Grilled Chicken Recipes That Aren't Boring

Once summer rolls around, the oven is out and the grill is in. One of the simplest weeknight dinner ideas for those warm summer evenings is grilled chicken, but let's be real — sometimes this meat has a reputation for being a little, well, boring. The key to making chicken on the grill is to season it correctly, marinate it with bold flavors and smother it in savory sauces. These 28 recipes will take your grilled chicken from dull to divine.

Under-seasoning your food is one of those bad cooking habits you need to quit now. That won't be an issue with this super spiced-up Moroccan chicken recipe.

For the Grilled Moroccan Spice Chicken recipe, click here.

Be sure to use a meat thermometer when cooking this simple lemon thyme chicken. One of the key ways to make sure you cook chicken correctly is to make sure it comes to an internal temperature of 170 degrees when grilling.

For the Lemon Thyme Chicken recipe, click here.

One of the absolute best Mexican recipes around just so happens to be one of the easiest: grilled chicken fajitas. You can either keep yours simple with just grilled onions and peppers or go all-out and load up your tortilla with avocado, sour cream, cheese, hot sauce and more.

For the Grilled Chicken Fajitas recipe, click here.

Mirin, sake, soy sauce and rice vinegar give these grilled chicken wings a distinctively Japanese twist. When grilling these wings, make sure to soak your wooden skewers for at least 30 minutes before cooking; doing otherwise is one of the worst grilling mistakes you can make.

For the Spicy Japanese Izakaya Style Grilled Wings recipe, click here.

If you thought you'd heard of every regional barbecue style, then you may be forgetting about Alabama, which uses a mayonnaise-based white sauce. It goes great with smoky grilled chicken.

For the White BBQ Sauce With Smoky Chicken recipe, click here.

This grilled orange-ginger chicken uses a marinade with orange, soy sauce, sesame seeds, ginger and crushed red pepper, which also works well on pork and steak. So after you master grilled chicken, make sure you know how to grill the perfect steak too.

For the Grilled Orange-Ginger Chicken recipe, click here.

One of those secrets chefs know is that butterflying a chicken helps it to cook evenly on the grill. Learn this technique for this simple weeknight dinner recipe.

For the Butterflied Herb And Lemon Grilled Chicken recipe, click here.

Apricot preserves are just one of many unexpected meat marinades, but the sweetness of the fruit balances out the saltiness of soy sauce in this grilled chicken wings recipe.

For the Apricot Glazed Grilled Chicken Wings recipe, click here.

If you don't know the shelf life of things in your pantry, you may not know peanut butter only lasts three months after opening. If you need to use it up, make the sauce for this easy chicken satay recipe.

For the Easiest Chicken Satay recipe, click here.

Peaches are one of the most iconic foods in America. Use this gorgeous fruit as a part of these sweet and savory grilled chicken skewers.

For the Grilled Chicken and Peach Kabobs recipe, click here.

Marinating your meat is one of the best ways to make steak tender and delicious, and that applies to chicken too. This Thai grilled chicken noodle salad uses chicken breasts marinated in herbs, lime juice, ginger, garlic, soy, fish sauce, oil and honey.

For the Thai Grilled Chicken Noodle Salad recipe, click here.

Gyros are one of the most iconic street foods around the world. Bring them into your own home with this easy grilled chicken gyro recipe.

For the Grilled Chicken Gyros recipe, click here.

Basil and mint are two of the best plants for beginner gardeners. If you're proud of your herb haul this year, use them for this grilled butterflied chicken with an herb vinaigrette. 

For the Grilled Butterflied Chicken With Basil and Mint Vinaigrette recipe, click here.

Sherry, soy sauce, brown sugar, sesame oil, garlic and ginger make a delicious Asian-inspired marinade for grilled chicken breasts. Pair with baby bok choy, snap peas, cherry tomatoes and baby corn and serve over rice for a satisfying dinner.

For the Ginger Garlic Asian Grilled Chicken recipe, click here.

The corn salsa that pairs with this grilled cilantro lime chicken uses corn, tomatoes, avocado, red onion and cilantro. It is just as good as copycat Chipotle and Taco bell recipes.

For the Grilled Cilantro Lime Chicken With Corn Salsa recipe, click here.

If you have olive oil, oregano, garlic and lemons, then you can make this simple Mediterranean chicken. Make this meal on Sunday night and use the leftovers for rice bowls as a part of easy meal prepping.

For the Easy Mediterranean Spatchcocked Chicken recipe, click here.

You don't have to go to one of the best wing joints in America to get your bar food on. This recipe for chicken wings with grilled plum coulis uses the grill to cook the meat and make the sauce, allowing you to keep your stove off and your kitchen cool.

For the Chicken Wings With Grilled Ginger Plum Coulis recipe, click here.
 

One of the most common grilled chicken mistakes is not seasoning your meat enough. This bold chipotle-rubbed beer can chicken recipe solves that problem.

For the Chipotle-Rubbed Beer Can Chicken recipe, click here.

Sweet tea and peaches are two of the South's most famous foods, and both are used wonderfully in this grilled chicken thighs recipe.

For the Sweet Tea Brined Grilled Chicken With Peach BBQ Sauce recipe, click here.

If you have an excessive amount of basil from your indoor garden, this herbaceous grilled chicken breast recipe uses it two different ways.

For the Grilled Chicken With Basil Butter recipe, click here.

Parmesan garlic wings are found on the menus at some of America's best sports bars. If you're cheering on your favorite team from your couch, pair the big game with these grilled Parmesan garlic wings.

For the Grilled Parmesan Garlic Chicken Wings recipe, click here.

While not as spicy as the world's hottest hot sauces, this jerk sauce gets quite the kick from habaneros and jalapeños. Smother this sauce over your bone-in smoky grilled chicken for a taste of the Caribbean.

For the Dinosaur Bar-B-Que's Dino Jerk Sauce recipe, click here.

Tomatoes are in season in the summer, so use this produce at its peak in a lima bean salsa that pairs wonderfully with tangy curry lime chicken thighs.

For the Curry Lime Chicken Thighs With Tomato and Lima Bean Salsa recipe, click here

Who invented tacos? Not the Cubans, but these Mojo Chicken Tacos use mangoes, orange juice and avocado for a twist on the classic Mexican dish.

For the Cuban Mojo Chicken Tacos recipe, click here.

Korean food is one of the hottest restaurant trends. Recreate that experience at home with these flavorful Korean barbecue wings.

For the Korean BBQ Wings recipe, click here.

These barbecue drumsticks are super easy to make at home. Just prep your favorite barbecue spice rub — we like this one from Dinosaur Bar-B-Q — and grill away.

For the Zesty BBQ Drumsticks recipe, click here.

When life gives you lemons, make lemon-filled recipes, like this lemony grilled chicken recipe, which also uses superbly salty capers for a punch of flavor.

For the Lemon-Caper Grilled Chicken recipe, click here.

This southwestern chicken breast recipe uses a simple marinade made with oil, vinegar, chili powder, cumin, cilantro and a few other seasonings. It comes together in under an hour, making it one of the best easy grilled dishes.

For the Southwest Chicken recipe, click here.

More from The Daily Meal:

How to Grill Salmon Perfectly Every Time

How to Thaw Chicken and Other Defrosting Food Questions, Answered

25 Brilliant Ways to Use Up Leftover Chicken

Vegetarian Dinner Recipes That Are Cheap and Easy

Easy Ingredient Swaps and Substitutions Everyone Should Know