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.
Linda G says
This truly is The Best Chicken Marinade EVER! It has become my family’s most requested recipe!!!
Thank you ?
Trish - Mom On Timeout says
Wow! Thank you so much Linda! Have a great week!
Shirley says
Looks amazing! I dont have Worcestershire sauce, is it okay without? Can I substitute it with something else?
Trish - Mom On Timeout says
You can leave it out if you like!
luda says
Not sure if oven would be better but I personally do pan on the stove, works fine
PatAnn says
This was excellent. While I didn’t have any Rosemary on hand, the marinade/sauce was delicious even without it. I did add a sliced green onion to the marinade. I will definitely use this as my “go to” marinade recipe for chicken. Thank you!!
Jane says
Was amazing. I also added a little honey. I didn’t let it sit for the 4 hours just a half hour and it was flavorful so next time will do ahead of time to soak up the marinade
Trish - Mom On Timeout says
Thank you Jane!
Debby Williams says
This was delicious! I made 1 1/2 of the recipe for the marinade. Saved 1/3 to reduce down on the stove to serve over chicken once cooked. I marine it the full 24 hours. Took it out and put it in my baking pan (cake pan) about 30 min before I baked it at 425 for 25-30 min. Basted once half way through. Thank you for the recipe. It is definitely a keeper.
Jessica says
My boyfriend went for more… that’s how I know something is good! I reduced the marinade and added dried minced onions and mushrooms to cook with it. It was delicious! I should have pounded my chicken a little bit- I’m new to the grill and it was burning before the chicken was cooked (even on low). I sliced it up and finished cooking in the air fryer! It was juicy and had so much flavor. Definitely a keeper!!! Thank you.
Trish - Mom On Timeout says
Fantastic! Thanks Jessica!
Shannon610 says
I have to dovetail off Jessica’a comment. One night I took some of this marinade (which I love) out of the freezer where I store several batches for quick dinners. While it thawed I threw a pound of sliced button mushrooms in a pan, sprinkled with s & p, then poured the marinade in (just enough for the mushrooms to absorb . The end product was, I do dare say, even better than the chicken usually is. So if you have a vegetaian in your mix I’d highly recommend this on button or even portabella mushrooms. One note, the button mushrooms shrink up considerably.
Debby says
First time making it. Just made the marinade to put on the chicken. The marinade tastes delicious. I can’t wait till tomorrow!
Pam Bolenbaugh says
We used this marinade on chicken tenderloins and they were YUMMY! Very easy to make and everyone loved it.
Genny says
I subscribe to your email newsletter and tried this recipe about 1 1/2 years ago. It became my family’s FAVORITE chicken recipe. It is just that delicious. Always juicy and tender even when making chicken breasts although our favorite is using chicken thighs. My husband loves cooking these on the grill. I always end up making a separate batch of the marinade and reduce it a little so we can drizzle some over our cooked chicken. Yummmmm!!!! Seriously the best chicken marinade that you’ll ever want to use.!
Shannon says
I made this tonight after finding the recipe on Pinterest. It was SO good!! I only marinated it for about 45 minutes and it was still delicious. I also brought the reserved marinade up to a boil and used as a sauce as suggested – I will definitely do that again. This will be going into our dinner rotation for sure. Very yummy!
Kathleen says
I love this recipe, thank you. Its my go to for a simple dinner. Its great on any cut of chicken.
Trish - Mom On Timeout says
Thank you so much Kathleen!
Joan says
5 *****
Omg! Used 8 boneless, skinless chicken thighs. Marinaded for about 2 hours at room temperature. Cooked for approximately 6 min per side at Med high. They were to die for. Everyone in my incredibly picky, pain in the butt family members raved. Ty so much
Trish - Mom On Timeout says
LOL! Yaaaaay! Thanks Joan – so glad your family enjoyed the recipe!
Scoff says
The best ever!
I first found this recipe over twelve months ago and continue to use it for events with compliments every time I cook it!
Thank you Trish!
Fenton says
For a whole butterflied chicken, I halved the olive oil, worcester and soy sauce from what the recipe called for. I left the spices the same. It seems like a lot of marinade that would go to waste. I also never reserved the half cup of marinade as I used the marinade left over when I took the chicken out of the ziploc bag I marinated it in. That came to about half a cup.
Hilary says
You are not kidding, this is the best marinade. My boyfriend would not shut up about it and his teenage son even gave a look of approval 🙂
Trish - Mom On Timeout says
SUCCESS!! That’s so awesome, thanks Hilary!