How Long to Grill Boneless Chicken Thighs

Last Updated on 17th December 2021 by Pauline

You can make grilled boneless chicken thighs that are tender and succulent and that everybody in the family will enjoy. This is a great meat to cook up on the grill when you’re having cookout, and it’s not too difficult to make.

I want to share with you some important tips and directions on how to cook your boneless grilled chicken so that it comes out perfectly on the grill.

One of the most important aspects to cooking this kind of chicken is how long to cook it for. Once you know how long to grill boneless chicken thighs, they’ll be less likely to dry out or to turn tough. No one wants to eat dry, overly chewy chicken, so knowing how long to cook it for is very important.  

How Do You Know when Boneless Chicken Is Done Cooking?

That’s the really important question when it comes to cooking chicken on the grill. You want to make sure it’s cooked fully and definitely not undercooked. You don’t want to put yourself or others at risk of food poisoning from salmonella. So, how long to grill boneless chicken thighs for? 

You could look at the outside of the chicken and see if it looks golden brown if it has the crispy black char marks on it when cooking it. These are all pretty good indicators that it is cooking as it should on the outside, but what about the inside of the chicken?

The best way to determine if the inside of the chicken has cooked all the way and is becoming white instead of pink is to use an internal thermometer. You could cut the chicken open, but that ruins the look of it, and you don’t need to do that if you have a kitchen thermometer.

Check for an internal temperature of 165 degrees Fahrenheit. If the chicken is it at least that hot, it means it is fully cooked. It’s not a good idea to cook it much longer than that, since that can dry out the chicken and make it less tender and succulent. Of course, if the chicken hasn’t reached that internal temperature yet, you should let it cook for a bit longer.

It is very important that you check the thickest part of the chicken to get a temperature reading. That is the part that will take the longest to cook thoroughly.

How Long Does It Take to Cook Boneless Chicken on the Grill?

How long you need to cook your chicken for will depend on how hot the grill is and how much chicken you are cooking at once. It also depends on how thick the chicken is. Thinner slices of chicken will cook faster.  

Chicken cooks pretty quickly on the grill, so you can use the medium high heat. You don’t have to bother slow cooking it because the meat usually isn’t very thick. Cook for about 7 to 8 minutes on each side, remembering to flip over, and that gives you about 14 to 16 minutes of cook time.

Before you cut the chicken thighs, allow them to rest for about 5 minutes. If you don’t give them that rest period, the juices will come out too quickly and you will lose a lot of the flavour.

Now you know how long to cook boneless chicken thighs on grill, but there may be some differences with your grill and your setup. If you are using a charcoal grill, make sure your coal is spread out evenly for even cooking.

How to Keep Boneless Chicken from Drying out on the Grill

One of the best reasons that you should know how long to grill boneless skinless chicken thighs is because you don’t want them to dry out. Perfectly well-cooked chicken should be juicy and tender, but that’s not going to happen if it is dried out. How you cook it is very important to ensuring that it doesn’t become too dry.

Marinating helps too. It’s not enough to just know how long to cook boneless chicken thighs on charcoal grill, but you can also prevent drying out by properly marinating your chicken ahead of time.

The marinade you use is up to you, and you can make your own or buy one from the store. The most important thing, though, is that you let your chicken marinate for at least a few hours.

It would be ideal if you would let the chicken marinate overnight in the fridge. The chicken can be simply marinated by placing the boneless chicken breast into a bag with the liquid marinade and sealing that tightly.

Place that into the fridge, and it would be best if you can shake up the bag of marinade every few hours to ensure the chicken stays well coated. A proper marinating process helps your chicken to stay tender and well flavoured.

How to Cook Thick Boneless Chicken on the Grill

What is the ideal cut of chicken meat for grilling? It’s best not to have a thick cut, as that takes longer to cook and is more likely to dry out on the grill. But if you do have a thick cut, how long to grill boneless chicken thighs on gas grill that are pretty thick?

The ideal cut of chicken for grilling is about 5 to 8 ounces, but if you have a cut of chicken that is over 10 ounces, you’ll have to adjust your cooking process a little bit. I want to talk briefly about how long to cook boneless chicken thighs on George Foreman grill or other kinds of grills when the cut of meat is 10 oz or more.

It is best to pound or butterfly the chicken on the thicker end if it is a large cut of meat. The chicken breasts that are over 10 ounces will be a bit thick to cook evenly. You need to find the larger side and pound it down to even it out. This ensures more even cooking.

To pound the chicken down, use a meat pounder. Want to pound straight down, but instead pound at a slight angle working gently down and away from the body.

To cut the meat in butterfly style, you can use a sharp knife and slice horizontally from one side cutting almost through to the other. You’ll make the chicken open up kind of like a book and then you can pound where the seam is and on the thicker side to even the chicken piece out.

If you have cut and pounded correctly, the breast should end up shaped like a heart. This is a good method for grilled chicken breast that is too thick to pound very easily. 

If you can even out the chicken breast, use the same medium high heat as you use for the smaller cuts of chicken. You can cook for about 10 minutes on each side for these thicker cuts.