Grilled Balsamic Chicken

Grilled chicken breasts, some sliced, garnished with herbs and served with cherry tomatoes and cucumber pieces on a white surface.

5 from 2 votes

Grilled Balsamic Chicken

🍗🎉👏🏻Common pantry ingredients for this all-purpose chicken marinade that ensures super flavorful, juicy, and moist chicken! AMAZING tasting chicken doesn't get any easier than this! Makes for a quick, healthy, weeknight dinner or serve this at your next summer barbeque!

See Notes below for Grill Pan or Oven-Baking Techniques.

Prep Time10

Cook Time10

Marinating Time2

Course: Chicken, Grill

Cuisine: American, Chicken

Keyword: all-purpose chicken marinade, balsamic chicken marinade, easy grilled chicken recipes, grilled balsalmic chicken

Servings:

Calories: 388cal

Equipment

Ingredients

⅓ cup balsamic vinegar
¼ to cup olive oil
3 tablespoons light brown sugar packed (or to taste)
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
2 tablespoons low sodium soy sauce
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1 tablespoon Italian seasoning
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon salt or to taste
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper or to taste
3 pounds boneless skinless chicken breasts pounded to a uniform thickness (boneless chicken thighs may be substituted)
Fresh herbs optional for garnishing such as parsley, basil, mint, cilantro, etc.

Instructions

To a large ziptop bag, add all the ingredients through and including the chicken, seal the bag, and squish the chicken around to evenly coat it. Alternatively, you may use a large mixing bowl for marinating the chicken, flip it around well, and seal it with plastic wrap.
Place the chicken in the fridge to marinate for at least 1 hour, or up to 8 hours. Tips - While 1 hour is fine, it's the bare minimum. I personally aim for 2-3 hours because that's realistic for how much planning ahead I usually can do. This isn't the type of marinade you'd want to let sit overnight though because it's fairly acidic which isn't great for the chicken texture.
When you're ready to grill, oil the grill grates to prevent sticking, and preheat the grill to medium-high heat. Tips - Take the chicken out of the fridge and let it sit on the counter about 15 minutes prior to grilling (basically while the grill is preheating) because it will cook more evenly. For nice grill marks, make sure your grill has been properly preheated and that you're not starting with a cold or lukewarm grill.
Place the chicken on the grill, discard the marinade, close the grill lid, and grill for about 5 minutes. Tip - Be VERY careful controlling the heat output and temperature of your grill. It's better to go lower and slower so take care that your grill isn't too hot.
Flip the chicken and grill for another 4-5 minutes. Flip one last time, cooking for just a minute, or until the chicken is done. Chicken is done when it reaches 160F, allow it to rest on a plate for 5-10 minutes, the internal temp will rise to 165F, which is the safe consumption temperature.
Flipping/Sticking Tip – If the chicken is sticking and doesn't want to flip, give in another 1-2 minutes. When protein is closer to being done, it will flip/release easier than when it's raw.
Cooking Tips – Because all grills vary, temperatures vary, the thickness of the chicken varies, etc. grill your chicken for as long as necessary, until it's done. The minutes per side are just estimates, but you need to watch your chicken, not the clock.
Allow the chicken to rest for 5-10 minutes to lock in the juices before optionally garnishing with fresh herbs; or sprinkle red pepper flakes for more heat, and/or add salt and pepper to taste. Slice and serve.

Notes

Nutrition Stats: Not every drop of the marinade will be used and that’s where a large portion of the calories/fat are coming from (olive oil, brown sugar) so in a practical sense, the caloric and fat consumption will be less than indicated while the protein stat should remain unchanged.

Grill Pan: Preheat your grill pan over medium-high to high heat over your stove burners. Make sure you open your windows or ventilate your area. Indoor grilling is smoky business! When the grill pan is preheated properly, grill the chicken for about 5-6 minutes on the first side, flip, and grill for about 5 minutes on the second side. Because your stovetop will never get as hot as an actual grill, indoor cooking time on a grill pan may likely be longer. Always cook chicken until it's done, which means 160F; rest it for 5-10 minutes off the heat so the internal temp rises to 165F, which is the safe temperature to consume chicken.

Oven Baking: Preheat your oven to 400F, place the marinated chicken pieces in a 9x13-inch baking dish or casserole dish, discard the marinade, and bake uncovered for about 20 minutes, or until chicken is done. Flip once midway through baking for more even cooking. Chicken is done when the internal temp has reached 165F. Baking time will vary based on how hot your oven runs, how thick the pieces of chicken are, etc. so make sure to cook it as long as necessary in your oven.

Storage: Leftovers will keep airtight in the fridge for up to 5 days or in the freezer for up to 3 months. Reheat in the microwave for about 30 seconds, or as desired; or just eat cold from the fridge.

Nutrition