
Chicken Marinade
Think dry, bland chicken breasts are the way of the world? You’ve been settling! Time for the BEST CHICKEN MARINADE.
This quick combination of marinade ingredients not only will make your chicken actually taste like something (that “something” being savory, herby, and downright delicious), it works double-time to tenderize the chicken and make it juicy.
Just 15 minutes of marinating time can work wonders to juicify (<—my new favorite verb) and flavorize (<—my other new favorite verb) your chicken.
This chicken marinade recipe works for any cut of boneless chicken, be it chicken breasts, chicken thighs, or chicken tenders.You can use this simple chicken marinade for grilling (it would be excellent with my Grilled Chicken Sandwich or these Grilled Chicken Tenders), for baking (try it with my Baked Chicken Breast), or for Air Fryer Chicken Breast.
What is a Marinade?
A marinade is a mixture of ingredients that generally contains an oil, acid, and a variety of spices, and soaks cuts of meat prior to cooking.Marinades flavor the meat, make the meat more tender and moist, and can help prevent the meat from drying out as easily.You can marinate meat for as little as 15 minutes or up to 24 hours, depending on the marinade ingredients.
5 Star Review
“Absolutely phenomenal. Total hit at my house and I have an extremely picky six-year-old!”
— Crystal —
How to Make a Delicious Chicken Marinade
Below, you’ll find the key components of a stellar chicken marinade that you can tweak to suit the recipes you’d like to use it in or what you have on hand.
I like to cook a big batch of marinated chicken, then dice it up for salads, wraps, and grain bowls for lunches throughout the week.Chicken cooked with this marinade is also tender and tasty enough to enjoy on its own, a rarity for many chicken recipes.
Tip!
If you’d like to make plain shredded or diced chicken that is a blank canvas, try my easy methods for How to Cook Shredded Chicken, Crock Pot Shredded Chicken, and Instant Pot Chicken.
Key Marinade Components
The four key elements to a good marinade are fat, acid, seasoning, and time.
You can play around with these in endless combinations.
Fat. Fat plays two roles in a marinade. It transfers flavors that are fat-soluble to the meat (without it, you won’t be able to taste other ingredients as well). Fat also helps to keep the meat moist. 99% of the time, I use olive oil. Vegetable oil is another excellent, neutral option.Acid. You should soak your chicken in acid, as it tenderizes the meat by breaking down its fibers. Citrus juices, vinegar, yogurt, and buttermilk are four excellent options. For today’s recipe, I am using lemon juice. Lemon pairs beautifully with chicken and is easy to have on hand.Seasoning. Here the possibilities are truly endless! Citrus zest, herbs, aromatics (like onion and garlic), and spices can all come into play. The one non-negotiable is SALT. I use either kosher salt or, for even more complexity, soy sauce and a dash of Worcestershire.Time. MARINATING LONGER IS NOT BETTER! The ideal amount of time you should marinate chicken is 5 to 6 hours, but even 15 minutes makes a difference. See below for more.
The Best Chicken Marinade Recipe
Today’s healthy chicken marinade is a simple go-to that works well for a variety of recipes (like Grilled Chicken Thighs, to name just one) and everyday enjoyment.
Marinating chicken is healthy AND delish.
It’s a perfect way to increase the appetite appeal of your wholesome meals.
The Ingredients
Olive Oil. My choice of fat for the marinade. You only need a little bit (this chicken marinade is not unhealthy in the slightest) and olive oil offers healthy fats, antioxidants, and anti-inflammatory properties.Lemon Juice and Zest. This tenderizes the chicken and gives it bright citrus notes. I also use the zest to make the most of the lemon.Herbs. You can use almost any dried or fresh herbs for this chicken marinade. I’m a sucker for an Italian chicken marinade, so my most-used herbs are oregano and thyme or simple Italian seasoning.Seasoning. Soy sauce and Worcestershire sauce season the meat to help the others flavors shine and they add a more complex umami component compared to kosher salt alone. Fresh garlic is my other must-have chicken marinade seasoning. It’s a dream with the lemon and herbs.
The Directions
Pound the chicken (if using breasts). Thighs and tenders do not need pounding.
Poke holes all over the chicken (this helps the marinade absorb more quickly).
Combine the marinade ingredients in a large ziptop freezer bag.
Place the chicken in the bag.
Seal the bag and make sure the chicken is coated in the marinade. Marinate chicken at room temperature for 15 to 30 minutes or refrigerate for longer (up to 6 hours). Bring the meat to room temperature before cooking. Grill the marinaded chicken or bake the marinaded chicken as desired.Transfer the chicken to a plate, let rest for a few minutes, then ENJOY!
Storage Tips
To Store. Refrigerate cooked chicken in an airtight storage container for up to 3 days. To Reheat. Rewarm leftovers in a baking dish in the oven at 350 degrees F. You can also gently reheat chicken in the microwave. To Freeze. Freeze chicken in an airtight, freezer-safe storage container for up to 3 months. Let thaw overnight in the refrigerator before reheating.
Meal Plan Tip
Stir the marinade ingredients together up to 1 day in advance. Refrigerate until you’re ready to marinate the chicken.
What to Serve with Marinaded Chicken
Recommended Tools to Make this Recipe
Non-Slip Cutting Board. A must-have kitchen tool. Instant Read Thermometer. The best way to check your chicken for doneness. Rolling Pin. An easy way to pound the chicken breasts.
Ready to IMMEDIATELY improve your cooking? Marinate your chicken!
With this easy chicken marinade recipe, healthy baked and grilled chicken will become something you look forward to enjoying for a dinner, instead of a bland burden.
As always, if you try this recipe, I’d love to hear what you think! Your comments make my day and are so helpful for others too.
Frequently Asked Questions
This is an all-purpose chicken marinade you can use for any cut of bone-in or boneless chicken. Chicken wings, thighs, breasts, legs are all excellent with this simple marinade recipe.
This recipe can be used as a simple chicken marinade for oven baking, grilling (like Grilled Chicken Breast), pan frying (like my Pan Fried Chicken Breast), or any other cooking method you typically use. For this recipe, I’ve offered instructions for both the grill and oven.
As long as you marinade the chicken for at least 15 minutes, basting isn’t necessary. If you like, you can reserve some of the marinade and use it to baste the chicken during cooking (make sure you don’t use any marinade on cooked chicken that has touched raw chicken).
If you plan to reuse marinade, either reserve some at the beginning of cooking to sauce the cooked dish, OR if the marinade has already touched raw meat, it will need to be boiled for several minutes to remove harmful bacteria. Note that boiling will likely change the flavor of the marinade (citrus will become less pronounced and it can taste saltier, for example), so be sure to taste it. It is also likely to reduce and thicken during boiling, which can be a good thing if you are using it as a sauce.
If your marinade contains citrus juices like lemon or lime, 5 to 6 hours is an ideal marinade time; after 12 hours, the meat can start to break down. If using a yogurt or buttermilk-based marinade, you can allow the chicken to marinade overnight. Do not marinade chicken for longer than 24 hours as the meat can deteriorate.
Citrus juices like lemon and lime do a great job marinading chicken quickly. Even 30 minutes is enough time to marinade chicken—and if you only have 15 minutes or 20 minutes, marinade your chicken it anyway! Some marinading is always better than none.
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Chicken Marinade
Ingredients
Instructions
Video
Notes
TO STORE: Refrigerate chicken in an airtight storage container for up to 3 days.
TO REHEAT: Rewarm leftovers on a baking sheet in the oven at 350 degrees F.
TO FREEZE: Freeze chicken in an airtight, freezer-safe storage container for up to 3 months. Let thaw overnight in the refrigerator before reheating.