Sweet, tangy balsamic marinated chicken is a juicy and mouthwatering addition to any weeknight dinner, and just takes a few minutes to prep in advance! Perfect cooked on the grill, on the stovetop, or in the oven.
If using large chicken breasts, cut each breast into three cutlets (cut in half to separate the thick side from the thinner side. Then hold the thick side on a cutting board with your non-dominant hand and cut it in half horizontally, knife parallel to the cutting board, to make two thinner pieces.) This will allow the marinade to coat more surface area and allow for more even cooking. Boneless, skinless chicken thighs are fine as is. Add chicken to a quart-sized zip-top plastic baggie.
Combine all marinade ingredients and pour into bag with chicken.
Make sure chicken pieces are spread out as flat as they will go (not rolled up like you might find some chicken thighs straight out of the package - you want to make sure the whole surface touches the marinade!) Squeeze out as much air as possible and zip the top of the bag. Squish the bag around with the chicken to make sure marinade touches all parts of the chicken's surface.
Lay the bag flat and marinate, refrigerated, for preferably at least 2 hours or overnight. Even 30 minutes is ok if that's all the time you have! Flip the bag over halfway through the marinating time.
Remove chicken and drain any excess marinade from the chicken. Cook as desired.
Stovetop
Preheat a skillet or cast iron pan over medium heat. You shouldn't need to add oil to the pan, since the oil from the marinade on the surface of the chicken should be sufficient. Cook chicken pieces for about 7 minutes per side, or until internal temperature is 165 degrees Fahrenheit.
Oven
If baking chicken thighs, preheat oven to 425 degrees and bake chicken on a sheet pan or baking dish for 20-25 minutes. If baking chicken breast cutlets, cut into evenly thin cutlets as described in step 2, preheat oven to 400 degrees and bake for 15-20 minutes. Chicken is done when internal temperature is 165 degrees Fahrenheit.
You can also add vegetables to the pan for a quick sheet pan dinner. Just see how long the veggies need to roast and add them to the pan at the appropriate time (for example, you could add asparagus after the chicken has been cooking 5-10 minutes to give the veggies an appropriate 15 minutes of roasting time).
Grill
Preheat grill to medium high heat (400-450 degrees) and cook about 6-7 minutes per side for chicken thighs. For chicken breast cutlets, cook for about 4 minutes on the first side and an additional 1-2 minutes on the second side, or until internal temperature reaches 165 degrees. Let chicken rest 5-10 minutes before serving.
To freeze
Freezing raw chicken in a marinade is a great way to get a head start on a future meal! Just freeze the chicken flat with the marinade in a freezer zip-top baggie, as much air pushed out as possible. The flatter the bag is the quicker it will thaw.
Thaw overnight in the fridge or in the sealed bag in a bowl of cool water in the fridge to speed up the process (takes a couple hours this way). Cook as desired.
Alternately, you can freeze the already-cooked chicken to have a quick add-in for salads and pastas! Just thaw or heat and add!