Do you batch cook or meal prep every week? It’s always good to have an easy recipe on hand for those times you want to make a big batch of protein, or for when you have a crowd to feed and don’t want to spend a ton of time in the kitchen. Either way, this balsamic herb grilled chicken recipe is going to become your new favorite.
Balsamic Herb Grilled Chicken Marinade
To get started, you need to make your balsamic herb marinade for the grilled chicken. Grab a small bowl and whisk together balsamic vinegar, soy sauce, lemon juice (fresh or from the store), brown sugar, olive oil, minced garlic, and grainy mustard. For the herbs, I’m using dried for this recipe instead of fresh. You’ll need dried rosemary, basil, parsley, and black and red pepper. Mix all of these together with a whisk.
For the chicken, I used breasts for this recipe, but I almost always prefer tenderloins. There’s a little more trimming to prep the tenderloins but they always come out more tender for me. Place your chicken in a shallow dish or large, resealable bag and pour the marinade over the meat.
If you can, plan ahead some time for the chicken to rest in the marinade for up to 8 hours. If you’re like me and you always forget to plan ahead, this recipe still tastes amazing even with only 30 minutes in the marinade on the counter. If you plan to marinate your chicken for longer than 30 minutes, be sure to put it in the fridge, though.
Turn Up the Heat
While the chicken is marinating, heat up your grill. You can use an outdoor grill or a grill pan. Just heat either one on medium-high heat, to about 400°. Don’t have a grill or even a grill pan? Use any heavy bottomed pan to cook your chicken and you’ll get great results.
Once your grill is heated, take your chicken out of the marinade and sprinkle the meat liberally with salt. I don’t recommend adding salt to the marinade because it can dry the chicken out too much. Nobody likes dry chicken. NOBODY.
Grill your chicken for about 5-7 minutes per side. You want it to reach 165° internally. Pull the meat off the grill, tent it with foil, and let it rest for about 5 minutes before serving.
Balsamic Herb Grilled Chicken for a Crowd
This balsamic herb grilled chicken serves 14 people which makes it perfect for your next get-together or bbq. Serve it with one of my summer salads on the side. You won’t regret it. For tracking your macros, each serving should be 114 g. If you love this recipe, follow me on Instagram @lillieeatsandtells for more macro tracking tips, recipes, and products I love.
Balsamic Herb Grilled Chicken
Ingredients
- ¼ cup balsamic vinegar 60 g
- ¼ cup soy sauce 60 g
- 1 lemon juiced, or 3 Tbsp lemon juice (45 g)
- 3 Tbsp brown sugar 45 g
- 1 Tbsp olive oil 15 g
- 10 frozen cubes of garlic or minced cloves
- 2 Tbsp grainy mustard 30 g
- 2 Tbsp dried rosemary
- 1 Tbsp dried parsley
- 2 tsp dried basil
- 1 tsp black pepper
- Pinch of red pepper flakes
- 4.5 lbs chicken breasts or tenderloins 2067 g
- 1 Tbsp kosher salt don’t add to marinade
Instructions
- In a small bowl, whisk together all ingredients besides the chicken and the salt. Place chicken breasts in a large resealable bag or shallow dish. Pour marinade over chicken and marinated for 30 minutes, or up to 8 hours.
- Heat an outdoor grill (or a grill pan) to medium-high heat, about 400°. Sprinkle chicken liberally with salt (don’t add to the marinade or it can dry the chicken out.) Grill chicken for about 5-7 minutes per side, using a thermometer to pull off at 165°. Tent with foil and let it rest for five minutes before serving.
Notes
Nutrition
Tried this recipe?
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I make this weekly!
Made this with chicken tenders and roasted in the oven at 400°F till reached 165°F. Delicious!!! Set for the week!
Very flavorful! Great recipe! When I make it again I might chop up my dried rosemary bc it was in whole leaves and I didn’t love that mouth feel.
This recipe is so yummy! My kids told me it was the best chicken I have ever made and even my chicken breast hating husband loved it. This is definitely going in my weekly rotation. Thank you for a great recipe!
yay! Thank you!
We have a small household so don’t meal prep 4 pounds of protein at once, so I tried to scale this for fewer servings. “This doesn’t look right, it smells too strong…. But let’s try it anyway” was what I said in my mind. In all honesty, I had the same reaction to the Apple cider vinegar marinade, too. HOLY MOLEY THIS WAS GOOD! So tender, flavorful, and juicy. Used a small,pack of tendies and one butterflied boneless breast. I thought the chicken was lost for good because the marinade smelled so strongly of garlic and vinegar, but the result was outstanding! Served in lillie’s salad that contains peaches and used the Baker and Olive brand peach white balsamic that she featured on her IG page. Super tasty! PS- the Apple cider vinegar marinated chicken is just as tasty!
This recipe is delicious! I’m so glad it makes a ton because everyone absolutely loved it. I’m a sucker for anything with balsamic, and the big flavors in this don’t disappoint! I can see this being in regular rotation in my house!