The Best Chicken Marinade Recipe makes chicken extra juicy and flavorful. This savory marinade makes grilled chicken mouthwatering!
The Best Chicken Marinade Recipe
When we were newly married, we lived near Dean’s brother, his wife, and two kids. We were living in an apartment, going to college full-time, and working crazy hours to pay the bills. We were poor little college students and would love when Deron and Sarah would invite us over for dinner. Their go-to meal was grilled chicken in a delish marinade. They knew how much we loved it so we ate it almost every time we had dinner at their home.
So I had to ask her what was in this amazing chicken marinade recipe. It is beyond simple! I decided to tweak it and add a few more flavors to make it extra tangy and zesty.
This Grilled Chicken Marinade Recipe is made with extra virgin olive oil, freshly squeezed lemon juice, balsamic vinegar, soy sauce, brown sugar, Worcestershire sauce, garlic, salt, and pepper. You have such a variety of seasonings in this marinade.
The extra virgin olive oil keeps the chicken extra moist and juicy. The fresh lemon juice and balsamic vinegar break down the fibers in the chicken to make it tender. The soy sauce and Worcestershire sauce give it a salty depth of flavor. The brown sugar adds some rich sweetness and gives the chicken a nice crust when grilled. All of the ingredients work together in such harmony to make the perfect chicken marinade!
The key is to let the chicken marinate for at least 30 minutes. Pierce the chicken breasts with a fork all over to ensure the marinade can seep into the chicken to make it juicy. An idea marinating time is 4 – 5 hours.
To grill the chicken, set your grill at medium heat. Allow it to preheat before adding the chicken. To keep the chicken from sticking, brush a bit of oil on the grill. Cook for about 5 – 6 minutes per side, depending on the thickness of the chicken breast. The chicken needs to reach 165 degrees to ensure that it is completely cooked through.
Use whatever types of chicken you prefer — chicken breasts, thinly sliced chicken breasts, chicken tenders, or chicken thighs. Chicken tenders and thinly sliced chicken breast will cook much quicker than thick chicken breasts so watch carefully.
- 2 lbs. Chicken Breasts Tenders, or Thighs
- 1/3 - 1/2 cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil depending on preference
- 3 Tablespoons Fresh Lemon Juice
- 3 Tablespoons Soy Sauce
- 2 Tablespoons Balsamic Vinegar
- 1/4 cup Brown Sugar
- 1 Tablespoon Worcestershire Sauce
- 3 Garlic Cloves minced or 1/2 teaspoon Garlic Powder
- 1 1/2 teaspoon Salt
- 1 teaspoon Pepper
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- Garnish:
- Fresh Parsley
- In a bowl, stir together oil, lemon juice, soy sauce, balsamic vinegar, brown sugar, Worcestershire sauce, garlic, salt, and pepper.
- Pierce chicken breasts with a fork all over. Place in a large Ziploc bag. Pour marinade over chicken.
- Let marinate for at least 30 minutes. 4 - 5 hours is ideal.
- Preheat grill to medium heat. Brush grill with oil to prevent sticking.
- Place chicken on the grill. Cook for approximately 5 - 6 minutes per side, depending on the thickness of chicken. The internal temperature of the chicken should reach 165 degrees.
- Remove chicken from grill and let rest for 5 minutes.
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Happy Cooking, my friends!
As a test, I tried this marinade for 4 drumsticks. Marinated overnight followed recipe exactly. I intended to put on the grill but it rained unexpectedly so I used an air fryer for 15min, flipped chicken, then additional 5min before packing it up for a lunch for work. This recipe was amazing. This is the first time I ever commented on any recipe and I use alot of great recipes bookmarked to my device! I’m so glad i found this. The title couldn’t be more befitting. Best chicken marinade by far. Thank you!
I have a notebook called Dad’s Recipes. A recipe has to be outstanding to make it into the collection. This one is definitely a keeper in the notebook! Yum!
After marinating the chicken i took it out to grill and the marinade is thick and looks separated. Any ideas what happened?
This marinade recipe is fantastic. I marinated chicken breasts in this for almost 5 hours, and it was awesome. Not too sweet, really nice balance of acidity, saltiness, and a tiny bit of sweet.
Delicious!! Thank you so much!! I love the method of using the fork, it made the chicken really tender.
This truly is the best marinade! Chicken breasts came out juicy not dry at all!
Thank you!
This was an excellent marinade, and it’s going into the binder. Thank you for publishing it. I poked my chicken breasts with my chef’s knife, since I used it to slice each thick breast into 2 thinner pieces. That way, I made slight cuts instead of holes. It seems to have worked just as well.
Can you bake it; h what temp – how long?
Delicious! Perfect blend of flavors after 4 hours. Served with baked sweet potato’s and garden salad. Thanks for sharing. This is a keeper.
Best chicken marinade EVER!!!! my family and I are a total fan, simply specular. Thank you!
Ok … so I made this, but I swapped out … just kidding … I’m not that guy! This was AWESOME! Just like others, I don’t often comment, but this was on point! My chicken grilled up just like the pictures – juicy and delicious. Definitely a keeper!
Hahaha Jeff! That made me laugh out loud. Thank you for the comment and for trying my recipe. I appreciate it!
Fantastic chicken recipe. I’ve made this recipe many times. Marinaded for 8 hours and it obviously had the most flavor. Ive also only marinated for about 1 hour and it was still delicious! Highly recommend!
I just wanted to comment to say how amazing this recipe is. I followed the directions almost exactly & let the chicken marinate for 4 hours and it was perfect! I grilled it outside with some corn and my husband said it’s some of the best grilled chicken I’ve ever made. Thank you for the recipe!