Maple Rosemary Grilled Chicken
by Chungah
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The best grilled chicken! Made with the easiest marinade, packed with so much flavor (great make-ahead recipe too). So juicy and so tender!
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Why you’ll love this grilled chicken recipe
- Staple recipe. Whether this is thrown on the grill or a cast iron grill pan (during the colder months), this will be your go-to grilled chicken recipe 365 days out of the year.
- Most flavorful marinade. With just a few pantry-friendly staples, you’ll have the best sweet and savory marinade, packed with so much flavor.
- Prep ahead of time. Marinate overnight and cook just before serving for the most convenient make ahead recipe, perfect for weeknight dinners or summer entertaining (think BBQs, picnics, and potlucks).
- Versatile recipe. This grilled chicken can be served with roasted vegetables, or leftovers can easily be repurposed for quesadillas, salads, and sandwiches.
Chicken breasts vs. chicken thighs
Chicken breasts
Chicken breasts are a lean protein source, ideal for quick cooking. Proper grilling methods such as pounding for even thickness, marinating for at least 1 hour, and allowing the chicken rest will yield juicy, tender chicken.
Chicken thighs
Chicken thighs are a fattier cut of meat, allowing them to be much more forgiving with cook times and thus, much less likely to dry out if overcooked.
tips and tricks for juicy grilled chicken
- An outdoor grill is not necessary. Too cold to grill outside? A cast iron grill pan can be used to get those favorited grill marks and charred flavor.
- Use reduced sodium soy sauce. Reduced sodium has less sodium and less salt without compromising flavor.
- Fresh herbs are best. Although you can certainly substitute dried herbs, fresh rosemary is ideal here, delivering the best kind of flavor.
- Preheat the grill. Ensure that the grill is properly cleaned (to prevent sticking) and preheated prior to grilling. This will allow for a better sear for those grill marks and evenly cooked chicken.
- Use an instant-read thermometer for the most accurate results. The internal temperature should reach 165°F.
- Use similar size chicken. Chicken breasts come in a variety of sizes – try to use similar-sized chicken breasts, pounding out the chicken as needed into flat, even pieces for even cooking and grilling.
- Let your meat rest. Let your chicken rest for at least 5 minutes prior to serving, allowing the juices to redistribute – this will allow for maximum flavor and juiciness.
- Reheat in the oven. Leftover chicken can be rubbery when reheated. For best results with leftovers, reheat in the oven at 350°F, covered in aluminum foil until warmed through.
what to serve with maple rosemary grilled chicken
Tools For This Recipe
Cast iron grill pan or large cast iron skillet
Maple Rosemary Grilled Chicken: Frequently Asked Questions
Absolutely! But because dried herbs are often more potent/concentrated than fresh herbs, you need less when using dry. The correct ratio is 1 tablespoon fresh herbs to 1 teaspoon dried herbs.
No grill, no problem. A cast iron grill pan or a large cast iron skillet will work beautifully here, especially during those winter months when it’s too cold to grill out!
To ensure juicy, moist chicken, marinate the chicken for at least 1 hour, avoid overcooking (use an instant-read thermometer) and let it rest prior to slicing and serving.
Yes! The chicken can be marinated overnight and placed in the fridge.
Leftovers can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for 3-4 days.
Maple Rosemary Grilled Chicken
Video
Ingredients
- ½ cup maple syrup
- ¼ cup reduced sodium soy sauce
- 3 tablespoons olive oil, divided
- 1 shallot, diced
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh rosemary
- 1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
- 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- 6 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
- 2 sprigs fresh rosemary
Instructions
- In a small bowl, combine maple syrup, soy sauce, 2 tablespoons olive oil, shallot, rosemary, lemon juice, Dijon and garlic; season with salt and pepper, to taste.
- In a gallon size Ziploc bag, combine maple syrup mixture and chicken; marinate for at least 30 minutes to overnight, turning the bag occasionally. Drain the chicken from the marinade, discarding the marinade.
- Preheat grill to medium high heat.
- Brush chicken with remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil; season with salt and pepper, to taste. Add chicken to grill, and cook, turning occasionally, until chicken is completely cooked through, reaching an internal temperature of 165 degrees F, about 10 minutes.
- Serve immediately, garnished with rosemary, if desired.
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Just have to say. I’ve NEVER been disappointed in any recipe you post!❤️ Your my go to search for good things to eat!!
Moist and flavorful!! Loved this!!
Oh, the marinade!! The grilled chicken was SO good. Used the same marinade for grilled shrimp which were amazing!
I am interested in trying this with sugar free pancake syrup instead of maple.
This was easy and amazing! The entire family loved it. Will be making this again very soon!
This marinade is THE BOMB. It’s my family’s favorite grilled chicken recipe by far. Do yourself a favor and try it for pork tenderloin as well. I made the marinade exactly as called for and used 2 tenderloins totaling about 2.5 pounds. I marinated them overnight, and then cooked them in the oven on convection roast until they reached an internal temperature of 145. So yummy…may have been even better than the chicken!
I omitted the garlic and shallots and marinated boneless chicken for about 1 hour, grilled it on low for about 15 mins on each side. It was incredibly delicious! So moist with so much maple flavor. This is so easy and it will be a go to for a quick, easy and delicious meal.
Easy & Delicious! Not too sweet…a tasty balance of savory and sweet. I tried stretching the marinade by using half of the ingredients, and it still had enough flavor. I also omitted the salt as well. Instead of discarding the marinade, I made a sauce following these steps: 1) Add some water if needed and boil it for 5 minutes 2) Strain the liquid and 3) whisk in a cornstarch slurry to thicken it. I’ve done this many times with marinades with no problems, but I always time the boil for a full 5 minutes to kill any bacteria. I’m going to try freezing the marinade with some raw chicken which makes for faster prep at a later meal. Thanks for a keeper recipe!
I absolutely love this marinade, I always make extra to ensure I have plenty of sauce on the side. The only change I make is I use roasted garlic instead of raw. Fantastic recipe, thank you for sharing!
Excellent! I’ve made it several times. My entire family love it. Goes with any side dish.
This chicken was fantastic. I paired with your Grilled Garlic Herb Zucchini. It made for a fantastic meal. I am going to try the marinade on salmon tonight!
Wow! Another mind blowing recipe. Your recipes are absolutely fabulous. As someone who randomly became anaphylactic to multiple things last year, it is great to enjoy food again.
This chicken has become our favorite “go to” recipe for chicken. We eat chicken breast quite a bit and make this recipe nearly every other time we prepare chicken. It’s so flavorful, juicy and tender. I had to start some new rosemary plants since our original “bush” has been getting regular pruning for this recipe. So grateful we stumbled upon the recipe last year!
I made this in the oven today for Thanksgiving. So delicious and juicy! Thank you for sharing this recipe!
It’s a good marinade! I made kebabs and served with roasted cauliflower and home made stuffing. It was outstanding together. I think it needs a blander starch because the marinade is powerful. It’d be good in a cream sauce w pasta or with mashed potatoes and asparagus.
This may be the best grilled chicken I’ve ever made at home and will definitely become a favorite this summer! I didn’t change a thing to the recipe… perfect as is. Served it with roasted baby potatoes and a salad.
Yo, I love maple syrup and pan seared chicken. Your recipe has great reviews, but what if I cannot have soy sauce? Is there a healthy substitute option?
Thanks!
I’ve heard that coconut aminos can be used as a substitute for soy sauce! (It has less salt but is NOT low-sodium). I haven’t personally tried it, so you may need to adjust the amounts
Surely you would know that if you can’t have soy sauce? What have you been using as a substitute before this?
While I am unsure what precisely inhibits you from consuming regular Soy Sauce, I will recommend Tamari Sauce as a potentially viable alternative. The primary difference between the two is that Tamari is produced with little-to-no wheat, but there are also many other subtle flavor profile differences as well. I actually prefer Tamari to regular Soy Sauce.
https://www.thekitchn.com/the-difference-between-tamari-and-soy-sauce-ingredient-intelligence-174139
This marinade is amazing! I think we made it at least 8-9 times this summer. The flavours are perfectly balanced and the chicken came out super tender. We made it both on the BBQ but also a couple of times in a cast iron frying pan just on the stove. We also used both chicken breasts as well as chicken tenders and it always turned out super tasty. A new summer favourite for our family!
Same with this recipe. Any tips and tricks for cooking recipes that normally would be cooked on the grill in an oven instead? I do t have a grill and I live in a condo.
Hi Claire! You can try to cook these in the oven or on a grill pan on the stovetop if you do not have access to a grill.
Amazing recipe. I love mapley rosemary flavors and this was perfectly sweet and savory. Will definitely make again. I dont have a grill so I seared it in a skillet then finished in the oven. It was still nicely moist.