The BEST Chicken Marinade

grilled chicken breast made with chicken marinade sliced on stone cutting board.

4.8 from 135 votes

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, your go-to chicken marinade! Great for grilling and baking!

Course Main Dish, Marinade

Cuisine American

Keyword best chicken marinade, chicken marinade, grilled chicken marinade

Prep Time 5 minutes

Cook Time 10 minutes

Chill Time 30 minutes

Total Time 55 minutes

Servings servings

Calories 115kcal

Author Trish - Mom On Timeout

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.

Video

Notes

I've marinated my chicken for as few as 30 minutes and the chicken was still phenomenal. Basically, the longer you have to marinate the better but don't worry if you don't have a lot of time.

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!

Nutrition