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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.Â
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.Â
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.ÂNutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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Happy Cooking, my friends!
Chicken is delicious.
This was a big hit at my house!
Wow wow wow! Just made this one and it was soooo good. Super juicy and tasty.
I marinaded it for about six hours. 12 would have been even better!
I cook over wood burning grill, so my timing and positioning will be different, but my recommendations for those using wood: star the fire two hours ahead of time, let the coals get going, add more wood to keep the coals going to get the grill itself hot. You will cook it longer than the recipe… but stay on top of it. Move the breasts around to make sure all are getting good char but not burn. Use a thermometer to move the colder ones up and the hotter one away. I also pulled semi charged breast off the grill and gave them another marinade bath… I used a disposable aluminum tray to marinade them so I was able to use the same for another dip …
Love this recipe
I love all of these tips, Bill! Thank you for being so thorough and descriptive, this comment will help lots of people who use wood burning grills. Thanks for using my recipe and thanks for the comment!
Very flavorful and tasty!
With a little added dijon mustard – 1tsp – this marinade is the best hands down – love that no strong herbs like rosemary are included.
What would you serve with the chicken
Outstanding. My wife’s favorite for grilled chicken and mine, as well. Better even than bbq! We marinate overnight (we don’t generally have the balsamic vinegar so we generally “delete” that from the ingredients). We find that we can easily marinate 3 to 3-1/2 pounds of chicken in one recipe if we “stir” once while marinating.
Keep the slices equal as much as possible and get it off the grill as soon as you reach 170 degF with instant read thermometer. Generally 3-4 minutes a side when using an Akorn grill and one layer of briquettes. Take it off the grill and put in a handy covered frying pan while the next “batch” cooks.
I’ve made this recipe over and over. It truely is THE BEST. I do however, add the parsley into the marinade. Also, I’ve experimented with various herbs and spices. Using chicken breast is great for this, as the olive oil really moisturizes it. Always turns out amazingly. Thank you!
QUESTION : When u say thighs, Do you mean boneless skinless?
The chicken came our absolutely perfect. Full of flavor, moist and not too sweet. I made it for the first time with company coming for dinner and they had to have the recipe (which I shared).