The Best Chicken Marinade
Simply the BEST Chicken Marinade recipe ever….and so easy to make. Balsamic vinegar, honey, brown sugar and spices combine to infuse your favorite grilled chicken with savory flavor with juicy, tender results.
Chicken Marinade
Raise your hand if you ever ruined chicken. On the grill? In the oven? I’ve made several chicken dishes in my many years that were good for the garbage.
But we don’t just throw money away around here….so we gag it down, whether it’s blackened through and through….or dry as a cotton ball. That’s where the need to create a grilled chicken marinade recipe that would change my chicken game forever came into play….and fixed 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 so I wanted a grilled Chicken Marinade recipe that could do double duty all year long.
And I wanted it to be able to be sticky sweet AND slightly salty, savory to really punch up the flavors of an otherwise flavorless chicken breast. So, you could say this is the BEST Chicken Breast Marinade, as well.
How do you make homemade chicken marinade?
Homemade Chicken Marinade couldn’t be easier to make.
Simply whisk together olive oil (use a good one here), balsamic vinegar, lemon zest, soy sauce, Worcestershire sauce, brown sugar (for caramelization), honey (for a different level of sweetness), Italian Seasoning (I like that it’s all the spices I would normally use in one), salt, 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 do you 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 will take even longer to marinate than boneless chicken.
I like to marinate chicken at least 4-8 hours for boneless chicken breasts or thighs. Bone in chicken parts I like to leave in the marinade even longer….most of the time overnight. It’s great for a weeknight dinner because most of the prep work is done!
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 lined with foil or parchment at 425 degrees 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 thermometer is so helpful in determining if your chicken is cooked thoroughly
Can you reuse the leftover marinade?
The leftover Chicken Marinade is a one and done situation here…..because raw chicken has been sitting in it for a period of 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!
Get the Recipe: The Very Best Chicken Marinade Recipe
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.
63 Comments on “The Best Chicken Marinade”
Always looking for different marinades to use. We are having chicken this weekend so this will be perfect!
Sounds so good! I have to try this!
Wow, it does look like a delicious marinade!
Why does everything have to have sugar? We aren’t insulin resistant enough? And soy has gluten and is a GMO nightmare… glad I endured that recipe article for another sugar addicts choice.
Hmmmmm, well….everything does seem to have a lot of sugar but since we’re not drinking the marinade, most of the sugar isn’t really ingested. You can definitely use a sugar substitute if you prefer or leave it out but your marinade will be a little less sweet than intended. You can find a gluten free soy sauce, as well as, one that is not GMO….just be sure to read the labels. It’s not rocket science….and thanks for enduring the article. I’m sorry it was not what you wanted.
*Clap* *Clap* *Clap*
If a recipe doesn’t align with you dietary ‘requirements’, either adjust it to fit your needs or move on with your day. No need to through an unnecessary hissy fit about it.
Thank you!!!
Agreed. Why do people have to be so rude? Looking forward to trying this!
Thank you!
Agreed!!
Thank you!
Good response and ideas for adjusting ingredients!
Thank you!
Gosh, I LOVE how gracious you are!! I am trying your marinade tonite, thanks so much for sharing!!
Thank you so much! I hope you love it as much as we do!
Made this tonight and it was a truly delicious marinade for chicken. Was worried that it would be a little too sweet but not in the slightest, absolutely perfect. Thank you for elevating my boring chicken. This will become my “go to” marinade everytime I grill chicken!
I’m so glad you liked it! It’s on rotation here very frequently!
Well there’s a lot to unpack here but mostly I’d say you just sound miserable and have a need to make others miserable with you. You can adjust any recipe to fit your dietary needs. I do it all the time. Give it a try. It’s super easy.
Thank you again!
My goodness. You are an angry person. If yhe recipe has ingredients you don’t like just find a recipe that does. Do you really have to rip it apart. People who read recipe sites are quite savvy and can decide if the recipe fits their lifestyle. By the way the recipe is great.
Thank you, Freya!
Why didn’t you just move on instead of being so rude?? It was so not necessary!
Thank you. 🙂
How long would this marinade last in the fridge without chicken? I like to make my marinades in bulk
Hi Ava! I have made this marinade in a large batch and stashed it in my fridge for up to a month. Be sure it’s in a jar or other airtight container so any other food smells (like cheese) don’t affect the flavor. Thanks!
The glaze is just amazing on this chicken!
Such a delicious marinade! Everything came our juicy and full of flavor!
LOVE the flavors in this marinade! Let grilling season begin! 🙂
Thanks for sharing this marinade because I am getting tired of my usual salt and pepper and lemon seasoning on chicken! And chicken is the one thing my son only eats!
This really does add the best flavor to chicken! It was easy to make and everyone loved it. Thanks!
Do you throw marinade out.
Yes, discard the remaining marinade.
Hi, Thank you for sharing this recipe. I made it last night with boneless skinless chicken thighs….about 20 of them….plenty of marinade to do the entire batch of chicken. I made it exactly by the recipe. It was sooooooo delicious! It’s moving to the top of my list of marinades!
I’m so glad you loved it! Thank you for your comment and rating!
Can you use this on pork? Tried it with chicken and EVERYONE loved it. Thanks
You can totally use this on pork! So good!!
Made this and EVERYONE loved it. Would like to know if you can or have tried it with pork chops? Thanks
OMG!!! It’s sooooo amazing with pork chops, too. I hope you try it!
We tried it. Not a fan.
Would you care to explain what you didn’t like about it? I’m always looking to improve recipes based on reader experiences.
I substituted gluten free , low salt soy sauce, just used the honey instead of the sugar. The chicken tasted great.
Thank you for your comment! So glad you liked it.
Can I marinate the chicken and freeze it before cooking? I buy chicken wings in bulk then freeze them in marinade in smaller batches. We are a senior couple and so many recipes are just too much for us. Thanks!
Hi Cassie!
Yes, you can totally freeze the chicken in marinade. We do it all the time when I’m prepping meals for a longer period of time. This makes a good amount of marinade and if you press the air out of a freezer bag it stretches it even further. If you do store in a freezer bag, I like to thaw it in a container just in case I poked a hole in the bag while it was in the freezer. This way it doesn’t leak all over the place when you thaw it. Enjoy!
I made this chicken and then immediately made another batch of marinade for kater- so good! Can’t wait to try it on some chicken wings too!
It’s so good on wings!!!! I’m glad you loved it!
Just as this recipe title implies, this marinade is amazing! I used it for marinating and then grilling chicken drumsticks. I (accidentally) marinated them for a day and a half and they were SO flavorful. My husband couldn’t stop raving about how good the chicken turned out. Thank you for sharing. This recipe is a KEEPER!
I’m so happy you loved it! Thank you so much for your comment!
Hello, was wondering what you meant by Italian seasoning. Is there a special seasoning for that or one you would recommend? Thank you.
Italian seasoning can usually be found with the spices at your local grocery store. It’s a blend of Italian seasoning like oregano, basil, etc.
This seriously is the best marinade!
Awww, thank you for your comment! I’m so glad you loved it!
I made this recipe this afternoon with 2 boneless chicken breasts and 6 bone-in chicken thighs. I set the oven to 425º as the recipe indicated. I took the breasts out at 20 minutes. After looking at all the chicken, I realized the oven temp was way too high to cook this, even though that’s what the recipe stated. I have not tasted the chicken yet. It’s probably tasty, but your oven temp is way off.
Hi Janis, The oven temperature is correct. This is the temperature I use when baking my bone-in chicken. Be sure to check the internal temperature with a thermometer because 20 minutes may not be enough depending on how big your thighs are.
Hi! I left a review a couple of weeks ago and mentioned I thought the oven temp was too high. I do realize now that the thighs I was making were on the small side, so maybe that was a big factor in thinking that 425º was too high. I’m making it again tonite because it was delicious! I will check the thigh internal temp at about 30-35 minutes. Yum!!!
This recipe is WONDERFUL and super easy. Thank you so much.
Thank you!
I’ve been using this as my go-to marinade for about a month now that we are are in grilling season. I love it because it’s so versatile; the chicken can be enjoyed alone or under any condiment (bbq sauce, honey mustard, ranch, caramelized onions) and taste so great.
I recently ran out of Italian seasoning though and substituted it with Za’atar and it was incredible. Love it either way.
Awwww, I’m so thrilled you love it and find it so versatile. I’m definitely going to try it with the Za’atar!
I’ve used this on chicken. So good. Could I use with vegetables??
You sure can!
Hello! I don’t ever comment on recipes, but hearing a “hangry Karen” be really rude, I plan on using this awesome sounding recipe this weekend. And I will update soon afterwards ;). Sorry people can be this off putting on recipes that take alot of work to round out and share.
Thank you, Courtney! I hope you enjoy it as much as we do.