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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.Â
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.Â
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!
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The Best Chicken Marinade Recipe
Equipment
Ingredients
- 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
- 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.ÂNutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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Happy Cooking, my friends!
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.
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.
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.
Excellent marinade! Used bone in chicken breasts then grilled to perfection! Moist and delicious!
Thanks for the recipe.
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!
Delish! Used thighs, chargrilled them so they have a nice crust and used extra marinade for salad dressing.. Will be on regular rotation 🙂
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!
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.
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!
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!