Grilled Chicken Breast

You've got to try this easy summer recipe! Fire up the grill and let's get started. This simple dinner is jam packed full of summer flavors!

Jump to:

• ❤️ Why you'll love it
• 🧾 Ingredients
• 🔪 Instructions
• 🎥 Video
• 🥫 Storage
• 💭 Things to know
• 👩‍🍳 FAQs
• 📚 Related recipes
• 🍽️ Serve with...
• 📞 The last word
• Grilled Chicken with Bourbon Peach Compote
• 💬 Comments

❤️ Why you'll love it

• Fresh, juicy summer peach compote adds extra flavor.
• Quick and easy on an indoor or outdoor grill.
• Fancy enough for company but SO simple to make - it's about to be one of your favorite chicken recipes.

Every, single bite of this tender grilled chicken breast is covered in sweet and spicy bourbon peach compote.

Best of all, it takes less than 30 minutes to cook!

Grilling is an easy way to get dinner on the table quickly in the summer - and it's so delicious!

Cooking outdoors just gives everything loads of flavor whether you're using a gas or charcoal grill, plus it doesn't heat up the kitchen.

This refreshing cucumber salad is the perfect accompaniment.

🧾 Ingredients

• You can use chicken thighs instead of boneless skinless chicken breasts.
• You can use teriyaki sauce instead of balsamic vinegar for a little different flavor.
• If you don't want to use bourbon just replace it with peach nectar, ginger ale, or water.

🔪 Instructions

Note: This is an overview of the instructions. The full instructions are in the green recipe card below.

Step one

1. Mix the ingredients for the dry rub in a small bowl.
2. Cover both sides of the raw chicken with the dry rub mixture and set aside.

Step two

3. Add the chopped peaches, onions, and the reserved juice to a heavy pan with the balsamic vinegar, the sugar, garlic, and the mashed chipotle. Add about ¼ cup of bourbon.
4. Simmer, stirring occasionally, until the liquid has almost evaporated completely and the sauce is thick.
5. Add the rest of the whiskey and simmer about 2 minutes. Set aside and keep warm.

Step three

6. Place chicken down on the hot grill.
7. Grill chicken breasts on one side until there are char marks and chicken is browned on the underside - about 6 minutes.
8. Turn with tongs and grill until the chicken is 160° in the center on an instant read thermometer - about 8 more minutes.
9. Remove to a clean plate and let stand, tented with foil, for 5 to 10 minutes. The chicken will continue to cook to a safe 165°.

Step four

10. Spoon about half the bourbon peach sauce over the grilled chicken breast on the platter. Add the remaining sauce to the table to be added as desired.

🎥 Video

🥫 Storage

Store leftover grilled chicken in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to four days. The peaches can be spooned into a food safe storage container and refrigerated for up to a week.

You can freeze this dish for up to three months in an airtight freezer container but the texture breaks down a little bit.

💭 Things to know

Expert Tip: Once the dry rub is on the chicken you can cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for up to 24 hours.

• I find canned peach slices work best in this but if you want to use frozen or peeled and pitted fresh peaches you'll want to add about ½ cup of peach nectar or water when you simmer the sauce.
• Buttermilk makes a good chicken marinade - you can soak chicken in it for 30 minutes before adding the dry rub and continuing with the recipe. It's a great way to keep the chicken moist and adds so much flavor.
• You can use other cuts of chicken.
• Center cut pork chops can be substituted for the chicken breast.
• You can use water, ginger ale, or juice instead of bourbon.
• To save time sprinkle the chicken with the dry rub then put it in zip-top bag and freeze. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator when you are ready to cook it. Once it's thawed it can go straight on the grill.
• The bourbon peaches can be made up to 3 days ahead of time. keep refrigerated.
• Take the it off the grill when the meat thermometer (or instant read thermometer) reaches 160 degrees f when stuck in the thickest part of the chicken. Let it rest of 5 to 10 minutes while you finish setting the table as the internal temperature will rise to a safe 165 degrees f during that time.
• You can cook this in the oven. See the recipe for oven instructions.

👩‍🍳 FAQs

Here are the questions I am most frequently asked about this recipe.

📚 Related recipes

Round out your grilled chicken and bourbon peaches dinner with these easy recipes:

• Green beans and potatoes with bacon is a classic southern side dish that's good any time of year!
• Macaroni salad is creamy and delicious - just like Mom's!
• Easy summer fruit salad is so pretty for any meal with the red, white, and blue there.

🍽️ Serve with...

Serve with make ahead sides and desserts to keep this meal easy!

• Creamy Broccoli and Cauliflower Salad
• Or this tangy Green Bean Salad.
• Finish up with this easy red white & blue jello poke cake.

📞 The last word

Let's be real - no one can resist a juicy piece of chicken with gorgeous grill marks!

Here are some more simple tips...

• If you'll clean grill grates then brush with oil or spray with a nonflammable no stick spray (especially for grills) your chicken breast will have nice grill marks and not stick. I messed these up the first time by not taking a minute to do that.
• Be sure to keep scraping the bottom of the pan when simmering the peaches. If they scorch there's no coming back from that.

If you click on the number of servings in the recipe card you can adjust the measurements up or down for the exact number of servings you need. Don't forget that you can click on "add to collection" to save it to your own, private recipe box!

If you love this recipe please give it 5 stars! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

First published May 12, 2021. Last updated May 24, 2022 to include more tips and better instructions.