Honey Jalapeño Grilled Chicken Recipe

Honey Jalapeño Grilled Chicken Recipe is an easy chicken dinner recipe for any night of the week. Whether it’s a quick weeknight meal or a big gathering,  Honey Jalapeño Grilled Chicken is an excellent main entree option. The chicken is tender, juicy, and perfectly seasoned with a simple honey and jalapeño marinade. 

The flexibility of chicken lends itself well to marinades and different cooking techniques, for those reasons, along with it being relatively inexpensive (particularly bone-in dark meat), we enjoy chicken on a regular basis. This easy Honey Jalapeño Grilled Chicken Recipe is just one more delicious way to prepare it.

How to make jalapeño grilled chicken 

Preparation for this grilled chicken recipe is super simple.

1. Whisk up a flavorful marinade of honey, balsamic vinegar, olive oil, jalapeño, garlic, and cilantro, then add the chicken and coat with the marinade.
2. Allow the chicken to marinate for at least 20 minutes, or up to a day. 
3. Then transfer it onto the grill on medium and cook until golden brown and tender on the inside. 

The beauty of this Honey Jalapeño Grilled Chicken Recipe is that it can easily be prepped up to a day ahead and kept refrigerated and covered while it mingles with the delicious marinade. Once the chicken has finished marinating, prepare the grill and cook the chicken until done.

This grilled chicken recipe is adapted from Ian Knauer’s recipe for Honey Jalapeño Chicken Tenders, found in The Farm: Rustic Recipes for a Year of Incredible Food. Chicken tenders are a fabulous option, but we enjoy dark meat bone-in chicken pieces the very best. I think the dark meat is more flavorful and tends to be less dry than the white pieces of chicken meat. Plus, dark meat is usually less expensive. Recently I found a five-pound bag of chicken legs for a little over $1 per pound. That’s one crazy deal.

Whichever parts of the chicken you enjoy, you’ll enjoy them even more with this delicious and easy recipe. If interested in baking instead of grilling, you will find instructions for baking the chicken in the recipe notes below.

More main dishes you will enjoy:

• Greek Roasted Chicken
• Coconut Milk Baked Chicken Recipe
• Easy Garlic Shrimp
• Sweet and Spicy Glazed Salmon Recipe

Honey Jalapeño Grilled Chicken Recipe

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Honey Jalapeño Grilled Chicken Recipe

Yield: 4-6

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 30 minutes

Total Time: 45 minutes

This delicious chicken recipe is easy to prep a day ahead and can be cooked in about 30 minutes. See notes for how to bake this chicken in the oven.

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Ingredients

• 1/4 cup honey
• 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 6 jalapeño peppers, seeded and minced
• 4 garlic cloves, grated or minced
• 1 tablespoon dried cilantro
• 2 teaspoons kosher salt
• 1 teaspoon black pepper
• 3 pounds bone-in chicken pieces

Instructions

1. In a small bowl or measuring cup, whisk together honey, balsamic vinegar, olive oil, minced jalapeno, grated garlic, cilantro, salt and pepper.
2. Pour marinade into a large ziptop plastic bag or large baking dish; add chicken and toss to coat. Seal/cover and refrigerate for at least 20 minutes or up to overnight, turning chicken occasionally.
3. Heat grill* to medium. Oil grate. Place chicken on grill, close lid; turn chicken pieces occasionally and cook until golden brown and cooked through, about 30 minutes.

Notes

*To bake in oven, preheat oven to 450 degrees F; arrange marinated chicken in oven-proof skillet or dutch oven in a single layer. Bake uncovered 30 minutes, or until chicken is done.

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Originally published August 21, 2015. Last updated August 23, 2021. 

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