The best Chicken Marinade ever! This marinade produces so much flavor and keeps the chicken incredibly moist and outrageously delicious! This easy chicken marinade recipe is sure to become a staple in your kitchen. Great for grilling and baking!
Grilling tonight? Make sure to try my steak marinade and grilled potatoes too!
Best Chicken Marinade Recipe
For many years now I have been perfecting my chicken marinade recipe and it’s finally exactly what I want. I love this easy recipe because it quickly transforms an ordinary chicken breast (or any other cut of chicken) into something extraordinarily delicious – just in time for dinner.
It really is the BEST chicken marinade I’ve ever had and I’m confident you’re going to love it as much as we do.
Easy Chicken Breast Marinade
I keep chicken breasts on hand at all times because there is just SOO much you can do with a chicken breast…(Make sure to check out my book for ONE HUNDRED chicken recipes!)
Having a good grilled chicken breast marinade on hand is essential if you live in a hot area like I do. It’s a quick, no-brainer dinner option that we rely on several times each month.
Let me be clear, this is not to say that this marinade won’t work on other cuts of chicken. It most certainly does and is insanely delicious so use what you have on hand.
One of our other favorite ways is to use this as a chicken thigh marinade or even drumsticks. It really will work for any piece of chicken. (I’ve had lots of reader write in saying it’s also delicious with veggies, pork and beef!)
What To Serve With Grilled Chicken
Since we grill multiple times a week, I’ve become quite an expert at quickly whipping up one or two side dishes that pair perfectly with grilled chicken. Here are some of our favorites:
- Fruit Salad
- Grape Salad
- Creamy Cucumber Salad
- Twice Baked Potato Casserole
- The Best Coleslaw Recipe
- Grilled Potatoes
- Easy Baked Sweet Potato (How To Bake Sweet Potatoes)
Grilled Chicken Marinade
This is really my very favorite grilled chicken marinade. I love to make up a big batch of grilled chicken and this recipe is great for that. It makes enough marinade for about 6 large chicken breasts or 3 to 4 pounds of chicken pieces.
Chicken Marinade Ingredients
While the list looks long, most if not all of these ingredients will likely be in your pantry. What we’re doing here is just building layers of flavor in this easy marinade. Let’s take a quick look at what you’ll need:
- extra virgin olive oil – this is the base of the marinade and keeps the chicken so juicy and moist.
- balsamic vinegar – a balsamic chicken marinade is my very favorite. It is definitely one of the key ingredients in this recipe and adds loads of flavor.
- soy sauce – I like to use low sodium.
- Worcestershire sauce – so many flavor in this ingredient, it’s a must for this marinade.
- lemon juice – fresh is best for flavor but you can use bottled if you need to.
- brown sugar – I have lots of readers that reduce or even eliminate the brown sugar but I personally love it in this recipe.
- dried rosemary – a little herbaceous flavor is always nice to round out a marinade.
- Dijon mustard – or Spicy Brown mustard or even plain yellow mustard will work in a pinch.
- salt and ground black pepper – for seasoning.
- garlic powder – I prefer garlic powder instead of fresh garlic because the fresh garlic will burn on the grill.
How To Make Chicken Marinade
This easy marinade comes together in just minutes!
- Prepare marinade. Combine all ingredients in a large mixing bowl and whisk together. Cheater method: put them straight into a large ziploc bag that will also be used for marinating the chicken.
- Reserve. Remove a half a cup of marinade and reserve for basting the chicken later.
- Marinate Chicken. Place chicken in a large resealable plastic bag and pour marinade over the top. Close securely and gently massage marinade into breasts. Marinate for at least 30 minutes and up to 24 hours.
Cooking Methods
Marinated chicken can be cooked on the grill, in the oven or on the stovetop. Here are my tips for cooking it best:
- Grilling: Preheat grill to medium high heat and lightly oil the grates. Remove the chicken from the marinade, letting the excess drip off. Grill chicken for 5 to 6 minutes on each side or until cooked through. Chicken needs to reach an internal temperature of 165°F. Baste the chicken occasionally with the reserved marinade. Remove chicken from grill and tent with foil. Let chicken rest for at least 5 minutes before serving.
- Baking: Preheat oven to 400°F. Place marinated chicken on a shallow baking sheet or baking pan and cook for 18 to 22 minutes (or 450F for 15 to 18 minutes if you’re in a hurry) or until chicken reaches an internal temperature of 165°F. Let chicken rest for at least 5 minutes before serving. Baste as often as you can for best flavor.
- Stovetop: Preheat a skillet over medium high and lightly grease. Cook chicken for 8 to 10 minutes on each side or until chicken reaches an internal temperature of 165°F. Let chicken rest for at least 5 minutes before serving. Use a stovetop grill pan for those pretty sear marks!
FAQs
Any kind of chicken you like. Breasts, thighs, drumsticks, tenders, skin on or off, bone in or out. Now, keep in mind that different cuts will take more or less time. Always check on the internal temperature to check doneness. Chicken needs to reach an internal temperature of 165°F.
A minimum of 30 minutes and as long as overnight. I find the chicken starts to get tough if I marinate it for more than 24 hours. If you have less time, consider poking holes in the chicken with a fork to allow the marinade to penetrate quickly.
Yes, absolutely. After adding the marinade to the chicken breast in a freezer safe resealable bag, freeze chicken for up to 6 months. Thaw overnight in the fridge before using.
The chicken can be grilled, baked or cooked on the stovetop. See the previous section for more information or check out the recipe card below for instructions.
More Chicken Recipes
- Homemade Chicken Nuggets
- Chicken Enchilada Soup
- Chicken Piccata – Ready In 20 Minutes!
- The BEST Chicken Salad
- Chicken Broccoli Rice Casserole
- Air Fryer Teriyaki Chicken
- Greek Chicken – A Sheet Pan Dinner
How to Make the Best Chicken Marinade
The BEST Chicken Marinade
Ingredients
- ½ cup extra virgin olive oil
- ½ cup balsamic vinegar or other vinegar
- ¼ cup soy sauce I use low sodium soy sauce
- ¼ cup Worcestershire sauce
- ⅛ cup lemon juice
- ¾ cup brown sugar
- 2 teaspoon dried rosemary
- 2 tablespoon Dijon mustard or Spicy Brown mustard
- 1 ½ teaspoons salt
- 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 6 chicken breasts or 3.5 lb chicken
Instructions
- Combine all marinade ingredients in a large mixing bowl and whisk together. Remove a half a cup of marinade and reserve for basting the chicken later.
- Place chicken in a large resealable bag and pour marinade over the top. Gently massage chicken breasts and be sure to close bag securely. (If you have less time, consider poking holes in the chicken with a fork to allow the marinade to penetrate quickly.)
- Refrigerate chicken and marinate for at least 30 minutes and up to 24 hours. I find 4 to 6 hours to be perfect.
To grill
- Preheat grill to medium high heat and lightly oil the grates.
- Remove the chicken from the marinade, letting the excess drip off. Grill chicken for 5 to 6 minutes on each side or until cooked through.
- Baste the chicken occasionally with the reserved marinade.
- Once the chicken has reached 165°F, remove chicken from grill and tent with foil. Let chicken rest for at least 5 minutes before serving.
Optional.
- If you bring the reserved marinade up to a boil, let simmer until slightly reduced, it makes a wonderful sauce to go on top of the chicken.
Justine says
Can you use honey instead of sugar? If so, how much? Thanks!
mom24boys says
There is no reason to not use honey; it would easily be a swap for the brown sugar. However, I would use 1/2 cup honey and then taste and see if you like the balance. You can always add more honey if you think it needs it. I just find honey seems sweeter to me and so I just don’t use as much.
Carolyn says
I would also like to know if you can bake the chicken as I don’t own a bbq grill. Thanks!
Michelle says
Of course! Yes!
Ron Mongeon says
anybody tried this recipe on beef? like marinating tri tip pieces with it…?
I love trying marinades on different types of meat. <3
Tracey says
Give it a go, Ron and tell us if it’s any good 😉 Might be super on pork too!
Laurie Barlow says
I used it last night on pork tenderloin. It was AWESOME!
Trish - Mom On Timeout says
Oooh! I need to try it on pork! Yum!
Karen says
I used it on steaks last week. So tasty and tender!
Tracy Mullen says
Just in time for barbecue season!! Thanks for the inspiration! Yum!
J. Francis says
I didn’t see an answer to can it also be baked or broiled in the oven. We live in a condo complex & no grills allowed. I would think a 425°F oven would bake the chicken nicely, if not broiled.
Michaela says
Can I omit the sugar? Just started strict diet & bought all the ingredients 🙁
Ron Mongeon says
I often do the same for the clients I cook for at a rehab!
Judy says
This looks delicious but I’m unsure whether you use boneless and skinless chicken breasts or breasts with skin and bone?
Trish - Mom On Timeout says
Hey Judy! Either 🙂 I used boneless, skinless but it will work on any type of chicken. Enjoy!
Trish - Mom On Timeout says
I am absolutely suggested to baste partially cooked chicken with the marinade – you should absolutely not baste with the marinade after you are done cooking, that would be gross and dangerous. My grill is between 400 and 500 degrees so pretty much every living thing is killed in there 🙂 If you’d like to use the marinade as a glaze, you’re going to need to bring it to a boil before doing so. I like to let it come to a boil and then reduce to a simmer for a good 5 minutes. It needs at least that long anyways to thicken. Hope that helps!
Jim says
Actual Chef here: Basting with used marinade is extremely dangerous and causes cross contamination of the chicken.
Your grill may be hot, but it is still against all food safety guidelines to reuse marinade in any manner.
Jak says
Then I guess it’s up to everyone to use their own brain on that one.
Andrea says
I’m going to make the marinade today (I love mixing, storing and shaking up marinades in mason jars). I’ll be making 3 large chicken breasts and will only use half of the marinade mixture for marinading raw chicken breasts, and save the remaining to cook stovetop (maybe adding some cornstarch for thickness) while baking the marinated breasts in oven.
I’m thinking that this would be best way to ensure food safety and also get a great marinade?
This recipe looks wonderful! I have a similar recipe that uses honey instead of sugar – but am going to make recipe as written.
Thanks for sharing!!!
Mandi says
I love your idea. How did it go cooking the fresh marinade and creating a sauce?
Abby says
Can I use chicken tenders
M.L. says
It did say to reserve marinade for basting, which avoids cross contamination.
Trish - Mom On Timeout says
Thank you 🙂
Tina says
All these rants about basting could have been avoided if people just read the recipe. The reserved marinade was never mixed with the chicken. I don’t think she could have been any clearer in the recipe.
“Combine all ingredients *except for chicken*, in a large Pyrex measuring cup or mixing bowl and whisk together.
Remove a half a cup of marinade and reserve for basting the chicken later.
Place chicken in a large, ziploc bag and pour marinade over the top.”
Barbara says
Chef Jim: Read what she wrote and watch her video. She poured the marinade into a zip lock with the chicken and kept the remaining sauce in a separate container for later use. She did not reuse it. Your tirade wasn’t necessary ?
Gena Maranto says
Yes it was.
Jon says
I didn’t see a tirade. The video also did not show or say to reserve marinade in a separate container for basting. Most people know not to baste with leftover marinade that has been in contact with raw meat, but not everyone. If the comment saved even one person from being sick, it’s worth it.
Denise says
Agreed with all that you said, however, if you read the actual recipe and not just her “blog” portion of the post she does indeed say to reserve some of the marinade for basting before adding to the zip lock bag with the chicken.
Jeanne Zamutt says
Have you used this marinade and either baked or broiled in the oven???
Tina Smith says
I love chicken breast and this seems like a very delicious marinade recipe to combine with chicken breast. I am going to prepare it tomorrow for my family.
Thank You!
Jennifer says
Sounds tantalizing! I always try to find new ways to make chicken as well – it is a go to, do a million things with type of food. I will have to try this one out, it is very similar to a couple of the different things I’ve come up with, but if you have it perfected…. 🙂
Julie Evink says
I think I just found dinner! I love marinated chicken breasts and this looks amazing!
Liz says
Beautiful recipes, Trish. Thank you.
Dorothy @ Crazy for Crust says
I am 100% going to use this every time I make chicken!
Roxana says
This is great! I love making extra so there is leftover chicken for lunches or other dinners later.
rose marie di muccio says
how do i increase recipe to 20 lbs of chicken
Lisa H says
If it were me, I’d try making triple the recipe.
alexis says
multiply all by 5.75
Pamela says
This is by far the best chicken marinade I have ever used. I have used many. Thank you for sharing.
Mila says
I agree with that. My family love this too.
Jenny E. says
I absolutely love this marinade recipe and so did my family…well my sis and my mom liked it and they are the most important people since most of the men prefer beef. We are wanting to have a family dinner and to save from having to cook all day I suggested we just have a “taco bar”. Kind of like a serve yourself style. The one concern I have is that my 3 year old nephew has terrible food allergies. He is allergic to wheat/gluten, dairy, tree nuts, and eggs. I tried going gluten free for a while to see if it helped my digestive problem. Having done that I know how many things are out there that you wouldn’t think twice about that have gluten in them…such as soy sauce, many seasoning packets (taco, ranch, etc), and many other random things.
Sorry, I will get to the point. Do you know of a way to make this amazing marinade safe for my nephew?
I have done research and found some soy sauce brands that are safe for him but I’m having the hardest time with the Worcestershire sauce (which I think is one of the best parts of the marinade). If anyone has any ideas or knowledge about how I could make it gluten, dairy, nut, and egg free so my nephew can eat it I will be forever grateful.
Thank you!
Jenny E
PS- sorry for the longest review ever. Sometimes I just don’t know when to stop (like right now!)
Lisa says
I am Celiac and live in Canada. I drive to the US just to buy Lee and Perrin’s Worcestershire sauce because it’s GF (the Canadian version is not because it contains malt vinegar – bummer). At least it was the last time I bought it. Check the label, food companies change their recipes without notice.
Jenny E. says
Thank you so much to all that commented and helped me make this marinade safe for my little nephew! It really is the best chicken marinade! Once I found the brands that are safe it was so easy to do. I think I will you the same marinade all the time bc it’s just as good and if my nephew happens to come over we won’t have to worry about it being safe. Once again, thank you all for being so receptive and helpful.
Jenny E
Ranay Burton says
Check out Sprouts farmers market, they have a great variety to fit your needs.
Daisy says
I’m in Australia and I made this marinade using Tamari instead of soy sauce, and Spring Gully Worcestershire sauce which is also gluten free.