Easy Grilled Chicken & Summer Mashed Potatoes

An Easy Summer Meal

Like man folks, we practically live outside in the summer. We have a little Urban Oasis on our deck where we usually start and end the day.

Our Weber Tabletop Grill is the perfect size for us two. The cooking surface area is actually quite big.

I recently came home from my Mom’s home in Michigan and realized I hadn’t cooked in over a week. I decided to end my streak and make an Easy Grilled Chicken and Summer Mashed Potatoes for my entry back into cooking.

Mashed Potatoes on the Grill

My Summer Mashed Potato recipe is a unique one, as you cook the potatoes on the grill instead of boiling them in water. I use the bag from The Little Potato Company which cook quickly on the grill and makes just enough for two with some leftovers.

The important trick for these mashed is to NOT mash them too much and NEVER use an electric mixer or they will turn to a paste. A few quick mashes with a hand masher is just perfect or you can use a fork and break them up until they are mashed but still have a chunk to them.

Perfect Grilled Chicken

The chicken recipe I use for the grill was shared with me by an old friend I used to work with at a grocery store back in the day. It only requires two ingredients: One can of lemon lime soda, I used Sprite, and one bottle of Zesty Italian dressing. I used the one from Aldi, but any brand is good.

I used 4 thin sliced breasts for this recipe but the marinade would accommodate up to 8 thinly sliced breasts. Another important thing to note is that the amount of time you marinate depends on the thickness of the breasts.

I had very thin breasts so I only marinated for 4 hours. The thinner the chicken, the less time it needs. As it sits in the marinade it starts to “cure” the chicken so note how thick they are and adjust your marinade times. If you just throw large breasts in the marinade you can marinate them overnight.

There’s a full, printable recipe card with all of the ingredients at the bottom of the post, though it’s really just chicken, lemon lime soda, and Italian dressing.

You may want to reserve a 1/4 C of the Italian Dressing to baste the chicken while grilling. Do not use the marinade from the raw chicken to baste the cooking chicken!

The steps for making this grilled chicken are as easy as letting it marinate for four to eight hours and then grill. The recipe card has more specific instructions as well as the method for meal prepping ahead of time.

The next recipe is for my Famous Summer Mashed Potatoes. The grill gives these a nice smoky flavor and the added herbs add a summer feel. The recipe is quite easy and requires little to no work.

The full ingredients and instructions for the Summer Mashed Potatoes are located on a recipe below the recipe card for the chicken.

 

Summer Mashed Potatoes:

You’ll see in the recipe card that I use the boomer golds from the Little Potato Company. This is what the bag looks like.

Other baby potatoes work fine as well.

You’ll also notice that I don’t list specific measurements for most of the spices. This is because I know everyone has different tastes, and I encourage you to taste test for yourself and adjust accordingly.

The steps are super simple, as you’ll see. Make sure when you place your foil packet that it is not over direct flame. 

You’ll also want to use multiple foil sheets to be sure the potatoes don’t overcook and all the goodness is sealed in.

For another great grilled chicken recipe, try this Caesar Pasta Salad with Grilled Chicken.

Now check out both of the recipe cards if you’d like to make the chicken and potatoes on the grill at the same time. 

Enjoy this lovely summer meal!