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5 from 64 votes

Grilled Lemon Pepper Chicken

Moist tender pounded chicken breasts cook in 4 minutes total on the grill! Great lemon pepper and herb flavor make these a favorite main dish or for meal prepping.
Prep Time10 minutes
Cook Time4 minutes
Resting time3 minutes
Total Time17 minutes
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: American
Diet: Gluten Free, Low Calorie
Servings: 4
Calories: 177kcal
Author: Toni Dash

Ingredients

  • 2 large (8 - 10 ounces each) boneless skinless chicken breasts
  • 1.5 tablespoons olive oil
  • ¾ teaspoon kosher salt
  • ¾ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
  • 1 teaspoon rosemary minced
  • 1.5 teaspoon fresh thyme minced
  • juice from 1 large lemon divided

Instructions

  • Place the boneless chicken breasts between two sheets of plastic wrap and pound to ¼ inch thickness using a flat meat mallet or tenderizer, a rolling pin or the bottom of a cast iron skillet. SEE NOTE in next step.
  • NOTE: if the breasts are really thick, you can butterfly them before pounding. Using a large very sharp knife, slice through the breast middle horizontally leaving it connected on one side or cutting into two pieces. Open the chicken breast and follow the pounding instructions above in step 1.
  • Remove from plastic wrap and pat dry with paper towels.
  • In a small bowl mix together the salt, pepper, and chopped herbs.
    Place half the lemon juice in a separate small bowl and the olive oil in a third small bowl. This makes it easy to quickly season the chicken on the grill. Reserve the remaining half lemon (or half of the lemon juice).
  • Preheat the grill to high (450 degrees F). A gas grill or charcoal grill can be used. When at temperature brush grate well with a grill brush and oil the grill grates well with vegetable oil.
  • Brush each side of the chicken breasts with olive oil then season with kosher salt, freshly ground black pepper, chopped thyme and rosemary and brush on half of the lemon juice (you may not use it all).
  • Place the chicken breasts onto the prepared grill grates. Grill for 2 minutes with the lid down, flip over and grill an additional 2 minutes, again with the lid closed (cover grill).
  • Check the internal temperature reaches 165 degrees F as measured with a meat thermometer (we recommend using an instant read food thermometer so the chicken doesn't begin to cool which checking the temperature).
  • Remove from grill and allow to rest a 3 minutes. Squeeze on the remaining lemon juice and serve in whole pieces or slice on a cutting board.

Notes

Clean and oil the grill well. This is both hygienic but also ensures the chicken won't stick to the grill while cooking it. Wait until the grill is hot to do this.
Don't use the olive oil or lemon juice after the chicken is cooked. After the chicken is cooked discard any ingredients that were used for basting when the chicken was raw. This is why we reserved part of the lemon juice separately to use on the cooked chicken. If brushing it on use a clean brush.
Grill some lemon slices. These are beautiful when serving. Just add some to the grill at the end of cooking to get some grill marks.
How to Store
Store leftover chicken in an airtight glass container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.

Nutrition

Calories: 177kcal | Carbohydrates: 0.4g | Protein: 24g | Fat: 8g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 5g | Trans Fat: 0.01g | Cholesterol: 73mg | Sodium: 568mg | Potassium: 430mg | Fiber: 0.2g | Sugar: 0.003g | Vitamin A: 72IU | Vitamin C: 3mg | Calcium: 11mg | Iron: 1mg