This grilled chicken will rock your world. It is amazing. My sister-in-law, Erin, who posts over at The Sister’s Cafe, gave the recipe to me years ago. I loved it the minute I tried it but haven’t made it in a while until my brother reminded me about it a few weeks ago. I’m so glad to be back in the saddle with this recipe again! I forgot how much I loved it. The chicken marinates overnight in a combination of lemon and garlic and the resulting combination makes for an intensely flavorful, tender chicken that can be used in so many dishes (which I’ll be posting about in the next couple of days) or served simply with a side of rice or a baked potato. As a sidenote: if you don’t have a grill, simply use an indoor grill pan or you can cook the chicken in a frying pan over medium heat, being careful not to turn too often so it can brown nicely on each side.
Lemon and Garlic Grilled Chicken
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INGREDIENTS:
Juice of 1 lemon, approximately 3 tablespoons
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon minced garlic, about 2 medium cloves
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1 pound chicken breasts (I usually cut really thick chicken breasts down to thin them out and make the pieces a little smaller so they absorb the marinade better)
DIRECTIONS:
Combine all marinade ingredients. Place chicken in a ziploc bag and pour marinade over chicken. Seal bag and place in fridge overnight. Grill (or cook in frying pan). Serve with sides of your choice or cut into bite sized pieces and add to desired recipe (I’ll be sharing a few with you soon). Note: If you cut your chicken into smaller, bite-sized pieces and then marinate it, you can get away with only letting it marinate for 5 or 6 hours instead of overnight.
Often, I will double the marinade and chicken and grill it all up and freeze the extras to use later.
Recipe Source: adapted from Erin W.
{ 60 comments… read them below or add one }
Your recipes never disappoint! We made this chicken on the grill last night and I cannot believe how flavorful the marinade was! Totally DELICIOUS! Tonight I am going to use the leftovers to make the lemon cream pasta and I can’t wait! The lemony/garlic combo is so perfect for Summer IMO – yummm!!! These few ingredients really packed a punch, I am thrilled to have a go-to marinade for chicken for all the grilling nights ahead – thank you!!!
Hi! What other recipes do you have posted for this chicken? I made the Lemon cream sauce pasta with this chicken and it was DELISH!
Thanks!
Lorie
lemon, garlik on chikenn is fantastic.. yumm!!!! Thanks for the round up of yummies!
cheers!!
Yum, yum! We eat tons of chicken at our house so I am always looking for new ways to fix it – can’t wait to try this one when we get home from Utah!
I am loving your blog. I have made 4 recipes in the last week. Made the chicken last night. Some of the best grilled chicken I’ve ever had and it was so yummy with the pasta. I loved it. I am a mom to 3 boys which make me like you even more. I only wish they would like something other than hot dogs and chicken nuggets.
Thanks,
Jenny
This looks so good! I love lemon and garlic chicken.
This was great, and the Lemon cream pasta made with the leftovers was an even bigger hit. Thank you!
Loved this chicken. I usually do not like fruity chicken but this one was great. It was the main dish in my Greek inspired dinner Saturday. Thanks for sharing. I added it to my blog.
Jan – thanks for making my day. Your comment was so nice and I am especially glad you like this recipe. It is hands down one of my favorite ways to make chicken!
It would be so good in a salad! A perfect summer meal for guests, too. And I love to grill – less mess to clean!
I totally agree, that looks like it would be wonderful in a salad!!
Marci – thanks for letting me know you liked this. Your comment was so sweet – it made me feel great. Thank you!
Lorie – I’m glad you liked the chicken and pasta! Those are the main recipes I have for the marinated chicken on my blog but it can be used in so many ways. Once it is marinated, you could also definitely use it in the Garlic Chicken Pasta: http://mykitchencafe.blogspot.com/2009/04/garlic-chicken-pasta-with-spinach.html
I made this last night and it was a huge hit. Even my couldn’t-be-pickier two-year-old loved it. THAT is saying something. Thanks!
This looks sooo delicious. I am sining up to receive your feeds. I so love your blog and choice of recipes!
KA – thanks for the feedback. I’m glad you liked this – I’ve never noticed it being too salty but it’s good to know it may be too salty for some taste buds! Thanks for taking the time to comment!
How could I not bookmark this when you say it’s going to rock my world!?
a definite must try for me…
Danielle – I LOVE getting comments from moms who say their kids ate the meal. I know how hard it is to please kiddos, so I’m so glad this was a hit!
well, i didn’t think it was possible, but this makes me look forward to summer and lots of grilling even more than i was. is it june yet?
Sounds great you have some good recipes. Thanks
Norah – I saw your blog post on this. I’m so glad you liked it! I could wax poetic about this chicken, it is that good!
We had this last night and loved the flavor. The only problem is that it was a little on the salty side for my taste. Not sure if anyone else will have that problem….but when I make it again, I’ll reduce the salt. Thanks for a great new marinade!
This sounds really good, you can’t go wrong with lemon chicken!
I find that when I freeze cooked chicken it becomes rubbery and taste less. Do you find this to be true and/or what do you do to prevent?
I’m definitely trying this…sounds delicious. And it’s healthy.
I just came across your blog and the first recipe I see (this one lol) looks fabulous! I took out chicken breasts tonight so I won’t have time to marinate them but I think I’ll give this a try next time! Congrats on your new addition!
That looks so yummy. You and I seem to have the same taste in food. I want to make EVERYTHING on your blog hehe.
MMM you can’t go wrong with lemon and garlic on chicken!
Oooh, I was just complaining about how tired I am of my chicken recipes, this one has me excited!
Bobbie – hmmm…I haven’t found the same to be true, although, I usually use the frozen chicken in a dish with other ingredients so maybe that masks the changes to texture. As for what I do – I usually only freeze chicken that has been marinated and then cooked (like this garlic lemon chicken) so that it retains a lot of flavor. Maybe that is what makes the difference, I’m not sure. If any other commenters have tips, chime in and give us feedback on freezing cooked chicken!
I must say that this chicken recipe looks devine and will be trying it this week. It will be perfect on the BBQ and with all the heat we have been having here in Australia I would prefer to be cooking outside rather than in the kitchen.Love the blog by the way.Take care – Jo
Jenny – thanks for your comment! And I love knowing you are a mom of three boys – it means you must be my soulmate.
Moms of boys have a bond like no other. Thanks for letting me know you’ve liked the recipes so far!
Hi Yvonne – thanks for taking the time to let me know that you liked the marinated chicken and the pasta!
This sounds like a great, healthy meal! I can’t wait for grilling season.
I LOVE anything chicken…the lemon/garlic combo sounds fantastic! Thanks for sharing!
Tried this last night with the pasta recipe, I thought it turned out great. Tried your fajita marinade recipe which my husband has placed up around his top 2 dinner faves. We also loved your sugar cookie recipe. Can you tell I love your blog? You’ve basically taught me to cook, thanks so much, I’ve been having lots more fun (and success) in the kitchen.
Hey, that’s a great way to describe this recipe – It will ROCK YOUR WORLD!
I couldn’t agree more! So glad I was able to introduce you to a yummy recipe like you have introduced me to so many! 
We just tried this tonight and I LOVED it!!! Actually, I have loved pretty much every recipe of yours I have tried! Keep them coming!
Nicole – you are so sweet. Thanks for your comment. I doubt that it was me that taught you to cook – you obviously have the desire and talent – but I’m glad you’ve liked the recipes. Thanks for letting me know!
Chicken is my favorite.This looks yummy and fresh!
Hmmm… I made this chicken the other day & it tasted great.. tasted even better the next day. i wonder if this would work on pork?
bebemamakalei – I’ve never tried this on pork so I’m not sure how it would work. Let me know if you try it!
We made this on skewers for Mother’s Day. They were awesome. A small deli that has gone out of business sold premade kabobs with a similar marinade. I asked my husband if they compared and he said he liked them much more. Grilled nicely.
Sally – this chicken is delicious on skewers and I’m glad you enjoyed it that way! Great compliment from your husband…I’m thrilled they were such a hit.
This is the best chicken marinade ever! So flavorful!
I tried this recipe last night and it was amazing! I cut the breasts up and marinated it for 5 hours before grilling-it was great. Thanks for the great recipe!
Glad you liked this, Christiana – thanks for letting me know!
Other than the garlic chicken pasta, what other uses you do use the chicken for? I made a ton today and the flavor was really great but I need to put it in something else.
Melanie – I use this in almost any recipe that calls for cooked, cubed (or shredded) chicken. I also serve it just the way it is alongside a baked potato or with some rice pilaf. Hope that helps!
This sounds divine! I love lemon and chicken together. I featured it here. YUM!
I just found your blog and am eager to try many of the recipes. I made this last night and everyone loved it including my 6 yo very picky son; he loved it and ate an entire chicken breast himself (usually I can hardly get him to eat one slice). Have you tried freezing raw chicken in the marinade to use later? I have been looking for a good marinade for some freezer meal prep.
Hi Hilary – I usually don’t freeze the meat in the marinade, especially if the marinade is really acidic, like this one. The chicken tends to get a burned look to it and doesn’t taste as good. You might try marinading the chicken, then discarding the marinade and freezing the raw chicken that had been sitting in the marinade. I would probably recommend that versus letting the chicken sit in the marinade through freezing and defrosting.
Tried this recipe….one word…divine! Thanks so much!
Made this and loved it!!!! I make it often now !! Thanks!
I made this recipe this week and it was wonderful! I’ve marinated before and not been impressed. I forgot the garlic and this was still out-of-this-world! I cut the chicken breasts in half, marinated overnight, and cooked in the grill pan. I will definitely make this one again! Thanks for another great recipe!
I made this for dinner last night alongside rice. I marinated it overnight and grilled it on our George Foreman grill because that is all we have as far as grills go. It was a little on the salty side for me, maybe next time I will decrease the salt and marinate for only 5 hours instead of overnight. Overall, it was tasty, just a tad too much sodium. Thanks for the recipe, Mel!
This is amazing! It was so juicy and tender. My husband told me it tasted like it was from a restaurant, and I wish I could have taken the credit. I doubled the marinade and cooked it on the stove instead of our George Foreman simply due to the fact my husband forgot to clean it last time he used it (…again!). I will definitely use this again, and am happily giving everyone the recipe!
This recipe was great and the twice baked potatoes were even better! I am looking forward to trying many many more! Thank you for sharing.
I made this last night and only had a few hours to marinate it… My boyfriend was impressed! I can’t imagine how good it would be if I had marinated it overnight!
It was really good!!
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