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
- â…› 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.
Jean Swinehart says
I did this chicken for lunch with some girl friends. They were my guinea pigs. It was amazing. It is great to have a marinade that doesn’t have a bunch of nasty stuff in it (store bought stuff). What I want to know is can I make up a larger batch and keep in on hand? Will it store for a week?
Trish - Mom On Timeout says
Yay! So glad you ladies enjoyed the chicken! You know, I really haven’t tried making it that far in advance, but I don’t see why it wouldn’t keep. I’d say go for it!
Christine @ myblissfulmess says
This recipe is PHENOMENAL! My whole gang loved it, including myself. I whipped up that easy marinade in the morning, and let the chicken marinade all day in the fridge. It turned out so incredible! I apparently liked this recipe so much that I had saved it twice LOL. It is excellent with some fresh corn on the cob and a salad. Definitely going to be a repeat around here. If you haven’t tried it folks, you’re missing out.
SummerDays says
Wow! I’m always up for new chicken recipes, and I kept seeing this one pop up in my newsfeed. So I thought I’d try it last weekend. So happy I did! Absolutely delicious! My entire family loved it, and I’m making it again tonight.
Trish - Mom On Timeout says
That is the BEST! Thanks so much for giving it a try!
Christine @ myblissfulmess says
This definitely looks like the best marinade! I’m going to slap this on my menu for next week and then slap it on the grill. I can’t wait to try it! Your photos are absolutely mouth watering!
Trish - Mom On Timeout says
Thanks so much Christine! I hope you love it as much as we do!
Linda Bell says
Trish can you use this marinade and then freeze the chicken?
Thanks Linda B
Trish - Mom On Timeout says
Yes you sure can!
Ali says
Hi Trish,
I’ve made this recipe at least five times now, including Father’s Day. Everyone loved the chicken – what a hit. It’s my favorite. Thank you so much for creating it.
Ali
Trish - Mom On Timeout says
Just made my day Ali – thank you!
Kathryn says
Absolutely loved this. I convinced my husband to let me buy another item of Tupperware by promising to marinate my own chicken nibbles for him (he ALWAYS wants nibbles – but I don’t like ones with a store bought marinade). Made this on drumsticks for him to take to a friends for dinner, and they all raved about it and begged for the recipe. I then made nibbles for the rugby on the weekend and was a huge hit – including with the 3 year old!! This is definitely bookmarked to be used time and again!
Barb says
This marinade was fabulous!! I used chicken breasts instead of thighs. Trying it with pork chops this weekend!
Ryan says
Love this Marinade!! Hands down the best! No need to try any other chicken marinades after this one.
Mary says
Made it tonight for 2 of us. We really liked it. Marinaded it for 30 minutes in my Food Saver Marinator. Froze the other 4 breasts in the marinade. Can’t wait to have it again and won’t have to make the sauce again.
Destiny says
Do you have a recommendation of what I could use instead of rosemary? I hate to change anything because of all your hard work and it looks so tasty but I’ve never been able to stomach rosemary.
Trish - Mom On Timeout says
I would just leave it out Destiny – no biggie!
Jessie Z. says
Oh my goodness! This was delicious!!! I made it exactly to the recipe and it was perfect ?And I *think* I made an amazing discovery… Once the chicken went into the grill I dumped all of the extra marinade from the bag into a cast iron pan and cooked it down to a think BBQ sauce like consistency and it was the most incredible sauce! I have a bunch left over in the fridge now and I’m so excited to put it on everything!! You could honestly post this exact list of ingredients (minus the chicken) and make a second post about the world’s best dipping sauce!!! Even my two year old couldn’t get enough of it. If you’re throwing the left over marinade away you’re doing it wrong :p
Mira says
Delicious marinade! Adding it to my list of favorites! I baked it on a high temperature in the oven instead of grilling, and it was excellent. I omitted the Worchestire sauce because didn’t have on hand and it was still so full of flavor!
Jordan says
Can this be used in the crock instead of using as marinade? TIA
Julee says
Just made this chicken! Marinated for 24 hours, Delish! Thank you for the recipe.
Trish - Mom On Timeout says
Wonderful! We’re making it again this weekend – can’t wait!
Obrien says
Thanks for spending so much time perfecting the marinade. We eat lots of chicken… too much chicken. But I’m always looking for “the best” marinade. Winner! Winner! Chicken Dinner! (sorry) This is the best marinade I have found. For those of you who plan to continue searching the ‘net, stop and try THIS marinade. You won’t need any others.
Thanks!
Trish - Mom On Timeout says
This makes me SO happy! Thank you!