Grilled boneless skinless chicken thighs made easy. Just 4 ingredients and ready in minutes using a simple dry rub and butter baste.
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Grilled Chicken So Easy and Flavorful, It Feels Like Cheating
Let boneless, skinless chicken thighs become your weeknight hero. They’re juicy, quick to cook, and way more forgiving than chicken breasts.
Because they have a little more fat, they stay tender on the grill and soak up flavor like a sponge. This recipe is seriously the easiest ever. You’re definitely going to want to add it to your weekly rotation.
With only four ingredients, it proves that great BBQ doesn’t have to be complicated.
My Girls Can Grill Chicken Rub does double duty here: first as a dry rub to build a crave-worthy crust, then whisked into a melted butter basting sauce that locks in moisture and amps up the flavor.
A quick flip over the flame, a little brush of buttery goodness, and dinner’s done in under 30 minutes.
Grilled Boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts
Ingredients
- 4 boneless skinless chicken thighs
- 3 tbsp avocado oil, or olive oil
- 2 tbsp Girls Can Grill Chicken Rub
- 2 tbsp butter, melted
Instructions
- Heat Grill: Heat your grill to high heat (400F degrees) with a direct heat zone). See below for recommendations for different grill types.
- Season: Remove the thighs from the packaging. Rub them all over with oil. Then, season all over with about 1 tablespoon Chicken Rub.
- Make Sauce: In a small bowl, combine 2 tablespoons oil, 2 tablespoons melted butter and 1 tablespoon Chicken Rub.
- Grill: Place the chicken on the grill and cook for about 4 minutes or until it starts to char and releases easily from the grill grate.
- Baste: Flip and baste with the butter mixture. Cook for 3 minutes. Close the lid to help reduce flare ups.
- Continue Cooking: Flip and baste every 2-3 minutes until the chicken reaches an internal temperature of 180F degrees.
- Rest + Serve: Remove from the grill. Serve whole or slice.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Ingredients
- Boneless Skinless Chicken Thighs: I enjoy cooking these because they cook faster than skin-on thighs and they’re more forgiving than breasts.
- Avocado Oil: This is used as a binder and in the sauce.
- Girls Can Grill Chicken Rub: This award-winning dry rub provides all the flavor you need. It has salt, black pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, lemon, paprika, chile and herbs like rosemary.
- Butter: This gets melted and added to the basting liquid.
Substitutions: Instead of avocado oil, you can also use olive oil or canola oil.
See the full recipe card above for servings and a full list of ingredients.
Setup your grill with direct heat
You can cook this recipe on a gas grill, charcoal grill, pellet grill or Ninja Grill. The key is to cook it over direct heat. Set your grill up with a temperature of 400F degrees.
Gas Grill: If you’re using a gas grill, adjust the burners, until the grill temperature gauge registers around 400F degrees. This will likely be medium to medium high.
If you want to add smoke flavor, fill a smoke box or foil pouch with wood chips and add it to the hotter side of the grill.
Charcoal Grill: If you’re using a charcoal grill, light the coals. Once they’re ashed over, place the grill grate on top. Adjust the top and bottom vents to get a high heat.
Pellet Grill: Pellet grills have a metal diffuser plate that rests over the fire pot, so they are considered indirect heat grills. Turn the grill to 400F degrees and let it heat up. Because of the diffuser, it may take a bit longer to cook.
Ninja Woodfire Grill: The grill setting on the Ninja Grill is engineered to provide direct heat that circulates from the convection fan from the top. Set the function to grill and the temperature to high.
Ninja FlexFlame Grill: Ignite the burners. Turn the dial to 2-zone and set the temperature to 400F.
How to grill chicken thighs
- STEP ONE: Remove the chicken thighs from the packaging and place on a sheet pan.
- STEP TWO: Rub with a little oil and season with Chicken Rub. Be sure to do both sides.
- STEP THREE: In a small bowl, combine 2 tablespoons oil, 2 tablespoons melted butter and 1 tablespoon Chicken Rub.
- STEP FOUR: Place the thighs on your preheated grill and cook for about 5 minutes. Once they form a char and no longer stick to the grill, give them a flip.
- STEP FIVE: Use a basting brush to baste with the butter blend and continue cooking, basting and flipping every 2-3 minutes, until they reach an internal temperature of 175-180F degrees.
PRO TIP: To avoid flare ups, keep the lid closed after you baste the chicken.
How to serve boneless skinless thighs
Once cooked through, remove from the grill and let rest for 5-10 minutes. Serve whole pieces and as a meal or slice and serve.
You can drizzle the chicken one more time with the sauce, just be sure to heat it on the grill or in the microwave since it was used to baste undercooked chicken.
Leftover slices are great on salads, in wraps, in fried rice and on quesadillas.
Storage
Store leftover chicken in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. You can also freeze it for up to 6 months.
These grilled boneless chicken thighs are awesome for meal prep. Enjoy them cold straight from the fridge or reheat it in the microwave or air fryer.
GCG Pro Pitmaster Tips
- Season both sides before grilling
- Heat your grill and make the basting sauce
- Have your sides all prepped
- These grill up in about 10 minutes
- Use an instant-read thermometer to measure the temperature
Frequently Asked Questions
If you cook the boneless skinless chicken thighs over direct high heat at around 400F degrees, it will take about 10 minutes.
Place a digital meat thermometer into the thickest part of the meat. Chicken is safe to eat at a temperature of 165F, however, I like to cook boneless thighs to 175-180F to make sure all of the fat is rendered.
Yes. You can grill boneless thighs hot and fast at about 400F degrees, or you can smoke them at about 250F degrees. This recipe is flavorful on it’s own, but feel free to baste with your favorite BBQ sauce.
