How to Grill Chicken Breast Without Drying It Out
Chicken breast has a bit of a reputation for being boring, but I don’t think the chicken itself is usually the problem. It’s more that because it’s quite lean, it’s incredibly easy to overcook it and end up with something dry that needs half a bottle of sauce to make it enjoyable.
Grilling is actually a really simple way to cook chicken breast once you’ve got the hang of it, particularly if you’re cooking a quick dinner or want chicken that you can slice and use in salads, wraps, sandwiches and other meals.
There is one slightly confusing thing before we go any further, though. Here in the UK, when we talk about grilling chicken we usually mean cooking it under the grill in the oven or cooker. In American recipes, “grilling” usually means cooking over a barbecue or outdoor grill.
This guide is primarily about grilling chicken in the UK sense, although quite a few of the tips around seasoning, thickness and checking when your chicken is cooked apply to barbecued chicken too.
If you’re looking for completely different ways to cook it, have a look at my ways to cook chicken breast guide.
Why does grilled chicken breast become dry?
Chicken breast is naturally quite lean, which is one reason it can go from nicely cooked to disappointingly dry surprisingly quickly.
One of the biggest problems is that chicken breasts aren’t usually an even thickness. The thickest end can still be cooking while the thinner end is already done, so leaving the whole thing under the grill until you’re confident the middle is cooked can mean the rest has had far longer than it needed.
You don’t need to bash every chicken breast into oblivion, but choosing pieces of a similar size and getting the thickness reasonably even can make cooking much easier.
The other obvious culprit is simply leaving it cooking for too long. Cooking times are useful as a rough guide, but the thickness of your chicken and the performance of your grill can make a considerable difference.
How to prepare chicken breast for grilling
Take the chicken from its packaging and prepare it on a clean chopping board used for raw meat.
Don’t wash raw chicken. It doesn’t make it safer, and splashing water around the sink can spread bacteria onto nearby surfaces.
If one end of the chicken breast is considerably thicker than the other, you can carefully even it out a little so that it cooks more consistently.
From there, decide how you want to flavour it. A little oil and seasoning is enough for a simple grilled chicken breast, but marinades and dry rubs give you much more variety without changing the basic cooking method.
An easy dry rub for grilled chicken
If you fancy something with a bit more flavour than salt and pepper, this simple combination works well:
- 1 teaspoon mustard powder
- 1 teaspoon onion granules
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon garlic granules
- ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
- ½ teaspoon ground cumin
- ½ teaspoon ground coriander
- ½ teaspoon paprika
Mix everything together in a small bowl.
Lightly coat the chicken with a little oil or cooking spray before rubbing the seasoning over the surface.
Dry rubs are easy to adapt, so once you’ve made it a couple of times you can play around with the herbs and spices depending on what you’re serving with the chicken.
If you enjoy making your own seasoning mixtures rather than buying lots of little jars, have a look at my chicken rubs and homemade spice blends for more ideas.
How to grill chicken breast
Preheat your grill and position the chicken so it cooks evenly without sitting so close to the heat that the outside burns before the centre is cooked.
Turn the chicken during cooking so both sides have a chance to colour.
I wouldn’t give you one magic number of minutes and promise that every chicken breast will be ready at exactly that point. A thin chicken breast and a huge thick one clearly aren’t going to behave in the same way, and grills vary too.
Instead, use the cooking time in your chosen recipe as a guide and check the thickest part before serving.
A food thermometer is particularly useful here because it takes the guesswork out of deciding whether the middle is properly cooked.
How do I know when grilled chicken is cooked?
Chicken needs to be thoroughly cooked all the way through.
The Food Standards Agency advises that the centre of food should reach 70°C for two minutes, or an equivalent time and temperature combination. If you’re using a clean food thermometer, check the thickest part of the chicken.
If you don’t have a thermometer, cut into the thickest part and check that the meat is steaming hot throughout, there is no pink fleshy meat and the juices run clear.
Don’t rely purely on how brown the outside looks. Chicken can look beautifully grilled on the outside while still needing more cooking in the thickest part.
How to stop grilled chicken sticking
A little oil can help, as can making sure the grill rack or cooking surface you’re using is clean before you start.
Try not to continually poke, prod and move the chicken around either. Give it a chance to cook before turning it.
If you’ve used a rub containing spices, keep an eye on the outside because seasonings can darken more quickly than plain chicken.
Should I marinate chicken before grilling?
You don’t have to, but a marinade is an easy way to change the flavour.
Something as simple as lemon, garlic and herbs can make quite a difference, or you can go for stronger flavours depending on what you’re serving alongside it.
Always marinate raw chicken in the fridge rather than leaving it sitting on the worktop.
Once a marinade has been in contact with raw chicken, don’t use that same marinade as a finishing sauce. If you want some sauce for serving, put a portion aside before adding the raw chicken.
What can I serve with grilled chicken?
This is probably why grilled chicken is so useful: you can take it in almost any direction.
For a really simple dinner, serve it with air fryer chips and salad or vegetables. You could also have it with rice, couscous, a jacket potato or roasted vegetables.
During warmer weather it works particularly well as part of a healthy BBQ, either served as it is or sliced into a big salad.
Change the seasoning and you change the whole meal, which is handy when chicken breast is something you buy regularly.
Ways to use leftover grilled chicken
I actually think this is where grilled chicken becomes particularly useful because you don’t necessarily have to eat it as a chicken breast with vegetables every time.
Once safely chilled, sliced grilled chicken can be added to salads, sandwiches and wraps. You could use it as a jacket potato filling, add it to a rice bowl or use it for an easy lunch the following day.
My leftover chicken recipes have lots more ideas if you’ve cooked more than you need.
Can I cook frozen chicken under the grill?
For this method, I’d defrost the chicken before cooking it.
The blanket advice that chicken can never be cooked from frozen isn’t quite right because some products are specifically designed to be cooked that way. However, if you’re following this guide with ordinary chicken breasts, start with properly defrosted chicken.
If yours is still frozen, have a look at my guide to defrosting chicken safely. Always check current food safety guidance for advice.
Grilling chicken on a barbecue
If you’ve arrived here because you’re using “grill” in the American sense and you’re actually cooking chicken on a barbecue, food safety becomes particularly important.
A barbecue can brown the outside of chicken quickly while the thickest part still isn’t properly cooked.
Keep raw and cooked food separate, use different utensils and plates for each, and make sure the chicken is thoroughly cooked before serving.
If you’re cooking for quite a few people, another option is to cook the chicken through in the oven first and finish it on the barbecue for the chargrilled flavour.
I’ve got more ideas in my healthy BBQ recipes if that’s what you’re planning.
Is grilled chicken good for weight loss?
Grilled chicken breast is popular in weight-loss meal plans because it’s a source of protein and can be cooked without huge amounts of added fat, but you certainly don’t have to eat endless plates of plain grilled chicken and salad to lose weight.
I lost a lot of weight myself, and one thing I’ve learnt since is that reducing food to “good” and “bad” choices isn’t particularly helpful. How a meal fits into what you eat overall matters much more than deciding that one cooking method somehow makes chicken a weight-loss food.
If weight loss is your goal, build a meal you actually enjoy around it and choose portions and accompaniments that work for you.
More chicken ideas
If plain grilled chicken isn’t grabbing you, there are plenty of other options.
My healthy chicken recipes collection has curries, pasta dishes, slow cooker meals, air fryer chicken, fakeaways and lots of family dinner ideas.
For something with plenty of flavour, try my jerk chicken and Caribbean rice, or have a look at my chicken pasta recipes if you’re after something a bit more substantial.
Chicken breast doesn’t have to mean grilled chicken and salad every night!
