These Grilled Chili Garlic Chicken Delivers Lots of Sweet Heat (2024)

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If you like some sweet heat, marinate your chicken thighs in this chili garlic sauce. They cook quickly on the grill and are especially good served with white rice.

Nick Evans

Nick has been creating recipes for home cooks for almost 15 years. He is the author of Love Your Leftovers and has contributed to Simply Recipes since 2017.

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Updated May 22, 2024

Make a Spicy Marinade With Chili Garlic Sauce

The marinade for this chicken uses chili garlic sauce (I like Huy Fong), which you can find in almost any supermarket these days. Look for it near the Asian ingredients or the other condiments.

Chili garlic sauce is spicy and flavorful, and a few tablespoons of it goes a long way to season your marinade. The honey in the marinade balances the spiciness, so don’t skip it!

These Grilled Chili Garlic Chicken Delivers Lots of Sweet Heat (4)

Buying the Best Chicken

I prefer to buy a whole chicken and butcher it into parts, but you can use any mix of chicken pieces for this recipe. Skin-on, bone-in pieces are my preference for the grill. The skin gives the chicken some protection from the high heat of the grill, keeping it juicier.

While you can use skinless pieces, there's more risk of overcooking it. If you do decide to substitute skinless pieces, reduce the cooking time by 5 to 10 minutes and make sure to use a digital thermometer so you will know when the chicken is cooked through.

If You Don't Have a Grill . . .

If you don’t have access to grill, have no fear. Marinate this chicken and then sear it, skin side down, in a hot cast iron skillet. Transfer it to a 375°F oven to finish roasting (skin side up) until it reaches an internal temperature of at least 165°F.

Again, you can substitute skinless pieces with this method, but check them regularly with a thermometer so they don’t dry out.

Serve With Rice!

This chili garlic chicken is great over rice because the rice soaks up the sauce and juices, but you can also serve it on top of salad greens for a lighter option. Enjoy grilling season!

These Grilled Chili Garlic Chicken Delivers Lots of Sweet Heat (5)

More Grilled Chicken Recipes

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Spatchco*cked Grilled Chicken with Orange and Ginger
Grilled Cilantro Lime Chicken
Spicy Grilled Chicken Tacos
Grilled Chicken with South Carolina-Style BBQ Sauce

Chili Garlic Chicken

Prep Time5 mins

Cook Time30 mins

Marinade30 mins

Total Time65 mins

Ingredients

3 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons chili garlic sauce, such asHuy Fong
1 tablespoon honey
1 tablespoon rice wine vinegar
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 (3-pound) chicken, cut into pieces, or the equivalent in chicken pieces
Thinly sliced scallions, for garnish
Sesame seeds, for garnish

Method

Marinate the chicken:
Whisk together olive oil, chili garlic sauce, honey, rice wine vinegar, and minced garlic. Add chicken to the marinade in a covered container and let it marinate in the fridge for at least 30 minutes or overnight.
Prep and heat the grill:
Heat your grill to medium-high heat (about 400°F) with two zones for direct and indirect cooking. Use tongs to oil the grill grates using a small folded piece of paper towel dipped in oil.
Grill the chicken:
Arrange the chicken skin-side down over the high-heat section of the grill and cook for about 5 minutes, or until you see dark, seared grilled marks. (If you'd like crosshatched grill marks, rotate the chicken 90-degrees halfway through.) Flip the chicken and keep over the hot section for another 4 to 5 minutes.
Transfer the chicken to the indirect section of the grill (this helps avoid overcooking) and cook the chicken until it reaches a safe internal temperature of 165°F in the thickest part of the meat, another 10 to 15 minutes.
Exact timing will depend on your type of grill and the temperature, so check the chicken frequently and use your best judgment on when to flip and when the chicken is done.
Remove, garnish, and serve:
When the chicken is cooked through, remove it from the grill and let it rest for a few minutes. Then garnish with diced scallions and roasted sesame seeds. Serve while warm.
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Healthy Chicken

Nutrition Facts (per serving)
776	Calories
41g	Fat
6g	Carbs
90g	Protein

Show Full Nutrition Label

Nutrition Facts
Servings: 4
Amount per serving
Calories	776
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 41g	53%
Saturated Fat 10g	51%
Cholesterol 397mg	132%
Sodium 448mg	19%
Total Carbohydrate 6g	2%
Dietary Fiber 0g	1%
Total Sugars 5g
Protein 90g
Vitamin C 6mg	28%
Calcium 58mg	4%
Iron 4mg	20%
Potassium 877mg	19%
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.

Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate. In cases where multiple ingredient alternatives are given, the first listed is calculated for nutrition. Garnishes and optional ingredients are not included.