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    Home » Recipes » Grilling

    Grilled Boneless Chicken Breasts with Citrus Marinade

    Published: May 26, 2016 · Modified: Jun 29, 2022 by Mike Vrobel · This post may contain affiliate links · 5 Comments

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    Grilled Boneless Chicken Breasts with Citrus Marinade recipe. Chicken breasts marinated with orange, lemon, lime, and spices, grilled until golden, brown, and delicious.

    I feel it again. The call from the light.

    I’m a follower of the dark side of the chicken. 3Show me again the power of the dark side of the chicken, and I’ll let nothing stand in our way. Ahem. Sorry. I’ll stop. My kids, however, prefer chicken breast. Most of the time I buy chicken legs - that’s the advantage to making the shopping list - but I try to get them then plain white meat every now and again.

    Grilled Chicken Breast with Citrus Marinade | DadCooksDinner.com
    Grilled Chicken Breast with Citrus Marinade
    Jump to:
    • Equipment
    • What to Serve With Grilled Boneless Chicken Breasts
    • 📖 Recipe
    • 💬 Comments

    My problem with chicken breast is summed up in one word: Plain. White meat is just…there, without a whole lot of flavor. When I make chicken breasts, my entire goal is boosting the taste. I start with the grill - grilling browns the breast, leaving crispy grill marks that add crunch. I also use flavor filled marinades or brines, to pump up the flavor. In this recipe, I combine the two into a southwestern style citrus marinade, with enough salt in it so it does double duty as a brine. The marinade coats the outside, and the salt penetrates deep into the chicken to flavor it all the way through.

    The other key is: don’t overcook the chicken breast! White meat is very lean, and dries out quickly. Chicken breast is juicy between 150°F and 160°F; unfortunately, the USDA recommend temperature for chicken is 160°F - right at the top edge of the range. The best way to check for doneness is an instant read thermometer - get the chicken off the grill the moment it reaches 160°F.4You'll notice in the pictures that I overshot a little bit - 165°F - which is OK, but still a little more well done than I would like.

    I look forward to this chicken breast - I’m not just serving to my kids to keep them happy. Want a kicked up chicken with extra flavor? Give this recipe a try.

    Equipment

    • Grill (I love my massive Weber Summit)
    • Gallon zip-top bag (or baking dish) for marinating
    • Citrus squeezer (optional, but makes juicing much easier)

    What to Serve With Grilled Boneless Chicken Breasts

    I like to grill the vegetables as a side, like Grilled in the Husk Corn, Grilled Green Beans in Foil, or Grilled Asparagus.

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    📖 Recipe

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    Grilled Boneless Chicken Breasts with Citrus Marinade


    ★★★★★

    5 from 1 reviews

    • Author: Mike Vrobel
    • Total Time: 1 hour 12 minutes
    • Yield: 8 1x
    Print Recipe
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    Description

    Grilled Boneless Chicken Breasts with Citrus Marinade recipe. Chicken breasts marinated with orange, lemon, lime, and spices, grilled until golden, brown, and delicious.


    Ingredients

    Scale
    • 8 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

    Marinade

    • Juice of 1 orange
    • Juice of 1 lemon
    • Juice of 2 limes
    • 2 cloves garlic, minced
    • 1 teaspoon dried oregano
    • 1 teaspoon ground coriander
    • 1 teaspoon ground cumin
    • 1 tablespoon fine sea salt (or 2 teaspoons table salt)
    • ¼ cup olive oil

    Instructions

    1. Marinate the chicken breasts: Whisk the marinade ingredients in a large bowl. Reserve ¼ cup of the marinade, then pour the rest into a gallon zip-top bag. Add the chicken breasts to the bag, squeeze out as much air as possible, and seal the bag. Refrigerate for 1 to 4 hours, flipping the bag every now and again to make sure the chicken is evenly marinated. (Or, marinate in a shallow baking dish just large enough to hold the chicken in one layer.)
    2. Set the grill up for direct medium heat: Set your grill up for direct medium heat, 350°F. I preheat my gas grill on high for 10 minutes, then brush the grates clean and turn the burners down to medium. In my kettle grill, I light a chimney starter ¾ full of coals; when the coals are lit and covered with gray ash, I pour them in a loose single layer on half of the charcoal grate. Then I put on my grill grate and brush it clean.
    3. Grill the chicken breasts: Put the chicken on the grill grate directly over the heat. (Keep the lid closed as much as possible). Grill the chicken until it has good grill marks on the bottom, about 3 minutes, then flip the chicken. Grill until it has good grill marks on the other side, about 3 more minutes. Flip the chicken and rotate each piece 90 degrees (for a crosshatch of grill marks), then grill until you have another good set of grill marks. Flip the chicken one last time - it is done when it reaches an internal temperature of 160°F, about 3 more minutes.
    4. Rest and serve: Put the chicken breasts on a serving platter and drizzle with the reserved marinade. Let them rest for 5 minutes, then serve.
    • Prep Time: 1 hour
    • Cook Time: 12 minutes
    • Category: Grilling
    • Cuisine: American

    Did you make this recipe?

    Tag @DadCooksDinner on Instagram and hashtag it #DadCooksDinner

    Grilled Chicken Breast with Citrus Marinade | DadCooksDinner.com
    Citrus, ready to squeeze
    Grilled Chicken Breast with Citrus Marinade | DadCooksDinner.com
    Marinating
    Grilled Chicken Breast with Citrus Marinade | DadCooksDinner.com
    Done - get them off the grill!
    Grilled Chicken Breast with Citrus Marinade | DadCooksDinner.com
    Ready to serve

    What do you think?

    Questions? Other ideas? Leave them in the comments section below.

    Related Posts

    Grilled Boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts, Quick Brinerated
    Grill Roasted Chicken Breasts, Dry Brined with Herbs
    Thai Style Grill Roasted Chicken Breasts

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    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Aaron Friedman says

      May 28, 2016 at 9:51 am

      Have you tried the sous vide 140° chicken breasts? I can't imagine them any other way anymore.

      Reply
      • Mike V says

        May 28, 2016 at 11:27 am

        I have: https://www.dadcooksdinner.com/2013/05/sous-vide-grilled-chicken-breasts-with-japanese-glaze-and-dipping-sauce.html/

        Reply
    2. Bob says

      May 27, 2016 at 9:09 am

      I agree about the thighs as well - love them! However I do also grill the boneless breasts and you are so absolutely correct - get them off when the temp reads 165. They are always just fine then!

      ★★★★★

      Reply
    3. Jim Wilkins says

      May 26, 2016 at 11:59 am

      Mike,

      We seldom do chicken breasts anymore as we really prefer the thighs. This may be gilding a lily, but would this marinade work on dark meet?

      Reply
      • Mike V says

        May 26, 2016 at 12:25 pm

        This marinade is great on thighs - give it a try.

        Reply

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