Grilling the perfect chicken is really not that complicated! Whether you love grilling bone-in chicken, some tender breast, or even a whole chicken, you’ll need to use the correct temperatures and cooking methods for each part. This free printable grilled chicken temperature chart is the easiest way to make sure your chicken always has the best flavor and texture!
Chicken is not just affordable, it’s also one of the most versatile animal proteins. It pairs well with an astronomical number of side dishes, in a salad, as a burger patty, added to casseroles, tacos, and we’re just getting started!
Let’s admit that grilled chicken has a special appeal thanks to the wonderful smoky flavors that get infused into the meat.
How It Works
Our grilled chicken temperature chart includes the grill temperature, type of heat, and approximate cooking time for both chicken parts and whole chicken.
You’ll never wonder again how long to grill chicken!
We really like to take out the guesswork for functional printables like this. Using it is very intuitive and you’ll have all the info you need with just a quick glance.
Step 1 – Find the chicken cut you want to use in the first column.
Step 2 – The second column displays the approximate cooking time your chicken part will need on the grill.
Step 3 – The type of heat (direct or indirect) is shown in the third column of the cheat sheet.
Step 4 – Preheat your grill to the temperature displayed in the fourth and final column.
Grilled Chicken Temperature Chart
Our chicken grilling cheat sheet includes information for all chicken parts, whole chicken, and spatchcocked chicken.
Using the correct grilling temperature and type of heat is essential to not end up with undercooked or overcooked chicken.
Keep in mind that chicken is lean meat and it can dry easily if left for too long on the grill.
The times and temperatures listed in the grilled chicken temperature chart are approximate.
What matters most is the chicken’s internal temperature. When it reaches 165°F, your chicken is done.
Grilled Boneless Breasts
Preheat your grill to 375°F to make grilled boneless breasts. This delicate meat cooks fast, so it’s best to do it over direct heat.
It will take approximately 12-15 minutes for boneless chicken breasts to be fully cooked on the grill.
Don’t forget to flip the breasts halfway through the cooking time.
Bone-In Breasts
Bone-in breasts take around 25 minutes to cook and, like the boneless type, they also need direct heat and a grill preheated at 375°F.
Flipping them halfway through is not optional!
Even more, if you notice the breasts cook unevenly, you might also need to rotate them.
Chicken Tenders
Those small strips of meat attached to the underside of chicken breasts, are called chicken tenders.
As the name suggests, they’re just as delicate and cook just as easily as breasts.
Since they’re so small, they’ll be ready in 4-6 minutes on direct heat, at 375°F.
Chicken Wings
Wings are one of my favorite chicken parts to grill!
There are so many ways to season grilled chicken wings, it’s hard to get bored with them.
They also grill pretty fast. Wings are ready to eat after about 25 minutes at 350°F on direct heat.
Looking for some interesting grilled wings variations? Try our Grilled Garlic Parmesan Chicken Wings, Grilled Double IPA Chicken Wings, and Grilled Pineapple Mango Chicken Wings.
And don’t forget: you can also make smoked chicken wings, and they are amazing!
Boneless Thighs
Dark meat is always more flavorful and moist because it has a slightly higher fat content compared to lean white meat like breast.
Boneless thighs are convenient to grill. Because the bone was removed, they only need 20 minutes at 375°F on direct heat. A slightly lower temperature of 350°F also works, as we did for our grilled huli huli chicken thighs.
Bone-in Thighs
Grilled bone-in, skin-on thighs have their own appeal and cook reasonably fast.
In 30-40 minutes on direct heat, at 400°F, your thighs should reach the USDA-recommended internal temperature of 165°F. Check out our grilled lemon pepper chicken thighs for complete instructions.
Remember that cooking times can vary depending on so many factors, so rely on a meat thermometer and allow the chicken to cook until it reaches the safe internal temperature.
Drumsticks
Grilled chicken drumsticks always go fast at gatherings, and it’s clear why. They’re delicious and fun to eat!
This is a thicker, bone-in cut, so it will take around 40 minutes for them to grill at 400°F on direct heat.
Also, kids will enjoy these grilled chicken lollipops very much if you decide to make them. Lollipops are drumsticks with a section in the smaller end area being cut.
This way, you can grill them in an upright position, and they look a lot like lollipops when they’re done!
Quarters
If there’s one thing you can appreciate chicken quarters for, it’s their super affordable price.
My family loves grilled chicken quarters, but there’s always the option of separating them into drumsticks and thighs if you enjoy smaller cuts more.
They’ll be ready in 35-45 minutes at 350°F on direct heat.
If you decide to baste them with BBQ sauce, do it in the last 2-3 minutes of cooking. It’s enough time for the sauce to caramelize a bit without actually burning.
Whole Chicken
Give your grilled whole chicken a good massage with your favorite dry rub mix, and grill it on a beer can!
The beer inside the can will keep the chicken moist and help cook it more evenly. If you grill it in the indirect heat zone, at 375°F, it will take around 105-150 minutes to be fully cooked.
You can also grill the whole chicken at 350°F but it will take a bit longer to reach the required internal temperature.
Spatchcocked Chicken
Butterflying or spatchcocking a whole chicken is basically removing the backbone and flattening the bird to speed up cooking.
The last item on our grilled chicken temperature chart, grilled spatchcocked chicken will cook faster, as it’s ready in 30-50 minutes on indirect heat, at 375°F.
Grilled spatchcocked Cornish hens are an even faster grill. They’re smaller than regular store-bought chickens and they will be fully cooked in about 30 minutes at 375°F, on the indirect heat zone.
Best Chicken Grilling Tips
Looking to overcome an issue, or you just want to make sure your chicken turns out as delicious as possible? Keep these tips in mind, next time you plan to grill some chicken.
- For chicken breasts to cook faster, and more evenly you can lightly pound the thicker end to flatten them a bit. I don’t recommend thinning them out too much, though. They can easily turn out too dry!
- Always grill your chicken with a closed lid. It’s not just fuel waste, the cooking time is increased as well.
- If your bone-in chicken is browning too fast, move it over the indirect heat zone so they can reach 165°F internally without getting charred on the outside.
- Flavor your chicken by marinating, wet brining, or with a dry rub. If you allow the chicken to stay in the fridge and absorb the flavors for a while, you’ll get incredibly moist and tasty chicken!
- Quality matters. Free-range, organic chicken has a firmer texture and more intense flavor. If you can afford the extra cost, it’s definitely worth it.
- You can also grill frozen chicken. It’s not ideal but it works. You can still use the chicken grilling cheat sheet, but you’ll need to reduce the cooking temperature by 20% and add 50% to the total grilling time.
Note: If you’d like to grill chicken burgers, refer to our printable Burger Temperature Chart. They are lighter than beef burgers and just as satisfying!
F.A.Q.
All poultry, chicken included, has to be cooked to 165°F (75°C) internal temperature.
It’s a good idea to oil lean, skinless chicken, such as chicken breasts before seasoning. This will prevent the meat from sticking to the grill and allow the herbs and spices stick to its surface.
You can also apply oil to a whole chicken or chicken parts with skin but it’s not absolutely necessary.
As your chicken is grilling, fat will render from the skin which should prevent it from sticking to the grill.
Always grill chicken with the lid closed if you grill has one. The meat will cook faster, and more evenly.
Also, there will be less oxygen under the cover, lowering the chance of flare-ups.
How To Download
Once you have all the information, grilling chicken is not difficult at all!
Of course, our free printable grilled chicken temperature chart makes it even easier, so jump to the box below, enter your email address and hit the Send button.
The PDF will be sent to your inbox where you can download it.
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Ginny Collins is a passionate foodie and recipe creator of Savor and Savvy and Kitchenlaughter. Indoors she focuses on easy, quick recipes for busy families and kitchen basics. Outdoors, she focuses on backyard grilling and smoking to bring family and friends together. She is a lifelong learner who is always taking cooking classes on her travels overseas and stateside. Her work has been featured on MSN, Parade, Fox News, Yahoo, Cosmopolitan, Elle, and many local news outlets. She lives in Florida where you will find her outside on the water in her kayak, riding her bike on trails, and planning her next overseas adventure.
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