Grilled Lemon Basil Chicken is flavorful and delicious. Thinly pounded chicken breasts quickly marinate in a blend of fresh basil, garlic, lemon zest and juice before being grilled to perfection. Yielding moist and flavorful chicken!
I’ve been a grilling A lot lately.
From fresh green beans to asparagus, steak kebabs to potato salad. I just can’t seem to stop. The weather has been amazing so we’re trying to soak in as much grilling time as possibly. It’s not quite summer yet, but it sure feels like it.
In this easy chicken recipe, chicken breasts are pounded thin before marinating in an easy flavorful combination of lemon, fresh basil and garlic. I can’t think of a better smell coming off of the grill.
To Make This Grilled Lemon Basil Chicken You will Need:
- chicken breasts – Choose boneless skinless chicken breasts similar in size and with.
- extra light olive oil – Or substitute with avocado oil.
- lemon juice and zest – Add freshness and flavor.
- fresh basil – Lends bright herbaceous freshness.
- garlic – Adds distinct punchy flavor.
- kosher salt – Enhances all the flavors in the dish.
- freshly ground black pepper – Adds some subtle bite and flavor.
Place your chicken in a mixing bowl and add in 1 tablespoon olive oil, juice of 1 lemon, 2 teaspoons lemon zest (or more or less to taste), 3 large cloves of garlic that have been minced or grated, a generous pinch of kosher salt and lots of freshly ground black pepper.
Use tongs to toss and coat the chicken in the marinade. Allow the chicken to marinate on your counter for 30 minutes and not longer than that.
Next, preheat your grill to 450-500°. Once preheated, use tongs to transfer the chicken breasts on to the grill and cook, with the lid closed, for 6 to 8 minutes.
Flip and continue to grill the chicken until fully cooked and no longer pink.
Once fully cooked remove to a plate to rest for about 5 minutes.
What To Serve With Grilled Lemon Basil Chicken:
I love this grilled lemon basil chicken, with all of its subtle lemony-basil-ness. It’s just the thing to go along with a light side and a glass of chilled white wine. It really is superb. Here are some ideas on what to serve with this grilled chicken recipe..
- pasta salad
- grilled zucchini, green beans, brussels sprouts or other side dishes.
- slaws or salads.
Enjoy! And if you give this Grilled Lemon Basil Chicken recipe a try, let me know! Snap a photo and tag me on twitter or instagram!
Grilled Lemon Basil Chicken
Ingredients
- 4 boneless skinless chicken breasts
- 1 cup fresh basil, loosely packed, minced
- 2 teaspoons lemon zest
- 1 large lemon, juiced or about 1/4 to 1/3 cup
- 2 cloves fresh garlic, minced or grated
- 1 tablespoons extra light olive oil
- kosher salt
- freshly ground black pepper
Instructions
- Place 2 chicken breasts into a gallon size re-sealable bag at a time, sealing all but an inch or so. Using the flat side of a meat tenderizer, pound the thickest part of the chicken until the whole breast is uniform in thickmess. Transfer the pounded chicken breasts to a bowl and repeat with remaining chicken.
- To the bowl with the (pounded) chicken, add minced basil, garlic, lemon zest and juice and olive oil, salt and pepper.
- Season with a generous pinch of kosher salt and some freshly ground black pepper. Toss well to combine.
- Allow the chicken to marinate for no longer than 30 minutes. Meanwhile, preheat your grill to 450-500°.
- Once your grill is hot, place the chicken on the grill for 6-8 minutes a side, depending on thickness of chicken.
- When the chicken is fully cooked and no longer pink, remove the chicken to a platter and let it rest for 5 minutes before serving.
Notes
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Love this recipe! I’ve made basil lime beef before too, it’s also really good.
Oh this is my kind of meal!! looks luverlarry 😉
Just curious, what garlic press do you use?
Love these flavors! Perfect for summer.
The fact that it’s almost the end of July blows my mind. Regardless, I have been grilled pretty often here in 110 degree heat! So worth it.
This is perfect! Simple, easy and so flavorful!
Wow! I love this recipe. It looks so delicious. I can’t wait to try it. Thanks for sharing. 🙂
I’m addicted to grilling this summer myself. I love the classic flavors in this dish. Will definitely try. Perfect over an arugula salad!
Amazing summer dinner! I love the citrus-basil combination, so good!!
I made it yesterday for dinner and served with oven roasted cherry tomatoes: it was delicious! Thank you for the recipe.
I do not have a grill, so I baked this in my oven (using the ventilated grill function) at 190 C for 10 minutes, then flipped and baked for 5 more minutes.
I’m new to your blog, and I love all the great, fresh grilling ideas. I live in Honolulu, so we grill year ’round. I need as many new recipes as I can get my hands on. This chicken is beautiful.
Thanks Renee! 🙂 PS.. I wish I lived in Honolulu!
I made this chicken last night and it was great! It had good flavor without the lemon being too overpowering. I definitely loved the addition of the fresh basil as well. This is a great quick summer marinade for your chicken. Thanks for sharing!
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This sounds delicious but I don’t have a grill. How long and at what temp would I cook it in a non-convection oven?
Hi Lynn, since the recipe calls for chicken breast halves I would pan-fry them. Heat a 10-12 inch skillet over medium-high heat. Once it’s nice and hot add a little olive oil and butter. Cook on both sides for 4-6 minutes or until fully cooked. Hope this helps! 🙂
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We made this last night and loved it. The marinade was wonderful. I used an immersion blender to mix the basil leaves with the rest of the ingredients. Not really necessary, but worked well – probably added more “basilness” to the chicken. Thanks!
Can you tell me the recipe for the side dish of tomato and is that Orecchiette pasta?
Hi Linda! Yes, it’s a Caprese pasta salad! Here’s the link to the recipe http://www.simplyscratch.com/2013/07/caprese-pasta-salad.html
Enjoy!