This study investigates the impact of different plug-in electric vehicles (PEVs) charging strategies in grid-connected microgrid containing PV generation system. Two different coordinated charging strategies with constant and variable power rates are proposed to increase the utilization of PV energy in the microgrid and decrease the undesired peaks due to PEV charging loads on the grid. First, based on forecasted base load and PV generation data, a microgrid central controller (MGCC) performs an offline operation to determine a charging zone. Then, in real time operation, it updates the charging zone and determines the charging profiles for each PEV by considering the base load and PV generation data instantly. The performance of the proposed strategy is assessed through a part of Cornell University microgrid with real data, and compared with other charging methods in terms of PV system energy usage percentage, energy supplied and peak demand from the grid by presenting numerical results. The results show that the proposed charging strategy can achieve increased PV utilization and reduced peak demand from the grid substantially.