Grilled Ranch Chicken
on Apr 22, 2021, Updated Jan 29, 2024
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Grilled Ranch Chicken is marinated in a mix of BBQ sauce & ranch dressing. A tasty combo makes a chicken breast that is so juicy & flavorful!
Grilled Ranch Chicken
With summer almost upon up and everyone getting their grills warming back up, I’m eager to get some good barbecue food cooking. There’s always the classic fare like burgers and hot dogs, but grilled chicken has always been a favorite of mine as well. Made right, grilled chicken is juicy, flavorful, and just plain delicious! Chicken can be hard to do right but, if you follow along with our recipe for Grilled Ranch Chicken, your poultry is gonna taste perfect.
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The key to this delicious chicken recipe is the marinade: a simple blend of BBQ sauce and ranch dressing. Add a bit of extra ranch seasoning in and you’ve got a delicious sauce that’s going to give your chicken a tasty flavor perfect for any grill-out or get-together. Not to mention that it’s going to give you some juicy chicken breast!
Our BBQ Ranch Chicken tastes great on its own but it’s even better paired with any of your favorite sides. Pair up with any of your favorite barbecue or picnic salads or serve for dinner with something like mashed potatoes. However you serve it up, we know you’re gonna love this amazing chicken recipe!
Loved this recipe? Give these grilled recipes a try next!
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Our Cilantro Lime Grilled Chicken is juicy, zesty, and so easy to make! Marinate your chicken in a simple mix of cilantro, lime, olive oil, and a few choice spices to get the perfect chicken that sears beautifully on the grill. A delicious way to keep chicken tasting interesting this summer!
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Looking for something a little sweet… maybe a little spicy, too? Make up some of our delicious Sweet Chili Grilled Chicken. This recipe uses a tasty Asian-inspired marinade that imparts some fun, exotic flavors onto your poultry. A bit of sweet chili sauce, some sesame oil- just a bit of Asian flair to make your next grill-out a bit more exciting!
Ingredients for our Grilled Chicken Recipe
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Chicken – Chicken breasts will work best with this recipe. But, thighs or legs will work too!
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BBQ Sauce – Go with your favorite here!
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Ranch Dressing
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Ranch Seasoning – You could buy a packet at the store or make up some Copycat Hidden Valley Ranch Mix from scratch.
How to make Ranch Chicken on the Grill
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Trim chicken breasts before tenderizing with a meat tenderizer.
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Let chicken marinate in BBQ & ranch mix for at least an hour in the fridge.
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Sear chicken on the grill over high heat before cooking over low heat until done.
Start this recipe by first prepping and trimming your chicken breasts. Butterfly any thicker breasts and trim off any excess fat before pounding the chicken with a meat mallet. Pound until all breasts are an equal thickness before moving on to the marinade. For the marinade, combine the BBQ sauce, ranch dressing, and ranch seasoning in a shallow bowl or plastic zipper bag.
Once those are all mixed together, add your chicken breasts to the bowl. Turn to coat them well before moving the bowl with the chicken to the fridge to marinate for at least an hour- up to overnight.
When it’s time to cook, pull the chicken from the fridge so it can get closer to room temperature. Preheat your grill over high heat and, once hot, start searing your chicken.
It should take about 3-4 minutes on each side to get a good sear. Once seared, drop the heat to low and let the chicken cook.
After about 15 minutes total on the grill, your chicken should be cooked through. Double-check with a food thermometer just to be safe- we’re aiming for 165 degrees internal temp.
Once your chicken has reached a safe internal temp, pull it from the grill. Serve and enjoy!
Grilling Tips & Tricks
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Trim your chicken! You might think that trimming or butterflying thicker chicken breasts is an optional step- it’s not! Full-size chicken breasts are notorious for being hard to cook- often ending up dry or undercooked. Trim thicker breasts and pound them thin to ensure they cook quickly and stay juicy!
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Avoid cooking cold food. The closer your food is to room temperature when you start cooking, the more evenly it’s going to cook. This is especially important with chicken: cook chicken for too long, it’s going to dry out. Give your food a bit of time to warm up before throwing it on the grill- even just a few minutes in the sun should help.
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Close the grill when you can! Leave the grill open while searing for easy access to your chicken. Once the searing is done, you should keep the grill closed as much as you can. This traps all the heat inside, roasting the chicken while it grills. This helps it cook more evenly- ensuring juicy, perfectly-cooked Grilled Ranch Chicken Breasts!
Grilled Ranch Chicken
Ingredients
- 1 cup BBQ sauce
- 1 1/4 cup Ranch dressing
- 1 envelope Ranch Seasoning
- 4 Boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts
Instructions
- Trim and pound chicken breasts to allow for more even cooking.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together ranch dressing, ranch seasoning, and barbeque sauce until blended.
- Add chicken breasts to the bowl and turn to coat well.
- Let marinate in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour.
- Preheat grill on high.
- Sear on each side for 3-4 minutes.
- Lower heat to low and cook until internal temperature reaches 165 (about 15 minutes total on the grill).
Notes
Nutrition
