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Looking for a quick and easy meal that packs a ton of flavor! Try this Grilled California Avocado Chicken that marinates in balsamic vinaigrette and then grilled to perfection! Top it with a thick slice of mozzarella cheese, avocado slices, and juicy tomatoes for a fabulous summertime dinner!
Grilled California Chicken Recipe with Avocado & Tomato
Get out those grill tongs because do I have a recipe for you today! This super easy (and I do mean easy!) grilled California chicken recipe marinates in store-bought balsamic dressing and then gets grilled to crispy charred perfection.
Top it with a thick slice of fresh mozzarella cheese, avocado, and tomato for the best summertime dinner that requires no oven! No hard to make marinades or balsamic glazes with several different ingredients. Just simple store-bought items that have tons of flavor with no effort.
Why We Love This Grilled Chicken
- Fresh & Healthy Dinner : You’ll love this light and healthy dinner option that’s perfect for summertime. No oven needed! Just a grill.
- No Oven Needed : The chicken marinates in the fridge. Then it’s grilled. That’s it. No oven and no heating up your house during the summer to make dinner.
- Yummy! : With the marinated chicken, fresh mozzarella, juicy tomatoes, and rich texture of the avocados, this grilled California chicken is so delicious.
Ingredients Needed
- Boneless, Skinless Chicken Breasts : These will get pounded thinner so they cook more evenly and faster. You could also just slice the chicken breast in half, horizontally, to make two thinner pieces of chicken.
- Balsamic Vinaigrette & Marinade : This is store-bought marinaded and/or dressing. It provides tons of flavor with no effort on your part to prepare a marinade with 10 different ingredients.
- Sliced Fresh Mozzarella : You can find this in the deli section of the grocery store along with the other specialty and fresh cheeses. They have packs of pre-sliced mozzarella cheese (which is why I prefer) or buy the pack that is whole and then slice it yourself.
- Avocados : You need about 3-4 slices of avocado per chicken breast. You can usually get 6-8 slices per avocado.
- Large Slicing Tomatoes
- Chopped Fresh Basil & Balsamic Glaze : These are optional toppings for serving. I highly recommend using the balsamic glaze if you have it on hand.
How to Make Grilled California Avocado Chicken (Step-by-Step Directions with Photos)
- Using a meat pounder, or rolling pin, pound each chicken breast to 1-inch thickness. Place the chicken on a cutting board and then cover the chicken with plastic wrap or parchment paper, before pounding it thinner.
- Add the thinned chicken pieces into a gallon size Ziploc bag. Pour in the balsamic marinade, seal the bag, and allow the chicken to marinate in the fridge for at least 30 minutes or up to 1 hour.
- When done, let the chicken sit out at room temperature for 10 minutes. Drain off the excess marinade and discard.
- Heat the grill and grease with your favorite cooking spray or oil.
- Cook the chicken for 8-10 minutes per side or until the middle of the chicken reaches an internal temperature of 165 degrees F.
- Remove the chicken from the grill and immediately place 2-3 slices mozzarella cheese on top of each chicken breast. Cover the chicken with tin foil and let it sit for 2-3 minutes to melt the cheese slightly.
- Place one chicken breast onto a serving plate and top it with 3-4 avocado slices and 2 slices of tomato.
- Drizzle with balsamic glaze and/or chopped fresh basil for serving.
FAQ’s + Tips For Success
- How To Store Leftovers : Store any leftover California chicken in an airtight container in the fridge, for up to 4 days. Store leftover within 2 hours of cooking the chicken to prevent any bacterial growth. I recommend not storing the chicken with the avocado slices on it, as they will get mushy and browned.
- Serving Suggestions For Grilled California Chicken : California chicken is a delicious main dish that you can eat as is. However, many side dishes pair well with it. Here are some ideas.
- Grilled or Roasted Vegetables : Grilled asparagus, Parmesan Roasted Potatoes, grilled bell peppers, or try grilling some Grilled Veggie Skewers alongside the chicken on the grill. You could even brush them with additional balsamic marinade for more flavor!
- Salad : A simple green salad with cherry tomatoes and cucumber slices, plus a light vinaigrette dressing pairs really well with grilled chicken.
- Rice or Quinoa : Try some Rice Pilaf, cooked quinoa, Instant Pot White Rice, or brown rice to serve with the chicken.
- Bread : Some crusty bread is a perfect addition for mopping up any leftover balsamic glaze or sauce from the chicken. Think caprese with crusty bread! Yum!
- Fruit : Sliced fresh fruit like watermelon or pineapple is a refreshing and light addition to this meal.
- Chicken : It’s not necessary to pound the chicken thinner but it does help flavor the chicken better with the marinade, and the chicken will cook faster on the grill. I highly recommend taking the few minutes to pound the chicken thinner.
Although I recommend using fresh mozzarella cheese, you can use any sliced cheese you prefer. Try Pepper Jack cheese for some spice, creamy Muenster cheese or Havarti cheese, or packaged slice mozzarella cheese for an inexpensive option compared to fresh mozzarella cheese.
Grilled California Avocado Chicken
Looking for a quick and easy meal that packs a ton of flavor! Try this Grilled California Avocado Chicken that marinates in balsamic vinaigrette and then grilled to perfection! Top it with a thick slice of mozzarella cheese, avocado slices, and juicy tomatoes for a fabulous summertime dinner!
Ingredients
- 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
- 1 cup balsamic vinaigrette or marinade
- 1 package (8 oz) sliced fresh mozzarella cheese
- 2 large avocados (cored & sliced)
- 2 large slicing tomatoes sliced
- chopped fresh basil
- balsamic glaze
Instructions
- Place the chicken breasts on a cutting board and cover them with plastic wrap or parchment paper. Use a meat tenderizer/meat pounder to pound the thicken breast into 1-inch thickness.4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
- Place the pounded chicken breasts into a gallon-size Ziploc bag. Pour in the balsamic vinaigrette/marinade and seal the bag. Allow the chicken to marinate in the fridge for at least 30 minutes or up to 1 hour.1 cup balsamic vinaigrette or marinade
Ready To Grill
- Allow the chicken to sit at room temperature for 10 minutes. Drain and discard the excess marinade from the bag.
- Heat your grill, or a grill pan, to medium-high heat and grease with your favorite oil or cooking spray.
- Once the grill is hot, cook the chicken breasts for 8-10 minutes per side or until it reaches 165℉ internally.
- Remove the chicken from the grill and immediatly place 2-3 slices of fresh mozzarella on each chicken breast. Cover with a piece of foil for a few minutes so the cheese can melt.1 package (8 oz) sliced fresh mozzarella cheese
- Top each chicken breast with slices of avocado and tomato. Garnish with fresh chopped basil and/or balsamic glaze drizzle. * I highly recommend the balsamic glaze. It's easily found by the salad dressings and makes such a big impact on this chicken.2 large avocados, 2 large slicing tomatoes, chopped fresh basil, balsamic glaze
Notes
Nutrition Information : This is difficult to calculate on a recipe like this because the balsamic marinade/vinaigrette has most the calories but you also discard most of it after the marinade time. Which makes it difficult to accurately apply the nutrition information. The info listed is for the full 1 cup marinade (which is not all used because you will discard it after the marinade time).
Chicken breasts : If you want to avoid pounding each chicken breast thinner, you could cut each chicken breast in half (horizontally) so you end up with two thinner pieces per chicken breast (so 8 pieces total). This could serve more people if you want to serve thinner pieces of chicken. I actually do this most of the time when I make this recipe because my kids don’t like thick pieces of chicken. I serve 6 people so I use 3 larger chicken breasts that I cut in half to make two thinner chicken breast pieces.Â
Nutrition
Calories: 692kcal | Carbohydrates: 17g | Protein: 39g | Fat: 52g | Saturated Fat: 12g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 3g | Monounsaturated Fat: 14g | Trans Fat: 0.01g | Cholesterol: 117mg | Sodium: 1029mg | Potassium: 1164mg | Fiber: 8g | Sugar: 6g | Vitamin A: 1322IU | Vitamin C: 24mg | Calcium: 319mg | Iron: 1mg
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