This chimichurri chicken is a delicious grilling recipe that’s perfect for summer. Boneless, skinless chicken breasts are marinated with a homemade chimichurri and grilled until golden and juicy. Then it’s topped with a generous amount of the chimichurri sauce.
What is chimichurri?
Chimichurri is a condiment that’s popular throughout Latin America. It’s a combination of parsley, olive oil, vinegar and spices and usually served with grilled meat.
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Ingredients for chimichurri chicken
The ingredient quantities and preparation methods are listed below in the recipe card.
Chimichurri:
- Parsley (1 large bunch, which will be about 4 cups loosely packed after the stems are removed) Use Italian or curly parsley whichever is available and looks best. I’ve made chimichurri with curly and Italian parsley and both come out great.
- Extra Virgin Olive Oil
- Red Wine Vinegar
- Garlic Clove
- Salt – we use Kosher salt
- Dried Oregano
- Black Pepper
- Red Pepper Flakes – leave these out if you don’t like spicy because they do add a little kick
Chicken:
- Boneless, Skinless Chicken Breast
- Salt – we use kosher salt
How to make chimichurri
Start with making the chimichurri because we need it to marinate the chicken. Put it together and let it sit in the refrigerator while you prep the chicken. For step by step instructions (with pictures) of how to make chimichurri sauce, check out our chimichurri recipe.
- Wash the parsley thoroughly, shake off the excess and it pat dry.
- Remove the large stems and keep only the leaves.
- Finely chop the parsley.
- Remove as much moisture as possible by squeezing the chopped parsley with a couple of good quality paper towels or a kitchen towel. Squeeze a few times.
- Add the parsley, salt, dried oregano, black pepper, crushed red pepper flakes, garlic, olive oil and red wine vinegar to a jar or bowl. Stir the sauce well until all of the ingredients are combined.
- Cover and refrigerate for 15 minutes
Prep the chicken
Trim any fat off the chicken and butterfly. To butterfly means to cut a piece of meat (chicken in this case) lengthwise almost entirely in half, but without going all the way through. The piece is then spread open to make one larger, thinner piece.
Place the chicken on a cutting board and pound gently using the flat side of a meat mallet until it’s about ½ inch thick. Don’t make the chicken breast too thin so it doesn’t dry out on the grill. The neatest way (I’ve found) to flatten chicken is to place it between two pieces of plastic wrap then pound it. The board and the mallet stay neat and the plastic wrap controls any splatters.
Place the chicken on a rimmed baking sheet or dish and repeat with the remaining chicken pieces. Sprinkle the chicken on both sides with the 1½ teaspoon of salt.
Arrange the chicken in the pan, its fine if they’re butted up against each other. Add ¼ cup of the chimichurri to the chicken and use your hands or a pastry brush to coat on both sides. Cover the pan/dish and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.
Cook’s note: For food safety make sure not to contaminate the entire batch of chimichurri while marinating the chicken. Pour the amount needed for the marinade (¼ cup) in a separate container and reserve the untouched sauce in the refrigerator until 15-20 minutes before serving.
Grill the chicken
Cook’s notes:
- Discard any chimichurri used to marinate the chicken.
- We used a gas grill to make the chicken and used grill spray to prevent sticking.
- Take the reserved chimichurri out of the refrigerator to get the chill out while you grill the chicken.
Preheat the grill to medium heat – around 350-400°F.
Spray the grates lightly with grill spray to minimize sticking, if desired.
Grill the chicken for about 18-20 minutes turning occasionally to cook evenly on both sides. The cooking time will depend on the thickness of your chicken pieces and the grill temperature. All grills are different. You know your grill, so use the temperature and cooking time as a guide and adjust accordingly.
Make sure the internal temperature of the chicken is at least 165°F at its thickest part. Use an instant read thermometer to make sure.
Serve the chicken and top it with a generous amount of chimichurri sauce.
You may also like these recipes for the grill:
- Grilled Zucchini
- Churrasco and Chimichurri
- Chicken Foil Packs
- Grilled Pork Chops with Mojo Marinade
- Dr Pepper Marinated Steak Skewers
- Shrimp Foil Pack
Chimichurri Chicken
Ingredients
Ingredients for the chimichurri
- ¾ cup Chopped Parsley 1 Large Bunch Parsley, which will be about 4 cups loosely packed after the stems are removed Use flat or curly parsley
- 1 cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil
- 2 tablespoons Red Wine Vinegar
- 1 Large Garlic Clove grated or finely minced
- 1 teaspoon Salt
- ½ teaspoon Dried Oregano
- ¼ teaspoon Black Pepper
- ¼ teaspoon Red Pepper Flakes
Ingredients for the chicken
- 2 – 2½ pounds Chicken Breast boneless, skinless, butterflied and pounded to roughly ½ inch thick
- 1½ teaspoon Salt we use kosher salt
Instructions
Make the chimichurri
- Wash the parsley thoroughly, shake off the excess and it pat dry. Remove the large stems and keep only the leaves.
- Finely chop the parsley.
- Remove as much moisture as possible by squeezing the chopped parsley with a couple of good quality paper towels or a kitchen towel.
- Add the parsley, salt, dried oregano, black pepper, crushed red pepper flakes, garlic, olive oil and red wine vinegar to a jar or bowl. Stir the sauce well until all of the ingredients are combined. Cover and refrigerate for 15 minutes
Marinate the chicken
- Trim any fat off the chicken
- Butterfly the chicken and pound to ½ inch thick.
- Place the chicken on a rimmed pan or dish and sprinkle the chicken on both sides with the 1½ teaspoon of salt. Add ¼ cup of the chimichurri to the chicken and use your hands or a pastry brush to coat on both sides.
- Cover the pan/dish and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.
Grill the chicken
- Take the reserved chimichurri out of the refrigerator to get the chill out while you grill the chicken.
- Preheat the grill to medium heat – around 350-400°F. Spray the grates lightly with grill spray to minimize sticking, if desired.
- Grill the chicken for about 18-20 minutes or until the internal temperature is at least 165°F at its thickest part, turning occasionally to cook evenly on both sides.
- Serve the chicken and top with a generous amount of chimichurri sauce.
Notes
- For food safety make sure not to contaminate the entire batch of chimichurri while marinating the chicken. Pour the amount needed for the marinade in a separate container and reserve the untouched sauce in the refrigerator.
- Discard any chimichurri used to marinate the chicken.
- The cooking time will depend on the thickness of your chicken pieces and the grill temperature. All grills are different, so use the temperature and cooking time as a guide and adjust accordingly.
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