Skinny Grilled Lemon Garlic Chicken is a simple recipe you’ll go back to again and again throughout the grilling season! Marinate chicken breasts in olive oil, lemon juice and garlic for a few hours, and you’ll be ready to grill up super flavorful, healthy, moist chicken that everyone will love.
The Idea:
Grilling chicken breasts can be tricky because they dry out so quickly, and often don’t have a lot of flavor. In other words, it’s usually a big bummer. But changing your technique to include a quick pounding to flatten the chicken, followed by a few hours in a simple marinade, will give you this delicious skinny lemon garlic grilled chicken that you’ll make again and again.
Boneless, skinless chicken breasts are usually considered a “skinny” option because they don’t have a lot of fat. While this makes them a healthy option, it also means they can be pretty boring. Because as you know, fat equals flavor! Marinating the chicken in olive oil, lemon juice and garlic adds more flavor than you’ll believe, making this a delicious skinny meal (sounds like an oxymoron, but it’s not!). I also usually double the recipe because I like to use the leftover chicken in burrio bowls, enchiladas, salads, you name it.
The Ingredients:
The ingredient list is short, and you might already have everything you need! Chicken breasts, fresh lemon and garlic, olive oil and salt.
The Preparation:
I’m sure you’ve noticed that most chicken breasts are much thicker on one end than the other. The key to great grilled chicken breast is to get rid of that unevenness by pounding them so they’re evenly flattened. If you pound the chicken so it’s of an even thickness (1/2 – 3/4 inch), it will take on the flavor of the marinade easier, will cook more quickly, and most importantly, won’t dry out! As a bonus, you get to take out a little of your aggression while you’re pounding. If you don’t flatten the chicken, you’ll find that the thinner part will be overcooked before the thicker part is done, which, again, is a total bummer.
Put the chicken breast between two pieces of plastic wrap and pound using a meat tenderizer, a can, rolling pin, bottom of a heavy saucepan, whatever works for you! The photo above is before pounding, the photo below is after.
Next you’ll make the super easy marinade. Squeeze the lemon, mince the garlic, then add the olive oil and salt and whisk it all together.
Pour the marinade over the pounded chicken breasts and refrigerate for a minimum of 30 minutes and a maximum of 4 hours. Because lemon juice is part of the marinade, you do not want to marinade the chicken overnight. The lemon juice will start to “cook” the chicken, like citrus juice does in a seafood ceviche, but in a bad way. The texture and taste become pretty awful. But you won’t do that! After just a couple of hours, your chicken will be perfectly seasoned and ready to grill.
You know your grill better than anyone, so do what works for you as far as your technique. For me, I like to preheat the grill for 15 minutes or so (I have a gas grill). Once the grill is ready, I remove the chicken from the marinade, tap it on the side of the dish to remove any excess (no grill fires please!), and lay it on the grate. At medium heat, the chicken is done after 4-5 minutes on each side.
The Payoff:
Once the chicken is done, you can set it on a plate and cover it loosely with tin foil to rest for 5-10 minutes. When I’m ready to serve, I like to slice it into 1/4 – 1/2 inch slices, then dig in!
I highly recommend serving this skinny grilled lemon garlic chicken with marinated tomato salad, a green salad and feta cheese sprinkled on top! The flavors go together really well and it’s a great option for spring and summer entertaining and picnics.
Plus, they’re both really healthy (and delicious!) dishes, so you can feel good about going back for seconds.
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Skinny Grilled Lemon Garlic Chicken
Description
Skinny Grilled Lemon Garlic Chicken is a simple recipe you’ll go back to again and again throughout the grilling season! Marinate chicken breasts in olive oil, lemon juice and garlic for a few hours, and you’ll be ready to grill up super flavorful, healthy, moist chicken that everyone will love.
Ingredients
Marinade Ingredients:
- 1 lemon, juiced. 4-5 tablespoons depending on the size of the lemon
- 1/2 cup olive oil
- 2–3 tablespoons minced garlic
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Other Ingredients:
- 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, pounded
Instructions
- Mix all of the marinade ingredients together in a small bowl and set aside.
- Working with one at a time, put each chicken breast between two sheets of plastic wrap and pound with a meat tenderizer (or other tool) until it’s of an even thickness. Usually around 1/2 – 3/4 inch.
- Place the pounded chicken into a plastic or glass container and pour the marinade on top. Move the chicken around until it’s coated in the marinade. Cover the container and marinate in the fridge for a minimum of 30 minutes and a maximum of 3 hours.
Notes
- You don’t want to marinate the chicken overnight because the lemon juice will start to “cook” the chicken and the texture and taste will change. And not in a good way.
- Note on the serving size below, the calories listed are for an 8 oz portion, which is about one whole chicken breast. That is a large portion! If you eat half of that, cut the calories in half.
