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!
HI, this looks amazing! I’m a college student but don’t have a grill 🙁 is there a way took in the oven or in a pan on the stove?
Not sure if oven would be better but I personally do pan on the stove, works fine
Hi Olivia! Great question. Thanks for stopping by! I have a daughter leaving for college in a few months so I am trying to send her off with easy recipes to make at home. You can absolutely saute this chicken in a skillet or cook it in the oven. I would suggest cooking it on medium heat for about 5-6 minutes per side, or until no longer pink. I hope that helps!
HI there, how long to cook in the oven and at what temp? I plan to make this tonight!
I made this recipe in the oven at 375 degress for 45 minutes. Then I took it out of the juices (I doubled the recipe on every ingredient so as to have juice for the jasmine rice) & placed it on a foil lined pan to broil them for only 1-2 minutes. I then returned it to the original pan. Broiling It gave the outside skin a slightly burnt look but it made the marinade on the skin taste so yummy. Make sure you broil the chicken away from the juices because the juice can catch on fire. My husband thanked me multiple times for dinner & said it was one of his favorite meals now. & our guests loved it. Their 4 year old was licking the bowl! This was so freaking easy & perfect!
Yes
I live in Arizona, so during the winter months we have a ton of lemons growing on our trees. I am always looking for recipes that use lemons, so this one caught my eye! It was so easy and so yummy…I have grilled it and have also cooked it in a skillet….both turned out fantastic! This recipe is a keeper!
Hi Caroline! I am a fellow Arizona foodie and love when the lemons are growing on the trees! I am so glad you loved the marinade. Thanks for your kind message.
Wow, there are a lot of pages that say “Best Chicken Marinade”, but they lie. This really is the best. It has a great blend of flavors, smells great while grilling, and gives chicken a nice dark color with grill marks. Very tender, don’t overcook! Well done, chef.
You made my day, Craig! Thank you so much! I am so happy you loved the marinade. Thanks for taking the time to comment and rate it. Have a great night!
My god, sorry to use his name in vein. I happen to look this recipe up and followed it although I used more chicken then it said I just added a bit more of each ingredient. And it came out GREAT “best chicken ever my daughters”said. So thank you
Haha thank you, Darnell! I appreciate it so much and am so glad you and your daughters loved it. Thank you for taking the time to comment. Have a great one!
Hello, L !
I baked this and it was scrumptious ! Afterward, broiled cheese on top… it was fabulous.
What a fabulous idea! Cheese broiled on top makes everything better. I will try it next time. Thanks for sharing!
I’m using a whole chicken and I’m gonna cook it in the oven
Awesome! This is such a versatile recipe and can be used in so many ways — whole chicken, breasts, thighs, etc. I hope you loved it! Thanks for trying my recipe.
This was amazing! Even better was that I made up some extra (without the salt and sugar with extra garlic of course) and put it on a salad to go with the chicken. This is going to be one of our goto dinners forever! Thank you!
Awww thank you! I love hearing that! What a great idea to use it as a dressing as well. Brilliant! Thanks for taking the time to comment. I appreciate it!
Hi Melissa, what starch/vegetable/sides do you like to serve with this chicken?
Follwed direction almost exactly i didnt have lemons and or lemon juice on hand so i did use lime juice instead and wow it wotked great nice flavoring. I marinaded the chicken breast for 2hrs before grilling, the recipe said 4 to 5hrs would be ideal but i couldnt i didnt have that much time to do it that way so thought a couple was better than 30 minutes. Family enjoyed it as well thank u 4 sharing.
Hi Melissa! I love the sounds of this recipe and I can’t wait to try it- but, I have no brown sugar on hand, only honey. Is it possible to sub honey for brown sugar or will I be completely ruining it?
I used maple syrup as I had somehow run out of honey and didn’t want to use sugar, and it was delicious! This was such a lovely recipe. I mixed the ingredients straight in the ziplock bag – no cleaning up, an such a tasty result! I am going to try adding crushed ginger next time, but loved it just as it was! This will be one to keep – thanks so much for sharing, Melissa!
Maple syrup….brilliant!
I substituted pure maple syrup & it was delicious, so I’m sure that honey would be great too!!!
I apologize if this question was already asked as I have not read through all the comments but would this marinade be good to freeze the chicken in? I am trying to get as much prep done ahead of time but was not sure if it would work because of the lemon.
Hi Lisa! That’s a great question. You can absolutely freeze the chicken with this marinade. Since it literally stops the process, the lemon juice is completely fine. That’s a great idea to do it ahead of time and just freeze it. Hope it turns out amazing!
Wow, this was excellent! “The best” is not an exaggeration! This is definitely going into my recipe arsenal. I like it because it’s generic, so it could be incorporated into any recipe that requires chicken. Thanks so much!
Hi Jonathan! I love to hear that you love the chicken marinade! Thank you so much for trying my recipe and taking the time to write a comment. Have a great day!
Liked this recipe a lot. Left out the salt for health reasons. While chicken was grilling, heated remaining marinade and added ketchup and celery seed to turn it into barbecue sauce.
This sounds amazing… any ideas on what to sub the brown sugar for? I don’t like to use sugar. Wondering if stevia, or honey are good alternatives.
maple syrup worked really well & honey would be great too!
Delish! Used thighs, chargrilled them so they have a nice crust and used extra marinade for salad dressing.. Will be on regular rotation 🙂
Excellent! I followed the instructions but instead of grilling them, I tossed them in breadcrumbs and baked in the oven at 400 degrees for about 40 minutes. They came out great!
Love that idea, Natalie! Thank you for sharing!
Excellent marinade! Used bone in chicken breasts then grilled to perfection! Moist and delicious!
Thanks for the recipe.
So good! We followed the recipe and cooking instructions and it turned out great!! Moist and delicious! Lots of flavor. We also spooned marinade over the chicken as it was grilling. Will make again!!
I love to hear it! I am so happy you enjoyed the chicken marinade. We love it too! Have a great day.
I have made this marinade a few times now just to be sure it wasn’t a fluke and I have to say it’s one of the easiest and best tasting I’ve come across. I’ve let the chicken sit in it for as little as an hour and as long as overnight and it’s just as good either way. Something about the ingredients gives the chicken just the right amount of sweet and savory all the while keeping it juicy. I’ve both grilled and baked the chicken and while baking it was still good, grilling really makes the flavors come to life.
I doubled the recipe and added two tablespoons of chopped dehydrated onions, one tablespoon of pickling spice, one teaspoon white pepper, half a teaspoon of ground ginger, and half a cup of my favorite gingerale. The original recipe was great, but this just elevated it to a whole new level of yumminess.
Would this be okay without garlic? My friend is allergic.
This marinade is fantastic!!! I was looking for a quick, simple chicken recipe that my picky grandsons, 16 & 13, would like. (My son has full custody & I’m helping him raise them.) Usually if one likes something, the other one doesn’t. 😕 They both LOVED this – we all did & not a bite left over!! I doubled it & added a little extra garlic (our personal preference) & baked the tenders because I didn’t have time to let them marinate. I removed them from the marinade, finished them under the broiler & then thickened the remaining marinade with cornstarch. We had this on Thursday night & they had visitation with their mom this weekend. They’ve requested it for tonight (Sunday) when they get home! 😊 Quick, easy & beyond delicious!
Lovvvvved this recipe so much I made it two days in a row. Even my picky picky child loves it!
Thank you so much!!
Also what do you usually serve it with? Looking fot ideas.
Damn
I used boneless skinless chicken breasts, marinated them for 4 hours, started them in a grill pan, and finished them in a 350 degree oven. Everyone in the family loved the finished product, which is almost miraculous! The flavor profile was very complex, and we thought it had notes of Mediterranean and Asian flavors without tasting too strongly of either cuisine.
Would this be just as tasty setved cold with salad?
The title is not a lie. Literally the best chicken marinade I’ve used.
I made this recipe and it was amazing. I was wondering if anyone ever tried this marinade on pork tenderloin.
After the first time trying this and LOVING it, I bought a whole bunch of chicken breasts and tripled the recipe. I divided the ckn up into 4 freezer bags and divvied up the marinade into each bag. Put them in the freezer as dinner preps for my husband and myself. However, I pulled them all out for a visit with our sons and their families. Everyone LOVED them and asked for more. Next time I’ll have to double the chicken purchase. THANK YOU so much for sharing such an easy and absolutely delicious recipe.
Marinade was great and easy to make.
One question though, what is a “cup” defined as in grams or ml?
A “cup” is 8oz or ~240mL
Echo several of the ‘best ever’ comments, that was a truly great recipe. First time I’ve commented on a recipe. If I could give it 6 or 7 stars, I would!
Very yummy and only marinated the chicken for 30 minutes. The sodium is way too high at 1200 mg per serving. Is that a real? Or just based off the ingredients? Will make again it didn’t taste too salty
This marinade is absolutely perfect! It truly makes the chicken delicious!
Can the chicken marinate for more than 5 hours? say overnight? Want to try it but want to know if it’s ok to marinate longer.
I am also wondering the same thing…
I only was able to marinate for 30-45 minutes and my wife said it was the best chicken breast she has had in a long time, and must have said “wow! this is good” about 5 times. I also use a digital thermometer to make damn sure that it does not get overcooked which is part of it. Thanks for this wonderful recipe.
Can I marinade this overnight or will the lemon juice “cook” the chicken if I marinade it that long?
Thank you so much for sharing this recipe! I look up recipes all the time to change up our food and to find recipes that are really tasty. I marinated the chicken for about 5 hours and it was cooked by my family while I was at work. When I reheated it, I was absolutely amazed how tasty and tender the chicken was. Thank you again!!
This recipe was delicious!! I did chicken breast tenderloins in a grill pan on the stove. Didn’t have any balsamic vinegar, used red wine vinegar instead. Marinated them about 45 min. Came out browned on the outside and super juicy on the inside, and fall apart tender!!! Loved this so much, can’t wait to try other cuts of chicken and use balsamic instead!
What if I don’t have balsamic vinegar, leave it out or sub with something else ?
This chicken marinade is absolutely fabulous! Think it’s the combination of balsamic vinegar along with the citrus of the lemons that really stands out on the tongue. We devoured a huge platter of chicken thighs that marinaded in this for three hours at last weekend’s Mother’s Day BBQ and I’m looking forward to grilling up some chicken breasts tonight. By far one of the best marinades for chicken that we’ve ever come across and there’s a lot of ’em out there. Thank you so very much for sharing!
Okay, attempting to update my original review of this wonderful marinade recipe. Wanted to add that we’ve made this over and over in the past month or so and can testify that Myers lemons work beautifully with this recipe. Grill up a batch of chicken thighs over the weekends using this recipe and then don’t have to cook during the work week. Quick and oh so tasty!
SO GOOD!!!! The neighbor came over to find out what smelled so good!
Another Arizonan chiming in to say, “Wow! This was delicious!” I used honey instead of brown sugar (I don’t feel like I can Lee it longer than ten minutes here before it hardens so I don’t even buy it anymore) but I made the rest according to recipe exactly. I had about 2 hours of marinade time and it was delicious! Definitely saving this one. Thank you!
So so good! It is now my go to marinade for chicken. Perfect for eating as a main dish or dicing up in salads, making chicken salad, and even good on tacos!
I did this recipe and had every ingredient at home. It’s one of the best, if not the best I have tasted to date, for chicken. I cooked them in a little infrared oven and the thighs came great. I made a mistake on the salt by using tables spoons instead of teaspoons but it was like one of those experiments mistakes that end up discovering something good. The salt level was great maybe because I didn’t have much time to marinade.
How do you think this would be with shrimp? We want to make chicken and shrimp kabobs, but I’m not sure if it would translate to shrimp. Curious if you’ve tried it!
SO GOOD! I made it with shrimp, I’ve never tried it with chicken. I subbed the lemon juice for fresh orange juice. It was delicious!
Let me tell you right now…..this marinade is delicious!!! I marinated mines for over 24 hours and added a bit of salt to my marinade to balance out the sweetness–amazing!!! This is going in the weekly rotation for sure!!
Yea! so glad I found your site. I was looking for a good chicken marinade and cant wait to try yours. I use oak wood to smoke my chicken and meat and I think your marinade will work well with my Santa Maria style BBQ. Thank you! Eddie – Huntington Beach, Ca
Can you make the marinade ahead of time?
If I substitute honey for brown sugar, how much should I use?
Needed a chicken marinade that did not have mustard due to food allergy, gave this a try and it turned out delicious! Definitely a keeper, thank you!
My whole family loves this recipe! It’s definitely going in our rotation.
My husband made this last night with chicken thighs and it was heavenly!
Can i marinad overnight? Say for like 12 hours?
Delicious recipe and I love that the ingredients were easy and all on hand in my kitchen!
I’ve never repeated a recipe so many times in such a short amount of time! We use chicken tenders and serve with grilled asparagus and rice. This is the best grilled chicken I’ve ever had. Thanks so much for this recipe!
How long can I keep this marinade before using it ? I would like to keep some on hand in advance.
It was delicious, thank you for the recipe
Literally the best chicken ever! I substituted 1/8 c golden monk fruit sweetener in place of the sugar for a low carb and more figure friendly version. A great substitute for diabetics too. Delicious!
Delicious! High likelihood that this becomes a family staple.
Awesome recipe! I never take the time to comment, however this was too good not too.
This is officially the best marinade for Chicken! We went to a BBQ and had to bring our own meat. When our dinner was done grilling everyone wanted a taste! My kids enjoyed this too! It is officially our go to marinade for chicken!
WOW. This turns out perfectly. Marinated for 24 hours and it was tender, didn’t dry out and wasn’t chewy. I have never made bbq chicken successfully until this recipe. I am officially addicted to your website. Next up, raspberry cheese cake squares! Thanks Melissa!!!!!