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!
MN Cook
We made the recipe exactly as stated, except we didn't have Worcestershire sauce, so skipped that. Marinated 3 boneless, skinless breasts (about 1.6#) for 2 hours. Simple and delicious - a definite keeper!
Madison
The best chicken marinade I've tried. Thank you for sharing. I used my food saver to marinate and save time. The chicken was delicious!!!
Madison
I forgot to give 5 stars!
Sasha
Has anyone tried baking the chicken with this marinade instead of grilling?
Tim
This was awesome!! My family really enjoyed it!! Thanks for sharing!!
Katie
Sounds so good. Should you put it in the refrigerator to let marinade??
Trista
Yes, definitely put it in the refrigerator to marinade.
Elena
While I am no professional, I would definitely recommend putting your marinating bag in the refrigerator since it’s still raw chicken.
Selena M
I only had lime juice. No lemon. Fingers crossed that isn’t a weird swap. 🙂
Danielle Carwile
So how did it turn out? I'm needing to do the same thing.
Julie
Amazingly delicious! Definitely poke the chicken and marinate at least 3 hours for the flavors to soak in. Kids and daddy loved this. We've made it twice and doing another batch today. Kids even ate it for breakfast the next day lol. Thank you for this recipe!
Katie
I just wanted to comment to say how amazing this recipe is. I followed the directions almost exactly & let the chicken marinate for 4 hours and it was perfect! I grilled it outside with some corn and my husband said it’s some of the best grilled chicken I’ve ever made. Thank you for the recipe!
Matt
Fantastic chicken recipe. I’ve made this recipe many times. Marinaded for 8 hours and it obviously had the most flavor. Ive also only marinated for about 1 hour and it was still delicious! Highly recommend!
Jeff Arnold
Ok ... so I made this, but I swapped out ... just kidding ... I’m not that guy! This was AWESOME! Just like others, I don’t often comment, but this was on point! My chicken grilled up just like the pictures - juicy and delicious. Definitely a keeper!
Modern Honey
Hahaha Jeff! That made me laugh out loud. Thank you for the comment and for trying my recipe. I appreciate it!
C.B. Myers
LOL Jeff. Those guys irritate me. Some of 'those guys' change half the recipe before it's all said and done.
Norella
Best chicken marinade EVER!!!! my family and I are a total fan, simply specular. Thank you!
Kelly
I accidentally forgot to add the brown sugar but guess what? It still tasted delicious! Can’t wait to try it with the brown sugar next time 🙂
Rschroeder
Delicious! Perfect blend of flavors after 4 hours. Served with baked sweet potato’s and garden salad. Thanks for sharing. This is a keeper.
bobbie Fitzpatrick
Can you bake it; h what temp - how long?
Marilyn
I am also curious about how to bake this - the weather turned out to be too windy to grill outside.
Andrew
I had chicken thighs bake at 180 deg C for one hour and came out really nice and crispy, like they'd been grilled!
Poppie
Thank you for this, I was looking for a tried and tested way to do this in the oven!
April M.
I always bake my chicken using this recipe! Either at 450 for 15-18 min (don't be afraid of the high cooking temp; it will still turn out delicious and juicy!) or 400 for 25-28 min. I pull it out of the oven around 155 degrees and let it rest for 10 minutes or until the temperature reaches 165 degrees. Resting also allows the heat to distribute evenly.
Mary
Thank you! I was beginning to think no one would answer questions regarding oven use!
Robert
This was an excellent marinade, and it's going into the binder. Thank you for publishing it. I poked my chicken breasts with my chef's knife, since I used it to slice each thick breast into 2 thinner pieces. That way, I made slight cuts instead of holes. It seems to have worked just as well.
Olie NH
This truly is the best marinade! Chicken breasts came out juicy not dry at all!
Thank you!
Catrina
Delicious!! Thank you so much!! I love the method of using the fork, it made the chicken really tender.
TG
This marinade recipe is fantastic. I marinated chicken breasts in this for almost 5 hours, and it was awesome. Not too sweet, really nice balance of acidity, saltiness, and a tiny bit of sweet.
elsa
excellent recipe, love it!!
Melinda Q
Used boneless breasts, marinated for 5 hours, may have bumped up garlic and pepper a touch but otherwise as written. Guests loved, husband loved, wants it repeated asap. Really really good!!
Ryan
After marinating the chicken i took it out to grill and the marinade is thick and looks separated. Any ideas what happened?
Destiny Johnson
I wouldnt worry! Oil separates itself from almost everything unless an emulsifier is present. The brown sugar is likely what's causing the mixture to be thick. Recommend shaking the bag or container the marinade is in to reincorporate ????
Tom Jones
I have a notebook called Dad's Recipes. A recipe has to be outstanding to make it into the collection. This one is definitely a keeper in the notebook! Yum!
Sam
As a test, I tried this marinade for 4 drumsticks. Marinated overnight followed recipe exactly. I intended to put on the grill but it rained unexpectedly so I used an air fryer for 15min, flipped chicken, then additional 5min before packing it up for a lunch for work. This recipe was amazing. This is the first time I ever commented on any recipe and I use alot of great recipes bookmarked to my device! I'm so glad i found this. The title couldn't be more befitting. Best chicken marinade by far. Thank you!