Get perfectly juicy chicken on the inside and stunning grill marks on the outside by grilling your chicken at 400ºF over direct heat for around 15 minutes.
The key to grilled chicken recipes is the internal temperature. Make sure to grill until it reaches around 160ºF.
Grilled chicken is a summer staple in our house. Heck, even in the dead of winter when it’s snowing, we’re making grilled chicken breast (I have photo and video to prove it)!
My go-to recipe involves chicken breasts, a few seasonings, and grilling chicken over direct heat at around 400ºF until the internal temperature reaches 160ºF.
We’ve got lots of grilled chicken recipes on Fit Foodie, so if you’re looking for a different cut try our other popular variations: grilled chicken legs, grilled chicken thighs, beer can chicken, or grilled spatchcock chicken.
What You Need for Grilled Chicken
- Chicken breast: we recommend boneless, skinless chicken breast for this recipe. If possible, buy chicken breasts that are similar in thickness so that they have similar cook times.
- Seasonings or marinade: this recipe keeps things very simple with salt, pepper, and garlic powder, however I love using a few teaspoons of our chicken seasoning or chicken dry rub. In addition, you use one of our chicken marinades or our epic grilled chicken marinade, for flavor too.
- Meat tenderizer + cutting board: while this isn’t always necessary to perfect grilled chicken, we recommend pounding out your chicken so it’s equal in size.
Top Tips for Grilling Chicken Breast
- Remove moisture before cooking
- Grill at 400ºF for around 15-20 minutes
- Cook until chicken reaches 160ºF
- Let rest for 10 minutes after grilling
Grilled Chicken FAQ
What goes good with grilled chicken?
Serve your grilled chicken breast with a baked potato, grilled asparagus, or a yummy broccoli salad recipe!
How do I grill the perfect chicken breast?
In order to make the best grilled chicken breast, we suggest heating your grill to 400ºF. Grill chicken for 5-7 per side and continue cooking until the internal temperature reaches 165ºF.
Should I pound my chicken before grilling?
The option is yours. We don’t personally pound our chicken before grilling because we love when a few edge pieces get nice and charred, but option to use a meat tenderizer to pound your chicken so that the entire thing is the same thickness.
How long to grill chicken breast?
Grill your chicken breast at 400ºF for around 15-20 minutes, flipping after 7-8 minutes. Grill until the internal temperature reaches 165ºF.
How to prevent your chicken from sticking to the grill?
We recommend spraying your grill grates with nonstick cooking spray right before before cooking. Alternatively, you can use a piece of tin foil with nonstick cooking spray.
How long does grilled chicken last in the fridge?
Your grilled chicken breasts will last up to 3-5 days in the fridge.
Should you let chicken rest after grilling?
Yes! By allowing your chicken to rest you not only 1. let it cool so you can eat it, but 2. the chicken continues to cook around 5ºF more and becomes extra juicy and moist.
Storage
Our biggest tip when storing grilled chicken breast is to let it cool completely before refrigerating, so that moisture doesn’t condense.
So, let it cool, transfer the leftovers into an airtight container and store it in the fridge for up to 3-5 days.
What to do with Leftovers
There are so many amazing recipes you can make with leftover chicken! Try a chicken salad, grilled chicken salad, a buffalo chicken wrap!
Serving Suggestions
Looking for meal inspiration to pair with your grilled chicken recipe? Check out some of our favorite grilled sides that you can pair with your chicken breasts: Grilled Asparagus in Foil, Baked Potatoes in Foil, Grilled Zucchini, Grilled Carrots, and Foil-Pack Grilled Red Potatoes.
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How to Grill Chicken
Ingredients
- 1 – 1.5 lbs. boneless skinless chicken breasts 3-4 medium-sized chicken breasts
- 2 –3 teaspoons garlic powder
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- ⅛ teaspoon ground pepper
Instructions
- First, prepare the chicken by using a meat tenderizer to make sure your chicken is similar in thickness throughout.
- Season the chicken breasts on both sides with garlic powder, salt, and pepper. Option here to sub out 1-2 tablespoons of your favorite dry rub. Set aside for at least 15 minutes. The longer the chicken sits, the more flavorful it will be.
- Next, preheat the grill to 400ºF and spray grates with cooking spray
- Grill chicken breasts over direct heat at 400ºF for around 7-8 minutes. Then, flip chicken breasts and continue cooking for 8-10 more minutes. You know the chicken breast is done cooking when the internal temperature reaches 160ºF – 165ºF.
- Remove from the grill and let rest* for at least 5-10 minutes before serving. The chicken breasts will continue to rise in temperature around 5ºF.
Tips & Notes
- Cook time will vary depending on the size of your chicken breast. Thicker chicken breasts will take longer, just make sure to cook until the internal temperature has reached 160ºF. You know your chicken is completely cooked once it reaches an internal temperature of 165ºF. We use an instant read thermometer for this, that way you don’t take any risks in eating raw chicken. You can learn more about cooking here from this great article by the USDA.
- Your chicken will continue to cook once you remove it from the grill and the internal temperature will continue to rise.
- This recipe was slightly updated on July 19, 2023.
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More Grilled Chicken Recipes
We have so many amazing grilled chicken recipes on Fit Foodie Finds and we thought we’d highlight the most popular below. Enjoy!
Grilled Chicken Salad
There’s nothing better than a crunchy, topping-packed grilled chicken salad on a hot summer night.
Grilled Chicken Legs
Ever wonder how to grill chicken legs? Look no further because these are the BEST grilled chicken legs in all the land. We’ll teach you how to make the most amazing chicken dry rub and give you a step by step tutorial for the best grilled chicken legs recipe ever.
Easy Grilled Chicken Thighs
These are the best grilled chicken thighs because the skin gets nice and crispy on the outside while the inside is tender and juicy.
Super tasty and very quick perfect snacks for my gang
OMG Lee thanks a lot for this! Being a chicken junkie myself I’m always looking for recipes online and I must say yours was simple DELICIOUS!
really amazing information.
Extremely point by point and straight approach to show the barbecued chicken formula. Much obliged to you for sharing this extraordinary article.
Hi LEE,
Absolutely tremendous grilled chicken recipe🥰. I can`t forget the taste of this recipe.
Is rubs/seasonings are mandatory for this recipe?
Wow, so glad you loved this!
After using this recipe, the taste is all over my mouth. Thank you for sharing and I am waiting for some more recipes.
Thanks for sharing such a wonderful information.
Thanks dude. Today I made grilled chicken recipe using my new pellet grill. I followed your recipe and it was wonderful.
Thanks a lot for sharing such wonderful recipes. I am going to make one by one with my new pellet grill on upcoming holidays. Thank You once a lot.
Thank you so much for this really amazing information.
Thanks so much for sharing i will love to try this .keep posting and updating information.thanks for posting this awesome article.
Very detailed and straight way to teach the grilled chicken recipe. Thank you for sharing this great article.
Hi! Thanks for the tips. Is it necessary to pound the chicken breasts before grilling?
Hey Cindy! It is absolutely not necessary. In fact, we rarely do!
Cindy – yes, you should. Pounding the chicken breasts creates consistency in cooking – avoiding dried out edges or undercooked centers.
You’re able to cook the whole thing to the correct final temperature at the same time, leaving you with a juicier breast.
Overall by pounding chicken breasts you get even cooking, faster cooking, more moisture / juicier meat, and you effectively tender the breasts.
Thanks for the tip Tobias, you can totally pound the chicken and I’ll make sure to add that into this post. Thanks!