37 Grilled Chicken Recipes to Make This Summer
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The best grilled chicken recipes go hand in hand with summer. Picture your first backyard party of the season: the aroma of charred meat wafting from the grates, chilled cocktails at arm’s reach, friends awkwardly transitioning from sneakers to sandals…we can almost feel the sun on our faces as we daydream in front of our computers.
Let’s make it a reality, though, shall we? From coconut-milk-and-chili-paste-marinated thighs to charred drumsticks glazed in savory caramel sauce to the ultimate hot and toasty sandwich, these recipes for grilled chicken will keep your barbecue working hard from Memorial Day through Labor Day (and beyond if you want them to). Most importantly, they’re full of flavor. So make sure you have all the tools you need and get grilling.
Editor’s note: Head this way for more of our best grilling recipes →
Photographs by Laura Murray, food styling by Rose Daniels and Yia Vang1/39Grilled Butterflied Chicken With Lemongrass Sauce
We’re starting our list of grilled chicken recipes with a bang via this barbecue blueprint from chef Yia Vang of Union Hmong Kitchen. Yes, you can cook a whole chicken on the grill; butterflying or spatchcocking the bird speeds up the process. (Word of warning: You’ll want to put the accompanying scallion-lemongrass-ginger-garlic sauce on everything.)
Photo by Alex Lau, food styling by Rebecca Jurkevich, prop styling by Kalen Kaminski2/39Grilled Chicken Thighs With Sweet-and-Spicy Marinade
If you were to ask for the best chicken marinade recipe of all time, we’d direct you to this Vietnamese-inspired number. With brown sugar, fish sauce, and chiles, it hits all the sweet-funky-spicy notes we crave.
Photograph by Emma Fishman, food styling by Susie Theodorou, prop styling by Aneta Florczyk3/39Grilled Pineapple Drumsticks
A punchy marinade of shallots, garlic, coconut cream, lime juice, and shrimp paste imparts big flavor to these chicken legs in minutes (15, to be exact). Grill the marinated drumsticks over indirect heat to ensure juiciness; then give them a final char over direct heat, alongside fresh pineapple slices, to get the skin crackly.
Photo by Chelsie Craig, Food Styling by Kat Boytsova5/39Healthyish Barbecued Chicken
Basting the chicken in barbecue sauce while grilling gives it a gloriously sticky, glossy sheen. We like to make our own sauce here (it only takes 15 minutes), but if you’re short on prep time, go ahead and use your favorite jarred barbecue sauce for this recipe. Or swap it out for an all-star teriyaki sauce or balsamic vinaigrette.
Photograph by Emma Fishman, food styling by Susie Theodorou, prop styling by Aneta Florczyk6/39Green Goddess Chicken Thighs
Move over, salads: Green goddess dressing doubles as a great marinade for grilled chicken thighs. Choose a medley of whichever fresh herbs you like—dill, parsley, cilantro, basil, mint, tarragon, chives. Just make sure you save some for serving.
Photograph by Emma Fishman, food styling by Caroline Hwang, prop styling by Elizabeth Jaime.7/39Sweet and Sticky Grilled Chicken
Marmalade, mustard, soy sauce, and sherry vinegar pull double duty in this quick-cooking chicken recipe: first as a tangy glaze that chars and caramelizes on the grill, and second, simmered into a sauce to serve alongside.
Photograph by Maria Be, food styling by Thu Buser, prop styling by Marina Bevilacqua9/39Spiced Chicken Burgers
As much as we love a smashburger, these flavor-packed chicken patties—seasoned with Thai chiles, ginger, and cilantro—are in a league of their own. The secret to the juiciest burgers? Amul cheese mixed right into the meat.
Photo by Isa Zapata, Food Styling by Micah Morton10/39Grilled Chicken Wings With Summer Berry Agrodolce
This Italian-inspired sour-sweet glaze recipe works magic on a bag of frozen berries, transforming them into a killer sauce for easy grilled chicken wings.
Photograph by Emma Fishman, food styling by Susie Theodorou, prop styling by Aneta Florczyk11/39Grilled Chicken Breasts With Tadka-ish Sauce
We call the sauce for this grilled chicken breast recipe tadka-ish because it involves mixing a scallion and nigella seed tadka with other, less-traditional ingredients (like lemon juice, maple syrup, and cayenne). A tangy buttermilk-dressed salad cools things down.
Photograph by Emma Fishman, food styling by Susie Theodorou, prop styling by Aneta Florczyk12/39Five-Spice Spatchcocked Grilled Chicken
If you plan on grilling a whole chicken for a weeknight meal, we vote for spatchcocking it. The method flattens the bird (maximizing surface area for crisp skin), cuts down on cook time, and ensures the breasts and legs cook at the same rate.
Photographs by Mamadi Doumbouya, food styling by Pearl Jones, prop styling by Shannon Maldonado13/39Sticky Barbecue Chicken
Kurt Evans, culinary director at Drive Change, marinates his BBQ chicken in advance to ensure it won’t dry out on the grill. Then he bastes it with a blackstrap molasses–based sauce for the crackliest, stickiest skin.
Photograph by Joyce Lee, food styling by Brandon Gray, prop styling by Chloe Kirk14/39Grilled Chicken Pizza With Vodka Sauce
If you’ve fallen into a rut of grilled chicken thighs and BBQ drumsticks, change things up with this grilled chicken pizza. A vodka sauce base and pickled onion topping make it an utterly unique pie.
Photo by Chelsie Craig, food styling by Kat Boytsova15/39Spicy Coconut Grilled Chicken Thighs
Welcome to your new go-to summer marinade: Spicy sambal, brown sugar and coconut milk to balance the heat, and lots of zingy fresh ginger and lime juice.
Photographs by Laura Murray, food styling by Simon Andrews, prop styling by Sophie Strangio16/39Honey-Glazed Pepper Chicken
This classic summer recipe involves some serious prep time, but that’s just so the dry rub can do its job. (In other words, you can spend those hours having a cocktail or two).
Photo by Alex Lau, food styling by Rebecca Jurkevich, prop styling by Amy Wilson17/39Spicy Grilled Chicken With Crunchy Fennel Salad
The simplest and crunchiest salad—made with shaved fennel, onion, rice vinegar, olive oil, and sesame—provides cooling balance for these grilled boneless chicken thighs, which pack a wallop of spice.
Photo by Alex Lau, food styling by Rebecca Jurkevich, prop styling by Amy Wilson18/39Grilled Chicken Drumsticks With Savory Caramel
Photo by Alex Lau, Food Styling by Judy Mancini19/39Grilled Chicken Sandwich With Caesar-ish Dressing
Photo by Alex Lau, food styling by Chris Morocco and Tom Cunanan, prop styling by Elizabeth Jaime20/39Chicken Inasal
This Filipino recipe packs tons of flavor from lemongrass, seasoned rice vinegar, achiote seeds, and—the secret ingredient—Sprite. Use the rest of the bottle to pour out some Santo Libres, a Dominican highball of rum and lemon-lime soda.
Alex Lau21/39Grilled Chicken Wings With Vinegar and Chiles
Fried chicken wings are great. But these spicy, tangy, grill-mark-lined chicken wings may be even better. Blue cheese dressing optional.
Photo by Alex Lau, food styling by Susie Theodorou, prop styling by Amy Wilson22/39Grilled Chicken With Lemon and Thyme
A grilled chicken recipe that doesn’t involve hours of marinating? We’ve got you covered. This chicken—which made it into our hall of fame—can even be grilled an hour ahead of time: It gets more flavorful as it hangs out in the lemony sauce.
Peden + Munk23/39Moroccan Chicken Brochettes
If you haven’t heard of the term “brochette,” not to fear. It’s just a skewer. Either bamboo or metal skewers will work for these speared and grilled chunks of chicken.
Photo by Emma Fishman, Food Styling by Rebecca Jurkevich24/39Sticky Guava Barbecue Drumsticks
Glaze juicy chicken drumsticks in a spicy-sweet sauce made with guava paste, inspired by the guava barbecue sauce in author Yvonne Ortiz’s seminal cookbook, A Taste of Puerto Rico.
Photo by Alex Lau, food styling by Andy Baraghani27/39Grilled Chicken Skewers With Toum (Shish Taouk)
Photo by Alex Lau28/39Grilled Chicken With Banana Peppers
Many ingredients go into the marinade for this grilled chicken recipe, but one is especially important: garlic powder. (We love garlic powder, forever and always.) The banana pepper may seem like an afterthought, but they provide a vinegary, spicy pop essential to the dish.
Juco29/39Grilled Oregano Chicken
The vinaigrette—made with anchovies, garlic, and olive brine—works double duty in this grilled chicken recipe, acting as both a marinade and a finishing sauce.
Ted Cavanaugh31/39Soy-Basted Chicken Kebabs With Sesame-Citrus Sprinkle
We know we’re supposed to be all about chicken right now, but this glaze made with brown sugar, mirin, soy sauce, and vinegar would also be great on short ribs. Just saying.
Christopher Testani32/39Yogurt-Marinated Grilled Chicken
Hot sauce, garam masala, and a few simple seasonings add flavor to the tenderizing yogurt marinade. After its soak, the chicken just needs about 30 minutes on the grill to reach an internal temperature of 165°—and to be extremely tender and delicious.
Peden + Munk33/39Chile-and-Yogurt-Marinated Grilled Chicken
Here’s another example of using yogurt as a chicken marinade. This recipe comes from Gunpowder, an Indian restaurant in London.
Photo by Peden + Munk, food styling by Sue Li, prop styling by Rebecca Bartoshesky35/39Lemon-Pepper Chicken
If you’ve never heard of lemon-pepper chicken, a culinary tradition in Atlanta, allow Georgia pitmaster Bryan Furman from B’s Cracklin’ BBQ to educate you.
Photo by Emma Fishman, food styling by Susie Theodorou, prop styling by Elizabeth Jaime36/39Chicken Seekh Kebabs
Photo by Michael Graydon + Nikole Herriott, food styling by Rebecca Jurkevich, prop styling by Amy Wilson37/39Cold Paprika-Grilled Chicken With Marinated Bell Peppers
A grilled chicken recipe that’s better served cold? Yes, we said it. And the juices left over from marinating the peppers work double time to glaze the chicken too.
38/39Grilled Chicken With Za'atar
Bright, earthy, herby, and toasty, za’atar can go on just about anything. Buy our favorite blend at NY Shuk or make your own with oregano, sumac, cumin, sesame seeds, salt, and black pepper.
Photo by Alex Lau, Food Styling by Rebecca Jurkevich, Prop Styling by Kalen Kaminski39/39Grilled Chicken and Quinoa With Matcha Dressing
Most of our grilled chicken recipes start with thigh meat, but this one stars boneless, skinless chicken breast, plus salty feta, filling quinoa, and plenty of veggies. It’s a Greek-inspired chicken salad that makes for a delicious and healthy summer lunch or dinner.
