Tuscan Lemon Chicken is a recipe from Ina Garten that our family has loved for years. Ina uses a whole chicken, which she splits and flattens. I’m so not about hacking into a whole chicken, so I adapted the recipe for boneless skinless chicken breasts, thankyouverymuch. It is still moist and flavorful and delicious, and I don’t have to molest a chicken. Ha!
Truly, this dish is divine, and it is one of my go-to summer meals. Between this and her Tequila Lime Chicken, Ina has me set for summertime grilled chicken recipes!
What I love about it is that it only uses a few ingredients, most of which I keep in my kitchen at all times. If you don’t have a fresh rosemary plant, go buy one now! You can plant it in your flower garden outside, or you can keep one on your windowsill in the kitchen, which is what I do. Fresh rosemary is a wonderful herb to have on hand. Besides that, you just need lemons, garlic and olive oil. It’s amazing that a dish so simple can be so delicious.
Here’s the recipe, modified slightly to accommodate the boneless chicken breasts.
- 1½ pounds boneless chicken breasts, flattened to ½-inch
- 1/3 cup olive oil
- 1/3 cup fresh lemon juice
- zest of 2 lemons
- 1 tablespoon minced garlic
- 1 tablespoon minced fresh rosemary leaves
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
- Place the oil, lemon juice, lemon zest, garlic, rosemary, salt and pepper in a gallon ziploc bag and shake to combine.
- Add the chicken, press out any extra air in the bag and seal it up. Give it a good shake so the chicken is well coated, and put it in the fridge for 8 hours or overnight.
- About 30 minutes before you want to eat, bring the chicken to room temperature and remove it from the marinade. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.
- Grill over medium-high heat until it’s cooked through, flipping once. Remove to a plate and cover for 5-10 minutes to seal in the juices. Serve warm or at room temperature.
sounds yummy!!
Found my recipe for family food night next Wednesday! Looks great!
I love Ina! And I love this recipe! I’ve done the same thing for years as well, and now you’re reminding me that it’s time to break out the grill. If only it would get warm . . .
It’s warm here today, but yesterday it was frigid. I’m done trying to plan anything with this stupid weather.
How long do you usually grill the chicken for on each side. I seem to always overcook chicken on the grill.
Oh wow, I eye it up. LOL. I try so hard NOT to overcook, so I often turn it too soon. I would say no more than 10 minutes before I turn it.
AND I cook it on medium heat, not high.
I was actually looking for a Tuscan lemon chicken recipe for boneless chicken breasts rather than Ina Garten’s 3.5 lb split chicken. I have used her recipe many times for myself but today I was cooking for company and wanted to get amount of pepper just right. So thank you for this! And thank you Ina! Great recipe!!!
Awesome! I hope it worked out for you.