Easy and Healthy Grilled Chicken (Seasoning and Meal Ideas + a few Grilling Tips)
I like to cook and play around with flavors and techniques, but lots of times it’s more about getting a good meal on the table that’s healthy and flavorful! Because of this, grilled chicken is really one of our regular weekday meals with usually enough cooked to feed everybody at least twice.
How Long Does It Take
Deciding what kind of chicken to grill largely depends on defrost time available and if I need bone broth. It there’s:
- Sufficient time? Go with a whole chicken cut into 8 pieces, still having the bones and skin because I can use the bones later to make bone broth. With that in mind, I also count in time to:
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- cook the chicken pieces slightly longer
- add on about 5 more minutes to remove the meat from the bones and either:
- freeze them for later use or
- drop them directly into my slow cooker and get my broth started
- Only a short period of time or I don’t have a lot of time to thaw? Go with boneless and skinless chicken (great for those quick meal nights)
Seasoning Ideas
I see so many delicious sounding marinades and brines and rubs, and I do use them periodically. But for our typical grilled chicken, we stick with a dry rub because it usually means less time needed, less mess to clean up, and less waste. Also some ingredients that are commonly included in marinades can drip and cause flame-ups on your grill and, thus, make for a more difficult grill.
After I’ve defrosted the chicken and moved over to handling the sides for our meal, my “grill king” husband lays out the individual pieces of chicken on an easy to carry, flat baking sheet (with an edge) or casserole dish. He then generously seasons both sides of each piece with whatever seasoning is decided upon for the meal. While salt and pepper are always chosen seasonings, we might also add:
- Garlic powder (our favorite)
- Italian herb seasoning or fresh chopped herbs (like oregano, rosemary, thyme) with garlic powder
- Onion powder with garlic powder
- Garlic powder, onion powder, cumin, paprika (maybe smoky paprika and cayenne powder if you’re okay with some spicy heat)
The Grilling
There can be some strong opinions about the choice of grill, so let me share that we’ve used gas grills for about 20+ years now mostly because they are:
- quick to use
- easy to clean
Don’t get me wrong. I love chicken grilled over a wood fire too. But quick and easy are two powerful words in our busy household after a long day when everybody is hungry.
My husband usually starts preheating the grill about 15 minutes before cook time and then heads in to trim and season the chicken.
If a smoky flavor is wanted, a small wood chip pouch is made with aluminum foil and a Very small hole piercing the top. Just place your wood chip pouch inside the grill during the pre-heat and while grilling for a nice smokiness added to the chicken. Our favorite wood smoking options are mesquite and hickory, but there are several options to choose from.
A quick and easy grill for a healthy, flavorful meal.
- 3-4 pounds Chicken (preferably pasture-raised)
- 3 Tablespoons Salt (to taste)
- 2 Tablespoons Pepper (to taste)
- 2 Tablespoons Garlic Powder (preferably organic)
- 2 Tablespoons Coconut Oil
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Preheat grill to 375°. Clean with a wire brush while hot (preferably). Then oil the cooking area with the coconut oil.
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Place defrosted chicken in a casserole dish or sided baking sheet, trim excess fat from chicken, and then season on top and bottom with chosen spices and herbs.
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Distribute the chicken pieces on your grill with the biggest pieces in the hottest spots.
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Flip the chicken pieces after approximately 5 minutes for boneless chicken or 10 minutes for bone-in chicken pieces.
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After approximately 5 additional minutes for boneless pieces or 10 minutes for bone-in pieces, start checking the temperature on the smallest pieces first and remove from grill as the individual pieces reach 180°.
- Depending on thickness and size variation of bone-in pieces, a breast piece can need approximately 10 minutes longer to cook than a wing, so consider rearranging and flipping bigger pieces more than once.
- We like using either Tropical Traditions Expeller-Pressed Coconut Oil or Nutiva Refined Coconut Oil.
- Our favorite salt is Redmond Real Salt (Fine).
What’s Good With Grilled Chicken?
It’s always so funny when my husband comes sauntering in with a mountain of boneless chicken piled high on a plate with the thermometer stuck in the top.
While he’s been enjoying outside time watching the deer and bats as the sun goes down, the rest of us have been busy inside preparing everything else. There are hundreds of ways you can go when planning what to combine with your chicken but a few of our favorite meals have been:
- tacos built with chicken, sauteed peppers and onions, guacamole, and salsa
- chicken served with sauteed mushrooms, Cole slaw, and fresh steamed green beans lightly tossed with garlic oil
- power bowls with grilled chicken as one of the ingredient options
- chicken served on top of some lightly tossed greens (with a touch of vinaigrette) and cardamom sweet potatoes
- roasted broccoli and carrots (seasoned with a little coconut aminos) topping your grilled chicken and quinoa with some sliced tomatoes on the side
- chicken and roasted sliced Brussels sprouts and bacon on baby spinach with pickled cucumber slices
- nachos with chicken, pinto beans, guacamole, salsa piled on chips
- chicken wraps with sliced carrots, purple cabbage, sprouts, cucumber, and a dill/avocado drizzle wrapped in a butter lettuce leaf
I’ve linked to other posts on my website with recipes for several of the suggestions above, so just click those for more information.
When cooking bone-in chicken, start by checking and removing the smallest pieces first.
If we’re planning to make homemade bone broth, we can usually remove the meat from most of the bones by the time the breat pieces are done.
This is such a quick and easy go-to, so we eat this regularly and have often combined it with some variation of roasted root vegetables and some sort of salad. 
Some Additional Information
I thought I’d go ahead and include some helpful links to other resources I’ve mentioned:
- my favorite coconut oil from Tropical Traditions
- the Weber gas grill my husband uses
- link to the YouTube video of how to build the woodchip smoking pouch
- links to three of my chicken sources are:
- Yonderway Farm – A Texas source with drop-offs and Texas shipping options
- Three Sisters Farms – farmers market source
- Azure Standard – A US source for online orders to drop-off locations in most states (chicken, seasonings, etc.)
My husband also recommends having two portable grill tanks available. If you use a gas grill, you can use every last bit in one tank and then switch, when necessary, without risking running out mid-grill.
Summing It Up
Grilled chicken is definitely a favorite around here. But the simple garlic powder, salt, and pepper option is usually the easiest to fit into our meal plans. Since we’re usually cooking chicken to be used across multiple meals, this basic seasoning combination blends nicely across a variety of meal directions.
Whatever you do, I hope you enjoy an easy, healthy, and flavorful meal.
Did You Know?
And in case you didn’t know, I’m a health coach, and I love helping clients make healthy changes that help them reach their future goals. Whether it’s dealing with autoimmune disease, lowering stress, or making meals tasty and nutritious, schedule a Discovery call to see if coaching is right for you.
