Fresh rosemary and lemon juice team up in this simple marinade that delivers tender and juicy grilled chicken that’s delicious on its own or tossed in soups, salads, sandwiches, and bowls.
Basic Recipes Like This Make Weeknight Dinners So Easy
This lemon rosemary grilled chicken has become one of our weeknight staples because it’s relatively low-maintence and is great for planned leftovers.
The simple marinade of olive oil, lemon juice, fresh rosemary, and Dijon mustard tenderizes the chicken in as little as an hour, but can be left in the fridge overnight for maximum flavor. We usually devour this chicken hot off the grill the first night, then slice up the leftovers for salads, wraps, grain bowls, or whatever clean-out-the-fridge situation we’ve got going the next day.
This is a great recipe to keep in your back pocket for busy weeknights when you need something filling, healthy, and flexible enough to work with staples you’ve always got in the pantry.
Enjoy!
Heidi’s Tips for Recipe Success
Look for breasts in the 6 – 8 ounce range. Larger chicken breasts cook unevenly and tend to dry out.
Don’t let the chicken marinate for too long. You should be fine to leave the chicken in the marinade for a full day, but don’t leave it longer than that or the texture of your grilled chicken will be oddly mealy.
Close the lid for even cooking. Grilling chicken with the lid closed traps the hot air and creates an oven-like atmosphere that cooks the meat from the top and bottom.
The 6 Key Ingredients
The full recipe, with amounts, can be found in the recipe card below.
- Chicken breasts — You can sub skinless chicken thighs in place of chicken breasts, but you’ll need to increase the grill time by a couple of minutes.
- Lemon juice — Freshly squeezed, please! You’ll need the juice ½ a lemon.
- Rosemary — Fresh rosemary provides so much fragrant flavor and won’t go hard and crunchy on you like dried rosemary. You can swap out the rosemary for fresh oregano or thyme, too.
- Olive oil — Provides moisture and prevents the chicken from sticking to the grill grates (always oil your proteins, never the grill grates!).
- Dijon mustard — Deepens the flavor of the marinade.
- Worcestershire sauce — Adds some much-needed umami.
How to Grill Rosemary Chicken
- Whisk together the marinade. I prefer doing this in a small bowl so the ingredients are combined evenly.
- Marinate the chicken. Aim for at least 1 hour so the lemon juice has time to tenderize the chicken.
- Grill over high heat. Chicken breasts need to cook for about 5 minutes per side. You’ll know it’s time to flip the chicken when it releases easily from the grates.
- Rest for 5 minutes, then slice. The rest period gives the juices time to redistribute throughout the meat and allows the carry-over heat to bring the temperature up to 165ºF (finishing the chicken this way prevents it from overcooking on the grill).
Ways to Repurpose Leftovers
Leftover grilled chicken will last up to 5 days in the fridge and works great for meal prep. You can add this chicken to salads, grain bowls, and even soups!
If you make this recipe, please let me know! Leave a ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ rating below, leave a comment to tell us what you think, and tag me on Instagram @foodiecrush.
Grilled Rosemary Chicken Chicken
Ingredients
- 4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- 2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh rosemary leaves
- 1 ½ tablespoons lemon juice , from ½ lemon
- 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
- 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 2 – 2 ¼ pounds boneless skinless chicken breasts (for a total of 4)
Instructions
- Mix the marinade and coat the chicken. In a small bowl, whisk together 4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil , 2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh rosemary leaves, 1 ½ tablespoons lemon juice, 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard, 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce, ½ teaspoon kosher salt, and ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper until well combined. Place 2 – 2 ¼ pounds boneless skinless chicken breasts in a zippered storage bag with the marinade, and gently massage them until evenly coated. Refrigerate for 1 hour up to overnight.
- Set up the grill for high heat. Prepare the grill for direct cooking at high heat, targeting 400°F to 450°F. Brush the cooking grates clean. Do not oil the grates — the olive oil in the marinade will prevent sticking.
- Grill the chicken breasts. Place the breasts on the hot grill, close the lid, and cook for 5 to 6 minutes until they release easily from the grates. Flip and cook for another 4 to 5 minutes with the lid closed. Cook until the breasts are firm to the touch and the internal temperature reaches 155°F.
- Rest and serve. Transfer to a platter and tent loosely with foil. Let rest for 5 minutes — the internal temperature will climb to 165°F as the chicken rests. Serve warm.
Nutrition
FAQs
Chicken is safe to eat once it reaches 165ºF, but to prevent the breasts from drying out I pull them off the grill once they register 155ºF at the thickest part. Loosely tent them with foil and let rest for 5 – 10 minutes so the carry-over heat can gently take them up to 165ºF.
You could, but it’s much more potent than fresh rosemary and is very crunchy. I much prefer using fresh rosemary in the lemon marinade.
Nope! You can also use this marinade to make baked chicken breasts.
What to Serve With Rosemary Grilled Chicken
More Easy Grilled Chicken Recipes
We send good emails. Subscribe to FoodieCrush and have each post plus exclusive content only for our subscribers delivered straight to your e-mail box.
Follow me on Instagram, Facebook, and Pinterest for more FoodieCrush inspiration.
As always, thank you for reading and supporting companies I partner with, which allows me to create more unique content and recipes for you. There may be affiliate links in this post of which I receive a small commission. All opinions are always my own.
Rate & Comment