Marinated Smoked Chicken Thighs on the Traeger

We have smoked chicken breasts, a whole chicken and chicken wings so it was high time we share our smoked chicken thighs recipe. Chicken thighs have the best flavor and we are ramping that flavor up in the Traeger!

We start with a sweet smoky marinade and allow the chicken thighs to soak in all that tasty flavor. Then we smoke them on the Traeger. Serve them with an elote corn and some mac & cheese, and you have the perfect summer meal!

Remember how we used our Traeger as our oven a few summers ago while our kitchen was being remodeled? We love our Traeger so much! Not only does it make delicious food (practically on its own), but it also saved us last summer and is a great way to avoid turning on the oven when it’s scorching hot outside!

What Ingredients are Needed for Smoked Chicken Thighs?

Grab your chicken thighs and all the rest of these ingredients for the best smoked chicken thighs:

• Boneless Skinless Chicken Thighs
• Honey
• Soy Sauce
• All Spice
• Cayenne Pepper
• Cinnamon
• Ginger
• Yellow Onion
• Garlic
• Dark Brown Sugar
• Corn Syrup
• Water
• BBQ Spice Rub

If you are a sauce lover, like I am, you can dip this chicken in some homemade bbq sauce…store-bought or whatever your favorite barbecue sauce is! The measurements for each ingredient can be found in the recipe card at the end of the post.

How to Make Smoked Chicken Thighs

The first step in making these smoked thighs is to decide if you are going to smoke the meat in a pan in the smoker (this is the way I prefer to do it) or directly on the grill. If you want to cook them directly on the grill, save about a third of the marinade to use later.

The next step is to make the marinade. We like to pour everything directly into the ziploc bag that we are going to marinate the chicken in…less clean up! Put all the ingredients into the bag and then squish everything together to combine.

NOTE: If you’re grilling directly on the grill, reserve a third of the marinade for later now before adding the chicken.

Add the chicken to the bag and let it marinate in the refrigerator for 1-12 hours.

When you’re ready to start smoking, place all the chicken thighs and marinade into your pan.

Honey Lemon Basil Grilled Chicken [+ Video]

Grilled chicken is the perfect meal for summer! Add a simple marinade of the best flavors, and you’ll be making this Honey Lemon Basil Grilled Chicken all summer long! It is a healthy and easy chicken recipe your whole family will enjoy!

Our easy grilled lemon pepper asparagus or our simple roasted garlic veggies make the perfect side dishes for this easy grilled chicken.

The marinade is made with just 4 ingredients and produces tender, juicy and plump chicken that is delicious on its own, or it can be sliced up and added to your favorite salad or pasta. Try it in our Lemon Chicken Caesar Panzanella Salad or in our 20 Minute Creamy Sun Dried Tomato Chicken Pasta! It is also great just over some simple white rice.

One thing I like about Utah is that there are definitely 4 distinct seasons. While I enjoy certain seasons more than others (winter, I’m looking at you!), there is at least one thing I love about each season. Grilling is one of the things I love about summer!

Pulling the grill out or the Traeger just makes me happy! I love the smoky flavor of food on the grill, and I love getting friends or family together for a fun BBQ. Let’s get to the details of making this simple grilled chicken!

How to Marinate Chicken?

Creating perfectly grilled chicken starts with a good marinade. A marinade infuses the chicken with flavor and helps the chicken stay tender. For this easy grilled chicken recipe, just a few simple ingredients are needed. You probably have them in your house already. No need for a trip to the grocery store!

• Lemon zest: adds bright fresh flavor
• Fresh lemon juice: helps tenderize the chicken
• Honey: adds natural sweetness and helps caramelize the chicken
• Montreal seasoning: adds flavor

Combine all the marinade ingredients together and reserve a couple of tablespoons for later. Place the chicken thighs in a glass dish and pour the marinade over the chicken. Flip the thighs over so they get coated on each side. Cover with plastic wrap and store in the refrigerator for at least an hour (up to overnight).

Is It Healthy to Eat Grilled Chicken?

Yes! Skinless chicken is a healthy protein, though a chicken thigh is going to have more fat than a chicken breast. If you want a lean meal, go with a chicken breast. Our motto is balance and moderation in all things. Eating grilled chicken for every meal everyday wouldn’t be a healthy practice and pretty extreme, but a nice piece of grilled chicken paired with some healthy fruits and veggie

Cade’s Chicken Gyros

For Cade’s chicken gyros, the chicken is marinated in a tangy yogurt sauce loaded with garlic, lemon, fresh herbs and spices. Then it is baked and piled into soft pita bread and topped with veggies, feta and creamy tzatziki sauce!

Alright, so Cade has reentered the kitchen and I’m beyond thrilled because he knocked this one out of the park!! I cannot get enough of the juicy, succulent chicken and I’m just sure we can find more uses for it than just gyros. Scroll down to see some of my ideas.

How to Pronounce Gyros

Let’s start with how NOT to say “gyros”…basically don’t say it how it looks! It is not pronounced jai-rohs. Though I’m sure everyone would know what you were ordering if you did say it that way. The correct way to pronounce “gyros” is yee-rohs.

What is a Greek Gyro?

A gyro is sandwich typically made with either lamb, pork, beef or chicken (or some combination of the those) on pita bread topped with tomato, red onion, lettuce and tzatziki sauce. It’s eaten like a wrap. It makes a great lunch or dinner.

Ingredients for Chicken Gyros

Here is a brief overview of the ingredients you will need for this gyro recipe. The measurements of each can be found in the recipe card at the end of the post.

• Chicken Thighs: You want them to be boneless and skinless and chicken breasts also work fine. Chicken thighs just tend to have more flavor.
• Plain Greek Yogurt: adds flavor to the marinade and helps tenderize the meat. It also makes the marinade thick so it sticks to the chicken when you bake it.
• Garlic: the purpose for garlic is always to add flavor and you’ll want a lot of it in this recipe!
• Olive Oil: adds richness to the marinade and also helps it not stick when baking
• White Wine Vinegar: adds tanginess and flavor
• Lemons: fresh is a must and you’ll want the juice and zest for maximum flavor
• Oregano: fresh is definitely preferred here, if you have to use dried then use 1 teaspoon
• Parsley: same story as the oregano
• Herbs de Provence: Italian seasoning also works too, and this is a dried herb blend
• Salt: adds flavor
• Smoked Paprika: adds a delicious smokiness to the chicken
• Black Pepper: adds flavor and a little heat
• Crushed Red Pepper Flakes: use as much or as little as you want for the heat on the chicken

For the Gyros:

• Small Campari Tomatoes: You could use type of tomato you want but I love the size and flavor of the campari tomatoes!
• Red Onion: slice them super thin, they add so much flavor and beautiful color to the gyros
• Parsley: adds a delicious pop of freshness to the finished gyro
• Pita Flatbreads: you can buy these at the groce

This chicken thigh marinade is the perfect blend of mustard (2 kinds!), garlic, maple syrup, brown sugar, vinegar and seasonings. It is so simple and so good, it could be used to marinate socks!

This is one of those marinade recipes that’s wonderful on every single kind of meat you could consume — salmon, steak, pork tenderloin, chicken in all its varieties, etc. I love when when I find a fail-proof marinade recipe like that! We used to make this chicken all the time when the blog first began, but over the years you slowly start to try new things and before you know it, without even meaning to, you’ve forgotten some of the things that you love the most. 

Boy, if that’s not symbolic of life, I don’t know what is!

This chicken thighs marinade recipe is one that is simply whisked together, can easily be adapted if needed (see notes below) and works just as well marinating 30 minutes as it does for hours. But beware, not all meats can handle it the same, so check out the entire post. 

And if you haven’t already, you absolutely must take a second to pin our other marinade recipes like:

• The Best Steak Marinade
• Marinated Chicken Breasts
• Asian Steak Marinade
• Steak Fajitas Marinade
• Marinated Smoked Chicken

Family Dinners

We are about to send our first off to college in a year, another is deep in the waters of Jr High and still our caboose is entering the battlefield of the elementary school playground. If there’s one thing I know for certain it’s that family dinners are an absolute must to stay connected to one another. I would bet that it’s even life-saving for families. But with three kids at three different schools and totally different needs I can easily feel like I’m running around and never slowing down. This recipe is loved by everyone around the dinner table!

Ingredients for Chicken Thigh Marinade

The best marinades have a little salt, a little sweet, a little acid, and a little spice. This marinade recipe checks all the boxes. Here is what you will need:

• Chicken Thighs: boneless, skinless
• Dijon Mustard: pale yellow in color but bold in tangy flavor
• Stone Ground Mustard: adds texture to the marinade and the teeny tiniest bit of heat
• Garlic: adds flavor
• Dark Brown Sugar: light brown can be used, dark brown just has a richer flavor
• Maple Syrup: be sure to use the real stuff, Grade A
• Oregano or Marjoram: I used dried herbs for this recipe, but you can use fresh if you want. You’ll want to half the amount down to 1/2 teaspoon.
• Rice Vinegar: add

One Pan Honey Turmeric Chicken with Asparagus and Zucchini

This One Pan honey turmeric chicken recipe is so simple, and it has saved me on those busy weeknights when I need to get something quickly on the table. And BONUS…it’s healthy too!

Awhile back I was in a total dinner rut. The stress of moving, not finding a house to buy, new city, new schools, not finding doctors, not knowing my way around etc. was taking its toll and I was feeling a bit tired. So I just simplified literally everything. Starting with meals. I needed more time sitting with my family and less time grocery shopping and cooking. This sheet pan recipe takes only 20 minutes!

I think we made this dinner once a week for over a month until I finally decided it should be on the blog. It’s totally adaptable with what veggies you use and could even be made into a Buddha bowl.

Ingredients for Honey Turmeric Chicken

You aren’t going to believe how simple this recipe is when it comes to the ingredients. This is why it has become a regular on our dinner rotation. I am all about quick and easy recipes these days! Here is what you will need:

For the Chicken

• Chicken Thighs: boneless, skinless, cut into bite size pieces
• Flour: just all purpose flour, helps form a crust on the chicken when you cook it
• Turmeric: adds all the flavor and bold, beautiful color
• Salt: adds flavor
• Pepper: adds a little heat and great flavor, chicken always needs salt and pepper!
• Asparagus: wash the asparagus and snap off the root end, then cut them into 1″ pieces
• Zucchini: gently wash the zucchini and then slice it into 1/4-1/2″ disks
• Lemon: this is totally optional but can be added if you wanted the added burst of flavor

For the Sauce

• Water: base for the sauce
• Honey: adds natural sweetness and pairs so perfectly with the turmeric
• Black Pepper: adds flavor to the sauce and little bit of heat
• Salt: adds flavor and enhances the sweetness
• Rice Vinegar: adds a perfect tang to the sauce and can be substituted with lemon juice if you prefer

The recipe card at the end of the post contains the measurements of all the ingredients as well as instructions for how to make this recipe.

What is Turmeric?

Turmeric is a spice in the ginger family that originates in Southeast Asia and is one of the main ingredients in curry powder. It is a deep yellow-orange color that adds exotic flavor, nutrition and bold color to any meal. 

Where Do You Buy Turmeric?

Turmeric can be found at any grocery store on the spice aisle. They also have it at Costco. If you can’t find it by the spices for some reason, you can usually find it in the health supplement aisle.

What are the Health Benefits of Turmeric?

The main active ingredient in turmeric is a compound called curcumin which has proven benefits as an anti-inflammatory, anti-cancer, and as an antioxidant and it also supports brain hea