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!
Ashley
Thank you for this recipe! I'm living in Turkey and could easily find all these ingredients! It was delicious!
Andrea MacDougall
When you say grill do you mean the BBQ? Also, can you use OJ instead if lemon juice?
Yasmeen L.
Best chicken I made ever. My husband said it's the best tasting chicken ever !!!!! Thanks ????
Jill
I really enjoyed this marinade! I’m new to cooking and this is probably one of the first recipes I will keep in rotation since it’s so simple and tasty. I bought some chicken cutlets and fried them in a stainless steal pan for a few mins and they formed a real nice color.
KNara
Delicious recipe!! I've made this many, many times. I double the recipe and use a large pack of chicken breast and cut them in half. I put the marinated chicken in the fridge and cook it up as needed for meals. We usually get at least 2 meals out of it for our family of 5. I usually pan fry, but we have done it on the grill as well. Both very yummy!! It goes well with rice and brocolli. Or a salad.
Nancy
Best marinade ever! I followed the recipe exactly though I had to double it for a whole chicken halved. After marinading it for five hours, we put it on the grill. The flavor permeated the chicken and all I heard was, "Oh my gosh this is so good!"
Thank you
Isabella
I made this for my family and they LOVED it!
So simple and so delicious. Thank you for this recipe!
Kaitlyn
We made this recipe tonight and it was AMAZING, easily the best chicken marinade I’ve ever used. We don’t have a grill so I like to cook chicken kabob-style in the oven because it turns out the same. We used 2 pounds of chicken thighs and marinated them for 4 hours. To make the kabob’s we used two bamboo sticks with half a white onion as the base of each stick. Just stack each piece of chicken on the stick so there are two towers, cook at 400 for an hour. SO GOOD!!
Tee Marie
I haven't grilled the chicken yet. I will do so once I leave work. But just from tasting the marinade I almost fell over. LOL! This is truly the BEST chicken marinade I have tried. Of course, you can add or remove anything you'd like. But overall this is a GREAT recipe. Very rarely do I leave reviews, but I truly had to do so to let everyone know that this is the bomb dot com!
Emily
Thank you, this recipe worked perfectly. My very fussy husband was a fan as of course were the kids. I think it will become a staple. Served with roasted smashed baby potatoes and salad. I wonder if it will work well with tofu?
Michael
I used this marinade with one change. With three tablespoons of soy sauce in it I didn't think it needed extra salt.
LIGA ZEMESARAJS
Terrific marinade! Made thighs and breasts with it. Just watch the grilling because of the sugar in it.
Chrissy
I can’t get enough of this marinade.
Especially when I make rice alongside and get to have the marinade over that as well.
Next I am going to try the salad dress as suggestion above.
You will not regret trying this recipe! YUM!!!!!
Rhonda
Um, I came here for chicken marinade and got completely distracted by the chocolate chip cookie copycat recipe and now I'm maybe changing up the cookies I planned to bring to a cookout this weekend (along with the chicken), so now I'm busy with decisions.
Thanks for the marinade recipe. I have all these ingredients, plus a few more I'll add. 🙂
Tami
This may be a stupid question, but as I don't generally marinade things, I am wondering if I could prep this the day before and leave the chicken in the marinade overnight?
Mellisa
I do that & it rocks! Even more delicious!
Rhonda
That's what I'm doing, and usually what I do with marinade. Chicken is in marinade now, and will get cooked on grill tomorrow afternoon.
Rachel
Thankyou so very much for sharing this recipe. It is very mellow,smooth has a great all-round BBQ flavour.
I saw the ratings and just had to try it...and I completely agree it is a perfect recipe for a classic chicken marinade.
I made it last night and it went down a treat.
Sincere thanks????????????
Laura
I made this marinade for boneless/skinless chicken strips a couple of days ago and sauteed it on the stove top.
It is so good that I'm making it again tonight! We love it!
Ellen Mandris
Grilling this for dinner tonight. With all the comments loving this marinade, I can't wait to eat!!
Amanda
I'm not normally one to leave comments or ratings (I know I'm terrible) but I've used this marinade at least three times a month the past year and I've never been displeased. I've used it on chicken and pork chops, added it to salads, every single way has just been absolutely outstanding. I'm so thankful I came across this recipe!
Pamela Peterson
This is the best, uncomplicated marinade recipe I have ever had the pleasure of using! I am now on the third week in a row doing this in preparation for the week, as I use the leftovers from Monday dinner for my lunch wraps. I leave out the brown sugar for health reasons. Consistent delicious, moist, flavorful chicken! Definitely a keeper! I may try the coconut aminos mentioned by another commenter, as my organic `lower sodium` tamari is 700 mg sodium!
Robyn
This is easily the best and most simple chicken marinade. It's so delicious!! We grill every weekend (rain or shine) so I make this a lot. Thanks for the great recipe!
Sharon
This is now my go to recipe for marinated chicken breasts. I have made them on the grill
And in the oven. Both ways are great. The only change I made was to eliminate adding salt and using coconut aminos instead of soy sauce. Coconut aminos have only 90 mg sodium / 1 tsp
And it is a great substitute for soy sauce.
Elliot
By FAR the best marinade I have ever used! I have never enjoyed such succulent chicken anywhere - and my partner was also amazed! I had to substitute brown sugar with white, red wine vinegar instead of balsamic, and added two large teaspoons of Dijon mustard as well as a good squirt of ketchup. Marinated for about an hour. Next time, I’ll add a bit of cajun or jerk chicken seasoning for some extra zing, but you simply cannot go wrong with this recipe!
Holly
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!!!!!