Lemon BBQ Chicken (Fire Chicken)

Lemon BBQ Chicken – seriously THE BEST grilled chicken breast recipe! Chicken marinated overnight in vegetable oil, lemon juice, salt, paprika, basil, onion powder, thyme and garlic. This chicken is so tender and juicy. Tastes great leftover too!! We always double the recipe! Everyone asks for the recipe! SO YUM! LOVE this easy grilled chicken breast recipe! Low-Carb and Gluten-Free.

Easy Chicken Marinade with Lemon Juice

This Grilled Lemon BBQ Chicken is one of our all-time favorite grilled chicken recipes! Chicken marinated in canola oil, lemon juice, and spices. The marinade makes the chicken so tender and juicy, and it is LOADED with tons of flavor. This is my go-to recipe when we have people over for dinner. Everyone loves it! Give this a try the next time you fire up the grill. I promise you won’t be disappointed!

How to Make Grilled Lemon Chicken

This marinade is very easy to make. In a bowl, whisk together vegetable or canola oil, lemon juice, paprika, basil, onion, thyme, and garlic. Place boneless skinless chicken breasts in a ziplock freezer bag, pound to an even thickness, and pour marinade into the bag. Place the chicken in the refrigerator and marinate for a few hours up to overnight. About an hour before cooking the chicken, remove the chicken from the marinade. Cook the chicken on the grill until it reaches an internal temperature of 165ºF.

Helpful Tips & Frequently Asked Questions

• We call this Fire Chicken because the oil in the marinade makes the grill flare up when you put the chicken on. To avoid big flareups, remove the chicken from the marinade about an hour before cooking.
• You can use this marinade on any cut of chicken you prefer – chicken tenders, chicken breasts, chicken thighs, or chicken legs.
  • Can use boneless or bone-in chicken. Adjust the cooking time to ensure an internal temperature of 165ºF.
• We like to let the chicken marinate overnight to achieve maximum flavor. If you don’t have that much time, let the chicken marinate as long as possible.
• You can use vegetable oil, canola oil, or olive oil.
• Feel free to mix up the herbs in the marinade. Toss in some rosemary, black pepper, oregano, or red pepper flakes.
• I use all dried herbs. You can substitute fresh herbs if you prefer. 
  • If using fresh herbs, you will need 3 times the amount of dried herbs.
• For extra lemon flavor add some lemon zest to the marinade.

Tips for Grilling Chicken

• My #1 tip when grilling chicken is to pound the chicken breast to an even thickness. We put the chicken in a ziplock bag and use a flat meat mallet or rolling pin to carefully pound out the hump. This ensures that the chicken cooks evenly and you don’t have juicy chicken and half-dry chicken.
• No grill? No problem! You can cook the chicken inside. Pan-sear the chicken breasts in a skillet or grill pan for 3 to 4 minutes per side over medium-high heat. Place the chicken on a rimmed baking sheet. Bake at 400ºF for 10 minutes, or until it reaches an internal temperature of 165ºF.

What to Serve with Lemon Garlic Chicken

We absolutely LOVE this chicken. It has quickly become a favorite. Even though there are only two of us, we always make a full batch so we can eat leftovers during the week. Slice the chicken breasts and serve it on top of a salad or in a chicken wrap. You must add this to your menu ASAP!

We love to serve this chicken with some potatoes and green beans. It is equally delicious with some asparagus and creamy garlic noodles. 

Looking for more yummy side dish recipes? Here are a few of our favorite recipes that go great with this yummy chicken:

Potatoes

Creamy Crack Potatoes

Creamy Crack Potatoes – creamy potatoes loaded with cheddar, bacon, and ranch! SO good! Frozen shredded hash browns, cheddar, bacon,…

Vegetables

Smothered Green Beans

Smothered Green Beans – canned green beans baked in bacon, brown sugar, butter, soy sauce, and garlic. This is the…

Side Dish

Creamy Noodles

Creamy Noodles – a quick and easy side dish! Ready to eat in about 15 minutes! Spaghetti, cream cheese, milk,…

Vegetables

Bourbon Mushrooms

Bourbon Mushrooms – better than the fancy steakhouses! Super easy to make and ready in about 20 minutes. Fresh mushrooms…

Lemon BBQ Grilled Chicken

Author: Stephanie @ Plain Chicken

Yield: 6 people

Prep Time 5 mins

Cook Time 15 mins

Total Time 20 mins

Lemon BBQ Grilled Chicken – seriously THE BEST grilled chicken breast recipe! Chicken marinated overnight in vegetable oil, lemon juice, salt, paprika, basil, onion powder, thyme and garlic. This chicken is so tender and juicy. Tastes great leftover too!! We always double the recipe! Everyone asks for the recipe! SO YUM! LOVE this easy grilled chicken breast recipe!

• 6 boneless skinless chicken breasts
• 1 cup vegetable or canola oil
• ½ cup lemon juice
• 1 Tbsp salt
• 1 tsp paprika
• 2 tsp dried basil
• 2 tsp onion powder
• ½ tsp dried thyme leaves, crushed
• 1 tsp garlic powder

• Whisk together oil, lemon juice, and all the spices.

• Place chicken in a gallon ziplock bag. Lightly pound the chicken with a meat mallet or rolling pin to an even thickness. Pour marinade over chicken.

• Refrigerate chicken overnight.

• Remove chicken from marinade 1 hour before grilling. Discard marinade.

• Prepare grill and grill chicken until done, approximately 12 to 15 minutes, until chicken reaches an internal temperature of 165ºF.

• You can use this marinade on any cut of chicken you prefer – tenders, breasts, thighs, or legs.
  • Can use boneless or bone-in chicken. Adjust the cooking time to ensure an internal temperature of 165ºF.
• We like to let the chicken marinate overnight to achieve maximum flavor. I whisk up the marinade before I go to bed and the chicken is ready to grill for lunch or dinner the next day.
• My #1 tip when grilling chicken is to pound the chicken breast to an even thickness. We put the chicken in a ziplock bag and use a flat meat mallet to carefully pound out the hump. This ensures that the chicken cooks evenly and you don’t have juicy chicken and half-dry chicken.
• No grill? No problem! You can cook the chicken inside. Pan sear the chicken breasts in a skillet for 3 to 4 minutes per side. Place the chicken on a rimmed baking sheet. Bake at 400ºF for 10 minutes, or until it reaches an internal temperature of 165ºF.

Steph