Grilled Chicken With Tomatoes and Corn

Grilled Chicken With Tomatoes and Corn
Bryan Gardner for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Barrett Washburne.
Total Time
30 minutes
Rating
4(1,513)
Notes
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While you could rest grilled chicken on a cutting board to ensure the juices don’t run out of the meat when it’s sliced, a more delicious option is to place the chicken on a pile of tomatoes, corn and red onion. The seasoned drippings act as a no-effort warm dressing, bolstering the flavor of the vegetables and softening their raw edges. Before grilling, the chicken is rubbed with chili powder, the spice mix that typically includes dried oregano, garlic, onion, cumin and ground chiles, for complex flavor with minimal effort. Fresh oregano, while optional, emphasizes the herbs in the chili powder. Use this technique of resting grilled proteins on fresh produce for many summer dinners: pork chops on peaches, steak on chopped scallions and ginger, sausages on radicchio and halloumi on citrus.

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Ingredients

Yield:4 servings
  • pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs, patted dry
  • 3tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for greasing the grill grates
  • 1tablespoon chili powder
  • Kosher salt (such as Diamond Crystal)
  • pounds large ripe tomatoes, thinly sliced
  • 1ear of corn, kernels cut from the cob (about 1 cup kernels)
  • 1small red onion, thinly sliced
  • 1tablespoon fresh oregano leaves (optional)
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (4 servings)

371 calories; 18 grams fat; 3 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 10 grams monounsaturated fat; 3 grams polyunsaturated fat; 17 grams carbohydrates; 4 grams dietary fiber; 7 grams sugars; 37 grams protein; 934 milligrams sodium

Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

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Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Heat the grill to medium-high. In a medium bowl, coat the chicken with 2 tablespoons olive oil, the chili powder and ½ teaspoon salt; set aside. (You can do this step up to 1 day ahead; refrigerate and bring to room temperature before cooking.)

  2. Step 2

    On a large platter, layer the tomatoes, corn kernels, red onion and fresh oregano (if using). Season with ¾ teaspoon salt and drizzle with the remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil.

  3. Step 3

    When ready to grill, clean the grates with a grill brush, then lightly grease the grates. Grill the chicken until browned and cooked through, and it releases easily from the grates, 5 to 7 minutes per side. (If flare-ups occur, move the chicken to an area of the grill with smaller flames underneath. For a gas grill, close the lid between flips, listening and peeking occasionally for flare-ups.)

  4. Step 4

    Transfer the chicken to the platter. Let rest for 5 to 20 minutes before serving.

Ratings

4 out of 5
1,513 user ratings
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Cooking Notes

Corn cooked or raw?

where is the love? Yes a basic recipe but sooo delicious! No fresh oregano, no problem - basil, thyme or even good ol parsley to the rescue. No fresh RAW corn, ok, canned is always delicious too! Don't forget to add a bit of mayo to chicken marinade and it will never be dry! TRUST!

Per the NYT article the corn is left uncooked but blanched or grilled would work well too. This is one of those very flexible recipes that allows the cook to modify based on ingredients on hand/ garden herbs available.

You could split the difference and microwave the ears of corn (in the husks) for a minute (or two) and then shuck them. The silks come off very easily and the corn is lightly cooked.

Soak the red onion in Rice Wine Vinegar for 30 minutes if you have time!

I made this with bone in skin on thighs in the oven at 425 used fresh in season tomatoes corn,red onions,basil instead of oregano because it's what I had.I also made homemade croutons and added the chicken on top. Was a really wonderful summer meal

If you have access to fresh, truly-sweet sweet corn and have never tried it raw, definitely do it. I’ll slice it off the cob for (raw) salads, as in this recipe, but I really love to eat it straight off the cob, uncooked. Nothing on it, nothing needed. So sweet, juicy and crisp.

Made it tonight with fresh corn and tomatoes from the local farmer's market. Delicious, but thinking next time might add some lime juice or balsamic vinegar....seems to need something tangy.

I followed the recipe except I cooked up some pearl couscous and added that to the tomato, corn, basil and scallion mixture. Delish!!

This was delicious warm the first night and equally delightful chilled as leftovers. My only alterations to the recipe was to grill the red onion which gave a smoky flavor to the corn mixture and to use basil because that’s the what I had in my garden. Highly recommended.

Yes. On a gas grill, I heat to high, clean the grill, oil the grill, lower the temp to low-medium, and low-slow cook the chicken. It turns out juicy and perfect.

I made this tonight and it was delicious and so easy! I didn’t cook the corn and made a few minor changes based on what I had on hand. I substituted cherry tomatoes, basil, flat leaf parsley and shallot for the sliced tomato, oregano and red onion. I served it with Herby Potato Salad with Smashed Olives from NYT and it was a huge hit!

Used the freshest Jersey corn. Made, using the latest foolproof, microwave method (Tic-Tok), and then kissed it with the charcoal, grilled the red onion for a few mins. Used Jersey tomatoes…Outrageous summer dish!

Ridiculously good, especially for its simplicity! We had desiccated garden oregano that I semi-crunched and sprinkled on top of salad. Also, made three separate portions for 1) daughter doing Whole 30, no corn 2) husband who can't tolerate anything spicy so no chile powder, and 3) me, corn, chile, the whole nine yards. Everyone loved it. Worried the raw red onion would overwhelm. It didn't.

Made this tonight as written (but with extra fresh corn). Could use a little vinegar on the veggies but otherwise it’s a keeper.

Pickled onions beforehand, then added some feta cheese to the salad.. otherwise, I followed the recipe. So yummy! I love the fresh corn! Served it with a lemon green onion warm potato salad. It's going to be part of my easy summer food rotation!

Will definitely make again and while I did add some balsamic to it I’ll definitely be quick pickling the onions and maybe adding some soft-toasted large homemade croutons.

Used bone-in skin-on thighs. Subbed in fresh basil for oregano because I had it growing in my herb garden. Covered the platter with foil while resting. Served with garlic bread to soak up the wonderful juices. Delicious healthy dinner.

Served on bed of arugula to add greens for an all in one easy quick healthy dish. Definitely squeeze lime juice on top.

Made as directed and was wonderful. So easy and so flavourful!

Can this be done in the oven? I don’t have access to a grill

Use cherry tomatoes Optional - add grain base

Needs a spritz of lemon juice to make it best.

Trader Joe's frozen roast corn is a yummy easy substitute

This is an outstandingly simple recipe. The chicken was grilled perfectly (something that I've never experienced before), and the veggies were wonderful together. I think that grilling the corn would give the recipe an extra boost of flavor! I used flaky kosher salt which I think gave the dish a more subtle taste.

If you put grease or oil on a hot griddle it will vapourise almost immediately so there is little point in doing that, put it on whatever you're grilling instead.

This is exactly what Summer tastes like. Red onion is a bit intense for me so I cut the onion in quarters and grilled with the chicken. We blanched the corn and cut it off the cob at the end. You need to make this on repeat.

Quick pickle of onions. Maybe cook corn minute or two in microwave in husks.

EVOO to grease the grill? No! Just No!

Excellent summer dish. A Peruvian aji verde sauce goes really well with this.

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