Broiled Lemon Chicken with Basil Sauce

Oh hi, summer. 

My basil plant is doing GREAT this year, in a new sunny spot from years past, so prepare yourself for a gazillion “but it’s seasonal” basil-using recipes. You’ll get no apologies from me on that one. 

I’ve been playing around with broiled chicken more, and after a few tries I’m definitely liking the method for a few reasons. It’s super quick and doesn’t smell up the house OR require walking outside to get to the grill, two things that can be a deterrent for me sometimes. This particular broiled lemon chicken is broiled on just one side because the pieces of chicken are super thin. If you don’t feel like cutting the chicken pieces in half (or buying thin-cut chicken) you don’t have to, just flip the chicken and broil on the second side. 

This entire meal is done in half an hour or even less if you make the basil sauce another day as part of meal prep. Let’s do it!

As a note, this recipe is written to use the entire lemon. So, zest the lemon first, then use half of the lemon for the chicken and half for the basil sauce.

I start by marinating the chicken just for a few minutes while I make the basil sauce and preheat the broiler. For this dish, preheat the broiler to high and toss the chicken with lemon juice, olive oil, salt, and minced garlic. All good stuff, right?

Let the chicken sit while you make the basil sauce. To a food processor, add parsley, basil, a garlic clove, olive oil, salt, sugar, crushed red pepper, lemon juice, and some water.

Blend the sauce together until smooth but still with some texture. Add some more water if the sauce seems too thick, or more salt if you’d like. It should taste GREAT.

Now, onto the chicken! Arrange the chicken pieces on a baking sheet covered in foil. I fold the edges of the foil up to catch any chicken juices.

Broil the chicken about 6 inches away from the top of the oven, for 8 minutes or until there are just a few dark bits on the chicken. Check for doneness – the internal temperature on the chicken should read 165F.

Now, all that’s left is to serve and eat! I like to slice the chicken then drizzle it with the basil sauce and sprinkle with the lemon zest.

You can serve this with salad, bread, or any side dishes you like. This broiled chicken is just everything summer should be, to me. It’s so simple and fresh-tasting, with little bits of charred chicken contrasting the bright sauce so nicely.

Broiled chicken, heck yes. Enjoy this one! It’s the perfect all-summer quick dinner.

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