This grilled chicken is so simple and so incredibly juicy and delicious. Essentially, you’re just grilling chicken until you get nice grill marks and those delicious crispy bits and then you transfer it into a bowl and toss it with herby, tangy, garlicky salsa verde. I love this method rather than marinating because you end up with a sauce (instead of throwing it out) to serve alongside the meat that’s also delicious on grilled veggies. Bone-in skin-on chicken is the most delicious, but boneless skinless works great too.
Ingredient Highlight
Fresh herbs! All fresh herbs contain essential oils that aid in digestion, improve circulation, reduce the risk of heart disease, and phytonutrients that fight inflammation (to name a few!).
Read my full blog post about fresh herbs here!
Servings 4
Prep Time 10 minutes 
Cook Time 30 minutes Ingredients
- 3 lbs bone-in skin-on chicken parts (thighs, drumsticks, wings)*
- 1 tsp kosher salt
- 1 tsp black pepper
- 1 tbsp olive oil
For the salsa verde:
- 2 cups loosely packed cilantro and/or parsley
- 2-3 cloves garlic, smashed
- ¼ cup drained capers**
- ½ cup olive oil
- 2 tbsp apple cider vinegar or red wine vinegar
- ½ tsp kosher salt
- * Can sub with 2 lbs boneless skinless chicken thighs if you prefer that, but skin and bones are so much tastier!
- ** Or use a mix of capers and chopped olives or just use
- ¼ cup chopped olives.
- No grill? Add chicken to a sheet pan (or two) and bake at 450F until the skin is crispy and browned. Once the skin looks nice, you can reduce the heat town to 400F to finish cooking it all the way through.
Instructions
- Turn at least 2 of the burners on your grill to high heat and let it preheat for at least 10 minutes. Leave one side of the grill without any flame. I have a 3 burner grill, so I just leave one off. If you have a 2 burner grill, turn them both on high and then turn one off once you’ve got your nice grill marks. More on that later!
- Add salsa verde ingredients to a high speed blender and blend until well combined (it will be a bit chunky), scraping the sides and under the blade as needed. Reserve ¼ cup and transfer the rest to a jar or small bowl to serve.
- Add chicken parts to a large bowl and toss with the salt, pepper, and oil to coat.
- Once the grill is preheated, add your chicken, skin-side-down, to the hot side of the grill, then cover and grill for 3-5 minutes or until you have nice grill marks. Flip and repeat on the other side. Transfer the chicken to the part of the grill with no heat and let it cook over indirect heat, covered, for 15-20 more minutes or until the internal temperature is at least 165F. Try not to peak – you want that grill to act like an oven.
- Transfer the chicken to the bowl and pour the ¼ cup reserved salsa verde over top. Toss to coat. Cover with foil until ready to eat!
- Serve the chicken on a platter drizzled with the salsa verde/chicken drippings at the bottom of the bowl. Serve with the remaining salsa verde on the side (it’s delicious on grilled veggies too!).
Items you can prep ahead (optional)
- Make salsa verde
Substitutions:
- See notes under recipe.
- To make this vegetarian, you could grill up some portobello mushrooms in place of the chicken. You could also substitute roasted tofu cubes or grilled slabs of tofu. The idea is to toss a just cooked, still warm protein in the salsa verde. It will be delicious no matter what it is!
- Parsley is the classic herb in salsa verde, but you can use any combo of fresh tender herbs: parsley, cilantro, or mint.
Storage:
- Store leftover chicken in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days.
- Store the salsa verde in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 6 days or freeze for up to 2 months.
Leftovers + Repurposing:
- Warm up leftover grilled chicken in the microwave until warmed through. Serve topped with more salsa verde.
- Salsa verde is delicious on grilled meats, veggies, eggs, on top of bowls, as a dip for bread, etc…
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