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
limes
Acv! Apple cider vinegar
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.
I would replace half the oil with water, and simmer until reduced and thickened to sauce consistency.
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.
This is absolutely the best marinade I have ever tasted. So happy to have this recipe. I used an aged Balsamic vinegar. Oh my gosh thank you thank you thank you!!!!
SO good!!!! I will tell you though to omit the salt. Not needed. Plenty of flavor as is and soy and worsteshire has plenty as is.
So I made this last night, put everything in a bag but only had frozen chicken, so I thought, why not defrost the chicken in the marinade over night. Came back to it today and it was all congealed. Warming it up now, but think it’s safe to still grill up?
It’s fine. The olive oil just thickened when cold
What sides go well with this?
I make fried rice.
This is one of the best (if not best) chicken marinade recipes I have ever had. Absolutely delicious. I’ve made it 3 time already and would bathe in this stuff if I could! I always reserve several tablespoons to drizzle over the cooked chicken once served. Amazing! And I am never one to comment on these but hands down this deserves it!
My favorite chicken marinade ever! I love this recipe. I recommend grilling chicken.
Making this for the 2nd time because it was so delicious! I have run out of brown sugar however and wonder if honey or granulated sugar would work well instead?
try maple syrup
Best grilled chicken I think I’ve ever had. I even forgot to make them the same thickness and just timed it right. Awesome
Best marinade I’ve ever tried for chicken, also super easy to make
My family loved this! Delicious
This recipe has my wife convinced I’m a genius chef on our new Weber gas grill! If you haven’t tried this, it’s definitely a keeper! Next time I’m going to render down the remaining marinade for dipping sauce.
The Best Chicken Marinade Recipe makes chicken extra juicy and flavorful.
Hi,
Can I cook this an oven instead of grill? Will it change much of the flavor?
Great recipe. I eliminated all brown sugar. It was wonderful grilled on the grill. I would eliminate all salt next time. Marinated five hours in zip lock bag.
How was it without the brown sugar? Trying to watch carbs 🙂
I absolutely love this recipe,made it many times now. Can I freeze this recipe with the chicken in a ziplock
Bag??
Any suggestions for what to substitute if you don’t have Worcestershire sauce? Thank you!
I only made this once, a year ago, because I didn’t cook regularly until I just recently moved but I’m revisiting the recipe to make this. It is the best chicken I’ve ever made. I think I marinated it for 24 hours. The chicken was so juicy and every bite was flavorful. It’s about to be a staple in my home
Just delicious! Marinated the chicken breast, grilled, sliced and left for my husband and kids to eat for meals during the week (salads, sandwiches … whatever!) They said it was the best chicken they have ever tasted! So tender, juicy and flavorful. It is now my go to chicken marinade! Thanks!
Really simple and my friends all loved it!
I tried this recipe and it is amazing! It will be my go-to marinade from now on. I tenderized my chicken breasts, used my mallet to make them the same thickness, and marinated overnight before grilling them. It was so good I’m going to sneak some leftover chicken for breakfast today! Thanks again for sharing the recipe.
Amazing flavor! I made the chicken for a stir fry and saved and reduced the marinade for the rice and vegetables. Definitely will make again.
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!
Absolutely fantastic recipe! Thanks so much. Our family loves this marinade!
Do you uae boneless/skinless chicken brest and or thghs??
Very good! I will make it over and over. I did not change any thing. My family enjoyed it also. Thank you.
I am going to try this recipe but any ideas what to serve it with?
I’m making chicken kabobs. Can this marinade be used with vegetables too – mushrooms, peppers, zucchini, onions?
Thanks!
so i really wanne try this dish out, but i have no grill. What to do?
Ok this was fantastic! I am adding this to my go to recipes! Thank you!
Hello! I just marinated the chicken overnight and was wondering how I could cook this in the oven.
Thank you in advance 🙂
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.
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!
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.
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!!!!
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!
Simply delicious! My entire family LOVES this marinade!
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 🙂
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!
This is the best chicken marinade I have tried and I highly recommend it. The chicken is so flavorful and juicy.
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?
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.
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.