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.
Carole Dube says
Thank you printing as I’m typing. I have to watch my iron intake and I have been eating lots of chicken trying all those new recipes. I will try this one and like you I like to use the left overs in my salads for lunch. My husband likes sauce on everything.
Trish - Mom On Timeout says
Yay! I use the leftovers on salads too. Makes an easy lunch the next day. Enjoy Carole!
mom24boys says
We had a “bring your own meat” potluck this evening at church. Hubster whipped up this marinade for 6 b/s-less chicken breast that he had butterflied for quicker cooking. It marinaded for about 4 hours. It came out fantastic and shared bites with several people who agreed. Of course, I gave them you wed addy for the recipe!
Like someone else said in the previous comments, it’s not a completely new and different flavor or kind of marinade recipe but it is perfect the way it is. It did not need any tweeks (but I think it would be very forgiving with substitutions and tiny tweeks). I’m putting this in my husband’s recipe box for our go-to chicken and pork marinade.
Nathalie says
This has to be THE best marinated grilled chicken I’ve ever had! Because my chicken marinated in the fridge the whole time, I boiled the remaining marinade for 5 minutes and re-purposed it as a sauce. I bet this would work very well with pork too. 🙂
Liv says
Can I bake the chicken instead of grilling it? 🙂
Reba says
Of course…
Michele says
Made this today, It was SO good!! I will definitely be making this again. Thanks for sharing!!
Shannon says
Hi Trish
I agree-delicious marinade but I have a question. I made 2 chicken breasts last night and left 3 in the marinade to use tonight. When I checked today some of the marinade had congealed on the top layer and turned a different colour. I’m assuming this is from the oil… When I stir it it’s still the same rich colour although there are bits of fat in it that have congealed. Im assuming this would be still safe to eat? The raw chicken in the marinade has been kept refrigerated the whole time…
mom24boys says
You are right, that is the fat. Olive oil becomes opaque and thickens in lower temperatures. It is still perfectly fine to eat.
Michele says
This recipe has too much balsamic vinegar! If I made it again would decrease to 2 tablespoons. It over powered the marinade
mom24boys says
I have found balsamic vinegars really vary in strength from brand to brand and even season to season. You might have just had a strong vinegar.
Michele says
Hi Trisha.
Your recipe sounds so good.
If I baked it what temp does it need to be & how long?
Trish - Mom On Timeout says
Thank you! It really depends on what kind of chicken you’re making – boneless breast, chicken thighs or legs, etc. For breasts, 400F, 20-25 minutes depending on the size of the breast. Enjoy!
Darlene says
Hello Trish,
I made your marinade yesterday, exactly as your recipe reads. Put 12 chicken legs in a bag and 3 hours later barbecued them. My husband said this is the best marinade I have made to date. It was so delicious. It is not often one finds a recipe that doesn’t need to be tweaked. Thank you for sharing Trish.
Darlene
Nova Scotia
Canada
Mirela Madslangrud says
It suppose to be that sour?
Susan says
What spice would you recommend instead of rosemary?
Caitlin says
I used thyme as I didn’t have any rosemary. I also found it to be very salty, despite using low sodium soy sauce. Will omit the added salt next time
Nylyf says
Loved this. Thanks
Jolene Carrera says
Amazing marinade!! Only did 2 chicken breasts, but made the whole recipe for a marinade for a later use. Marinated about 6 hours then cooked down the marinade to use as a sauce to dip in. Yum!! I bet this would be good on pork too!!
Erinn says
Wonder if this would be good for pork??? I’m going to try it tonight. Fingers crossed ?
Lance says
Just tried the BEST chicken marinade,it was awesome! Im not much of a chicken eater,but with this marinade i will eat it more often. THANKS!!! Lance
Julie Do says
Agreed, the best chicken marinade. I tenderized the chicken breast until it was thin, added a teaspoon of cayenne pepper for some spice. I grilled it on a panini grill, reduced the sauce and slathered it on. SO delicious and juicy! So flavourful!
mom24boys says
my husband whipped this up to bring for a group bbq. He used Beaver brand Deli Mustard with horseradish and it was outstanding! I think that touch of heat, from hot pepper or horseradish really brings out the rest of the flavors without getting spicy.