Apple Juice Grilled Chicken – so juicy and packed full of amazing flavor!! Chicken marinated in apple juice, brown sugar, soy sauce, lemon juice, and garlic. SO simple and SOOO delicious!! We ate this twice in one day! Leftovers are great chopped up on a salad or in a wrap. Grill up a double batch today for easy meal prep all week! YUM! #grilling #chicken #grilledchicken #marinade
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Pin This RecipeEasy Apple Juice Chicken Marinade
Stop what you are doing and add this Apple Juice Grilled Chicken to your menu! OMG! This chicken was crazy good! Packed FULL of amazing flavor and super juicy. We ate this for lunch and leftovers for dinner the same day. Chicken Legs has requested this for our 4th of July cookout too. It is ridiculously good.
How to Make Apple Juice Grilled Chicken
The chicken is marinated in a mixture of apple juice, brown sugar, soy sauce, lemon juice and garlic. So simple and SO delicious. You can marinate the chicken for a little as an hour or as long as overnight. We are in the overnight camp. I almost always mix up the marinade before going to bed and let the chicken hang out all night in the refrigerator. I like to get the most flavor possible.
Tips for Cooking Chicken on the Grill
- The key to grilling juicy chicken is to pound the chicken to an even thickness. We put the chicken in a freezer ziplock bag and use a meat mallet to pound the “hump” out of the chicken. Gently pound the thick part of the chicken breast until it is about the same thickness as the thin part. This ensures that the chicken cooks evenly. No more half cook, half dry chicken!
- You can use any cut of chicken with this marinade. Breasts, tenderloins or thighs.
- You can use boneless or bone-in chicken. Adjust the cooking time to ensure an internal temperature of 165ºF.
- I don’t have a grill. Can I cook it inside? Yes! Pan sear the chicken for 3 to 4 minutes on both sides. Place the chicken on a rimmed baking sheet. Bake at 400ºF for 10 minutes, until it reaches an internal temperature of 165ºF.
- Can I make this in the slow cooker? Sure! Place the marinated chicken in the slow cooker and cook on LOW for about 4 or 5 hours. You can add a little liquid smoke to give the chicken that grilled flavor.
- Can I freeze Apple Juice Chicken? Yes! You can freeze the chicken in the marinade and thaw and grill at a later date. This is great for camping or beach trips.
- You can also freeze any leftover chicken for later. To reheat, thaw and microwave until warm.
- Is Apple Juice Chicken gluten-free? As long as you use a gluten-free soy sauce, the marinade will be gluten-free.
What to Serve with Grilled Chicken
We really LOVED this Apple Juice Grilled Chicken. It is great on its own or chopped up on top of a salad or in a wrap. We usually grill up a double batch on Sunday for lunch the whole week. LOVE easy meal prep recipes this one!
Here are a few of our favorite recipes from the blog that go great with this yummy chicken:
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Apple Juice Grilled Chicken
Ingredients:
- 1 cup apple juice
- ¼ cup canola oil
- ¼ cup packed brown sugar
- ¼ cup soy sauce
- 3 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- 6 boneless skinless chicken breasts
Instructions:
- Whisk together apple juice, oil, brown sugar, soy sauce, lemon juice and garlic. Pour over chicken and refrigerate 1 hour to overnight.
- Remove chicken from marinade and grill until done, approximately 12 to 15 mintues.
Notes:
- The key to grilling juicy chicken is to pound the chicken to an even thickness. We put the chicken in a freezer ziplock bag and use a meat mallet to pound the “hump” out of the chicken. Gently pound the thick part of the chicken breast until it is about the same thickness as the thin part. This ensures that the chicken cooks evenly. No more half cook, half dry chicken!
- You can use any cut of chicken with this marinade. Breasts, tenderloins or thighs.
- You can use boneless or bone-in chicken. Adjust the cooking time to ensure an internal temperature of 165ºF.
- To cook the chicken without a grill, pan sear the chicken for 3 to 4 minutes on both sides. Place the chicken on a rimmed baking sheet. Bake at 400ºF for 10 minutes, until it reaches an internal temperature of 165ºF.
- To make this chicken in the crockpot, place the marinated chicken in the slow cooker and cook on LOW for about 4 or 5 hours. You can add a little liquid smoke to give the chicken that grilled flavor.
- You can freeze the chicken in the marinade and thaw and grill at a later date. This is great for camping or beach trips.
- You can also freeze any leftover chicken for later. To reheat, thaw and microwave until warm.
- As long as you use a gluten-free soy sauce, the marinade will be gluten-free.
Steph
Remember this recipe.
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Pin This Recipe
Oh my gosh! Hubby and I made this tonight and it is definitely something we will make again, probably lots if times! The flavor is amazing… we used boneless thighs and only marinated for half an hour, but still fab. We served it with Brussels sprouts and sweet potatoes. Trulybs perfect meal!
Just wondering how you think this would be with boneless chicken thighs?
Or perhaps you have even tried it?
Hubs and I are trying to plan our Labor Day cookout and are looking for something new and this fits the bill. Do you think I would have to marinate longer?
I think this would be just fine with boneless chicken thighs. I don't think you would need to marinate longer unless you want to.