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.
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Happy Cooking, my friends!
Sarah
If weather is bad, can the chicken be cooked in the air fryer after marinating? I know it can be baked but do love my air fryer! Thank you and this marinade is delicious as we have already used it for grilling. Piercing the breasts is a great way to absorb the flavors and make the chicken more tender!
Vicki Wolfe
Have you tried with pork tenderloin? Chicken was really good
Lynda Mcclintic
I used this recipe on shrimp. Yum Yum!!!!!!!
Ash
This recipe is awesome… even though I missed one ingredient and also added additional two ingredients in this it came out sooo goood. So i missed Worcestershire Sauce and added some chilli powder as i love spicy and a little bit of garam masala and chicken masala. With some coconut powder( made by my mom) and its sooo goood
Karin
I air fried these thighs after marinating them for about 7 minutes at 380 degrees F. They were so juicy, and the flavor was excellent. They were definitely a huge hit and we'll make them again. Thank you for this!
Sarah
7 minutes each side or total?
Debbie Ja
Could I use this marinate for chicken legs and thighs or is it better to use chicken breast?
Priscilla
Debbie Ja - You can absolutely use this marinade on chicken legs and thighs! It is so delicious.
Carley
So I used this, it was delicious. I don’t normally measure things out, so I kinda eyeballed everything. I also forgot the brown sugar, added onion powder, and then when the chicken was on the grill I sprinkled on some crushed red pepper. Big fan. Definitely a good marinade!
Jessica Magyar
Best ever
Lori
I’ve made this chicken several times. It truly is the best marinade ever! The chicken is always so moist and flavourful! Typically, I serve tzatziki with chicken however, this is so moist, I skip the tzatziki. It’s just a delicious left over! Thanks for this amazing recipe!
Sabrina
Can this be cooked in the oven?!! Pled tell me the temperature if so 🥹🥹
Cynthia
Excellent. Enough said.
Modern Honey
Awww thank you so much, Cynthia! So happy you loved the chicken marinade recipe!
Megan
Favorite marinade ever. Been using it for 3 years now and it always gets rave reviews. So easy and quick!
MARY
CAN YOU MARINADE CHICKEN OVER NIGHT?
IS IT BEST TO ONLY MARINADE CHICKEN FOR 4 TO 5 HOURS?
I’M LOOKING FORWARD TO TRYING THIS MARINADE OUT THIS WEEKEND,
THANK YOU!
Steph S.
What would be baking instructions be? Thanks
Stephanie Anderson
Would this be a good marinade for salmon. I loved it with chicken
Jason
I'd like to reiterate the earlier questions I see here:
Can those of us without a grill bake in the oven instead?
Is there any harm in marinating overnight, or even longer?
K
I see this marinade identical to mine lol accept I’ve been adding Oyster Sauce as well so tasty
I will try baking in the with tin foil to see how much difference their is and give their fryer a break one less step in clean up 😃
Angelica
Can you marinade overnight?