We have the best tips and tricks to learn how to grill chicken breasts perfectly every time. Try these tips for moist and tender chicken every single time!
how to grill chicken breasts
Today I wanted to talk to you about how to grill chicken breast — perfectly every single time.
Yes, I said perfectly. The trick to tasty chicken on the grill is to not under cook it (obviously) but also not to over cook it. You don’t want dry and burnt chicken.
We love to grill and have perfected this skill over time. Today, I am going to share our best tips so that you can enjoy wonderful chicken on the grill every time.
My husband has become quite the grill master. I am sure most of you know someone who is great at grilling and I really think my husband is the best. He can grill just about ANYTHING and it always tastes delicious.
However…. he hasn’t always been good. We have eaten overcooked zucchini (Yuck) and burnt chicken before. But over the past few years he has gotten better and better. Now… he is officially the GRILL MASTER!
By the way, speaking of grilled chicken see How I Froze and Marinated 40 lbs of Chicken. This is great for grilling chicken. It is an easy way to save money and time all at once.
How do you grill chicken breast without drying it out?
We have the top 3 tips to ensure tender and flavorful chicken breast every single time. Keep reading for these easy tips.
1. Marinade or Baste your Chicken
Marinading your chicken really helps bring out the flavor. You want it to marinade for 30 minutes or longer.
In fact, we like to freeze chicken in their marinade. Check out this post to learn what I mean.
Now marinading isn’t always an option because you are short on time. Basting chicken is a great way to add flavor to your chicken.
In fact, basting is one of the best ways to grill the Perfect chicken. For example, our Grilled Balsamic Glazed Chicken recipe just wouldn’t taste the same if it wasn’t basted while it cooked.
Some of our favorite chicken marinades include:
- Best BBQ Chicken Marinade Recipe
- Easy Italian Chicken Marinade
- Taco Chicken Marinade
- Italian Soy Sauce Marinade
- The Easiest Marinade; Catalina Chicken!
2. Flip your Chicken often.
Many people will disagree with us on this, but flipping your chicken often prevents your chicken from sticking to the grill. If your chicken sticks to the grill, then your chicken will fall apart and you will lose some of the delicious flavor.
In fact, we flip the chicken within the first minute it goes on the grill and again every 2- 3 minutes until it is done. Trust me on this. So good!
How long do you cook chicken breasts on the grill?
3. Don’t overcook. This is super important!
Chicken doesn’t take long to cook. If you over cook it, the chicken will be come dry and won’t taste great.
If you pull it off right as the chicken is done, you will have moist and delicious chicken. On average chicken should take about 15 minutes to cook on a gas grill.
12 minutes if you chicken is thin and 20 minutes if you chicken is thicker.
You can also use a meat thermometer to check the internal temperature. The chicken needs to be 165 degrees.
I can’t stress enough that you do not want to overcook the chicken!
Now you know how long to grill chicken breast on the grill.
4. Start out with high heat
You want to start out with high heat to get the pretty lines on each side. Each side should take about 2-3 minutes.
Next, turn the heat down to medium/low to let it keep cooking so you can have pretty but moist grilled chicken.
5. Make sure the chicken is not too thick and all the pieces are even.
I like to make sure each piece of chicken is about the same thickness so everything cooks evenly. You can use a meat tenderizer to pound the chicken and even it out if needed.
If one piece of chicken is thick on one end and thin on the other, it can make cooking difficult. I find it is an easy fix by simply pounding it all to even the chicken out.
What are some of your grilling chicken tips?
We love grilling chicken and would love to hear any tips you would like to share or marinades to try. Give these tips a try and let us know how it turns out.
Chicken on the grill is so fast and takes 30 minutes or less. We prefer boneless skinless chicken breasts but use what you prefer.
It is fun to try different marinades. You can also use them on baked chicken.
Marinade really makes the chicken so flavorful. Give it a try and let us know which one you use.
Easy side dish recipes to go with grilled chicken:
Easy salads to go with grilled chicken:
- Ramen Noodle Salad Recipe
- Easy Pasta Salad Recipe
- Bacon Ranch Pasta Salad
- Roasted Tomato and Mozzarella Salad
- Cucumber Onion Salad
We love grilling. Let us know which recipes you try!’
Keep the kitchen cool and make this Hawaiian chicken kabobs recipe on the grill.
Cat says
I am curious….do you cook the chicken on medium, medium high, or high on a gas grill? I have heard such mixed views on the temperature. If we attempt the 1 min., then flip and then turn every 2-3 min. Is that all there is to it? Lid up or down?
Carrie says
I cook them on medium high on a gas grill
Shawn says
Hi thank you for this website . so medium-high , what is the lid up or down in between flipping? I just can’t seem to get my chicken right ever
Carrie says
I cook them on medium and I keep the lid down in between flipping. It is definitely an art and you’ll get better with practice. Good luck and don’t give up!