Grilled Chicken Thighs (with Lemon and Za’atar)

Table of Contents

Grilled Chicken Thighs with Lemon and Za’atar are perfect for an easy summer dinner with Middle Eastern flavors. And the grilled chicken thighs with lemon will still be absolutely delicious even if you don’t have Za’atar!

Pin the Grilled Chicken Thighs recipe to try it later!

Grilled Chicken with Lemon and Za'atar final shot with finished chicken on serving plate

For recipes on this blog I try to walk a fine line between trying interesting things that catch my eye and using ingredients people will have, so if anyone just wrinkled their nose up at the mention of Za’atar in this recipe for Grilled Chicken Thighs (with Lemon and Za’atar), let me start by emphasizing that you can make this grilled chicken with lemon even if you don’t have the middle-eastern Za’atar spice mix!

If you want to try it, you can make your own Za’atar, especially if you already have Sumac, which is my other favorite middle eastern spice! And there’s no doubt that the blend of spices in Za’atar really give this chicken amazing flavors. But absolutely you can make this chicken with lemon juice, olive oil, and just use whichever of the Za’atar seasoning ingredients you do have on hand, and it will still be delicious, I promise!

And I’m known for my method for juicy grilled chicken breasts, so you might be surprised to see me making grilled chicken thighs with skin, but the chicken thighs were on sale, the skin got crispy and tasty on the grill, and these middle eastern grilled chicken thighs were really delicious, so this was a fun experiment.

What ingredients do you need for this recipe?

(This is only a list of ingredients; please scroll down for complete printable recipe. Or if you use the JUMP TO RECIPE link at the top of the page, it will take you directly to the complete recipe.)

What is Za’atar

Za’atar Spice Mix (affiliate link) is a middle eastern spice blend of fresh or dried thyme, sesame seeds, Sumac (affiliate link), and salt. Lemon and Za’atar are a classic middle eastern combination, and the other recipe I absolutely love that uses this spice blend is Effie’s Cottage Cheese Salad with Za’atar.

Can you make the grilled chicken thighs without Za’atar?

You can make your own Za’atar for this recipe, and if you don’t have all those ingredients, just use whichever of those ingredients you have on hand in the chicken marinade.

Are grilled chicken thighs hard to cook?

Bone-in chicken takes a little longer to cook than chicken breasts, and for this recipe you need a grill where you can turn down the temperature (or make it lower heat on one side than the other), but otherwise, this is as easy as it gets for delicious grilled chicken!

How low in carbs are the grilled chicken thighs?

This recipe for grilled chicken with middle eastern flavors only has about 3 net carbs per serving and 8 grams of protein!

More tasty recipes with chicken thighs:

If you do find a good buy on chicken thighs like we did, you might like to try some of these other favorite recipes:

How to make Grilled Chicken Thighs (with Lemon and Za’atar):

(This is only a summary of the steps for the recipe; please scroll down for complete printable recipe. Or if you use the JUMP TO RECIPE link at the top of the page, it will take you directly to the complete recipe.)

If you can find lovely pre-trimmed chicken thighs like these I bought on sale at Harmons Grocery in Utah, that will save time. (Harmons has no idea I’m giving a shout-out to their chicken and have certainly never paid me to do it, just in case anyone is wondering!) Otherwise you’ll need to trim the chicken and remove some of the skin.
Zest the lemon skin and then squeeze the juice. You’ll probably need 2 lemons to get this much juice unless you have lemon juice in the freezer.
Mix together marinade ingredients.
Put trimmed chicken and marinade in a large Ziploc bag or plastic container with a snap-tight lid.
Let chicken marinate in the fridge all day if you can, or even overnight.
When it’s time to cook, drain chicken and let it come to room temperature while you preheat the grill to medium high and spray with non-stick grill spray or brush with oil. (If you can, preheat a different section to medium, or on a charcoal grill prepare one side with less charcoal so it’s not as hot.)
Lay chicken skin side down on an angle to grill grates and cook without moving about 4 minutes.
Then rotate at the opposite angle to make criss-cross marks and cook about 4 minutes more.
Turn chicken over and turn the grill down to medium (or move chicken to a cooler part of the grill if you can) and cook 20-25 minutes more, or until the chicken temperature is at least 165F/75C when you test the thickest part with an instant-read meat thermometer (affiliate link).
Serve hot, with lemon to squeeze on at the table if desired.

Make it a Low-Carb Meal:

Shown with the grilled chicken thighs in the photo is Chickpea Salad with Tomatoes, Olives, and Herbs, but if you want a low-carb meal I’d serve it with something like Fattoush Lebanese Salad, Middle Eastern Tomato Salad, or Easy Grilled Vegetables.

Weekend Food Prep:

This recipe for Grilled Chicken Thighs with middle eastern flavors has been added to a category called Weekend Food Prep to help you find recipes you can prep or cook on the weekend and eat during the week!

Ingredients

8 bone-in, skin on chicken thighs, well trimmed with only the top piece of skin remaining (see notes)
6 T fresh squeezed (or fresh-frozen) lemon juice (see notes)
2 tsp. lemon zest
2 tsp. garlic powder
2 T Za’atar (see notes)
1/2 tsp. salt (or more to taste)
1/2 tsp. fresh ground black pepper (or more to taste)
1/4 cup olive oil
fresh lemon pieces to squeeze on at the table (optional)

Instructions

If you don’t find pre-trimmed chicken thighs, trim excess fat and skin from each piece of chicken, leaving only the top flap of skin on each chicken thigh. (I don’t worry about internal fat for chicken thighs cooked on the grill because it keeps the chicken moist, and a lot of fat drips out.)
Mix together the lemon juice, lemon zest, garlic powder, Za’atar (affiliate link), salt, and pepper, and then whisk in the olive oil to make the marinade.
Put the trimmed chicken into a Ziploc bag or plastic container with a snap-tight lid, add the marinade, and let chicken marinate in the fridge all day if possible. (Or put chicken in the fridge to marinate when you go to bed at night and cook after work the next day.)
When it’s time to cook, drain the chicken in a colander placed in the sink and let it come to room temperature before you cook it.
Preheat a gas grill to medium-high heat, spraying the grill with olive oil or brushing with a high-smoke point oil. If you’re preparing a charcoal grill, or a gas grill where you can have different temperatures on each side, make one side medium-high heat and the other side medium heat.
When the chicken has reached room temperature, lay each piece skin-side-down at an angle to grill grates and let it cook without moving for about 4 minutes (or until you see nice grill marks on the skin when you lift up the edge of one piece.)
When you have nice grill marks, rotate each piece of chicken so it’s at the opposite angle to the grill grates to create criss-cross marks, and cook about 4 minutes more.
Turn chicken so skin side is up and turn down heat to medium or move chicken to a cooler part of the grill.
Cook about 25 minutes more depending on how thick your chicken is.)
For bone-in chicken I would definitely use an instant-read meat thermometer to make sure the chicken has reached the safe internal temperature of 165F/75C. (All the juices should be clear and not pink when you cut into a piece of chicken.)
Serve hot, with piece of lemon to squeeze on at the table if desired.

Notes

If you can buy pre-trimmed chicken thighs, I highly recommend it.

Nutrition Information

Yield

Serving Size

1

Amount Per Serving
Calories 208Total Fat 19gSaturated Fat 3gTrans Fat 0gUnsaturated Fat 14.7gCholesterol 42mgSodium 437mgCarbohydrates 4gFiber .9gSugar 0.7gProtein 8.3g

Nutrition information is automatically calculated by the Recipe Plug-In I am using. I am not a nutritionist and cannot guarantee 100% accuracy, since many variables affect those calculations.

Low-Carb Diet / Low-Glycemic Diet / South Beach Diet Suggestions:
This recipe for grilled chicken thighs would be great for low-carb or Keto diet plans. Chicken thighs aren’t recommended for the original South Beach Diet because of the restrictions on saturated fat, but if the chicken was well-trimmed I’d eat this for any phase of South Beach. I feel like some of the internal fat in the thighs will drip out on the grill (and it keeps the chicken moist) but if you prefer you can remove all the skin and use kitchen shears to trim as much fat as possible.

Find More Recipes Like This One:
Use Grilling Recipes to find more recipes like this one. Use the Diet Type Index to find recipes suitable for a specific eating plan. You might also like to follow Kalyn’s Kitchen on Pinterest, on Facebook, on Instagram, on TikTok, or on YouTube to see all the good recipes I’m sharing there.

Historical Notes for this Recipe:
This recipe for grilled chicken thighs was first posted in 2016. It was last updated with more information in 2024.

Pinterest image of Grilled Chicken Thighs (with Lemon and Za'atar)

We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.

Source link