Easy honey lemon grilled chicken recipe. Chicken thighs are flavored with homemade grill seasoning, marinated in honey, lemon and garlic & grilled to perfection!
The recipe for this honey lemon marinade for grilled chicken is my mom’s. She has been marinating chicken for grilling this way for a good while now and everyone loves it.
Well, no wonder! Not only does this honey lemon grilled chicken sound amazing but it also tastes amazing!
That was why I did not want to leave home without her giving me that recipe. Now apparently she uses grill seasoning from Austria because it is her favorite one for grilling. I think a friend of hers buys this for her once in a while when she returns from her travels.
Now I did not use any shop-bought grill seasoning. I felt like making my own would be the best option here. So all I did was check the Austrian seasoning’s packaging for ingredients so I could make it myself.
Guys, it is pretty easy to make so hopefully you will give it a go yourselves too. You have nothing to lose here. On the contrary – you will make your honey lemon grilled chicken taste divine!
How to make honey grilled chicken:
Let’s divide the whole process into 4 simple steps:
Step 1 – Make homemade grill seasoning
As I’ve said it is pretty simple and only takes a few minutes to make. You will need 4 spices + salt: Combine these in a small bowl and you are done. You can move on to the next step.
Step 2 – Prepare honey lemon marinade
Now this grilled chicken also needs a good marinade like this one! In a bowl/zip-lock bag or a casserole dish mix together honey, olive oil, garlic and lemon juice. That’s it.
Step 3 – Season + Marinate
Season each chicken thigh well (I used 2/3 of a teaspoon per side) and place them in the bag or bowl/casserole dish where you have the marinade. Close or cover with cling film and refrigerate for 3+ hours, for best results overnight.
Step 4 – Grill
The grilling will take about 12-15 minutes per side when using bone-in chicken thighs. Check with a thermometer or cut one thigh in half to see if it is cooked well (it should not be pink inside).
Ingredient substitutions:
- Chicken thighs, bone in – use boneless thighs. You could also use breasts or drumsticks but thighs are the best for grilling.
- Homemade grill seasoning – if you have your favorite grill seasoning on hand, then go ahead and use that.
- Extra virgin olive oil – vegetable or sunflower will work as well.
More grilling & chicken recipes:
- Yogurt Marinated Grilled Chicken
- Grilled Boneless Chicken Thighs
- Grilled Turkey Kabobs
- Grilled Corn
- Balsamic Chicken Skewers
- Grilled Whole Fish
- Baked Curry Chicken Wings
- Spicy Sticky Chicken Wings
- Beer Marinated Chicken
Want to see how to make Honey Lemon Grilled Chicken? Watch the video!
Honey Lemon Grilled Chicken
Ingredients
- 2 pounds chicken thighs , bone-in (1 kilogram)
Grill Seasoning:
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- 1 teaspoon dried ginger
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- 2 teaspoons salt
Honey Lemon Marinade:
- 3 tablespoons honey
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice , freshly squeezed (1/2 lemon)
- 3 garlic cloves
- 5 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
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Instructions
- First prepare the grill seasoning by combining paprika, ginger, oregano, thyme and salt.
- Now, make the marinade: Mix together honey, lemon juice, minced garlic and olive oil.
- Season each chicken thigh well with grill seasoning (about 2/3 of a teaspoon per side) and place them in a large zip-lock bag or a bowl/casserole dish. Pour marinade over and cover the dish (or close the bag) with cling film.
- Refrigerate for 3+ hours, best overnight before grilling. It will take about 12-15 minutes per side. Check the readiness with a thermometer or cut one in half. The chicken should not be pink anymore.
- Serve with salad, rice, potatoes or anything you like!
Annemarie says
Grilled chicken thighs are one of our favorite go-to summer dinners! I love the honey lemon marinade you used on them. That would give them a lot of flavor. Good on you for getting the recipe from your mom. :)
Julia | Happy Foods Tube says
Thanks, Annemarie! We love the marinade!
Monica | Nourish & Fete says
Wow, this sounds – and looks – delicious! Makes me want to run home right now and fire up the grill to make a sweet summer dinner! I also love that the recipe has been your Mom’s forever – something about a family recipe always make it even more special!
Julia | Happy Foods Tube says
Thanks, Monica! Haa, I hope the grill is already on :)
Rebecca | Let's Eat Cake says
I love love love grilled chicken! I’m without a grill at the moment though :( Do you think this would work with a stovetop grill pan?
Julia | Happy Foods Tube says
It’s worth giving them a try! I haven’t tried using stovetop grill pun but made them in the oven as well and their color was way paler though. Also their taste was not as intense as of those charcoal grilled ones.
Ayngelina Brogan says
I love how simple this is, I’m going to pick up a lemon today so I can make this for lunch tomorrow.
Julia | Happy Foods Tube says
Glad to hear that. Let me know how you like it!
Lisa says
Love a good grilled chicken — especially with a tasty marinade. I notice everywhere in the recipe it’s written as chicken tights — not thighs. Is there a reason for that or is it spellcheck? I hate spellcheck.
Julia | Happy Foods Tube says
Thanks, Lisa! Oh my Goodness! :) Nope. No reason at all!!! Can’t believe I have missed that. Thanks for letting me know. Fixed now :)!
Christina says
Wow, that looks so freaking delicious! I eat copious amounts of chicken each week, so I’m always on the lookout for new chicken recipes. I can’t wait to make this!!
Julia | Happy Foods Tube says
Happy to hear that, Christina! Thanks!
Brian says
Amazing flavors!! I’m going to try the marinade with a pork tenderloin tonight!!
Julia | Happy Foods Tube says
Happy grilling, Brian! Thanks so much for your feedback.
Virginia Allen says
We made this recipe for the first time, and it was delicious! We used boneless chicken thighs, which took about half the time to grill than a bone-in thigh. We’ll definitely make this again!
Julia | Happy Foods Tube says
That’s so good to hear, Virginia. Hope you find some more recipes to try from our blog. Happy Grilling! :)
Karen says
I love the dry rub and marinade combo here – it layered the flavor beautifully! I made this will boneless, skinless chicken thighs and broiled them in same large glass pan that I marinated in overnight. The flavor was outstanding… although my daughter found it too salty so I may cut back slightly… just. I made such a big batch that I could chop some up to put into a chicken rice soup and then also to have with some red hot sauce celery and blue cheese. I will do an even bigger batch and freeze some next time.
Julia | Happy Foods Tube says
Hi Karen! Thanks so much for your feedback and rating :)! Just a quick note: The reason why the thighs might have tasted too salty – 1. boneless, skinless thighs are thinner (no bone) which means they may absorb more seasoning. 2. I am not sure whether you have cooked them altogether with the marinade – if so, that would also add extra saltiness. Happy Cooking!