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.
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.
Nutrition
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Happy Cooking, my friends!
TKM
I don’t usually comment on public websites, but this is truly the best chicken marinade ever! It is incredibly simple to make, and all ages LOVE it! Be sure to turn the chicken periodically as it marinated, to ensure equal distribution/absorption around the chicken pieces. Delicious!
Zako
Damn. This was friggen good as hell! Marinaded my chicken for like 6 hours in the fridge, then grilled it up with some onions and bell peppers. Friggen great chicken! I'll be using this everytime. Thanks!
Michael
As the name implies. This is The Best Chicken Marinade Recipe. I love it.
Roses
This is a very delicious dish. Your instructions are very detailed. I have implemented it and have succeeded. Thanks you!
Kristeen
Thank you! Our Family enjoyed this ☺️
Grace
Every single recipe I have tried from this website is amazing! Whenever I need to make something this is the first place I come! Thank you for your time and dedication! This chicken was the best I have ever had! It was so tender and juicy... Thank you, thank you!
Linda
I just finished cooking my chicken breasts which I marinaded for 5 hours.....so DELICIOUS!
This recipe is definitely a keeper. I cooked the chicken breast on a cast iron pan, not in the oven and still turned out amazing! Even my 7 year old asked me for seconds 🙂
Jake
Love this marinade! It’s so simple and I always have all the ingredients on hand. I put it in the air fryer at 360 and cook for 20 minutes flipping half way through.
Dino P
Great marinade. I turned it into a 24 hour brine for a 5lb spatchcock hen then threw it on the grill; seared both sides then on indirect heat flipping every 20 minutes for around 80 minutes or so. It could not have come out better. So flavourful and juicy! A new favourite! Thanks!
Anna
DELICIOUS!!!
Eva K
I am not a chicken lover at all but this chicken is hands-down the best chicken I have ever had. Followed the directions but only had 2 hours to marinate and then grilled. It was amazing.
Debbie
This was a great marinate! I added a little freshly grated ginger and marinated less than 2 hours. I'm picky with marinades and this one is definitely a winner.
Andrea
Absolutely amazing! I wanted to lick the marinade off my plate when I was finished eating. Delicious.
John Daniel Garza
This was a nice n easy recipe. I crushed up 4-5 dried chil te pin peppers just to add a little heat. Turned out great on the grill using mesquite charcoal.
thank you!
Dana
THIS WAS AN AWESOME MARINADE! I had everything in my kitchen so it was a easy enough to put together. I split the chicken breasts to thin them out and save some grill time, then marinated for 2 hours. I am also very fortunate my husband is fantastic on the grill. Our 18 year old said this was the best tasting chicken I've ever made. Great recipe and will be a staple at our place!
Sharon Major
I fixed this last week and it was SO good, I'm having it again tonight! The only thing I didn't add was the soy sauce but I added some juice from both artichokes and green olives to the mix. It was wonderful! We loved it. I served it with asparagus. Yum!
Chris H
Hi all,
We did ours with drumsticks and thighs, we prefer meat on the bone, and put on the BBQ wow, kept basting with the marinade superb. First day here in UK warm enough to BBQ, pity we can not share with anyone.
Keep safe all.
Chris
Jennifer E.
This is a great recipe. My grilled chicken looked exactly like the pictures posted. Chicken was moist and flavorful. I had it with seasoned sweet potatoes and salad. I’ll make this chicken recipe again for cookout with friends. Thanks so much for a recipe that turned boring chicken breasts into a memorable meal!
Debbi
5his looks great and it sounds like every loves it but do you leave the skin on and an I BBQ it
Kara Anderson
This chicken was delicious! So flavorfull, and the best part was that I had everything already in my kitchen. We baked a portion and grilled a portion. Both came out great, but the grill really enhanced the flavor. This will become a regular recipe in our house!