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Simply the BEST Chicken Marinade recipe ever, so easy to make. Balsamic vinegar, honey, brown sugar and spices combine to infuse your favorite grilled chicken with savory flavor with impossibly juicy, tender melt-in-your mouth results.
Why I Love This Marinade
The magic of juicy chicken breast is a flavorful marinade and this easy chicken marinade saves you and your family from having to endure dry chicken ever again.
I’ve overcooked many chicken breasts and food is too expensive to waste. That’s where the need to create a flavorful chicken marinade recipe that would change my chicken game forever came into play and fix everything!
In the summer months, we do a lot of grilled chicken but in the winter, I roast it all, from boneless chicken breasts to meaty chicken thighs. This grilled Chicken Marinade recipe does double duty all year long and it works with any cut of chicken.
It’s sticky sweet and slightly salty, savory to really punch up the flavors of an otherwise flavorless boneless skinless chicken breast. It’s similar to our steak marinade recipe. So, you could say this is the BEST Chicken Breast Marinade recipe, as well.
Pantry Ingredients For Chicken Marinade
This easy marinade starts with simple ingredients you may already have in your pantry. A basic marinade recipe has four main components; fat, acid, seasonings and salt.
Olive Oil – We use olive oil for the fat component of this marinade recipe, my preference is for Extra Virgin Olive Oil because it has more flavor with a peppery bite. You can substitute with avocado oil, grapeseed oil or another neutral oil.
Vinegar – Tangy Balsamic Vinegar is my favorite for the layers of flavor in the vinegar. Not only do you have the acidic notes but it also has a sweet flavor in the background. You can substitute with another acid like citrus juice such as orange juice, red wine vinegar or fresh lemon juice.
Seasonings – Italian seasoning, garlic powder, black powder, kosher salt and smoked paprika are your flavor enhancers for this simple marinade recipe. You can substitute with fresh chopped garlic and fresh herbs if you have them on hand.
Soy Sauce – We do add salt to this recipe but soy sauce welcomes a rich umami flavor. If you need to substitute the soy sauce we have used coconut aminos, fish sauce and Mushroom powder with great results.
Honey – You can skip the honey if you don’t want any added sugar but I urge you to give it a try. It’s not overwhelmingly sweet and balances the acidity in the marinade.
Brown Sugar – This adds a rich sweetness like a bbq sauce but not cloyingly sweet. You can substitute with coconut sugar or skip it.
Worcestershire Sauce – Similar to soy sauce, you can swap it for the same amount of soy sauce.
For the full ingredient list and instructions, see the recipe card below.
How To Make Chicken Marinade
Homemade Chicken Marinade couldn’t be easier to make.
- Simply whisk together olive oil, balsamic vinegar, lemon zest, soy sauce, Worcestershire sauce, brown sugar for caramelization, honey, Italian Seasoning, kosher salt, black pepper, garlic powder, onion powder and smoked paprika.
- Add your chicken to a large zip-top bag and place in an equally large bowl (in case the bag springs a leak!). Pour the marinade over the chicken and stash in the fridge for an hour or overnight to allow the chicken to marinate.
- Remove the chicken from the marinade and cook on the grill, in the oven or on the stovetop. It’s a you do you situation after that.
How Long to Marinade Chicken
How long you marinade chicken really depends on what type of chicken you would like to marinate. Thin sliced chicken breasts will take much less time than thicker, whole chicken breasts. And bone-in chicken thighs will take even longer to marinate than boneless chicken.
I like to marinate chicken at least 4-8 hours or overnight for boneless chicken breasts or thighs. Bone-in chicken parts I like to leave in the marinade even longer, but not exceeding 24 hours. It’s great for busy weeknights because most of the prep work is done!
If you don’t want to mess with a wet marinade recipe, we love this dry rub on chicken, too.
How to Cook Marinated Chicken
You can cook your newly marinated chicken, basically, any way you’d like. My favorite way is to make Grilled Marinated Chicken, it’s fast, easy and almost mess-free!
You could also cook it in the oven on a baking sheet in a single layer lined with foil or parchment at 425˚F until cooked through. Boneless chicken takes less time (approximately 20 minutes) than bone in chicken (which could take up to 40 minutes depending on how thick it is.) An instant read meat thermometer is so helpful in determining if your chicken is cooked thoroughly.
We also love cooking our chicken pieces in the air fryer.
Can you reuse leftover marinade?
The excess Chicken Marinade is a one and done situation here, because raw chicken has been sitting in it for a long time you must discard any of the marinade that came in contact with the chicken.
If you made the marinade in advance as part of your meal prep, it can be stored in the refrigerator in an airtight container until you’re ready to marinade the chicken.
More Easy Chicken Recipes
- This Grilled Honey Chipotle Chicken…..it’s flipping AMAZING
- THIS Carolina Style Barbecue Chicken to mix up that barbecue game a bit.
- Add this marinade to this crazy easy Oven Baked Chicken Breasts!
- Marinade your chicken thighs before making these Crispy Oven Baked Chicken Thighs for pure chicken magic.
Be sure to follow along over on Instagram, too, for behind the scenes tips and tricks!
Chicken Marinade Recipe
Equipment
- 1 Zip top bag
- 1 measuring cup
- 1 whisk
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup olive oil
- 1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
- 1/4 cup soy sauce
- 1/4 cup honey
- 1/4 cup brown sugar
- 3 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
- 1 lemon, juice and zest
- 3 tbsp italian seasoning
- 2 tbsp garlic powder
- 1 tbsp smoked paprika
- 2 tbsp kosher salt
- 1 tbsp black pepper
- 6 boneless, skinless chicken breast (or 4 bone in thighs and 4 bone in chicken legs)
Instructions
- In a large bowl, whisk together the olive oil, vinegar, soy sauce, honey, brown sugar, Worcestershire sauce, lemon juice, lemon zest, Italian seasoning, garlic powder, paprika, salt and pepper until combined.
- Place the chicken in a large zip top bag and place the bag in a large bowl to prevent leaking. Pour the marinade over the chicken and seal the bag pressing out as much air as possible.
- Transfer the chicken to the refrigerator and marinade for 1-24 hours.
- Remove the chicken from the bag. Cook, as desired.
To Grill
- Grill the chicken over medium-high heat for 4-5 minutes (for boneless chicken) or 7-8 minutes for bone in chicken. Flip the chicken over and cook for an additional 5-10 minutes or until cooked through and no longer pink in the center.
To Roast:
- Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Place the chicken on a baking sheet lined with parchment or foil. Roast the chicken for 20 minutes for boneless and 35-40 minutes for bone in chicken or until cooked through and no longer pink in the center.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
I’ve tried a ton of different chicken marinades with balsamic.This is by far my favorite for grilling.I put aside some marinade for basting towards the end and it’s fantastic.
Thank you so much! I’m glad you liked it.
I just used this recipe with beef! It’s delicious. Can’t wait to try it with chicken.
I’m happy you liked it!
Yum, love these ingredients. Can’t wait to try this one in the oven. Family will really like this.
I have read in other blogs that cooking chicken at a fast, high temperature makes a crispy outside while preventing the inside from drying out. I’m beginning to understand the value of the kitchen thermometer. Love this recipe, and I think there’s enough for a few dinners.