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
- 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.
Shelby W says
This marinade is a weekly staple in my house! My husband and 2 year old son LOVE the chicken when we grill with this! I highly recommend you give this blend a try.
Kris says
Family loved this! Split chicken breast on the grill and tried this instead of our usual BBQ sauce. Everyone said to save this recipe and use instead.
Mandy says
Thank you so much for sharing! I just made it and LOVE it. I just eyeballed the ingredients, and added some thyme. I had marinated 1/2 chicken and when it came to bake it I cut little potatoes up and layered them on the bottom of my rectangular Pyrex baking dish. Put the chicken on top and poured all of the marinade into the dish. Baking in the oven @ 430 took about 35 to 40 minutes (an estimate, I set the timer for 20 minutes but it was not ready, so I left it in the oven until the potato bites were cooked) everything turned turned out delicious. I liked it so much, I had 1 1/2 chickens left over, made more marinade and put 3 bags with chicken and marinade into the freezer. Thanks again.
Adriana says
going to try this tonight. wondering what could be substituted for the rosemary as half the family are not fond of it
Trish - Mom On Timeout says
You can just omit from the recipe entirely.
Lindsi says
So this has been my go-to chicken marinade for years. Wanted to add that my husband is a hunter, and we’ve been using this marinade for venison (primarily backstrap / steak like cuts) and it is just as amazing for that!
Trevor says
I was looking for a quick marinade for chicken breasts. This was the first one I saw. Made the marinade but changed the recipe slightly. Used half the salt and half the mustard (used Coleman mustard. It’s an English mustard with a little kick). Will definitely use this again on chicken. Can’t wait to try it on pork chops. What a great find. Thank you.
Rose says
Great, my picky eaters loved it!
Made a few tweaks.
Replaced Balsamic with 1/4 C. vinegar
Seared the chicken in a cast iron skillet, added about half of the marinade, and covered with foil before it went in the oven until proper temp.
Also made green beans and bell peppers with in a pan and added some marinade.
Jessica says
This is my new go-to marinade for chicken! When I find a family pack of boneless breasts on sale, I divide these between freezer bags, and put them straight into the freezer. Pull them out the night before, and they marinate as they thaw! Such a treat having them ready to go. And leftovers (if there are any) are delicious cold. Thanks for this!
Adam Q. says
This is definitely a favourite among the family now. Having never made a marinade before I converted all your measurements to metric and found this easy to follow step by step.
After marinating the chicken I cooked it on the BBQ and then poured more marinade over the top to let it sizzle on to the chicken.
I have the kids asking me to make this again (I made a lot of it so kept some frozen) and have passed the recipe on to my sister.
Here is my conversion chart:
118mL extra virgin olive oil
118mL balsamic vinegar
59mL cup soy sauce
59mL cup Worcestershire
29.5mL cup of lemon juice
177mL brown sugar
10mL rosemary (I used fresh)
30mL Dijon mustard
7.5mL salt
5mL black pepper
10mL garlic powder
1.59kg chicken breast
Michelle says
I am notorious for deboning turkeys and assembling them into flavorful turkey roasts. I marinated this 10lb deboned turkey for 24 hrs. I am certain that this marinade will bring this turkey to a flavorfilled experience. I will follow up.
Tammy says
This was a HUGE hit with my VERY picky family of 5! It warmed my heart to hear them ALL agree: “Best chicken I’ve ever had!” Just made it last night and the kids and hubby are already asking me to make it again. Easy to make with ingredients I normally already have on hand, flavorful and so moist. We did it on the pellet smoker and it was amazing! Highly recommend!!!
Alex says
Family loved it. I made it with chicken because I had a chicken carcass to use anyways. Therefore i didn’t have to add chicken or veg stock. Flavour came right off the bones. Thanks for sharing.
Cheryl says
This was sensational!! Absolutely delicious, easy to make, with a tasty & moist result. My son asked if there was any of the marinade left – I think he wanted to drink it! I have made the marinade again for tonight with his steak & salad, because I know he will even eat all his salad with this drizzled over it 🙂 Thanks so much for sharing such a beautiful recipe!
Cheryl says
The food critic in this house (my son) loved this – phew!! Thanks so much for sharing this easy, economical, delicious recipe! I’m keeping it forever 🙂
Julie says
Truly is THE BEST marinade! I could not believe the incredible flavor. Plus, the chicken was juicy, not dried out as chicken breast tends to be. This is definitely a keeper. Thank you Trish!
Michelle says
The best marinade! I literally make it every other week because my kids love it so much!
Christina Hitchmough says
This is by far, THE best chicken marinade!
A few years ago I found this recipe and this is my go to. Every single time my husband finds out I have chicken in the fridge, his first response is “are you making my favorite chicken marinade?”
I use thyme instead of rosemary, delicious!!
Anita Marino says
This was a hit with my daughter and husband. My daughter texted me and said “Mom, don’t lose that recipe.”
Lol
Thanks. Looking forward to making that again for other family..
Tamara A Houghton says
I made this tonight and we both loved it. While I love rosemary, I think I’ll try it next time with thyme. The rosemary just didn’t do it for me in this marinade.