Easy Balsamic Grilled Chicken
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This Balsamic Grilled Chicken Recipe is so simple to make! It has a simple marinade made with a few ingredients- easy and delicious!
Honey balsamic chicken is the perfect healthy and easy summer meal! Boneless chicken breasts are grilled to juicy perfection, thanks to our quick and simple 6 ingredient balsamic chicken marinade that takes just minutes to prep.
This gluten free chicken marinade is also low in sodium, and chicken is a great source of lean protein, keeping the meal low in fat and calories.
It is one of our all time favorite grilling recipes, along with Greek chicken kabobs and Asian salmon from our healthy grilling recipes collection
tyler’s tips for grilled balsamic chicken
- Butterfly if the pieces are too large – Some of the chicken breasts at the stores are 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.)
- 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 between parchment paper or saran wrap and pound the chicken until it is thinner.
- 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.
- Cook on the hot side of the grill for the first 5 minutes, then use tongs to flip the pieces and move them to the indirect cooking side. Keep the grill lid closed when cooking chicken.
- 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 for another 2 or 3 degrees.
Ingredients
Substitutions
Chicken – 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. 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. We use this meat thermometer to check the internal temp, to be sure the meat is cooked all the way through (165°).
Oil – Any high smoke point cooking oil can be used. Avocado oil would work best
Honey – If you need a substitute for the honey, pure maple syrup is a good option.
Low Carb/Sugar Free-To make this meal Whole30, low carb, and keto compliant, omit the sweetener. Don’t worry – the sugar-free balsamic chicken marinade is just as delicious.
Herbs – You can sub in chopped basil or rosemary instead of thyme
Balsamic Vinegar – Try using infused balsamic vinegar for even more flavor. We don’t recommend using balsamic reduction, but if you do you can use 1/2 the amount. Balsamic reductions have higher sugar content and can cause your chicken to burn.
Other marinade flavors – For other grilled chicken recipes, try Chili Lime Chicken, Spicy Honey Citrus Chicken, Pineapple Grilled Chicken, and any of these Healthy Chicken Marinades.
Other protein – You can use this marinade on salmon or even flank steak! It will also work on veggie kabobs.
How to Make Easy Balsamic Grilled Chicken
- Whisk together olive oil, balsamic vinegar, honey, thyme and pepper.
- Place chicken breasts in a plastic bag or glass container. Pour in the marinade and let the chicken marinate for at least 30 minutes (1-2 hours is best!).
- Preheat your grill for 10 minutes at medium high heat. Oil the grill grates, then put chicken on the grill. Cook on 7 minutes on each side to get grill marks (165° internal temperature).
- Set aside on a cutting board and let rest for 5 minutes before cutting.
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.
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.
other cooking options for honey balsamic chicken
For any of the options below, be sure to use a meat 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.
storing
Storing: You can keep this balsamic grilled chicken in the refrigerator for up to 5 days – it’s great for meal prep!
Freezing: We wouldn’t recommend freezing this grilled chicken. Reheating frozen chicken can make it bouncy and unappetizing.
Reheating: To reheat the leftover chicken, we recommend putting it in a toaster oven or in a pan on the stove rather than microwaving it. Be sure to reheat it to an internal temperature of 165°F.
Serving Suggestions
The sweetness of the honey and tangy balsamic vinegar in the marinade pair really well with simple sides like mashed potatoes or baked potatoes, rice, and roasted, steamed or grilled foil vegetables or veggie kebabs.
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.
It’s pictured here with our high protein pasta salad and BBQ grilled vegetables.
Here are a few other side dish options:
- Balsamic Mushrooms
- Grilled Veggie Pasta Salad
- Green Beans Almondine
- Greek Chickpea Salad
- Lemon Basil Risotto
Easy Balsamic Grilled Chicken
Ingredients
- 1 ½ lb boneless, skinless chicken breasts
Balsamic Marinade
- ¼ cup olive oil
- ⅓ cup balsamic vinegar
- 1 ½ tablespoons honey
- ½ teaspoon dried thyme leaves or 1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
Instructions
- Whisk together olive oil, balsamic vinegar, honey, thyme and pepper.
- Place chicken breasts in a plastic bag or glass container. Pour the marinade over the chicken breasts, tossing to coat evenly in the marinade.
- Let the chicken marinate for at least 30 minutes. (1-2 hours is best!)
- Once the chicken has marinated, preheat your grill for 10 minutes at medium high heat, about 400 to 450 degrees.
- Coat your grill grates with olive oil cooking spray generously.
- Using a pair of metal tongs, take the chicken and lay it onto the grill . Cook on one side for 7 minutes or until some nice grill marks form and your chicken begins to separate from the grates. Flip the chicken and cook for an additional 7 minutes or until an instant read thermometer reads at least 165 degrees F.
- Remove from the grill and set aside on a cutting board, let rest for 5 minutes before cutting.
This recipe was so good!!! Cooked so well with perfect flavor. The whole family loved it – even my almost three year old asked for seconds twice! Also great for meal prep – made a bunch so I don’t have to cook tomorrow 🙂 paired it with grilled veggies and your high protein pasta salad.
This was a simple marinade for chicken. It paired well with new grilled veggie pasta salad. We cut up leftover chicken and added to pasta salad for lunches.
Such a great recipe for the grill. I used strawberry balsamic since I had some on hand and it gave it great flavor. So many things you can serve it with.
Super easy and yummy! Kids and hubby loved it!
I really enjoyed this! I cooked on a grill-cast-iron pan over medium-high heat, and the chicken came out with so much flavor! I paired with the Traditional Greek Salad recipe from this site and both complimented each other very well. Looking forward to making this again!
LOVED this chicken! I put some peppers and onions in with it and everything blended together so well. I also made the balsamic mushrooms to go with this—talk about an easy, delicious, quick, and filling dinner! The flavors came together so well, and I’ve now got lunch and dinner for a few days 🙂
Thank you so much, Ashley! That sounds amazing!!
One of my favorite recipes for grilling! such an easy + simple dinner!
That makes me so happy to hear, Robin!
Thank you!! It was SO fun to collaborate together on so many delish recipes!!
this is sooo perfect! I have been counting down the days until grilling season was here and now it finally is and I cannot wait to make this recipe!
Thank you!! I’m so excited summer grilling season is FINALLY here!
Should we check the chicken by using meat thermometers to make sure that chicken is cooked thoroughly? I think it’s necessary to avoid poison from uncooked chicken.
Hi Lita, If using a thermometer makes you feel more comfortable then you definitely can do that. I don’t use a meat thermometer when grilling chicken. The pieces are very thin and quickly cook through the center.
Oh my gosh this looks so good! I will happily eat chicken all day every day. This recipe will help me mix it up lol
Same here! We have it almost every day. Love trying new marinades to keep it fun!