Grilled Honey Mustard Chicken
This Grilled Honey Mustard Chicken is made by marinating chicken tenderloins in a sweet and savory honey mustard sauce with sprigs of fresh rosemary and lemon juice. The chicken is then quickly cooked on a hot grill for the easiest summer dinner ever!
★★★★★
Denise says –
“We made your grilled honey mustard chicken last night and it was really good! Pretty easy, not a lot of ingredients, used the grill to keep the heat outside — we live in Florida -— and it turned out great.”
Honey Mustard Takes Grilled Chicken Tenders to the Next Level
One of the kids’ absolute favorite dinner is my Baked Honey Mustard Chicken. I love that it comes together in about 5 minutes and the bulk of the recipe time is totally hands off.
I’ve been wanting to make honey mustard chicken on the grill for a while and we finally got around to testing the recipe! It doesn’t disappoint and it is equally quick and easy to prepare. This version is perfect for summertime when I have absolutely no interest in turning the oven on, plus I also love how quick the clean up for this recipe is!
Here’s why else we love this recipe:
✔ Lightning Fast Cook Time: Chicken tenderloins cook faster than breasts or thighs, which makes this recipe perfect for busy nights.
✔ Make-Ahead Option: You can whip up the marinade in the morning or the night before, refrigerate it in a shallow dish or zip-top bag with the chicken, then all that’s left is to grill the chicken when dinnertime rolls around.
✔ Freezer Friendly: I love to make a big batch of the honey mustard marinade and then buy several packages of chicken tenderloins. I divide the ingredients between gallon-sized freezer bags, and then on days I don’t know what to make or don’t have time for something fancy, dinner is mostly done.
Happy grilling!
-Katie
Ingredient Notes
This recipe is one of my favorites because it is such an easy chicken recipe, and you can do all the prep work in about 5 minutes! A full list of ingredients with their measurements can be found in the recipe card below, but let’s quickly go over the key items you’ll need.
- Chicken — I almost always grill chicken tenders because they cook in just 6 to 10 minutes. You can use another cut of chicken so long as you adjust the grill time accordingly.
- Mustard — For a more interesting flavor and texture, I like using a blend of stone ground mustard and Dijon mustard. Almost any blend of mustards will work though!
- Honey — The marinade uses equal amounts of honey and mustard for a well-balanced flavor that’s neither too sweet nor too savory.
- Olive Oil — Can be swapped with canola oil or vegetable oil.
- Lemon Juice — Doesn’t make the marinade taste lemony, it just brightens the flavor and prevents the chicken from tasting heavy.
- Seasonings — The marinade is flavored with minced garlic, fresh rosemary, salt, and pepper.
How to Grill Honey Mustard Chicken
- Marinate the chicken. To limit the amount of dirty dishes, I’ll whisk together the honey mustard marinade in whatever container I plan to marinate the chicken in. For best results, let the chicken sit in the marinade for at least 1 hour.
- Fire up the grill. The chicken needs to cook at 400ºF over direct heat.
- Grill. Chicken is considered done when it reaches an internal temperature of 165ºF. As the chicken cooks, baste it with the reserved marinade for extra flavor.
- Rest before serving. I typically grill my chicken tenders until they reach 160ºF and then let them rest for about 5 minutes on a plate before serving. The carry-over heat brings up the internal temp that final 5ºF.
Katie’s Tip: Set aside 1/4 cup of the marinade before adding the raw chicken — you’ll use the reserved marinade to baste the chicken as it grills.
Make-Ahead Freezer Meal Option
Honey mustard chicken is a fantastic freezer meal! You can prep the marinade, add the chicken, and freeze in a freezer bag until ready to thaw and grill as directed. So easy!
- Make the marinade, transfer it to a gallon-sized freezer bag, and add the chicken. Make sure the chicken is fully submerged in the marinade.
- Squeeze as much air out of the bag before sealing. Then, lay flat on a baking sheet and freeze for about an hour, or until hard.
- When the meat has completely frozen, you can remove the baking sheet from the freezer. At the time of the freezing process this just helps keep the bag flat and the contents dispersed, which helps it take less room up in the freezer for storage as well as to thaw quickly later.
- When you’re ready to cook, remove the chicken from the freezer and allow it to thaw overnight in the refrigerator. (Here are other ways you can thaw the chicken quickly but safely.)
- Once thawed, proceed with the grilling instructions.
What to Serve on the Side
We usually serve 1 – 2 vegetables plus some kind of carb as sides for our grilled honey mustard chicken. Here are a a few of our favorite recipes ideas for your inspiration!
More Easy Grilled Chicken Recipes to Make
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Grilled Honey Mustard Chicken Recipe
This grilled honey mustard chicken is made by marinating chicken tenderloins in a sweet and savory honey mustard sauce with sprigs of fresh rosemary and lemon juice. The chicken is then quickly cooked on a hot grill for the easiest summer dinner ever!
Ingredients
- 1/3 cup of Grainy Coarse Mustard
- 1/3 cup smooth Dijion Mustard
- 2/3 cup Honey
- 2 tablespoons Extra Virgin Olive Oil
- 2 Lemons, juiced
- 3 cloves Garlic, minced
- 2 sprigs Fresh Rosemary, finely chopped (leaves only)
- 1 teaspoon Kosher Salt
- 1/2 teaspoon Freshly Ground Black Pepper
- 2 1/2 pounds Chicken Tenderloins*
Instructions
- Make the marinade. Combine the grainy coarse mustard, smooth Dijon mustard, honey, extra virgin olive oil, lemon juice, and minced garlic in a 2 cup glass measuring cup. Add the chopped rosemary, salt, and pepper to the measuring cup. Stir to combine well. Set 1/4 cup of the marinade mixture aside for basting.
- Marinate the chicken. Add the marinade to a gallon sized zip-top plastic bag along with the chicken. Seal the bag and flatten the contents, making sure that the marinade is evenly dispersed throughout the chicken. Place the bag, flat, on a baking sheet. Transfer to the refrigerator and marinate at least 1 hour, or up to overnight.
- Preheat the grill. Ensure that the grates are cleaned off completely, the preheat with the lid closed until the grill thermometer indicates that it has reached 400ºF (if you are using a gas grill, or any grill that has a built in thermometer).
- Remove the chicken from the marinade. While the grill preheats, remove the chicken from the bag and place on a plate. It is not necessary to rinse the chicken. Season with additional salt and pepper if desired.
- Grill. Place the chicken tenderloins on the preheated grill and close the lid. They will only need to cook for about 3-5 minutes per side. Try to flip the chicken only once so it develops grill marks.
- Rest and baste. When the chicken is cooked through (165ºF internal temp), remove it from the grill and transfer it to a clean baking sheet. Let rest for 3-5 minutes. Baste, if desired, with the reserved 1/4 cup of marinade mixture (not the mixture that was in the bag with the raw chicken as this is not safe to consume).
- Garnish and serve. Transfer to a platter, garnish with lemon slices and rosemary sprigs if desired, and enjoy!
Notes
*If using chicken breasts: Cook over direct heat for 5 minutes per side. If it hasn't reached an internal temp of 165ºF after 10 minutes, flip it one more time and cook for an extra 2 - 3 minutes.
Testing for doneness: Chicken needs to reach an internal temperature of 165ºF. I like to use a meat thermometer to test chicken to make sure it's perfectly cooked every time. I recommend using either this instant read thermometer or this wireless remote thermometer.
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Nutrition Information:
Yield: 8 Serving Size: 1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 246Total Fat: 6gSaturated Fat: 2gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 4gCarbohydrates: 1gFiber: 0gSugar: 0gProtein: 44g
GoodLifeEats.com offers recipe nutritional information as a courtesy and is an estimate only. This information comes from online calculators. Although GoodLifeEats.com makes every effort to provide accurate information, these figures are only estimates.
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