to Prevent Chicken from Sticking to the Grill

Since this marinade does not include olive oil I like to oil the grill grates before placing on the grill. If you try to flip your chicken and you notice itโ€™s sticking a bit just give it another minute before flipping and the chicken will usually release better then.

How to Store Leftover Grilled Chicken

Want to enjoy this grilled chicken recipe the next day or later in the week? This entree makes great leftovers and itโ€™s perfect for meal prep! Leftover chicken can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. Reheat in the microwave or in a large skillet on the stovetop on low to medium-low heat until warmed through.

How to Serve Grilled Chicken

This delicious grilled chicken can be served with so many incredible sides. I think the best way to enjoy it is with my Grilled Vegetables or Grilled Zucchini and Squash. I figure if I’m already using the grill for my entree I might as well use it for my side too!

If you want to keep things extra simple opt for a bagged caesar salad (one of my favorite shortcuts) and dinner is served!

4.98 from 38 votes

Ultimate Marinated Grilled Chicken

By Christina
This Ultimate Marinated Grilled Chicken is the absolute best grilled chicken and made with only good for you ingredients. You’re going to love how flavorful it is thanks to an easy marinade!
Prep: 45 minutes
Cook: 15 minutes
Total: 1 hour
Servings: 4 people

Ingredients 

Chicken

  • 2 pounds chicken breasts, boneless and skinless

Marinade

  • ยฝ cup coconut aminos
  • ยผ cup balsamic vinegar
  • 1 tablespoon garlic, minced
  • 1 tablespoon dried parsley
  • 1 tablespoon dried basil
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon black pepper
  • 1 teaspoon onion powder
  • 1 teaspoon chili powder
  • 1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
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Instructions 

  • Add chicken and all marinade ingredients to a gallon ziploc bag. (If using chicken breasts that are quite thick, slice horizontally to create thin cutlets. This helps us cook the chicken faster and gets us better browning on all sides.) Squeeze out excess air and zip closed. Lay flat, spreading the marinade inside the bag so that it's distributed evenly around the chicken. Let marinate for a minimum of 1 hour. I prefer to let it marinate for several hours or overnight if possible.
  • Preheat grill to medium high heat.
  • Oil the grill grates to prevent the chicken from sticking. Place your marinated chicken on the grill. Grill for 5-7 minutes, flip, and grill other side for 5-7 minutes or until chicken is cooked through. Cooking time varies depending on the thickness of your chicken.

Notes

Calculating nutrition information for marinated chicken is always tricky because you don’t actually use all of the marinade. The nutrition information calculated here does assume that all marinade is used which won’t be the case so you can reduce the calories if you are someone who tracks them. Based on my own personal research and the magic of Google I’d estimate that each chicken breast only truly absorbs approximately 1 to 2 tbsp of the marinade.

Nutrition

Serving: 1chicken breast, Calories: 344kcal, Carbohydrates: 11g, Protein: 48g, Fat: 9g, Saturated Fat: 1g, Cholesterol: 144mg, Sodium: 1547mg, Potassium: 901mg, Sugar: 2g, Vitamin A: 415IU, Vitamin C: 3.9mg, Calcium: 36mg, Iron: 1.8mg

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

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52 Comments

  1. Angie says:

    Every time my husband decides he wants to grill he asks me to prepare the chicken with this marinade. Not too vinegar-y but lots of flavor.

  2. Debo Akeredolu says:

    I cooked this recently. Loved it!

  3. Michelle Anderson says:

    Easy & delicious! I had everything on this recipe in my kitchen already!

  4. Amber says:

    The. Best. Marinade. Hands down! The only thing about this recipe that left me feeling disappointed was the amount of time I wasted before trying it! Itโ€™s that good!ย 

  5. Elaine Hewatt says:

    My husband I LOVE thisโ€ผ๏ธ And I prefer it over unhealthier versions of marinade. Thank you for this recipe.ย 

  6. Garrett Cooley says:

    Stumbled upon this because I wanted to marinade some chicken but the only thing I had on hand was coconut aminos randomly. I googled coconut amino marinade recipes and this came up, and it completely blew us away. Not only does it have a sweet/tangy kick that is incredibly flavorful, but it’s also a really clean and healthy recipe! We’ve made this for large groups of friends when they come over and everyone is always asking me for the recipe. I’ve never left a recipe review before but felt I had to because this has become our new go-to chicken marinade.

    Side note: I make this with boneless skinless chicken thighs because we prefer that meat to chicken breast. I also take a fork and stab the thighs a bunch of times before adding the marinade and it really allows it to absorb into the meat.

  7. Michele G says:

    DELICIOUS!! We make this all the time when we have guests and itโ€™s always a big hit

  8. Sue says:

    This marinade is so delicious. ย I used chicken thighs and roasted since I donโ€™t have a grill. ย So good!!!

  9. DW says:

    It was great. The children liked it as well. We subbed apple cider vinegar for balsamic.

  10. Suzanne M says:

    This marinade was insanely good on grilled chicken thighs. Will be on repeat this summer!