Grilled Kickin Chicken Recipe

This Grilled Kickin Chicken Recipe is perfect for your clean eating food prep or even backyard BBQs and cookouts. You can use chicken breasts or thighs for this juicy and deliciously healthy recipe.

Grilled Kickin Chicken Recipe

If you enjoy a hint of heat in your recipes, then you are going to absolutely love this kickin chicken recipe! I prefer using chicken thighs since they tend to be juicier once cooked, but you can easily use this on chicken breast, chicken legs, or even chicken wings.

The base of this recipe is our homemade chicken seasoning recipe. I love how adaptable it is, and how simple it is to whip up and have a batch in the pantry for those last-minute meals.

How to Marinate Chicken for Grilling

While this recipe calls for our dry seasoning mix, that doesn’t mean you can’t marinate the chicken for moisture. As you can see in the printable recipe below, I include honey and apple cider vinegar when cooking this recipe.

To marinade, mix your ingredients as directed then pour over the chicken. I prefer to place my chicken in a shallow bowl that has a lid, but you can also use large freezer storage bags.

Tip: If using plastic bags for marinating meat, double bag the meat or place into a bowl or on a plate. This is just in case the bag leaks you won’t have raw chicken juices everywhere in your refrigerator.

Can This Chicken be Frozen? 

Yes! As we have mentioned before, meal prep is so important for staying on top of your healthy eating plan. I have shared some great tips for meal prepping in the past if you aren’t sure where to begin. With chicken like this, you have great options for freezing ahead of mealtime.

• Freeze the raw chicken in the marinade and pull out of the freezer the night before you plan to cook. Place the frozen bag of chicken on a plate or in a bowl in the refrigerator to safely thaw overnight.
• Follow the printable directions below for cooking the kickin chicken, and then allow to cool completely. Place in your preferred freezer storage container or freezer storage bag and label with recipe name and date before freezing.

Tips for Grilling Chicken

We prefer chicken thighs for this recipe but if you are using chicken breasts you may want to read our tips for how to grill chicken breasts. Since they tend to get dry very fast, that tutorial is very useful. Below are some other great tips for making sure your grilled chicken turns out wonderfully.

• Make sure to clean your grill between each use so there are no stuck-on bits of food left on the grates
• If grill marks are not important, utilize grill mats to keep the grates cleaner when cooking
• Cook chicken slowly not directly over the flame when using honey or sugar-sweetened marinades so they do not char as much
• Use a meat thermometer to make sure meats are cooked through to a safe temperature.

More Grilling Recipes

If you are like us and enjoy grilling year-round, then the recipes below will be a must on your meal plan. For different flavor profiles on a basic chicken, you can try our Orange Grilled Chicken or Zesty Grilled Chicken. If you prefer a meal with more sauce, then our Grilled Chicken with Tomatillo-Avocado Sauce is a must!

This was originally published on June 22, 2014, and updated July 25, 2019.

Grilled Kickin’ Chicken

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• Author: Whitney Carlson
• Total Time: 20 minutes
• Yield: 8 servings 1x

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Description

This Grilled Kickin Chicken Recipe is perfect for your clean eating food prep or even backyard BBQs and cookouts. You can use chicken breasts or thighs for this juicy and deliciously healthy recipe.

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Ingredients

Scale 1x2x3x

• 2 lbs boneless, skinless chicken breasts or thighs
• Kickin’ chicken seasoning (use our do-it-yourself recipe!)
• 2 TBSP honey
• 3 TBSP minced garlic
• 1/2 cup apple cider vinegar

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Instructions

1. Mix all spices together
2. Add spices to chicken in a Tupperware container or a bag. Add honey and ACV.
3. Marinate chicken for 30 minutes to an hour
4. Grill until chicken is cooked through and no longer pink on the inside

• Prep Time: 10 minutes
• Cook Time: 10 minutes
• Category: Main Dish
• Method: Grilled
• Cuisine: American