These grilled boneless skinless chicken thighs make for a quick meal, ready in just 15 minutes with only four ingredients. Whether enjoyed solo or added to other dishes, they’re a family-friendly favorite, perfect for both speedy weeknight dinners or a laid-back family cookout. Simply seasoned with kosher salt, garlic powder, and ground black pepper, these thighs pack in flavor without the fuss.
This is the quickest, easiest grilled chicken thigh recipe you’re going to find.
It has super minimal ingredients you likely already have in your pantry and the chicken thighs spend less than 10 minutes on the grill.
I have made this dozens of time for my family, particularly in the summer when I’m feeling lazy and it’s hot out, but really they work for any time of year.
The recipe uses my super simple all-purpose seasoning to give the thighs just enough flavor without being overpowering.
My family likes to eat these on their own with some grilled marinated veggies, but they can absolutely be used in things like a chicken burrito bowl or a chicken taco salad.
However you use them, I’m betting they’re going to disappear quickly. So read on for the easy, straight-forward instructions, including step by step photos and general tips for cooking chicken.
You only need 4 ingredients!
(Note: the full ingredients list, including measurements, is provided in the recipe card at the bottom of this post.)
- Chicken thighs – this recipe calls for boneless skinless thighs. If you’re using bone-in the cooking time will likely be longer.
- Garlic powder – this is different than granulated garlic, which is less finely ground. If using granulated garlic, you’ll want to double the amount used.
- Ground black pepper – You can use either freshly ground black pepper or pre-ground black pepper. I like to use a finely ground one for this seasoning as I think it incorporates better into dishes, but if you like a coarse grind that works too.
- Kosher salt – salt is the most important ingredient for seasoning any food. In this case the recipe calls for Diamond Crystal kosher salt, which is my preferred salt. It is less salty by volume than other salts which means it leaves a little more room for error when salting your food. If you are using a different type of salt (kosher or otherwise), you’ll want to use this salt conversion chart from Epicurious to determine how much salt to use.
How to grill boneless skinless chicken thighs
There’s really only two steps to this recipes – season the chicken thighs (with my easy all purpose seasoning), then cook them on the grill.
Season the thighs
Grill the thighs
Keeping your chicken thighs juicy
Concerned about keeping your chicken thighs juicy? You don’t have to be. I’ll let you in on a secret…
Internal temperature.
Yup, that’s it. The secret to juicy chicken is to grill it to the right internal temperature – before it gets too hot and dries out.
For both chicken breast and chicken thighs, that internal temperature is 165 degrees F. Thighs are more forgiving than breasts and if you cook them to a little higher temper they’ll still retain moisture, but breasts shouldn’t be cooked higher than 165 degrees F.
To do this, you’ll want to get a really accurate and speedy meat thermometer. The one I always recommended is the Thermapen by Thermoworks. We have had one for years and absolutely love it – we actually own two now.
To read more, check out this post on how to use a meat thermometer for grilling.
What to eat with grilled skinless boneless chicken thighs
There are lots of great sides that go with these grilled skinless chicken thighs! Some options are:
- Grilled veggies are a great start, like the grilled zucchini pictured above.
- A green salad is another good option – my family loves this blueberry spinach salad.
- If a starchy side is your thing, these grilled potato slices would be really good.
To see more options, check out this list of side dishes for grilled chicken!
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15-Minute Grilled Boneless Skinless Chicken Thighs
Equipment
- Grilling tongs
Ingredients
- 1 tsp kosher salt Diamond Crystal brand
- ½ tsp ground black pepper
- ¼ tsp garlic powder
- 1.5 pounds boneless skinless chicken thighs
Instructions
- Start by preheating your grill to 400F. Next make the seasoning.
- Use measuring spoons to measure out the kosher salt, garlic powder, and ground black pepper and place in a small bowl. Stir them together, either with one of the measuring spoons or a small whisk, to thoroughly combine.
- Place the chicken thighs flat on a cutting board and sprinkle half of the seasoning mixture evenly over all of the chicken thighs. Use a pair of grilling tongs to flip the chicken over and sprinkle the remaining seasoning in an even layer over the other side of the chicken thighs.
- Bring the cutting board with the chicken out to the grill and use tongs to place the thighs on the grill grates. Close the lid and cook the chicken for 5 minutes.
- After the 5 minutes are up, open the lid and use the tongs to flip the chicken. Close the lid and cook another 3 minutes.
- Once the 3 minutes are done, check the internal temperature of each chicken thigh. Once the internal temperature reaches around 165F (a couple degrees below is okay as it will cook an extra few degrees after it’s off the grill), use tongs to remove the thighs from the grill. Let rest for 5 minutes, then serve.
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