This easy chicken marinade is the BEST way to marinate chicken breasts before grilling or cooking. It makes the meat juicy, tender, and so flavorful!
You can grill or bake marinated chicken, and turn it into a delicious chicken sandwich, or just serve it as a main dish with some sides. We like to pair it with baked parmesan asparagus and some mashed potatoes.
Grilled chicken Marinade (or baked)
Chicken is definitely the meat of choice here at our house. Most of our favorite dinner recipes include chicken—like Chicken Tetrazzini, Chicken Enchiladas, or Creamy Swiss Chicken Bake! We’re always looking for yummy new ways to cook and enjoy it.
During the warmer months, we love to get good use out of our grill. Grilling is actually one of my favorite ways to cook chicken! It helps the meat to stay juicy, tender, and it adds amazing flavor!
I think the best flavor comes from marinating the chicken before grilling it, and I’ve finally found the perfect recipe for grilled chicken marinade!! But you can still use this even if you’re just baking your chicken.
How to make chicken marinade
This simple chicken marinade only requires a handful of ingredients, and I would bet you most likely have almost all of these on hand already!
WHISK. Simply whisk all of the marinade ingredients together, then put in a large tupperware container or a gallon sized ziploc bag.
MARINATE. Add 4-6 chicken breasts to the marinade and let it sit for at least 4-8 hours in the fridge. The longer it marinates, the better!
COOK. Grill your chicken breasts for a few minutes on each side until they reach an internal temperature of 165° F. If you don’t have a grill, you can use these other cooking methods:
- Oven Baked Chicken – place marinated chicken on a sheet pan covered with foil and bake at 375° for about 30 minutes until chicken is completely cooked through.
- Pan Fried Chicken – heat a little bit of olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. Place the marinated chicken breast in the pan and cook for about 10 minutes. Flip to the other side, cover the pan, turn to low heat and cook for an additional 10 minutes until completely cooked through. Let rest for 5 minutes before cutting into it.
SERVE. Serve chicken warm, either on its own or as grilled chicken sandwiches (like these Hawaiian BBQ Chicken Sandwiches).
Last time we made this recipe, we ate the grilled chicken on buns with lettuce, tomato, and mayo. You could even add some bacon and cheese! Regardless, the chicken marinade makes the meat SO juicy and flavorful, it will be amazing however you decide to enjoy it.
Marinating Tips + Tricks
Just a few tips and tricks to keep in mind for this recipe…
- Use a blender to quickly combine all of the marinade ingredients.
- Don’t use a metal container to marinate the meat in, or it will give it a metallic flavor. Gross!
- If you only have an hour or two, don’t stress. The chicken will still benefit from marinating, even if it is only for an hour.
- Make sure the meat is entirely covered by the marinade. If it’s not, turn a couple times while marinating so all of it gets some flavor.
- Once the raw chicken comes in contact with it, the marinade will contain harmful bacteria. If you want to use the marinade as a sauce after cooking the chicken, boil it for 5 minutes first to get rid of any present bacteria
An Awesome Freezer Meal
Here’s a trick if you’re someone who likes to have meals on hand in the freezer. You can actually prepare this recipe according to the instructions, but instead of cooking the meat right away, you can actually freeze it!
After you add the raw chicken to the plastic bag of marinade, flatten the bag and place in the freezer. When you’re ready to use it, place in the fridge to thaw, and it will actually marinate the chicken simultaneously.
Once it’s thawed, cook the meat as usual. 😉
For more great chicken recipes be sure to check out:
Best Chicken Breast Marinade Recipe
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup vegetable oil
- 1/4 cup soy sauce
- 1/4 cup Worcestershire sauce
- 1/4 cup red wine vinegar
- Juice of 1 medium lemon
- 1 teaspoon dry mustard
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 teaspoon fresh parsley chopped
- 2-3 pounds fresh chicken breast
Instructions
- In a medium bowl or large measuring cup, stir together the oil, soy sauce, Worcestershire sauce, red wine vinegar, lemon juice, mustard, pepper, and parsley.
- Add the chicken to large zipper bag or storage container. Pour the marinade over the chicken and toss gently to coat. Refrigerate at least 3 hours, or up to overnight.
- When ready to cook the chicken, preheat the oven to 375. Bake 35-40 minutes, or until cooked through. Alternatively, you could grill the chicken over medium heat for 5-6 minutes per side.
Hello there! I just found your site through Pinterest but when i clicked on your DIY page my CHROME popup said you had malware on this. So i chose not to view it and take the chance. Were you aware of this?
I haven’t seen any notifications for malware. :/
Looks amazing! Pinned!
We eat chicken 5 night out of the week so I’m always on the look for new recipes/marinades. This one sounds delish! I’ll be trying this out this week. Thanks so much for the delicious recipes! My family loves your Baked BBQ chicken which is on the menu for this week again. I haven’t tried the Buttery Baked Chicken because my husband got in trouble with the doctor this week about his cholesterol, so I’m really trying to eat healthy. But, I will try it, but probably not until the fall. Thanks so much for the recipes!!
This looks delish! Can you tell me specifically what type of vinegar you used in your recipe? Thanks!!
So mouth watering! That looks amazing!
Hi I’m trying this today, will let you know how we like it!! Just wondering if the garlic called for is garlic powder or minced garlic? Thank you for the great recipes!!
We eat alot of chicken and I look forward to trying your Delicious Chicken Marinade soon. Thanks for sharing.
Let me know how it goes. 🙂 Thanks for stopping by!!
These marinated chicken breasts sound yummy ! I’am wondering the type of vinegar you use ? Apple cider , regular , white balsamic or rice vinegar ? Thanks in advance !
I’ve used this marinade so many times. It’s my go to chicken marinade. When I grill it the chicken is never dry and everyone who eats it comments on how good it is. I had to come back after all these years and write as I just made it yesterday and it’s so good. I make big batches for chicken Alfredo, salads, anything.
Oh thank you for taking the time to come back and review! That means so much. I’m glad you love the chicken marinade!!
Do you use garlic powder for the garlic in the chicken marinade?
I used minced garlic 🙂 Enjoy!!
Hi Kristyn,
This marinade looks delicious 🙂 You mentioned grilling it …. can you point me to the instruction video on how to grill these? Mine are always dry or they catch fire….eek. thank you!!!
I let my hubby to the grilling, but you’d want a med-high heat & it should only take a few minutes on each side. Hope that helps. I love using google for tips on grilling too 🙂
I love a good, quick, homemade marinade. This one is especially easy and tasty! It makes a flavorful grilled chicken.
Love to grill the chicken with this marinade. I always grill a few extra pieces of chicken to add to salads throughout the week. It’s the best!
Super easy and delicious recipe! Perfection!
This is the easiest AND tastiest chicken marinade I have ever used! This marinade has the perfect blend and amount of ingredients.
Super easy and better than any store-bought marinade. Such a great combo of flavors! It made the chicken delicious!
This marinade adds so much flavor!! It is delicious! It’s hard to make chicken without this marinade!
Chicken is a favorite at my house and I’m always looking for easy ways to change up the flavor of it to grill. This is a great marinade.
I love marinades and this is perfect for chicken. Very flavorful and makes for tasty chicken.
This is a good one! So easy to throw together in the morning and then grill at dinner time. Nice tenderizer for the chicken. We served with Caesar salad and crusty bread.
We eat a lot of chicken this will be my favourite from now on
Paula