The Best Chicken Marinade Recipe makes chicken extra juicy and flavorful. This savory grilled chicken marinade makes the perfect mouthwatering grilled chicken! Everyone loves this 5-star-rated chicken marinade.
The Best Chicken Marinade Recipe
Do you want to make the most flavorful, mouthwatering, juicy grilled chicken? I have the recipe for you and all of the secrets to the best chicken marinade! This recipe has consistently received 5-star reviews for over 5 years and is the most popular chicken 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 will become a staple in your home too!
Chicken Marinade Ingredients:
Everything you need is most likely in your pantry and refrigerator. This is all about layers upon layers of flavor from fresh lemon juice to tangy balsamic vinegar. It makes the most flavorful grilled chicken!
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.
What do I love about this Grilled Chicken?
The extra virgin olive oil keeps the chicken extra moist and juicy.
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 harmony to make the perfect chicken marinade!
How long should I marinate chicken?
The key is to let the chicken marinate for at least 30 minutes. This allows the marinade ingredients to infuse flavors and moisture into the chicken for the juiciest, most flavorful chicken you will ever eat!
Pierce the chicken breasts with a fork all over to ensure the marinade can seep into the chicken to make it juicy. What is an ideal amount of time to marinate chicken? An ideal marinating time is 4 - 5 hours.
How to grill chicken and how long to cook grilled chicken?
To grill the chicken, set your grill at medium heat. Allow it to preheat before placing the chicken on the grill.
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. I suggest using a food thermometer for ensure the perfectly cooked and juiciest grilled chicken.
What type of chicken should I use?
Use whatever types of chicken you prefer -- chicken breasts, thinly sliced chicken breasts, chicken tenders, or chicken thighs.
Thinly sliced chicken breast will cook faster than traditional chicken breasts. Chicken tenders and thinly sliced chicken breast will cook much quicker than thick chicken breasts so watch carefully.
What should I serve with grilled chicken marinade?
Some of my favorite recipes to serve with grilled chicken are:
Loaded Potato Salad with Bacon
Another great marinade is my Tri-Tip Steak Marinade.
I can't wait to hear how much you love this grilled chicken recipe!
The Best Chicken Marinade Recipe
Equipment
Ingredients
- 2 lbs. Chicken Breasts Tenders, or Thighs
- ⅓ - ½ cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil depending on preference
- 3 Tablespoons Fresh Lemon Juice
- 3 Tablespoons Soy Sauce
- 2 Tablespoons Balsamic Vinegar
- ¼ cup Brown Sugar
- 1 Tablespoon Worcestershire Sauce
- 3 Garlic Cloves minced or ½ teaspoon Garlic Powder
- 1 ½ teaspoon Salt
- 1 teaspoon Pepper
- Garnish:
- Fresh Parsley
Instructions
- 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.
Notes
What type of chicken should I use?
Use whatever types of chicken you prefer -- chicken breasts, thinly sliced chicken breasts, chicken tenders, or chicken thighs.Nutrition
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Happy Cooking, my friends!
Ronnie
This marinade was fantastic! I look forward to making it again. I used Meyer lemons because they have the best flavor. I didn't have time to marinate the boneless chicken for more than an hour and a half and I forgot to pierce it with a fork but it was tender as can be.
Chris Ann
We live in an apartment that doesn’t allow grills. How would this be done on the oven? Any suggested cooking time/temp for chicken breasts?
Anna
I came here to ask the same! I don't know if pan-seared or baking would work? I don't have a grill to use either.
As far as temp, 165 is the safe internal temp you want for chicken.
Nancy
Hi.....what I’ve done is set the oven at 375 and bake for 40 minutes depending on size of breast. I left the marinade on and ended up with a beautiful browned skin at 165 internal temp. I remove the skin when it’s ready to eat but the skin is delicious according to my husband.
Mary
I pan seared mine in a cast iron skillet with a press and it was AMAZING!!!
Patricia Petersen
This is the best chicken marinade I have tried and I highly recommend it. The chicken is so flavorful and juicy.
Jamie Manarin
Was wonderful! I did not have brown sugar so I used maple syrup. My husband raved about it. It will be a regular for us now. Thank you!
Chanelle
If I could rate this with 15 more stars I would !
Great marinade, new fav in my home.
Good with pork as well, tried it today 🙂
Darcie MacDonald
Simply delicious! My entire family LOVES this marinade!
Michelle
I love this recipe! The marinate is so easy to make, makes the chicken juicy and tender and is delicious!!! I marinated in as little as 30 minutes but I made sure I poked the wholes in the chicken. Worked perfectly, thank you for the tip!
Danil Bagin
This is like DIVINE chicken. I never leave reviews for stuff (this is such a cliche statement) but I made chicken breasts using this recipe and my God I may never switch recipes again! Super easy to make and tastes like Gordon Ramsey himself made me chicken. Thank you!!!!
Jennifer J
This marinade is the best I've ever tried. Everyone raves over my chicken! I always tweak recipes and with this I've found adding some cayenne pepper and a bit more salt makes a world of difference.
Crystal Z
This was excellent. I was worried with all of the oil, that it wasn’t going to work right, but it came out perfectly flavored and my husband ate two pieces of chicken and picked the bones clean.
Definitely will make again. Might make extra marinade without the oil, and use some water, reduce it down and make a glaze with it for the next meal. Thank you!
Mary
Why rate less than 5 stars and not give the reason? That’s weird
Courtney
I normally don't post on recipes because who has time with 2 young kids, but this was amazing. A lot of people tout having the "BEST" this or that, but this really was one of the greatest chicken marinades. It's easy and quick. I think we only marinated our chicken tenders for 20 mins and the flavor profile was still yummy. Keeper for sure.
fatima alemam
Hello! I just marinated the chicken overnight and was wondering how I could cook this in the oven.
Thank you in advance 🙂
Linda leckband
Ok this was fantastic! I am adding this to my go to recipes! Thank you!
jimmy
so i really wanne try this dish out, but i have no grill. What to do?
Renee
I’m making chicken kabobs. Can this marinade be used with vegetables too - mushrooms, peppers, zucchini, onions?
Thanks!
Emma
I am going to try this recipe but any ideas what to serve it with?
Kathryn Hall
Very good! I will make it over and over. I did not change any thing. My family enjoyed it also. Thank you.
Dolly
Do you uae boneless/skinless chicken brest and or thghs??
Erin
Absolutely fantastic recipe! Thanks so much. Our family loves this marinade!
Misty
This recipe is amazing! I love the taste it gives. I have always used a store bought Italian for marinading but was out. I tried this one on a whim, and I’m so glad I did. I used red wine vinegar since it was what I had on hand instead of the basalmic. It was perfect!