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!
I also don’t comment on recipes usually but this was outstanding and deserves special mention. I didn’t read the part about poking the chicken breasts but marinated for 4 hours in the fridge and it was divine off the grill. This is a permanent addition to the recipe collection, thanks!
This is so good! Made it twice this week and cooked on my little Foreman grill. I only marinated for about 30 minutes the first time and it was still great. Thanks!
Since I discovered this recipe, it is the only recipe I use. It even got my son to eat chicken, and previously he wouldn’t touch anything that wasn’t fried. Now he even requests this. Thank you!
What can i substitute if I don’t have lemons?
Maybe try white or red wine vinegar.
Any citrus juice
Loved this recipe. Could I possibly turn this marinade into a sauce? If so, how? Thank you!
You can try to reduce the marinade by simmering it on the stove to make it thicker. Probably best to just make a little bit extra marinade and set that aside for the sauce.
You could also maybe try adding a cornstarch slurry to thicken it too.
If I could rate this more than 5 stars, I would! Holy crap this is so good. We use it every single time (no questions asked) when we are grilling. The only I do differently is use red wine vinegar only because my husband does not like balsamic. I can imagine it’s just as yummy. Thank you sooooo much for this staple on our household! 🙂
I have NEVER left a review for anything, but this recipe was outstanding! And because we do a LOT of Korean cooking, marination is a big deal in our fam! This isn’t Korean, per se, but it’s going in my recipe file to become a staple at our house! (I followed the recipe to the letter FYI)
Loved it! Saved it! Will use it again and again! Finally, a grilled chicken marinade that actually tastes great and keeps the chichen juicy! Thank you Melissa!
This marinade is excellent but I did one variation that I believe makes it superb. I crushed and added 7-8 dry Japones peppers (these are quite mild) and grilled the chicken on my propane Weber. My one word of caution is to limit the time as lemon causes faster absorption of flavor in a marinade and over night will give you a very strong lemon taste. Two or three hours is plenty of time and piercing the chicken with a fork isn’t necessary. If you want more flavor just let it sit longer. Also, include some zest as it imparts slightly brighter hints of the lemon. There is also a huge difference between regular and Meyer lemons and I much prefer the latter for more balance.