Tested and tried for the last three summers, this bright and lemony chicken is going to be your grill’s best friend. Especially if your grill also happens to have any food allergies as this recipe is free of the top eight allergens. It’s also Whole30 & Paleo approved!
Chicken was one of my son’s first proteins that we knew he could have after being diagnosed with food allergies and EOE. I knew I had to find a way to flavor the chicken so that we wouldn’t burn out.
Thankfully I ran across this recipe and we’ve been making it faithfully since. In the winter, I’ll use my grill pan and it’s in constant rotation at our house. It’s great with corn on the cob, grilled squash, or my lemony greek potatoes.
I wasn’t a lemon chicken fan before. I’d only ever had the kind that’s baked and has some sort of lemon seasoning on it. But man–what a difference it makes using fresh lemon juice and lemon zest!!! Add to that tons of garlic and some herbs and this is not-yo-momma’s-lemon-chicken.
I’m a flavo-holic, so I recommend making sure this sucker marinades for 8-24 hours. At a minimum, I like to do it right after breakfast so that it has all day to work it’s flavor magic. If I can remember, I much prefer doing it the night before.
I wouldn’t even say I’m a grilling aficionado–I make my husband do it whenever he’s home. Unfortunately and fortunately, he works through a lot of dinners, so I’m getting better and better. But trust me, this marinade is forgiving and will help even beginner grillers get their flavor on.
One thing I’ve learned is to let the meat rest before you cut into it. That also makes a big difference in the juiciness of the chicken. If your chicken breasts are large, I recommend butterflying them–but be sure to do so before adding the marinade. I’ve sometimes thought they were small enough, and during the grilling realized I needed to butterfly them. They’re just not as flavorful if you have an entire side that hasn’t been soaked in those good juices. So, any sides that will be grilled should be soaking in the marinade. Right? Right!
This will be perfect for your upcoming Memorial Day BBQ, or throughout the rest of the grilling season.
Fire up your grill and impress your loved ones with this easy, yet tangy and delicious chicken!
- ¼ cup olive oil
- 3 Tablespoons minced garlic (about 9 cloves)
- 1 Tablespoon grated lemon zest (about 2 lemons)
- ⅓ cup freshly squeezed lemon juice (if you don't have enough from your fresh lemons, I'll sometimes supplement with bought lemon juice)
- 1½ teaspoons dried oregano
- ½ teaspoon dried thyme
- 1 teaspoon sea salt
- 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
- Combine all of the ingredients in a zip top plastic bag. Be sure to massage the bag so that the ingredients become completely mixed. If you're home while it's marinating, try to flip the bag every few hours to make sure that all of the sides are sitting in the magical juices.
- Preheat your BBQ grill or grill pan to medium-high heat. Grill the chicken until the chicken is cooked through. Let rest for 5 minutes before slicing. Great with greek potatoes.
Adapted from: Perry’s Plate
PIN IT FOR LATER SO YOU DON’T LOSE IT. ALSO, CHECK OUT MY OTHER ALLERGY-FRIENDLY, WHOLE30, AND PALEO PINTEREST BOARDS.
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