Grilled Lemon Pepper Chicken

Name: Grilled Lemon Pepper Chicken
Prep time: 30 min
Cook time: 15 min
Total time: 45 min
Ingredients: salt and pepper; 4 skinless, boneless chicken breasts; ¼ cup lemon juice (the juice from about one large lemon); ¼ cup olive oil; 1 tablespoon chopped rosemary; 1 teaspoon chopped thyme

By Marlynn Jayme SchotlandUpdated May 10, 2021, Published Jul 02, 2018

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Reader Rating

Prep Time 30

Cook Time 15

Total Time 45

Servings 4 people

This simple Grilled Lemon Pepper Chicken with fresh herbs is a mouthwatering, flavorful recipe that’s ideal for weeknight family meals and large weekend barbecues.

Grilled lemon pepper chicken with fresh rosemary.

I’ve always been about the simple, easy, delicious meals, but this summer I’ve become almost fanatical about it. I refuse to waste my time shopping for extra ingredients I don’t already have on hand. One more trip to the store or farmer’s market? No thank you. Enter this simple Grilled Lemon Pepper Chicken.

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🌟 What makes this chicken dish amazing
🛒 Ingredient notes
✅ Step-by-step instructions
❓Recipe FAQs
🍽 What to serve with this chicken
🍷 Best wine pairings for this chicken dish
More grilling recipes
Grilled Lemon Pepper Chicken

🌟 What makes this chicken dish amazing

grilled lemon pepper chicken with lemon slices and herbs.

This is one of those delicious dishes that may soon find its way into your regular dinner rotation. Here are just a few reasons why:

Quick: this lemon pepper chicken takes less than 30 minutes to make from start to finish!

Simple ingredients: it uses ingredients you probably already have on hand or are easy to get. No trips to specialty food markets!

Healthy: The skinless chicken is low in calories but this dish doesn’t sacrifice any flavor.

🛒 Ingredient notes

The best recipes start with simple, fresh ingredients. For this simple grilled lemon pepper chicken, I use:

Skinless chicken breasts – While I love crispy skin on bone-in chicken, the flavors in this dish come through even better with skinless chicken breasts.

Fresh rosemary – If you have a garden, rosemary is an easy-to-grow, hardy herb that goes great in a lot of dishes. And it’s easy to find at most grocery stores as well.

Fresh thyme – Using fresh over dried thyme really enhances the herby flavor of this dish.

Cracked black pepper – I use a generous serving of pepper to ensure it’s seasoned well.

✅ Step-by-step instructions

Generously season chicken breasts with salt and pepper, then add the herbs, lemon juice, olive oil, and seasoned chicken to a large ziplock bag. Marinade for at least 30 minutes, preferably 1-2 hours. You can also marinade the chicken overnight.
Once you’re ready to cook the chicken, get the grill heated to medium-high (about 400 degrees), and grill each chicken breast for 5-7 minutes on each side.

Grilled lemon pepper chicken on the grill

Grilled lemon pepper chicken on the grill with tongs.

3. Grilling Tip: if you want the fancy grill marks everyone loves, try to only turn the chicken once on each side. Or, for a criss-cross design, turn 45 degrees to finish off the grill time on each chicken. That’s it!

❓Recipe FAQs

Can you use this chicken in other dishes?

Absolutely! You can cut it up and use in salads, pastas, or shred and use in sandwiches. I love how tasty this chicken is – the lemon and fresh herbs are so perfect for summertime feasts!

How long should I marinade the lemon pepper chicken?

Marinade for a minimum of 30 minutes. For maximum flavor, marinade overnight so the chicken can absorb all of the delicious flavors.

🍽 What to serve with this chicken

To make a complete meal out of this dish, try serving it with Rosemary Roasted Glazed Carrots, Corn with Basil Lime Butter, or Roasted Brussels Sprouts and Apples.

🍷 Best wine pairings for this chicken dish

I pair this chicken dish with a bright Sauvignon Blanc. The citrus flavors in this wine help bring out the bright acidity of the lemon and the savory herbs in the chicken.

You can also pair this with a stainless steel (unoaked) Chardonnay, like my favorite: Stoller Family Estate Chardonnay.

More grilling recipes

Did you make this recipe? Don’t forget to leave a 5-Star 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 rating in the recipe card, and if you really loved it, please leave a comment further down on the page. Thank you!

5 from 8 votes

By Marlynn Schotland

Prep Time: 30

Cook Time: 15

Total Time: 45

Servings: people

lemon grilled chicken with herbs on a platter.

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This simple, flavorful chicken recipe is perfect for easy weeknight dinners and you can double it for BBQs, picnics, parties!

Ingredients

▢ salt and pepper
▢ 4 skinless, boneless chicken breasts
▢ ¼ cup lemon juice (the juice from about one large lemon)
▢ ¼ cup olive oil
▢ 1 tablespoon chopped rosemary
▢ 1 teaspoon chopped thyme

Instructions

Generously season chicken breasts on both sides with salt and pepper.
Add lemon juice, olive oil, rosemary, and thyme to a large ziplock bag. Add seasoned chicken. Seal well and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes, preferably 1-2 hours, and up to 8 hours or overnight.
When you’re ready to grill, heat the grill to medium-high. Once the grill is hot, add the chicken and grill for 5-7 minutes on each side. Remove from grill and let rest on a plate for 5 minutes before serving.

Notes

You can easily double or triple this recipe if cooking for a larger group. Just make sure you don’t crowd the chicken in the ziplock bags when marinating or when grilling.

Nutrition

Calories: 254kcal, Carbohydrates: 1g, Protein: 24g, Fat: 17g, Saturated Fat: 3g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g, Monounsaturated Fat: 11g, Trans Fat: 0.01g, Cholesterol: 72mg, Sodium: 132mg, Potassium: 442mg, Fiber: 0.3g, Sugar: 0.4g, Vitamin A: 74IU, Vitamin C: 8mg, Calcium: 15mg, Iron: 1mg

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

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