Easy Balsamic Grilled Chicken

This Balsamic Grilled Chicken is perfect for grilling year round. It has a simple marinade made with a few ingredients- easy and delicious!

 

Honey balsamic chicken is your solution to a healthy and easy summer meal! Boneless chicken breasts are grilled to deliciously juicy perfection, thanks to our quick and simple balsamic chicken marinade.

Just say no to dry, overcooked grilled chicken! This balsamic grilled chicken recipe only has 6 ingredients (including the chicken) and takes minimal time to prepare. It’s yummy and simple!

This is one of our all time favorite grilling recipes, so it was a must for sharing in our grilling series. Other recipes in the series are Greek chicken kabobs, vegetable kebabs, citrus pork tenderloin, Asian salmon, and burger salad!

If you’re looking for even more grilling recipes, be sure to check out our healthy grilling recipes collection!

Let me show you just how easy it is to make!

what type of chicken to use

This recipe is for grilling chicken breasts- Be sure to buy boneless breast meat. We use skinless, but if you want to use skin-on pieces, that’ll be fine.

Ingredients for the balsamic Chicken Marinade:

• olive oil – this brand is our favorite
• balsamic vinegar – try to find one without any added sugar, and not a balsamic reduction
• honey – this brand is great in marinades!
• seasonings – Just some fresh thyme sprigs and pepper

How to make balsamic grilled chicken:

Making balsamic grilled chicken is SO easy.. ready for this?

1. Whisk together your balsamic vinegar marinade
2. Let the chicken marinate annnnd GRILL!

15-20 minutes later and you’ll have perfect grilled chicken that is LOADED with flavor! You can eat it with veggies, on a salad, on a sandwich.. the possibilities are endless!

preparing a grill for two-zone cooking

If you aren’t familiar with this term, a 2-zone (or dual zone) fire allows you to cook foods directly one one side, and indirectly on the other side. This type of setup is possible on gas, charcoal and pellet grills.

The purpose of setting up a two-zone grill is to have one side of the grates for radiant heat cooking, and the other side with no heat, for indirect cooking. The no-heat side prevents quick cooking foods from over cooking. In this case, honey balsamic chicken breast.

The set up is simple!

After cleaning and oiling the grates of your grill:

• Gas and Pellet Grills: Set half of your burners on high. Leave the remaining burners turned off.
• Charcoal: Mound all of the coals up on one side of the grill before igniting them.

tips for making this recipe

1. Cut if pieces are too large – Some of the chicken breasts at the stores are enormous and super thick. You can butterfly them and cut them into smaller pieces to avoid getting tough, oversized chicken pieces. (We buy chicken from ButcherBox and never have this problem.

2. Pound/Tenderize– Ever had chicken that is way too bouncy or rubbery? Yuck! The easiest way to prevent that is to tenderize your chicken with a meat tenderizer. Put your chicken in between parchment paper or saran wrap and pound the chicken until it is thinner.

3. Avoid marinating the breasts for more than 3 hours. Because chicken doesn’t have tough connective tissue to break down like beef does, the balsamic chicken marinade is simply to add flavor. It really only needs 30 minutes of marinating, but up to 3 hours is fine.

Time Saving Tip: You can make the balsamic chicken marinade up to 4 days before you want to use it. Just keep it in a covered non-reactive (glass or ceramic are best) container in the fridge.

4. Cook on the hot side of the grill for the first 5 minutes, then use grilling tongs to flip the pieces and move them to the indirect cooking side. Keep the grill lid closed when cooking chicken.

5. Use a meat thermometer to check the internal temperature. When the internal temp of the grilled balsamic chicken pieces at the thickest portion is 163°F., remove them from the grill. The proper internal temp for poultry is 165°F., but as the honey balsamic chicken rests, it will continue cooking another for another 2 or 3 degrees.

If you are making boneless thighs, the grilling time will be a couple of minutes less than for breast meat. Bone-in chicken thighs and breasts typically need 5 minutes longer to cook on each side.

other cooking options for honey balsamic chicken

For any of the options below, be sure to use an instant read cooking thermometer to ensure that the chicken is cooked thoroughly.

• On the stove: You can pan sear the chicken in a skillet over medium-high heat for 7-8 minutes on each side. 
• In the oven: Place the chicken breasts in a single layer, in a parchment lined baking sheet. Bake in a preheated 400°F. oven for 20-25 minutes.

recipe FAQ

Can I make grilled honey balsamic chicken ahead of time?

Absolutely! After cooking, grilled chicken will keep for up to 5 days. Store it in a covered container in the fridge.

What goes well with grilled marinated balsamic chicken?

The sweetness of the honey and tangy balsamic vinegar in the marinade pair really well with simple sides like mashed or baked potatoes, rice, and roasted, steamed or grilled vegetables.

What to serve with grilled chicken:

Our favorite way to serve this chicken is on a salad. Any salad greens, fruit, cheese, and/or nuts are delicious with it! Thinly slice the grilled chicken breasts and serve them with a strawberry arugula salad, peach goat cheese salad, or a Caesar salad. Yum!

Here are a few other side dish options:

• Balsamic Mushrooms
• Dijon Roasted Potatoes
• Green Beans Almondine
• Greek Chickpea Salad
• Lemon Basil Risotto