Grilled Balsamic Chicken with Peach Salad

Grilled Balsamic Chicken breast topped with diced carrots, celery, apples, and jalapeño slices, served with two small bread rolls on a white plate. Garlic and a bowl of grainy mustard are in the background.

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Grilled Balsamic Chicken with Peach Salad

Perfect for meal prep or a flavorful dinner, this grilled balsamic chicken with a peach salad is the ideal summer meal. It's packed with protein (45 grams!) and with a unique girardinia (Italian style oil and vinegar salad), it just keeps getting better with time! Get ready to fall head over heels for this fun take on grilled chicken.

Prep Time10

Cook Time20

Marinade Time1

Total Time30

Course: dinner

Cuisine: American

Servings:

Calories: 440kcal

Author: Mika Kinney

Ingredients

Chicken

2 lb boneless, skinless chicken thighs or chicken breasts but see notes
⅔ cup white vinegar
½ cup olive oil
1 ½ teaspoon salt and pepper each
2 teaspoon oregano
¼ cup balsamic glaze
4 teaspoon whole grain mustard

Salad Topping

4 carrots medium-sized
2 celery stalk
1 peach ripe, I prefer white peaches
2 clove garlic grated or super duper finely minced
2 teaspoon whole grain mustard
2 jalapeno deseeded
2 bay leaf
1 teaspoon salt and pepper each
⅓ cup white vinegar
¼ cup olive oil

Instructions

Before you begin, know that this recipe is meant to be prepared the day before you eat it. This is to give the chicken time to marinate and the salad time to pickle in the fridge.
But! To make it for dinner, marinade the chicken for 30 minutes while you make the peach salad. Then leave the salad in the fridge while you grill the chicken. It won't be quite as flavorful, but still tasty!
First, marinade the chicken by combining the ⅔ cup white vinegar, ½ cup olive oil, 1 ½ teaspoon salt and pepper, 2 teaspoon oregano, 4 teaspoon whole grain mustard, and 2 tablespoon balsamic glaze in a large ziplock bag. Give it a good shake to mix everything together and then add the 2 lb boneless, skinless chicken thighs Place in the fridge to marinate for at least 30 minutes but preferably overnight.
Make the salad by finely chopping (like super finely chopping, esepcially mincing) the 4 carrots, 2 celery stalk, 1 peach, 2 jalapeno, and grate the 2 clove garlic. In a large jar, add the 2 teaspoon whole grain mustard, 1 teaspoon salt and pepper, ⅓ cup white vinegar, ¼ cup olive oil, and 2 bay leaf and mix together. Then, add the chopped ingredients and the dressing to a large tubber ware and pop it in the fridge for the flavors to really develop.
You can also portion it into meal prep containers to pre-portion it out.
Once the chicken has marinated, it's time to grill! Discard any excess marinade. Cook on the grill for roughly 10-15 (more for chicken breasts, depending on thickness) minutes, flipping every 5 minutes. Use a cooking brush to brush on an additional 3 tablespoon balsamic glaze on each side of the chicken when grilling. Cook to an internal temperature of 165 degrees F.
Top the grilled chicken with the pickled peach salad and enjoy!
Or, place the grilled chicken in your meal prep container (separate from the peach salad) along with grain of choice. We love lentils or naan bread! This way, you can reheat everything but the salad and top with a cold salad so it tastes nice and fresh!

Video

Notes

Storage: Ok, the trick here to make food taste great the next day is to add your fresh topping cold! So, keep the peach salad separate or at least reheat the chicken on its own and keep the salad cold. It'll keep for up to 4 days stored in an airtight container.

Chicken thighs vs chicken breast: You can use chicken breasts, and I know a lot of folks prefer them. But, they do not reheat well because if they are cooked perfectly, that means they will be dried out when you reheat them. So, I prefer chicken thighs because they are actually better cooked at a higher temperature.

Heat level: This recipe is not spicy at all as long as you remove the jalapeno seeds!

Can you make this without grilling? Of course! I would bake the chicken thighs at 400 degrees for 10-15 minutes and then brush on the balsamic glaze for the last 2 minutes. Turn it to broil to get those crispy edges for the last minute.

Nutrition