A grilled chicken recipe that pairs well with all your favorite sides! Weeknight Balsamic Grilled Chicken gets a quick marinade and has fresh, bright flavor.

balsamic grilled chicken

Lately I have gotten a LOT of grilling requests, a ton of chicken requests, and ultimately…a lot of grilled chicken requests! So now (drumroll please), I’d love to introduce my Weeknight Balsamic Grilled Chicken. This is a super easy chicken marinade. It gives you chicken that’s a great base for fruit salsa or your favorite sauce. You could even put it in a burger or salad!

I love to serve it with these Sumac Roasted Sweet Potatoes, Lemon Mustard Roast Potatoes, Grilled Buttery Potatoes and Caesar Salad! Truly, the perfect meal! Also, not me drooling over the idea of serving them with my Parmesan Roasted Potatoes.

balsamic grilled chicken

Perfect Grilled Chicken

There are a couple tricks to getting the perfect grilled chicken! It’s really so easy, and perfect for summer nights.

  1. Make sure your chicken is the same thickness all the way across. If you need to, butterfly it by slicing horizontally through the middle so it’s a bit thinner and all the same thickness.
  2. Marinate the chicken! It doesn’t need to be overnight and can even be as little as 30 minutes. Ideally your chicken would marinate between 2 and 6 hours.
  3. Grill the chicken for 6-8 minutes per each inch of thickness. If the breasts are less than an inch thick, plan on 4-5 minutes each side. To be safe, you can check to make sure the internal temperature is at 165 degrees.
balsamic grilled chicken

Balsamic Grilled Chicken Ingredients

This is an easy, bright marinade made with ingredients found in most pantries!

  • Olive oil
  • 2 lemons, zested and juiced
  • Balsamic vinegar
  • Salt
  • Garlic powder
  • Thyme
balsamic grilled chicken

More Weeknight Recipes

Food photography by Ashley Cuoco

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balsamic grilled chicken

Weeknight Balsamic Grilled Chicken

5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star 5 from 9 reviews
  • Author: Laney Schwartz
  • Prep Time: 2 hours
  • Cook Time: 15 minutes
  • Total Time: 2 hours 15 minutes
  • Yield: 4 1x
  • Category: chicken
  • Method: Grilling
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Description

A grilled chicken recipe that pairs well with all your favorite sides! Weeknight Balsamic Grilled Chicken gets a quick marinade for fresh, bright flavor.

Ingredients

Scale
  • 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
  • ⅓ cup olive oil
  • 2 lemons, zested, then juiced
  • ¼ cup balsamic vinegar
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon garlic powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme

Instructions

  1. If your chicken breasts are pretty thick, use a sharp knife to butterfly them into two thinner pieces. Set aside. 
  2. In a large bowl whisk together the olive oil, lemon zest, lemon juice, balsamic vinegar, salt, garlic powder and thyme. Add the chicken, making sure all pieces are coated well in the marinade. Cover and refrigerate for 2-6 hours. 
  3. Remove chicken from the fridge and preheat the grill to medium/high heat (about 400 degrees).  Once the grill is preheated, spray with avocado oil or grill spray to prevent sticking. 
  4. Place chicken on the grill for about 5-6 minutes on each side. Internal temperature should reach 165 degrees. Let rest for 5-10 minutes before serving.

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