Chicken Marinade
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Posted: 06/17/24
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The perfect marinade recipe for juicy and flavorful chicken every time! Made with pantry staples this easy Chicken Marinade will make your grilled chicken so juicy, tender and give it so much flavor.
Need a quick and easy way to prep some chicken? This is one of the best grilled chicken marinades ever! Loaded with flavor and a hint of sweetness, this makes some of the most juicy and tender grilled chicken. It’s a wonderful way to prepare this lean meat and ensure that it doesn’t get dry and tough.
Our garlic steak marinade is a go-to, and now so is this easy chicken marinade. You can make this easy recipe with ingredients that you likely already have on hand. And you can also make as much, or as little, as you need! The best, and easiest, way to prepare delicious chicken.
Why You’ll Love this Chicken Marinade
- It only takes 5 minutes of prep time to get this chicken marinade together. You really only need a few minutes!
- You can use this marinade on other types of meat. It’d be really yummy on pork chops!
- Add anything you want to homemade marinade. That’s the best part — it’s totally customizable.
Ingredients for Easy Chicken Marinade
- Brown sugar – Add a little bit of sweetness to this chicken marinade with some light brown sugar.
- Lemon juice – Every good marinade needs an acid and an oil. Lemon juice helps add flavor to your chicken and also helps make it tender.
- Extra virgin olive oil – If you don’t have olive oil, you can use another neutral oil like avocado oil.
- Low sodium soy sauce – Using low sodium soy sauce with the other chicken marinade ingredients will help you control the salt level. You can also use coconut aminos as a low sodium substitute.
- Worcestershire sauce – We love the flavor of Worcestershire sauce in this really easy marinade.
- Dijon mustard – Spicy brown mustard would also work!
- Minced garlic – Mix in some freshly minced garlic to add loads of flavor to this yummy marinade.
- Salt and black pepper – Add a dash of salt and black pepper to bring out the flavors of each ingredients in this chicken marinade.
- Dried oregano – A little bit of dried oregano is a nice touch of flavor!
- Boneless skinless chicken breasts – This marinade will work on any cut of chicken! If you don’t want to use chicken breasts, then grab chicken wings, chicken thighs, chicken drumsticks or any other cut that you like.
Helpful Tools
How to Make and Use this Chicken Marinade
- Combine all of the marinade ingredients in a large bowl and whisk together until thoroughly combined. Then, remove ½ cup of marinade to be used to baste the chicken later when you grill it. Place the reserved marinade in the fridge.
- Pound each chicken breast with a meat mallet so that they are an even thickness. Then place the chicken into a large resealable bag and pour the marinade over the top.
- Refrigerate the marinating chicken for at least 30 minutes and up to 24 hours.
- When you’re ready to cook, preheat your grill to medium heat and lightly oil the grill grates.
- Remove each chicken breast from the marinade, allowing the excess to drip off. Place the chicken onto the preheated grill and grill the chicken for 5 to 6 minutes on each side. While grilling, occasionally baste the chicken with the reserved marinade. Do not use the marinade the chicken sat in.
- Once the internal temperature reaches 165 degrees Fahrenheit, remove chicken and tent with foil. Allow to rest for 5 minutes, then serve.
How to Store Cooked Chicken
FRIDGE: Once the chicken has cooled completely, transfer to an airtight container or plastic bag. Store in the fridge for 3-4 days.
FREEZER: Store leftover grilled chicken in an airtight container or freezer bag and freeze for up to 3 months. Allow to thaw before reheating.
How to Reheat Leftover Chicken
Reheat in the oven or on the stove-top until heated to a safe internal temperature.
How to Store Marinade
This quick chicken marinade can be stored in an airtight container or jar, in the fridge, for up to a week. However, you should ONLY store marinade that has never touched the raw chicken.
How long should you marinate chicken?
Chicken should be marinated at minimum for 30 minutes. However, best results are achieved when you marinate chicken for a few hours. 4 to 6 hours seems to be the sweet spot for us. You can marinate chicken for up to 24 hours.
What are three common ingredients in a marinade?
Every marinade needs an oil, an acid, and seasonings. Some recipes use vinegar as their acid. Other recipes, like this one, use citrus as an acid. Lime juice, lemon juice, orange juice — all are tasty options.
You can use vegetable oil, olive oil, avocado oil or any other type of oil as your base.
Then mix in any seasonings you want! Some garlic powder and onion powder are go-to’s for us, and you can add spicy kick, flavorful herbs, or anything else to your marinade.
How to Serve Grilled Marinated Chicken
The best thing about this chicken marinade is that it is a very neutral flavor. The grilled chicken pairs well with so many dishes! Slice up the chicken to serve on salads, or serve it as a main protein with sides like bacon wrapped asparagus.
Some potatoes and grilled zucchini would be healthy additions to this lean protein. And smoked vegetables would be tasty too!
Pro Tips for the Best Marinated Chicken
- Make sure to use fresh brown sugar that has no clumps, otherwise those clumps may not dissolve well in the marinade.
- Before marinating chicken, make sure it is an even thickness all the way across. This will ensure the chicken cooks well.
- Use an instant read meat thermometer to quickly and accurately check the internal temperature of your chicken.
Make chicken marinade whenever you’re looking for an easy way to meal prep! This is a tasty recipe that always turns out great.
More Marinade Recipes You’ll Love!
- Marinade Smoked Flank Steak is so flavorful and incredibly easy to make.
- This Greek Chicken Marinade will have you coming back for seconds, and thirds!
- Skip the steakhouse and make this Red Wine Steak Marinade instead.
- Need to make some pork extra tasty? This is the Best Pork Chop Marinade!
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Shop Now!Did you make this? If you snap a photo, please be sure tag me on Instagram at @gimmesomegrilling or #gimmesomegrilling so I can see your grilling masterpieces!
Chicken Marinade
This easy Chicken Marinade recipe uses everyday ingredients to create a marinade that bursts with flavor and guarantees juicy, tender chicken every single time.
Ingredients
- ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
- ¼ cup low sodium soy sauce
- ¼ cup Worcestershire sauce
- 2 Tablespoons lemon juice
- ½ cup brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 2 Tablespoons Dijon mustard
- 1 ½ teaspoons salt
- 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 3 garlic cloves minced
- 6 boneless skinless chicken breasts about 3 ½ pounds
Instructions
Marinade Instructions:
- Pound the chicken breast with a meat pounder to an even thickness.
- Combine all marinade ingredients in a large mixing bowl and whisk together. Remove ½ cup of marinade to use to baste the chicken when you grill it. Place reserved marinade in the refrigerator in a sealed container.
- Place chicken in a large resealable bag and pour marinade over the top. Gently massage chicken breasts and be sure to close the bag securely.
- Refrigerate chicken and marinate for at least 30 minutes and up to 24 hours. I find 4 to 6 hours to be perfect.
Grilling Instructions:
- Preheat the grill to medium heat, about 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Lightly oil the grates.
- Remove the chicken from the marinade, letting the excess drip off. Discard excess marinade. Place chicken breasts on preheated grill and grill chicken for 5 to 6 minutes on each side or until cooked through to an internal temperature of 165 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Baste the chicken occasionally with the reserved marinade.
- Once the chicken has reached 165 degrees Fahrenheit, remove chicken from the grill and tent with foil. Let chicken rest for at least 5 minutes before serving.
Nutrition Information
Serving: 1chicken breast, Calories: 301kcal (15%), Carbohydrates: 22g (7%), Protein: 25g (50%), Fat: 12g (18%), Saturated Fat: 2g (13%), Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g, Monounsaturated Fat: 8g, Trans Fat: 0.01g, Cholesterol: 72mg (24%), Sodium: 1305mg (57%), Potassium: 599mg (17%), Fiber: 1g (4%), Sugar: 19g (21%), Vitamin A: 54IU (1%), Vitamin C: 5mg (6%), Calcium: 50mg (5%), Iron: 2mg (11%)
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