Jalapeño Grilled Chicken Breasts

By Eric Kim

Published May 16, 2025

Jalapeño Grilled Chicken Breasts
David Malosh for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Simon Andrews.
Total Time
1 hour
Prep Time
5 minutes
Cook Time
25 minutes plus 30 minutes’ marinating time
Rating
4(92)
Comments
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These might be the juiciest chicken breasts you’ll ever cook. The fresh, peppery, neon-green brine — imbued with fresh onion, jalapeños, garlic and sake — results in irresistibly succulent meat with the clearest, most straightforward pepper taste. Bolstered by the barbecue’s fire taste, this grilled chicken is great alongside freshly steamed jasmine rice and your favorite hot sauce. If you don’t have an outdoor grill, an indoor grill pan works well; just be sure to ventilate your space well by turning on the hood vent and leaving a nearby window or door open. If you’re cooking this on an indoor grill pan, feel free to cover any empty spaces with thickly sliced onion and extra jalapeños: This prevents the pan from scorching and also gives you a free vegetable side dish.

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Ingredients

Yield:4 servings
  • ½white onion, chopped
  • 2large jalapeños, seeded
  • 2large garlic cloves
  • 1tablespoon sake or soju (optional)
  • 2teaspoons coarse kosher salt, such as Morton, or coarse sea salt
  • ½teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, plus more to taste
  • 2pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts or thighs
  • Olive oil, for grilling
  • Green pepper hot sauce, for serving (optional)
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (4 servings)

322 calories; 10 grams fat; 2 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 4 grams monounsaturated fat; 1 gram polyunsaturated fat; 3 grams carbohydrates; 1 gram dietary fiber; 1 gram sugars; 52 grams protein; 613 milligrams sodium

Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

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Preparation

  1. Step 1

    In a blender or food processor, blend the onion, jalapeños, garlic, sake (if using), salt, pepper and ¼ cup water until smooth and foamy.

  2. Step 2

    Place the chicken in a resealable plastic bag and pour the marinade over. Seal the bag and smoosh it around to coat the chicken in the marinade. Place the bag in a bowl and refrigerate until ready to grill, at least 30 minutes and up to 48 hours. (Alternatively, you can marinate the chicken in a bowl or resealable container.)

  3. Step 3

    Heat an outdoor grill over medium-high. Clean the grill grates. Wad up a paper towel, dip it in oil and, holding it with tongs, rub it against the grates to grease them.

  4. Step 4

    Take the chicken out of the marinade, let some of the marinade drip off and place on the grill. Cook the chicken, covered if using a gas grill, flipping once or twice, until browned on both sides and the internal temperature in the thickest part of the breast or thigh reads 165 degrees, 8 to 12 minutes total. Transfer to a cutting board and let the chicken rest for at least 10 minutes so the juices can settle before slicing and serving, with hot sauce, if desired.

Ratings

4 out of 5
92 user ratings
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Comments

Katrina

Easy, and delicious! I didn’t have sake, so I subbed for Chinese cooking wine — everything else I kept the same. I marinated the chicken for about four hours, and got it out the fridge about 10 minutes before grilling. As Eric promises, the chicken comes out perfectly juicy with a nice peppery bite. I’ll be making this again!

Nathaniel Hornblower

Instead of water, drizzle in some avocado or other neutral oil as it blends. This will create a creamy emulsion that is delicious as a sauce for tacos and chips and that will coat and stick on the chicken much better and will infuse the jalapẽno flavor better during the marinade step. Make sure to add a decent amount of salt to this.

Julie

It smelled good while grilling, but I got a little worried it would be too strong a jalapeño taste and might only be good in tacos. I was wrong! Took longer to cook than the suggested time, maybe my grill wasn’t hot enough, but went by temp and they really were the juiciest chicken breasts I’ve ever grilled! Scarfed them down.

TJ47

Anybody have thoughts on using mayonnaise instead of water in the marinade? I have been converted to the Mayo marinade technique and use it all the time. At times I use yogurt or sour cream for the same effect. But in this case, it seems like mayo would be a fairly neutral way to add that moisture-retaining barrier.

Marci B

A few changes: I used pickled jalapeños instead of fresh and a tbsp of their pickle juice instead of the alcohol. Cooked inside on a skillet- came out great and juicy! Served with roasted broccoli, pearl couscous and Brooklyn Delhi Mango Curry simmer sauce.

Patty

Made this as written but used avocado oil in the marinade instead of water. Marinated the chicken for about 4 hours and did reserve some to serve as a sauce. Why did my reserved marinade taste so salty? I used 2 tsp Morton's Coarse Kosher Salt as stated in the recipe. Also, the chicken was nicely juicy but we didn't get the bright flavor we were expecting

Roger

@Patty It’s salty because of those two teaspoons relative to the other ingredients.

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