Applebee’s Cedar Grilled Lemon Chicken Copycat Recipe

This is a copycat recipe of Applebee’s Cedar Grilled Lemon Chicken. It’s incredibly delicious and everyone who has tried this recipe swears by it! It’s my favorite Applebee’s chicken dish to make and eat!
According to Applebee’s menu, the Cedar Grilled Lemon Chicken is a plate of “cedar grilled chicken garnished with Granny Smith apple relish. Topped with lemon olive oil vinaigrette over a blend of cranberries, rice, honey-glazed pecans & quinoa.“
In this recipe, I’ll show you how to make the cedar grilled lemon chicken. Feel free to recreate the exact Applebee’s sides, or pair the cedar grilled chicken with other sides to make it your own!
Let’s start!
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What You Need for This Applebee’s Cedar Grilled Lemon Chicken Copycat Recipe
- 4 boneless skinless chicken breasts, lightly pounded
- 3 tablespoons lemon juice
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- salt and pepper, to taste
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 cedar plank (about 7.25″x16″)
- water
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How to Make Applebee’s Cedar Grilled Lemon Chicken
- In a large bowl, mix together the lemon juice, olive oil, salt, pepper, and garlic powder. Add in the chicken breasts and make sure that they are well-coated in the marinade mixture. Cover with a plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes, or overnight.
- About 1-2 hours before grilling, soak the cedar plank in water (or add a splash of apple juice for extra flavors).
- Preheat your grill on medium heat and lightly oil the grill grate. Once preheated, place the soaked cedar plank on the grate over direct heat. Place the marinated chicken breasts directly on the cedar plank.
- Close the grill lid and cook for 10 minutes, turning the chicken breast every 2.5 minutes. Don’t be nervous if the cedar planks smoke while the chicken is cooking, this is good! Just close the grill lid as much as possible, and only open when you need to check and flip the chicken breasts.
- Right before serving, remove the cedar plank from underneath the chicken and grill the chicken breasts directly on the grill grate on high heat until grill marks appear.
- Your Cedar Grilled Lemon Chicken is ready to serve. Slice the chicken and pair with your sides of choice. ENJOY!
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Feel free to check out Butcherbox and Crowd Cow separately to see which one might be a better fit for your family. Our family and our readers love them!

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Applebee’s Cedar Grilled Lemon Chicken Copycat Recipe
Ingredients
- 4 boneless skinless chicken breasts , lightly pounded
- 3 tbsp lemon juice
- 1 tbsp
olive oil - salt and pepper , to taste
- 1 tsp garlic powder
cedar plank (about 7.25"x16")- water
Instructions
- In a large bowl, mix together the lemon juice, olive oil, salt, pepper, and garlic powder. Add in the chicken breasts and make sure that they are well-coated in the marinade mixture. Cover with a plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes, or overnight.
- About 1-2 hours before grilling, soak the
cedar plank in water (or add a splash of apple juice for extra flavors). - Preheat your grill on medium heat and lightly oil the grill grate. Once preheated, place the soaked cedar plank on the grate over direct heat. Place the marinated chicken breasts directly on the cedar plank.
- Close the grill lid and cook for 10 minutes, turning the chicken breast every 2.5 minutes. Don't be nervous if the cedar planks smoke while the chicken is cooking, this is good! Just close the grill lid as much as possible, and only open when you need to check and flip the chicken breasts.
- Right before serving, remove the cedar plank from underneath the chicken and grill the chicken breasts directly on the grill grate on high heat until grill marks appear.
- Your Cedar Grilled Lemon Chicken is ready to serve. Slice the chicken and pair with your sides of choice. ENJOY!
Nutrition
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The cedar plank added so much flavors! First time grilling with planks and it sure won’t be the last.