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The Best Chicken Marinade Recipe makes chicken extra juicy and flavorful. This savory grilled chicken marinade makes the perfect mouthwatering grilled chicken! Everyone loves this 5-star-rated chicken marinade.
The Best Chicken Marinade Recipe
Do you want to make the most flavorful, mouthwatering, juicy grilled chicken? I have the recipe for you and all of the secrets to the best chicken marinade! This recipe has consistently received 5-star reviews for over 5 years and is the most popular chicken recipe.
When we were newly married, we lived near Dean’s brother, his wife, and two kids. We were living in an apartment, going to college full-time, and working crazy hours to pay the bills. We were poor little college students and would love when Deron and Sarah would invite us over for dinner.
Their go-to meal was grilled chicken in a delish marinade. They knew how much we loved it so we ate it almost every time we had dinner at their home.
So I had to ask her what was in this amazing chicken marinade recipe. It is beyond simple! I decided to tweak it and add a few more flavors to make it extra tangy and zesty. This grilled chicken marinade will become a staple in your home too!
Chicken Marinade Ingredients:
Everything you need is most likely in your pantry and refrigerator. This is all about layers upon layers of flavor from fresh lemon juice to tangy balsamic vinegar. It makes the most flavorful grilled chicken!
This Grilled Chicken Marinade Recipe is made with extra virgin olive oil, freshly squeezed lemon juice, balsamic vinegar, soy sauce, brown sugar, Worcestershire sauce, garlic, salt, and pepper. You have such a variety of seasonings in this marinade.
What do I love about this Grilled Chicken?
The extra virgin olive oil keeps the chicken extra moist and juicy.
Fresh lemon juice and balsamic vinegar break down the fibers in the chicken to make it tender.
The soy sauce and Worcestershire sauce give it a salty depth of flavor.
The brown sugar adds some rich sweetness and gives the chicken a nice crust when grilled.
All of the ingredients work together in harmony to make the perfect chicken marinade!
How long should I marinate chicken?
The key is to let the chicken marinate for at least 30 minutes. This allows the marinade ingredients to infuse flavors and moisture into the chicken for the juiciest, most flavorful chicken you will ever eat!
Pierce the chicken breasts with a fork all over to ensure the marinade can seep into the chicken to make it juicy. What is an ideal amount of time to marinate chicken? An ideal marinating time is 4 – 5 hours.
How to grill chicken and how long to cook grilled chicken?
To grill the chicken, set your grill at medium heat. Allow it to preheat before placing the chicken on the grill.
To keep the chicken from sticking, brush a bit of oil on the grill.
Cook for about 5 – 6 minutes per side, depending on the thickness of the chicken breast. The chicken needs to reach 165 degrees to ensure that it is completely cooked through. I suggest using a food thermometer for ensure the perfectly cooked and juiciest grilled chicken.
What type of chicken should I use?
Use whatever types of chicken you prefer — chicken breasts, thinly sliced chicken breasts, chicken tenders, or chicken thighs.
Thinly sliced chicken breast will cook faster than traditional chicken breasts. Chicken tenders and thinly sliced chicken breast will cook much quicker than thick chicken breasts so watch carefully.
What should I serve with grilled chicken marinade?
Some of my favorite recipes to serve with grilled chicken are:
Loaded Potato Salad with Bacon
Another great marinade is my Tri-Tip Steak Marinade.
I can’t wait to hear how much you love this grilled chicken recipe!
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The Best Chicken Marinade Recipe
Equipment
Ingredients
- 2 lbs. Chicken Breasts Tenders, or Thighs
- 1/3 – 1/2 cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil depending on preference
- 3 Tablespoons Fresh Lemon Juice
- 3 Tablespoons Soy Sauce
- 2 Tablespoons Balsamic Vinegar
- 1/4 cup Brown Sugar
- 1 Tablespoon Worcestershire Sauce
- 3 Garlic Cloves minced or 1/2 teaspoon Garlic Powder
- 1 1/2 teaspoon Salt
- 1 teaspoon Pepper
- Garnish:
- Fresh Parsley
Instructions
- In a bowl, stir together oil, lemon juice, soy sauce, balsamic vinegar, brown sugar, Worcestershire sauce, garlic, salt, and pepper.
- Pierce chicken breasts with a fork all over. Place in a large Ziploc bag. Pour marinade over chicken.
- Let marinate for at least 30 minutes. 4 – 5 hours is ideal.
- Preheat grill to medium heat. Brush grill with oil to prevent sticking.
- Place chicken on the grill. Cook for approximately 5 – 6 minutes per side, depending on the thickness of chicken. The internal temperature of the chicken should reach 165 degrees.
- Remove chicken from grill and let rest for 5 minutes.
Notes
What type of chicken should I use?
Use whatever types of chicken you prefer — chicken breasts, thinly sliced chicken breasts, chicken tenders, or chicken thighs.Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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Happy Cooking, my friends!
My go to marinade. It’s the best! Thank you for this gem!
Oh my stars!!!! If this isn’t the #1 marinade for chicken of all time then o don’t know what is! I’ve shared it with my entire family and they all say it is too! I can’t believe I got so lucky and stumbled upon it.. have tried many but finally found a keeper and will NEVER use another! Ty Ty Ty!! You are the chicken marinade GODDESS ! I truly appreciate you sharing this! Is this one you found and shared or is this YOURS? If it is YOURS then you are gracious to share!! ❤️❤️
Thank you so much for this glowing and sweet comment, Kams! I am so glad that you love this recipe so much. Thank you for using it and for taking the time to comment!
Hi,
I have been making this chicken for a few years now. I can’t be the only person to notice that this recipe used to include mayonaisse, but suddenly it doesn’t! Is there a way to access the old version of the recipe?
Thank you!
Hi Ben! I am wondering if you may be confused with another recipe? This chicken marinade recipe has never included mayonnaise. 🙂
such flavorful chicken!
This was so good! Thank you!
Reading this whilst on holiday in Spain! I am definitely going to make the sweet and sour chicken with the pineapple 🤗
I’m also going to do the marinated chicken breasts as, as we have found chicken a little boring for some time now. Reading all of your recipes I’m going to try everything you’ve written!
Many thanks,
Christina I am so happy to hear that you are liking so many of my recipes! I hope that they help to mix things up and add new variety to your meals. Let me know how it goes! And good luck!
Delicious! A family favourite and so easy.
I marinated chicken tenders in this tonight and cooked them under the broiler for a few minute. ABSOLUTELY delicious! I’ll use this all the time now!
I don’t know why it’s taken this long for me to write a review on this recipe. We’ve been eating it weekly, for years now! This marinade is our absolute favorite for chicken Caesar wraps! My 10 year old nephew said his dad made wraps and he couldn’t eat them because it wasn’t my chicken! Haha! We will never stop using this recipe!
I do substitute 2tbsp apple cider vinegar +2 tsp white sugar for the balsamic. Only because we never have balsamic here. 10/10 love it!
This made my whole day! One of my favorite things is when one of my recipe becomes a staple and a family favorite. It’s the biggest compliment. Also chicken Cesar wraps sound INCREDIBLE! I don’t blame your nephew for only wanting those! Thanks for using my recipe and for taking the time to comment. I really appreciate it!
Can you marinade overnight?
Yes you can marinade overnight. In fact, I’m doing it now.