An easy grilled lemon pepper chicken recipe, served with a side of summer squash & tomatoes and brown rice. Perfect for a healthy weeknight dinner!
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Somehow it’s nearing the middle of February, and we are still working hard on sticking to our New Years’ resolution of working out more and eating healthy. Eating healthy is the tricky part though. Between the delicious football appetizers for the NFL playoffs (see our 6 Must Have Super Bowl Party Apps), and eating at the ski mountain most weekends, we really have to work to balance out our diets and eat healthy during the week. Which can be hard while being busy with work, the blog, and many other things.
So with that, a new go-to healthy recipe for us is our Grilled Lemon Pepper Chicken with Summer Squash & Tomatoes. (Now we know it’s winter, but it still feels like summer in sunny Southern California.)
Here’s how to make our grilled lemon pepper chicken recipe:
- Marinate chicken in lemon juice, olive oil, and garlic for 30 minutes
- Season chicken with sea salt and lemon pepper and grill until cooked through
It’s that easy! Grilled lemon pepper chicken can be so simple with a good store-bought lemon pepper seasoning. The secret to getting juicy, tender chicken and delicious lemon flavor throughout lies in the marinade. Our simple three-part marinade keeps this dish light and healthy, yet still flavorful.
To complement the chicken and brighten up this dish, we prepared a side of Summer Squash & Tomatoes. Again, keeping this dish light and healthy, it’s a pretty basic recipe:
- Toss thinly sliced zucchini squash in olive oil and Italian seasoning
- Cook garlic and diced onion in olive oil until softened
- Add squash and cook until softened
- Add diced vine tomatoes, sprinkle with sugar, and cook down
- Finish with salt, pepper, and a drizzle of lemon juice before serving
Fun fact: Our Summer Squash & Tomatoes was inspired by a trip to our local pick-your-own farm, Underwood Family Farms! We have so much fun harvesting our own produce and experimenting with what we find. If there’s a pick-your-own farm near you, we highly recommend visiting and cooking a farm-fresh meal with whatever you discover. Nothing compares to the taste of fresh, locally grown ingredients – plus you’ll be supporting small businesses and giving back to your community.
While the grilled lemon pepper chicken and summer squash and tomatoes are the stars of the show, we felt that a side of brown rice was an easy and healthy way to round out the meal. Here are some other potential sides if brown rice isn’t really your thing:
- Homemade potato wedges
- Fresh bread and dipping oils
- Roasted potatoes
No matter how you decide to serve it, this quick, easy, and healthy meal is packed with flavor and will definitely leave everyone satisfied. We hope you enjoy our grilled lemon pepper chicken recipe and share your favorite ways to serve it in the comments below!
Grilled Lemon Pepper Chicken with Summer Squash & Tomatoes
Equipment
- Cast iron grill pan optional
Ingredients
Lemon Pepper Chicken
- 1 lb raw chicken breast trimmed & tenderized
- 1 lemon juiced
- ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
- 1 tsp minced garlic
- Sea salt
- Lemon pepper seasoning
Summer Squash & Tomatoes
- 1 zucchini squash thinly sliced
- 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- ½ tsp Italian seasoning
- ½ tsp minced garlic
- ¼ medium yellow onion diced
- 2 vine tomatoes diced
- Pinch sugar
- ¼ lemon juiced
- Salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
Lemon Pepper Chicken
- Combine lemon juice, olive oil, and minced garlic in a medium bowl. Submerge chicken in the marinade, cover, and marinate in the fridge for 30 minutes.
- Preheat a grill pan on the stove over medium-high heat and lightly grease with cooking spray.*
- Transfer marinated chicken to the grill pan and season with salt and a generous sprinkle of lemon pepper. After a few minutes, flip and season the other side with salt and lemon pepper. Grill until chicken is cooked through, about 10-12 minutes.
- Remove grilled chicken from heat and serve with Summer Squash & Tomatoes and a side of brown rice.
Summer Squash & Tomatoes
- Toss thinly sliced zucchini squash in 1 tbsp of the olive oil, then sprinkle with Italian seasoning.
- In a large sauté pan, heat the remaining 1 tbsp olive oil and minced garlic over medium until fragrant. Add the diced onion and cook until translucent, about 2-3 minutes.
- Add squash and cook until slightly softened, about 5 minutes. Stir occasionally.
- Finally, add diced tomatoes and sprinkle with just a pinch of sugar. Cook down, stirring occasionally, until tomatoes are juicy and squash is tender, about 5-7 minutes.
- Lower heat and stir in lemon juice. Season with salt and pepper to taste before serving.
Notes
Nutrition
If you have any questions regarding the information presented in this post, please refer to our Nutrition Disclaimer here.
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