Grilled Herbed Chicken & Potato Foil Packs are a fun and simple summer dinner that the whole family will love. Chock full of delicious Italian spices, these packets can even be cooked on a camping stove or over a fire!
If foil packs are your go-to for summer meals, then you’ve gotta also try my Lemon Herb Shrimp and Broccoli Foil Packs, Garlic Steak and Potato Foil Packs, and Herb Butter Salmon and Asparagus Foil Packs.
I grew up on what we called “tin foil dinners.” Being the youngest of nine we didn’t travel much, but we did go camping a lot, as well as cabin-ing at my great uncle’s log cabin.
Year after year we camped and cabined and I looked forward to those trips all through winter and spring. I couldn’t wait to go fishing and hiking and back-woods exploring, and you better believe I looked forward to my mama’s tin foil dinners. Sometimes on a camping stove, sometimes in the cabin oven, and many-a-time over the open flames of a legitimate rock-ring, wood-crackling fire.
These Herbed Chicken & Potato Foil Packs are loaded with really yummy flavors and are incredibly simple to make. If you’re planning a camping trip, you MUST make these part of your adventure. And if you’re not the camping type (no judgement here, I married one of you not-so-happy-campers), please say you’ll still make these in your backyard on the grill.
Heck, if you’re really anti-outdoorsy, I’ll even support you in baking these babies in the oven right in the safety and cleanliness of your bug-free kitchen.
WHAT INGREDIENTS ARE IN HERBED CHICKEN & POTATO FOIL PACKS?
- Boneless skinless chicken thighs OR boneless skinless chicken breasts
- Garlic powder
- Onion powder
- Dried oregano
- Dried basil
- Dried dill
- Salt and pepper
- Oil
- Potatoes (red or gold potatoes work best)
- Mushrooms
HOW DO YOU MAKE HERBED CHICKEN & POTATO FOIL PACKS?
The first thing you want to do is pack up your gear and go camping. I kid, I kid…sorta. No, but seriously, if you’re camping or just making these packs at home, the result will be the same I promise! Just as delicious, less bugs.
Mix up all the seasonings then set those aside. Next, add the chicken, potatoes, and mushrooms to a bowl and toss to coat with the oil.
Tear out 4 12 x 12 pieces of nonstick foil and lay them on a flat surface (or on a baking sheet if you are cooking in the oven). Divide the chicken, potatoes, and mushrooms up evenly among the foil pieces.
Sprinkle the contents of each packet with the seasonings and then fold the foil over the chicken-potato-mushroom mixture and scrunch the ends of it together to close off the foil pack.
Place all the packets onto a preheated grill and cook for about 10-15 minutes, then flip and cook another 5-7 minutes. Check the chicken for doneness. Once it’s cooked through, you can garnish with fresh herbs if ya like, and serve right away.
Alternately, if you want to back these packs, pop them in the oven at 400 degrees for 20-25 minutes. No need to turn them.
WHAT CAN I SEASON CHICKEN WITH?
What can you season chicken with? The better question is what CAN’T you season chicken with? Chicken is like the blank canvas of the meat world. In addition to the Italian spices I feature in these chicken foil packs, here are some other ways I’ve spiced up my chicken:
- Try a tasty chicken marinade or dry rub.
- Love some Mexican seasonings? These Meal Prep Bowls will win you over.
- We even get down with some Argentinian Chimichurri now and again.
- Is Thai more your wheelhouse? We got that too!
- Or do you prefer chicken with an Indian flare?
- How about Korean?
- And of course, stir-fries are a great way to season chicken with some milder Asian spices too!
DO YOU SEASON CHICKEN BEFORE OR AFTER COOKING?
I ALWAYS season chicken before cooking it. This way, the flavors are locked in (seared, sauteed, steamed, however it’s cooked, same result). If you seasoned chicken after you cooked it, the spices would simply fall off.
That is, of course, unless you are doing something like a chicken wing, (for a great chicken wing recipe check out my Crispy Baked Chicken Wings Recipe,) in which you need to sauce the whole entire piece of meat or some other dish that has a glaze or dip that the chicken needs to be coated in before serving. But even then, those are glazes and sauces, and not spices so much.
All that is to say, spice first, cook second, dip third.
Grilled Herbed Chicken & Potato Foil Packs
Ingredients
- 6-8 boneless skinless chicken thighs - OR 4 boneless skinless chicken breasts
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- ½ teaspoon dried oregano
- ½ teaspoon dried basil
- ¼ teaspoon dried dill
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- 3 tablespoons oil
- 1 – 1 ½ pounds potatoes - (red or gold potatoes work best in this recipe), thinly sliced (about 2 cups potato slices)
- 1 cup sliced mushrooms
Instructions
- Stir together seasonings and set aside. Add oil to a bowl along with chicken, potatoes, and mushrooms and toss to coat everything in the oil.
- Lay out 4 12×12 sheets of nonstick foil on a flat surface. Divide chicken, potatoes, and mushrooms between each of the foil sheets. (If using thighs there should be 1-2 per foil sheet, if using breasts there should be 1 per foil sheet) Sprinkle with seasoning mixture.
- Fold foil over the chicken-potato-mushroom mixture and scrunch the ends of the foil together to close off the foil pack.
- Place foil packs on preheated grill and cook for about 10-15 minutes, then flip and cook another 5-7 minutes. Check the chicken for doneness, once cooked through, garnish with fresh herbs if desired (such as thyme, rosemary, or oregano) and serve immediately.
Made it at a Cub Scout campout for 35 people. Parents were very complementary. Kids were happy with just the potatoes and chicken.
So glad it went well for you! 🙂
Is it alright to freeze these, if so is the cooking time the same and how long could you freeze them?
Yes, you can freeze them! Before cooking them, freeze in an air tight bag or container. Thaw completely in the fridge and then cook according to the instructions. 🙂
how would I back them? I live in a apt and can’t BBQ.
Pop them in the oven at 400 degrees for 20-25 minutes. No need to turn them 🙂
Tastes great, but you might re-evaluate the oven method mentioned (400 for 20-25min). I used full-size boneless breasts and it was still pink/raw after 25min with an internal temperature of 110 F.