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Whole Grilled Chicken with Peaches and Basil Vinaigrette. Here’s a chicken dinner that everyone will love and crave. Perfectly grilled chicken with peaches and fresh basil vinaigrette makes for an easy summer dinner that’s equally great for a family meal or entertaining. Try making this for Sunday dinner and using the leftover chicken and vinaigrette in salads for easy lunches throughout the week.

Whole Grilled Chicken with Peaches and Basil Vinaigrette | halfbakedharvest.com #chicken #easy #grilling #summer

And just like that, it is officially summer today! It’s definitely felt like summer the entire month of June, but I am excited it’s truly summer today and kicking things off with a very summery recipe that is perfect for warm nights and grilling out.

I have teamed up with my friends at Grill Mates to bring you this easy grilled chicken using some of my favorite Grill Mates seasoning blend. You guys know me and usually I am all about mixing up my own blends, but I cannot resist using Grill Mates’ Montreal Chicken Seasoning blend. It has been my favorite for many years now and it’s certainly a staple in my house.

My dad has been using the Montreal seasoning since I was a kid and would use a generous amount on our grilled chicken during the hot summer nights when we lived in Cleveland. Twelve years later, I am still using it in my kitchen and could not love it any more. It’s the perfect blend to use on chicken and pairs so well with many different types of food.

Clearly, I really love this seasoning blend.

Whole Grilled Chicken with Peaches and Basil Vinaigrette | halfbakedharvest.com #chicken #easy #grilling #summer

Whole Grilled Chicken with Peaches and Basil Vinaigrette | halfbakedharvest.com #chicken #easy #grilling #summer

Something I have really gotten into this year is using a whole chicken as opposed to just the breast. There is so much more flavor when you use all of the chicken and creates a chicken that is tender and juicy throughout instead of dry.

No one likes dry chicken.

If you have never cooked a whole chicken on the grill, let explain just how this works.

First, we will need to spatchcocked the chicken. A spatchcocked chicken is when you take a whole chicken, remove its backbone, and then flatten it slightly. Back in the day, this was just something I never thought I wanted to mess with. But when I tried it out for a cookbook recipe I was hooked. Promise it’s not as scary as it may seem, and all you need is a good pair of chicken scissors. I found this how-to really helpful.

Whole Grilled Chicken with Peaches and Basil Vinaigrette | halfbakedharvest.com #chicken #easy #grilling #summer

Of course, if you’re not into cutting up a whole bird, you can certainly use chicken breasts and or thighs. The key to this recipe is marinating the chicken in Montreal seasoningChicken Seasoning. I like to let the chicken sit in the marinade overnight. I’ll typically start the recipe the day before I plan on grilling the chicken. If you forget, don’t worry, even an hour in the marinade will still make for a great tasting chicken.

Once the chicken has marinated, all that’s left to do is grill, pretty simple, right?

Whole Grilled Chicken with Peaches and Basil Vinaigrette | halfbakedharvest.com #chicken #easy #grilling #summer

While the chicken is grilling, I also like to grill up fresh peaches to serve alongside the chicken as a nice summer side. I love grilling peaches so much. They caramelize and become sweet, buttery, and delicious.

I take things a step further by topping the peaches with crumbled cheese and balsamic.

Oh my gosh. SO GOOD.

Also, grilling peaches is great to do when your peaches are not quite ripe yet. As the peaches grill, their sugars are released and they become that soft and sweet peach you desire.

To finish the chicken off, I love serving it with a homemade basil vinaigrette. As you guys know, our garden is bursting with fresh basil (and all herbs), so I’m consistently looking for ways to use it up. I love making vinaigrettes and using them on chicken, salads, sandwiches, and even for dipping toasted bread.

Whole Grilled Chicken with Peaches and Basil Vinaigrette | halfbakedharvest.com #chicken #easy #grilling #summer

My favorite thing to do with this recipe is make is for Sunday night dinner and then use the leftovers to create salads and pastas to eat throughout the week. This is the perfect recipe to challenge your inner griller and truly grill your best!

I love when I can make one dinner and then use leftovers for multiple meal after!

Whole Grilled Chicken with Peaches and Basil Vinaigrette | halfbakedharvest.com #chicken #easy #grilling #summer

Whole Grilled Chicken with Peaches and Basil Vinaigrette | halfbakedharvest.com #chicken #easy #grilling #summer

If you make this grilled chicken, please be sure to leave a comment and/or give this recipe a rating! I love hearing from you guys and always do my best to respond to each and every one of you. Oh, and of course, if you do make this easy, summery chicken recipe, don’t forget to also tag me on Instagram so I can see! Looking through the photos of recipes you all have made is my favorite!

Whole Grilled Chicken with Peaches and Basil Vinaigrette

Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 35 minutes
Total Time 2 hours
Servings: 4 servings
Calories Per Serving: 401 kcal

Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.

Ingredients

Instructions

  • 1. If using a whole chicken, remove the chicken giblets. Pat the outside dry. Place the chicken on a cutting board, breast side down, so that the chicken's back is facing up. Using a pair of sharp kitchen scissors, cut closely along either side of the backbone. Remove the bone and discard. Turn the chicken over so the breast is now facing up. Press down firmly on the breast and flatten the chicken. Place the chicken in a resealable bag.
    2. In small bowl, whisk together the olive oil, Montreal seasoning, thyme, and lemon zest. Pour the marinade over chicken, rubbing the marinade all over the chickens skin. Seal the bag and place in the fridge for 1-2 hours or preferably over night.
    3. Preheat an outdoor grill or large grill pan to medium high.
    5. Season the chicken generously with salt and pepper. Grill, breast side down, covered for 10-15 minutes, or until the chicken has a nice char, flip and grill another 10-15 minutes. Flip once more and grill until cooked through and the chicken registers 160 degrees F. on a thermometer. Let rest 10 minutes.
    6. During the last 15 minutes of cooking, add the peach halves to the grill and grill 5 minutes per side or until light char marks appear. Remove from the grill, top with the cheese. Drizzle the peaches with the balsamic glaze.
    7. Serve the chicken topped with basil vinaigrette (recipe follows) and along side the peaches. Enjoy!

Basil Vinaigrette

  • 1. Combine all ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth. Keep stored in the fridge for up to 1 week. 
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Whole Grilled Chicken with Peaches and Basil Vinaigrette | halfbakedharvest.com #chicken #easy #grilling #summer

{This post is sponsored by McCormick Spice. Thank you for supporting the brands that keep Half Baked Harvest cooking!}

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Comments

  1. 5 stars
    Wow! Whole chickens were on sale at the store so I was looking for a recipe to make. Everyone raved about this chicken recipe. It was awesome. Peaches and fresh basil are in season so the whole thing came together beautifully. I took the recommendations of my BBQ book and put a cast iron pan on the chicken while it was on the grill. It cooked pretty quickly and evenly. To top it off, for one of our sides, my daughter had made pierogies with my sister earlier in the day. And we had fresh corn on the cob.

    1. Wow that is so amazing to hear!! Thank you so much for trying this one, Lisa! I am really glad it turned out so well for you! xTieghan

  2. 5 stars
    Made this tonight for my birthday dinner and it did not disappoint!! I used breasts because that’s what I had on hand. I finished the peaches with an espresso balsamic vinegar … so good. Thanks for another great recipe! Btw…I posted this to my Facebook page today and a friend replied that she works with your Uncle! Small world!

    1. Oh my goodness! That is so cool! I am really glad this turned out so well for you, Nicole! I hope you had an amazing birthday! xTieghan

  3. 5 stars
    We LOVE this recipe! I make it with chicken thighs and use the leftovers to make delicious chicken sandwiches the next day!

  4. 5 stars
    I just made this recipe the other night and my family raved over how good it was! My dad said this is the only way he wants to eat grilled chicken from now on. The flavors in this meal were incredible and the chicken was so perfect! It was also my first time using grilling…so I am thrilled with this meal!

  5. 5 stars
    This tastes even better than it looks, and it looks so pretty!

    We grilled it last night, our first ever whole chicken, our first spatchcocking (not difficult), and it turned out lovely. The skin burned a lot, and we were concerned, but not after we tasted it. The chicken was perfectly moist and done, and even the burned parts somehow were magically not too burned. The 160F temp in the thigh was just right. We tented it with foil for 15 minutes while we cooked the peaches.

    Now may I devote a subparagraph to the peaches? Succulent, fun, a great reminder of peach pie just warm from the oven. Like summer in a bite. I cheated and used balsamic straight from the bottle, also used jarred pesto on the chicken instead of the vinaigrette. Cheese was feta — I figured you wouldn’t mind. The flavors were ass-kickingly delicous together.

    Just had leftovers this morning, and they were so, so succulent. Thank you for creating the beauty that is this recipe.

  6. 5 stars
    I just made this with chicken thighs I had in the fridge and it was sooo delicious! Best recipe I have made all summer!!

  7. 5 stars
    I made this last night complete with the grilled peaches. The only thing I left out was the basil vinaigrette because of time constraints. I marinated the chicken for two days. It came out absolutely amazing!! Juicy and flavorful. I had an almost seven pound chicken so I doubled the marinade recipe but other than that I made no changes, I have never been disappointed by the recipes you’ve posted and this one is a keeper!

  8. Just noticed the same thing on the thyme, assuming it goes in the chicken marinade but it’d be awesome to have the confirmation 🙂
    Love your recipes!!

  9. I am trying to make this, but I don’t see when you add the thyme that is listed in the ingredients. Thanks!

  10. Hi!
    How could you modify this to an oven for those poor folks who don’t own a grill? 😉

    Thanks!! Love your recipes!! My husband is a big fan too!

    1. I would bake at 425 for 30-45 minutes or until the chicken is cooked through. Please let me know if you have other questions. Hope you love this recipe! Thanks! 🙂

  11. 5 stars
    Tieghan, your chicken is beautiful!! I love the simplicity of this recipe. My mom taught me how to spatchcock a chicken a few years ago and it’s my go-to way to grill chicken (and cornish game hens). I’ve never used the Montreal chicken seasoning, but I have a huge container of the Montreal steak seasoning that I just love to use.

  12. I see your Miyabi there! I just received one as a gift, and I LOVE it. It’s so beautiful I’m almost afraid to use it, but it works so well I can’t NOT use it! I’ve always used good German or Japanese knives, but this thing is on a whole different level. If you sharpen your own and have any tips (no pun intended!), I’d love to hear them. Thanks!

  13. 5 stars
    This grilled chicken looked amazing! It should be very tasty. Thanks for sharing the recipe, I love your site! Five stars!