This juicy Garlic Parmesan Grilled Chicken is quick and easy, full of flavor, and only requires a few minutes of prep. It makes a perfect summer entree, especially when paired with grilled veggies, baked potatoes, or a simple salad.
Grill chicken breasts on a preheated grill, then slather them with our easy garlic parmesan butter sauce just before serving. Don't want to grill? No problem! We have also given you step-by-step instructions on how to make a baked version of this recipe.
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Garlic Parmesan Grilled Chicken
Whoever said grilled chicken breast had to be bland and dry? Not us! We flavor these chicken breasts simply, with just a bit of oil and seasoning, and then bathe them in a buttery garlic Parmesan sauce while they are still piping hot.
The trick is to use a hot preheated grill, cooking only as much as necessary on either side, then letting them rest for 2-3 minutes once sauced. This allows the juices to redistribute, and keep your chicken as moist as possible.
The result is tender, juicy and flavorful chicken that tastes great on it’s own, or saved for later to be stuffed into sandwiches, diced for a salad or cut into pieces and served on kabobs! You can find so many ways to fall in love with this recipe, all year long.
Main Ingredients You Will Need
- Chicken Breasts - we like to use boneless, skinless chicken breast. You can also substitute chicken thighs, chicken drumsticks or chicken wings, keeping in mind that they will all have varying cook times.
- Oil - we like to use avocado oil, but you could substitute with canola, vegetable or olive oil.
- Salt and Black Pepper - add to taste.
- Garlic - here you can use either garlic powder or finely minced fresh garlic.
Garlic Parmesan Sauce
- Butter - this should be melted.
- Garlic Powder - we like to use powdered garlic rather than minced since it has a nice sweetness to it, whereas the raw garlic can be a little more abrasive.
- Parmesan Cheese - you want to use finely grated Parmesan cheese. In fact, the cheese from the can will actually work just fine in this case!
- Red Pepper Flakes - you can add a little more or less, depending on your heat preference.
- Parsley - fresh chopped parsley adds such a nice freshness to round out all of the flavors in these drumsticks.
How To Make Grilled Chicken with Parmesan Cheese Sauce
The first step is to preheat your grill to about medium high heat. It's also a good idea to clean the grates and lightly oil them.
- Season the chicken. In a large bowl, add the chicken breasts, avocado oil, garlic, salt, and pepper. Toss until the chicken is completely coated.
- Grill. Grill over direct medium heat for about 5-7 minutes, or until golden on the underside. Flip, then cook again for 5-7 minutes or until the internal temperature reaches 165 degrees F.
- Rest the chicken. Remove the chicken from the grill let rest.
- Make the garlic parmesan butter sauce. In a small bowl, mix together the melted butter, garlic powder, Parmesan cheese, red pepper flakes, and parsley.
- Serve. Pour the garlic Parmesan sauce over the hot chicken breasts and toss until they are completely coated, then serve immediately. Enjoy!
Frequently Asked Questions
Chicken should always be cooked to an internal temperature of 165 degrees F. You need to insert your thermometer into the thickest part of the chicken in order to get an accurate reading. Any lower and the chicken will not be safe to consume (but too much higher and you risk drying it out!).
That depends! Like we said, you always need to cook your chicken until the internal temperature has reached 165 degrees F. How long this takes will depend on how large your chicken breasts are and how hot your grill actually is!
If you have a grill that you can set to a specific temperature, then you want to aim for around 425-450 degrees. If not, do with medium direct heat. For an average sized chicken breast, you’ll need to grill a total of 10-14 minutes, flipping sides halfway through.
Yes! Whether it’s cold outside, or you just don’t feel like firing up the grill, you can still make this recipe by baking your chicken breasts. Just preheat your oven to 350 degrees F, season with garlic, salt, and pepper, on both sides, and then spoon the garlic Parmesan sauce over the chicken.
Bake uncovered for 30-35 minutes, or until it reaches an internal temperature of 165 degrees F. Once fully baked, remove the chicken from the oven and let rest for 5-10 minutes.
Storing And Reheating
- Refrigerator: store leftover grilled chicken in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days.
- To reheat: either microwave or reheat in a preheated 350 degree oven until warmed through.
Garlic Parmesan Grilled Chicken Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 lbs Chicken Breasts boneless, skinless
- ⅛ cup Avocado OIl
- to taste Salt
- to taste Black Pepper
- 1 teaspoon Garlic powder or minced
Garlic Parmesan Sauce
- ⅔ cup Butter melted
- 1 teaspoon Garlic Powder
- ½ cup Parmesan Cheese finely grated
- 1 pinch Red Pepper Flakes
- 1 tablespoon Parsley chopped
Instructions
- Preheat the grill.
- In a large bowl, add the chicken breasts, avocado oil, garlic, salt and pepper. Toss until the chicken is completely coated.
- Using tongs, place chicken breasts on the grill, making sure that they are not touching.
- Grill over direct medium heat for about 5-7 minutes, or until golden on the underside. Flip, then cook again for 5-7 minutes. (Note: if the chicken sticks to the grill, don’t force it! Let it cook another minute and then try again.)
- Use a digital thermometer to check that the internal temperature at the thickest part of the chicken breast has reached 165 degrees F., then remove chicken from the grill and place in a bowl.
- In a small bowl, mix together the melted butter, garlic powder, Parmesan cheese, red pepper flakes and parsley. Pour the garlic Parmesan sauce over the hot chicken breasts and toss until they are completely coated. Let rest for 2-3 minutes, then serve. Enjoy!
Nutrition
More of Our Favorite Chicken Breast Recipes
- Green Chili Hasselback Chicken
- Baked BBQ Chicken Breast
- Thai Chicken Stir Fry
- Oven-Baked Chicken Parmesan
- Southwest Grilled Chicken Breast
- Chicken Wings
- Chicken Leg Recipes
- Baked Ginger Chicken
- Lemon Chicken
- Convection Roast Chicken
- More Chicken Recipes
More Recipes You'll love
These juicy Grilled Garlic Parmesan Chicken Breasts are cooked simply, with just a bit of oil and seasoning, and then bathed in a buttery garlic Parmesan sauce while still piping hot. They make a perfect summer entree, especially when paired with grilled veggies, baked potatoes or a simple salad.
cv
Thanks Jill...
I was looking for something like this and you saved it...
cv
chris
if you brine the chicken before putting it on the grill, you won't have to worry about it drying out.
fatobal
This is a tasty and delicious dish. I like this dish very much and that is why I made this dish at home.
https://messsergeant.com/baked-chicken-kabobs/
Jill Baird
So glad you loved it!