Easy Lemon Grilled Chicken Breast

When it comes to dinner, I’m a planner. I have a routine. I find out what’s on sale at my favorite grocery store, ask my family what they feel like having, look at the weekly calendar to figure out who’s going to be home when, and plan menus from that. More often than not, there’s a white index card on my refrigerator with the menu for each night’s dinner written on it.

But every once in a while, that system falls apart. Life gets extra busy, or I realize at 5 p.m. that I forgot to put that pork roast in the slow cooker, or a million other things, and I just have no idea what I’m going to make for dinner.

This quick and easy lemon grilled chicken breast is perfect for those times. You can have it on the table in under an hour, with ingredients you probably have on hand. It’s also a great meal planned ahead, when you can give the chicken more time to marinate. It’s one of our favorite low-calorie easy chicken breast recipes.

To begin the recipe, thaw and trim the chicken breasts. If you have to thaw them in a hurry, you can use the microwave. I used three boneless, skinless chicken breast halves that I bought at Costco, and they were huge, so I cut them in half, making diagonal cuts to try to keep the pieces an even thickness. After trimming away the fat and tendons, I had about 24 ounces of chicken breast, which serves six people, or four if they’re really hungry.

The marinade for this chicken contains olive oil, lemon juice, garlic, thyme, salt, pepper, and Dijon mustard. It doesn’t have a strong mustard taste. The mustard just enhances the lemon flavor.

Mix up the marinade and put it in a bowl just large enough to hold it and the chicken breasts, and let the chicken marinate anywhere from 20 minutes to 2 hours. Longer is better, but don’t go past 2 hours, because marinating chicken breasts in an acidic liquid too long can make them tougher.

I cooked my lemon chicken on a stovetop grill pan, but you could also cook it on an outdoor grill or in a frying pan. You can serve this with a simple baked potato and veggie side dish for a no-fuss healthy dinner. This recipe goes well with any of our veggie side dishes, such as roasted broccoli, balsamic carrots, or almond green beans.

I really hope you enjoy this easy lemon grilled chicken breast recipe. It’s saved me so many times when I need a quick and healthy dinner. It’s always handy to have low-calorie, easy chicken breast recipes you can go to any time life gets extra busy.

Lemon Grilled Chicken

Marsha Maxwell

Healthy, quick, cheap and tasty lemon grilled chicken you can make in about an hour with simple ingredients. One of our favorite low-calorie easy chicken breast recipes.

4.29 from 7 votes

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Prep Time 10 minutes mins

Cook Time 10 minutes mins

Total Time 20 minutes mins

Course Chicken

Servings 6 pieces, about 4 oz. each

Calories 160 kcal

Equipment

Bastig Brush - Grilling BBQ Baking, Pastry, and Oil Stainless Steel Brushes

Pyrex 2Piece Basics Value Pack 3 Quart Oblong Bake Dish, 2.2, Clear

"Lodge Seasoned Cast Iron Skillet with Scrub Brush- 10.25 inches Cast Iron Frying Pan With 10 inch Bristle Brush "

OXO Good Grips Zester and Grater

Hamilton Beach Electric Indoor Searing Grill with Viewing Window and Removable Easy-to-Clean Nonstick Plate, 6-Serving, Extra-Large Drip Tray, Stainless Steel

Mrs. Anderson’s Baking Mini Whisk, 18/8 Stainless Steel, 6-Inches

Ingredients

  

1x2x3x

• 2 pounds boneless skinless chicken breast halves
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
• 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
• 1 clove garlic pressed
• 1 teaspoon dried thyme

Instructions

 

• Cut chicken breast pieces in 2 or 3 pieces, if they are very large, making diagonal cuts to keep pieces an even thickness. Trim visible fat and tendons. The resulting chicken breast pieces will be about 4 ounces each.
• Whisk remaining ingredients in a medium bowl to combine. Add chicken pieces and press down so chicken pieces are covered with marinade. Allow chicken to marinate at least 20 minutes or up to 2 hours.
• Heat a stovetop grill pan, frying pan, or outdoor grill to medium high heat. Remove chicken pieces from marinade and cook for about 4 minutes on each side, or until no longer pink in the center. If using an instant-read meat thermometer, cook to an internal temperature of 160-170 degrees F.
• Remove chicken from heat and serve with additional lemon wedges for garnish (optional).

Nutrition

Serving: 4oz.Calories: 160kcalCarbohydrates: 1.5gProtein: 22gFat: 7g

Keyword chicken breast recipes, easy chicken breast recipes, lemon grilled chicken, low-calorie

Did you make this recipe?Let us know how it was!

Photos by Marsha Maxwell and Elena Veselova/Shutterstock.com.

Disclosures: The author was not compensated by any person or company for the content of this post. The post may contain affiliate links. If you buy a product using these links, we receive a commission. This helps with the cost of publishing recipes on this website.

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