Want perfectly grilled chicken thighs? Here’s how! There’s a simple, flavorful marinade and the temp and timing for juicy meat with gorgeous grill marks.
Boneless chicken thighs are super flavorful and cook quickly on the grill. I love to boost the flavor by starting with a delicious but easy marinade with honey, lemon juice, garlic powder, and some seasonings. If you don’t have 90 minutes to marinate though, you can still use this grilling recipe. Just season up the thighs and then use the timing below and they’ll be juicy and delicious.
Scroll down to read more about how it all comes together or click here to jump straight down to the recipe.
Do I Need To Marinate Thighs?
Marinating chicken thighs before grilling makes a huge difference, but it isn’t required.
If you don’t want to marinate your chicken thighs at all, you can mix together some salt and seasonings like garlic powder, paprika, and pepper instead. Sprinkle your spices evenly over the chicken thighs, then oil and cook them. You can add BBQ sauce at the last couple minutes of cooking if you’d like. You can read more about BBQ Grilled Chicken Thighs here.
If you have a bit of time though, I recommend that you marinate them, and in particular, that you marinate them with something flavorful that contains both sweetness and salt. The sweetness (in the form of sugar or honey or another sugary syrup) adds flavor but also it helps to caramelize the grill marks and get good color on your chicken. Using a good amount of salt (or a combination of salt and soy sauce, like the marinade below) gets the marinade to also act as a brine, leading to more tender and juicy chicken with extra flavor pulled right inside. Read more about how brining works here.
Chicken Thigh Marinating Tips
- If you’re using a marinade with salt and soy sauce like the one below, I recommend marinating for one and a half hours maximum for the best results. Any longer in this marinade and the chicken can become too salty. If you really want to marinate it for longer, omit the salt from the mixture. Then salt the chicken just before cooking it.
- If you have a few extra minutes, consider making my extra-delicious chicken thigh marinade over here. It uses fresh onion, garlic, and thyme that is pureed together with other ingredients so that the flavorful juices from those ingredients get right into the chicken meat.
- If you’re using a flavorful marinade that contains sugar, don’t add barbecue sauce during the cooking, as it masks the delicious flavors of the marinade and covers up the grill marks too.
Time And Temperature
To grill boneless chicken thighs, you want to heat the grill to high heat which is around 450°F.
If your grill doesn’t have a thermometer, you can test the temperature by holding your hands palm down 5 inches above the grill grate. If you need to pull your hands away within 2-4 seconds, it’s hot enough.
You’ll cook the chicken directly over the heat for 10-15 minutes. But first, if the boneless thighs are in little tucked bundles, unroll them so they’re flatter. Then, place them flat on the grill and put the cover down. Cook until there are grill marks underneath, 4-5 minutes. Then flip them, cover the grill again, and cook for another 4-5 minutes on the second side. At this point, check to see if they’ve reached the safe internal temperature of 165°F. They may need to be flipped again and cooked for 1-3 minutes more per side, depending on how thick they are and on exactly how hot your grill is.
More Grilling Recipes
Browse our full collection of chicken recipes, or try one of these favorites for the grill next time.
Podcast Episode: Grilling Chicken Thighs
Listen to me explain briefly about how to make this recipe, with some great tips along the way, by clicking the play button below:
Listen to more Recipe of the Day episodes here.
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Grilled Boneless Chicken Thighs Recipe
Want perfectly grilled chicken thighs? Here’s how! There’s a simple, flavorful marinade and the temp and timing for juicy meat with gorgeous grill marks.
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Marinate: 90 minutes
- Cook Time: 12 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour 52 minutes
- Yield: 6 servings 1x
- Category: Entrée
- Method: Grilled
- Cuisine: American
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup water
- 1/4 cup honey
- 3 Tbsp. lemon juice
- 1 Tbsp. garlic powder
- 2 tsp. dried thyme leaves
- 1/4 cup + 2 tbsp. olive oil, divided
- 2 Tbsp. soy sauce
- 2 tsp. salt
- 1/2 tsp. black pepper
- 1 tsp. paprika
- 6 boneless skinless chicken thighs (about 1.5 lbs.)
Instructions
- Measure the water, honey, lemon juice, garlic powder, thyme, 1/4 cup of the olive oil, soy sauce, salt, pepper, and paprika into a large zip-top bag. Seal bag and shake it around to mix well and allow the salt to dissolve. Add the chicken thighs to the bag. Remove as much air from the bag as possible as you seal it closed. Refrigerate for 1.5 hours.
- When ready to cook, prepare a grill for direct cooking over high heat (450°F).*
- Remove chicken from the marinade. Discard the marinade. Pat chicken dry with paper towel.
- Brush the chicken with the remaining 2 tablespoons of oil.
- Transfer the chicken thighs to the hot grill, making sure that the thighs are unrolled and flat on the grill (not folded over in bundles). Cover the grill and cook undisturbed until grill marks appear underneath, 4-5 minutes.
- Flip thighs over, cover grill, and cook for another 4-5 minutes. Test internal temperature of the chicken. If it is at least 165°F, remove chicken from the grill. If not, flip and cook for 4-6 more minutes, flipping every 2 minutes, until cooked through. Transfer chicken to serving platter and let rest 5 minutes before serving.
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Notes
*If your grill doesn’t have a thermometer, you can test the temperature by holding your hands palm down 5 inches above the grill grate. If you need to pull your hands away within 2-4 seconds, it is hot enough.
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