Like a handful of other foods, I came late to the tarragon party. I can't believe I held out for so long and when I finally gave it a real chance I feel in love. It's a fantastic herb with a slight (and I mean very slight) licorice flavor. I love it and I'm not a licorice lover so I hope that tells you something. This is a great herb when marinating chicken, especially white meat chicken which has no flavor. So I give you these tasty little grilled tarragon chicken bowls. And bonus, I'll show you how to make quick, delicious roasted zucchini and sweet potatoes too.
Grilled Tarragon Chicken Bowls Start with a Marinade
For those new to my site, here are my thoughts about white meat chicken. It simply has no flavor. We must create flavors in order to enjoy boneless breast of chicken. Two great options for giving white chicken some flavor are marinating it or stuffing it. We're marinating for this recipe, but if you like to stuff chicken you can easily check out my stuffed chicken pepperoni pizza bake, cheesy fajita stuffed chicken, stove top stuffing chicken rolls, or my three-cheese stuffed chicken with sausage and red sauce.
For this marinade, I used ingredients I almost always have on hand: garlic, olive oil, white wine vinegar (you can use regular white vinegar), dijon mustard, salt and pepper. And the star of the flavor profile: fresh tarragon. This one I don't usually have on hand, but it's always available at my local grocery store.
I like to marinate the chicken overnight, but a few hours will work too if you're tight on time. I used three medium-to-large boneless chicken breasts which was plenty for four rice bowls.
If you're totally into summer grilling, you should definitely check out my grilled balsamic chicken thighs, sriracha lime grilled chicken or my grilled chimichurri chicken thighs which are to.die.for.
You'll Need to Fire Up Your Grill for This One
In the same way we all have different ovens, we all have different grills too. I tend to set my grill to high when I'm grilling protein which works for my grill and isn't too intense. I'm in New England so we're typically firing up our grills in the summer and fall months. I have been know to occasionally grill in the middle of February if it's been a milder winter.
Tips for Grilling Boneless Breast of Chicken:
- Turn on the grill and let it heat for about 10 minutes.
- Get your items ready to take outside. For this a small sheet pan, the bag or bowl of marinated chicken, tongs, and non-stick cooking spray. The spray is important.
- You must spray the grill before adding the chicken. If you don't it will likely stick to the grill and turn into a horror movie when you try to turn it.
- With my grill (like I said, yours may be different), it takes about 4 minutes to get grill marks. When it comes to boneless breast of chicken, you should grill about 4-5 minutes on each side with the lid down. The timing may also depend on the thickness of the chicken.
- You could cook them slightly less time, then cover in foil when they come off the grill and they'll finish cooking that way too. This is a more advanced technique for those who have a lot of years of experience cooking on the grill.
Plan Your Time with Grilled Tarragon Chicken Bowls
I love marinating chicken for the grill. Love it. Actually, I love marinating in general. This is mostly for the incredible flavor that it adds, but also because it breaks up the cooking process. You can marinate the chicken one day, then finish everything the next. All you have to do is chop a little zucchini, sweet potato and steam some rice. It's pretty straightforward.
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I used my rice cooker for the basmati and that usually takes about 25 minutes. I would recommend chopping the zucchini and sweet potatoes and putting them on two small sheet pans. The sweet potatoes will take slightly longer to cook than the zucchini so keep this in mind. Add the sweet potatoes to the oven first - these will take about 20-25 minutes at 400 degrees. The zucchini will take about 15-20 minutes depending on whether you like it slightly al dente or completely soft. That's up to you and your preference.
Easy Steps to Make Grilled Tarragon Chicken Bowls
Grilled Tarragon Chicken Bowls
- Prep Time: 30 minutes
- Cook Time: 30 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour
- Yield: 4 portions 1x
Description
Looking for a healthy dinner? Then you should definitely give my grilled tarragon chicken bowls a try. Great roasted veggies too!
Ingredients
Ingredients
- 3 boneless chicken breasts
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon pepper
- 2 cups white basmati rice, cooked to package instructions (need butter & salt)
For the marinade:
- 3 cloves of medium garlic, sliced into thin rounds
- ½ cup extra virgin olive oil
- ¼ cup white wine vinegar (or regular white vinegar)
- 1 tablespoon dijon mustard
- 1 small bunch of fresh tarragon, rough chopped
For the zucchini:
- 2 large zucchini, chopped
- 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ⅛ teaspoon pepper
For the sweet potatoes:
- 2 large sweet potatoes, cut into wedges (or three small)
- 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ⅛ teaspoon pepper
NOTE: You will need parchment paper and non-stick cooking spray for this.
Also - prep and cook times do not include the overnight marinade.
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Instructions
- Trim the fat from around the boneless breast of chicken. White meat is usually pretty lean, but I still take a minute to trim any obvious flaps of fat and trim fat from around the edges.
- Season the chicken on both sides with salt and pepper and set chicken aside while you make the marinade.
- Peel then slice the garlic into thin rounds and add to a bowl for the marinade. Add the olive oil, white wine vinegar (or regular white vinegar) and Dijon mustard to the bowl. I usually let this sit a minute while I chop my tarragon.
- Rough chop a small bunch of tarragon. Set a little aside for garnish if you like. Whisk the marinade ingredients first before adding the tarragon. Once the marinade has emulsified, throw the tarragon in and give it another whisk to mix.
- Add the chicken to a slider bag and pour the marinade in. Scrape the bowl to get everything. Squeeze out the air and zip the bag closed. Massage the bag so the marinade is fully coating the chicken pieces. I used three chicken breasts, but there is enough marinade if you wanted to add a fourth chicken breast. Let marinate overnight. If you pressed for time, a few hours is fine too.
- When you’re ready the next day, you should probably start the rice first. I used my rice steamer which usually takes about 25 minutes. I also rinsed my basmati rice very well until the water runs clear. Whether you are using a rice cooker or a pot on the stove, you should add a tablespoon of butter or olive oil and about ¾ teaspoon of salt to the rice pot. Let that cook in the background while you get the rest ready.
- Get your outside grill turned on and heating up for about 10 minutes before cooking the chicken. You’ll be roasting the veggies in your oven so be sure to pre-heat to 400 when the time is right for you.
- Prep the zucchini. Cut the tips off the ends and cut the zucchini across the middle. Then cut both zucchini pieces in half lengthwise. Slice into ½” to ¾” pieces from there. My video shows this well.
- Transfer zucchini to a parchment paper lined sheet pan and toss with olive oil, salt and pepper.
- For the sweet potatoes, cut them in half lengthwise then cut into large wedges. Transfer to parchment paper lined sheet pan and toss in olive oil, salt and pepper.
- Plan your time. The sweet potatoes will take slightly longer to cook than the zucchini so add them to the oven 5-10 before the zucchini. The sweet potatoes should take about 20-25 minutes and the zucchini about 15-20. When there is about 10 minutes left for the veggies to cook – head out to your grill.
- Bring the marinated chicken, a small sheet pan or plate, non-stick cooking spray and tongs out to the grill. I usually grab a couple paper towels too… I always end up needing them for something.
- Spray the grill with non-stick spray first – otherwise, it will likely stick to the grill when you try to turn it. Add the chicken to the sprayed grill and close the lid. Grill for about 4-5 minutes then turn and grill for 4-5 more minutes.
- Remove chicken from grill (internal temperature should be 165 degrees F) and let cool a few minutes before slicing.
- Your sweet potatoes, zucchini and basmati rice should all be ready. Get all your ingredients together and let everyone serve themselves OR assemble four bowls and serve.
- First slice the chicken. I set up four bowls and spooned in the rice first, then chicken, zucchini and sweet potato wedges. I had some chopped parsley on hand for garnish and you can obviously add another pinch of fresh tarragon as well. It’s up to you! Serve immediately. Enjoy!
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