Perfect Grilled Chicken Thighs are so juicy, moist, and tender! These flavor packed chicken thighs are so easy to grill and have the best simple marinade!
Grilled Chicken Thighs:
We are dead in the heat of summer, and we’ve been firing up the grill every single night! I don’t mind things like burgers and hot dogs, but nothing beats a piece of fall off the bone chicken! We do chicken quite a bit around here and I know most of you have already tried and love my Crispy Baked Chicken Thighs and my Lemon Pepper Chicken Thighs too! When it came to the perfect grilled chicken thigh recipe, I knew I wanted to keep it simple just like those. I want a nice crispy grilled skin, and very tender and flavorful chicken with the easiest marinade. For this simple recipe, we will be giving you directions on how to grill chicken thighs on a gas, or charcoal grill!
How to Grill Chicken Thighs:
To start, grab a medium sized bowl and whisk together your marinade. This consists of olive oil, lemon juice, lime juice, garlic, onion powder, salt, pepper, mustard, soy sauce, dijon mustard, and brown sugar. Pantry staples! Trim any fat from your chicken thighs if necessary, and place in a large bowl or a large zip-top plastic bag. Pour the marinade over the chicken.
This recipe calls for 2-2.5 pounds of chicken thighs, or about 8 total. As you can see from the photos, you will want to use bone-in and skin on chicken thighs for best results with this recipe. After you have poured your marinade over the chicken, seal the bag, getting out as much air as you can. Now, massage the meat inside the bag to make sure all of the chicken is well coated. Marinate in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes, and up to 12 hours. For best flavor, I prefer marinating for at least 2 hours, but a shorter time will work in a pinch. Once the chicken has marinated, allow it to sit, covered in the bag at room temperature for 15-20 minutes while your grill heats up. Grill the chicken as directed in the recipe card below for charcoal or gas!
Enjoy!
~Nichole
Perfect Grilled Chicken Thighs
Ingredients
- 1/4 Cup Olive Oil
- Juice of 1 Lemon
- Juice of 1 Lime
- 2 teaspoons Garlic Powder
- 2 teaspoons Onion Powder
- 1 teaspoon Salt
- 1/2 teaspoon Black Pepper
- 1 teaspoon Dijon Mustard
- 2 Tablespoons Soy Sauce
- 1/3 Cup Packed Brown Sugar
- 2 Pounds Bone in Skin on Chicken Thighs about 8 total
Instructions
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the olive oil, lemon juice, lime juice, garlic powder, onion powder, salt, pepper, mustard, soy sauce, and brown sugar.
- Trim fat from the chicken as necessary. Add the chicken thighs to a large zip-top bag and pour in the marinade. Seal the bag and massage the marinade into the meat for a few seconds to make sure the meat is coated.
- Refrigerate the chicken in the marinade for at least 30 min. For best flavor, allow the meat to marinate for 2-12 hours before grilling. After marinating, allow the chicken to sit, covered in the bag of marinade for 15-20 minutes while the grill preheats.
- Preheat the grill to settings for medium-high heat on one side, or if using charcoal, arrange pieces into a two-zone fire with briquettes underneath half of the grill grate.
- Sear chicken thighs over lit side of grill 2-3 minutes per side until skin turns golden brown, taking care not to char.
- Move chicken pieces to unlit side of grill and cook, covered, until internal temperature reaches 165°F.
- Let chicken rest 5-10 minutes before serving.
This is the best marinade! Absolutely worth the couple of minutes to mix it up, versus just buying a bottle of marinade. It has become a weekly dinner for my family!
It turned out delicious, thank you. I think next time I’ll make it healthier by subbing the sugar for honey and only using a half cup. I’m going to also try ro use a bit less lime and a bit more salt. Oh and for people who love a zing, I’m going to add some paprika.
* only using a quarter cup of honey
Absolutely delicious. Perfect concoction of spice and sweet. This is my new ‘go to’ for weeknights or affordable entertaining. Bravo.
We are newbies to a gas grill- do we turn the heat down after moving to the unlit side, or keep it med-high..that’s unclear
What s great site!!
You’ll keep the lit side med-high. This will create enough heat inside of the closed grill to cook your chicken.
If I could give 10 stars, I would!!!
I’ve done these thighs and they are amazing! However, my wife is vegan so I have also used the marinade on cauliflower streaks. Also amazing!
Thank you so much!!!!
Sounds delicious, Lemons and limes come in various sizes and limes seem to be dryer this year, so can you give approximate measurements of both? Tbanks!
Excellent marinade. The thighs were juicy and the taste delicious. The grilled thighs would go with any sides.
This was my first time cooking chicken thighs on the grill and oh my goodness, this marinade and recipe are fantastic. I used slightly less sugar but that was the only modification and taking out tender, flavorful, and juicy. Thank you so much!
Can you not use soy sauce.? Can it be omitted or use less?
I made this last night and the marinade is indeed delicious! I let it marinade in a vacuum bag overnight but the meat still seemed sort of bland. I think next time I make this I’m going to let it marinade for a couple days.