The BEST Chicken Marinade
When it comes to chicken, a good marinade can make all the difference—and after years of testing and tweaking, this one has become my go-to. This chicken marinade balances acid, oil, herbs, sweetness and bold flavor. It’s one I come back to again and again because it just works—whether I’m grilling, baking, or pan-searing.
Quick Overview
I’m sure you have a ton of chicken in the freezer like I do. It’s a good thing to have a couple extra packs in the freezer for busy days or when I don’t feel like deciding on what to make. Whether I’m cooking chicken breasts, thighs, or drumsticks, this marinade brings out the best in each cut—juicy, flavorful, and anything but boring.
No matter the occasion, this chicken always comes out juicy, moist, and bursting with flavor. It’s all thanks to the marinade because it combines all the flavor aspects like sweet, sour, salty, and tangy. It’s a perfect a balance of flavors for the chicken.
Added bonus if you grill the chicken on the charcoal grill and throw is some mild wood chips in a smoke box. The chicken will have an extra layer of smokey flavor. This chicken is amazing off the grill.
Why I Chose These Ingredients
The oil keeps the chicken juicy and I highly recommend using a neutral tasting oil but also one that can stand up to high temperatures. I carefully chose the flavors that go into this sauce from the vinegars to with will bring the tang, umami, and sweet flavors.
While the acids like vinegar and lime juice add a gentle tang, it also breaks down the fibers just enough for a tender bite. Garlic and herbs bring in that savory backbone—and let’s be honest, garlic makes everything better. And of course, you can’t go wrong with Worcestershire sauce, besides trying to pronounce it.
What Cuts of Chicken To Use
Any chicken cuts will be perfect here. Chicken breast will be completely transformed soaked in the marinade. It will always be flavorful moist and juicy. Really the only thing that can go wrong is if the chicken is completely overcooked (but you would have to try hard for that.)
Use chicken thighs, chicken drumsticks, leg quarters, or bone-in chicken breast. You can even break down a whole chicken and marinate it.
My personal favorite is the wings! You have not tried amazing chicken wings until you tasted them off the grill marinated in this chicken marinade.
Is There Such Thing As Marinating Too Long?
Ideally, you would marinate chicken for at least 4-6 hours but if you take time ahead, marinate it overnight or up to 12 hours.
And yes, there is such thing as marinating too long. I do not recommended marinating hearty meats like chicken, pork, and steak for longer than 18 hours because after that, the meat tissue starts to break down and the meat will get mushy. (More delicate meats, like seafood, is best to marinate less than 12 hours.)
If you’re in a pinch for time, you can keep the chicken in a marinade as little as 30 minutes and you will alr3eady notice that flavor difference.
Storing Recommendation
Store chicken in the marinade – make sure that the chicken is covered air-tight and store it in the refrigerator. It is not recommended to store raw chicken in the marinade for more than 2 days. (Do not freeze uncooked chicken in the marinade.) Thawed, uncooked poultry should be cooked within 2 days.
Storing cooked chicken – store cooked chicken leftovers in an air-tight food storage container, in the refrigerator. Properly stored, it should be good for 3-4 days. On average, shelf life of cooked chicken is 3-4 days.
Freezing cooked chicken – you can freeze cooked marinated chicken. Make sure to cool it down first, place it into freezer friendly zip-top bags or into a freezer storage container. Get as much air out as you can, seal, label, and freeze for up to 2 months.
Thaw – make sure to thaw frozen chicken in the refrigerator, overnight or for up to 24 hours. It’s never a good idea to speed up thawing and thaw on the counter.
Serving Suggestions
When it comes to side dishes, our go-to is mashed potatoes and green beans. But you can also go with other comforting sides like home fries, macaroni salad, or cauliflower mac and cheese.
When you want some more vegetables, try roasted asparagus, balsamic carrots, or cucumber tomato salad.
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The Best Chicken Marinade Recipe
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup avocado oil or canola, or vegetable oil
- 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
- 1/3 cup honey
- 1 lime – juice only
- 3 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
- 3 tbsp low sodium soy sauce
- 1 tbsp Dijon mustard
- 4 garlic cloves
- 2 tsp salt
- 1 tsp black pepper
- 2 tbsp minced fresh parsley
- 3-4 lbs chicken
Instructions
- Whisk all ingredients for the sauce in a mixing bowl until thoroughly combined.
- Place chicken inside a durable zip-top bag and pour the marinade into the bag with chicken. Get air out of the bag and zip it closed.
- Lay the bag on its side inside a rimmed baking dish or another container and place it in the refrigerator. Let it marinate for 4-6 hours or overnight.
Cooking chicken on the grill:
- Clean and set up the grill for two temperature zones. Preheat the grill first for about 10 minutes over medium heat. Take the chicken out of the marinade and spray it with some cooking spray on all sides. (Don’t spray or oil hot grill, it can cause flare-ups.)
- Place chicken over direct heat. Let it cook for a few minutes on both sides and then move it over to the cooler side to finish cooking if needed. Bone-in chicken will need more time and will most likely need to be moved to the cooler side, while chicken breast is fine to cook over direct heat.
- Use a digital read thermometer to check if chicken is done. The internal temperature of the chicken should be 165°F for breast meat and 170-175°F for leg and thigh meat. (Check the temperature in the center of the thickest part of the chicken.)
Baking chicken in the oven:
- Preheat the oven to 450°F if cooking chicken breast or 425°F if cooking bone in chicken. Cover a heavy rimmed baking sheet with aluminum foil and lightly grease it.
- Take chicken out of the marinade and place it on the prepared baking sheet. Make sure to leave some space between each piece of chicken.
- Breast – Bake chicken breasts at 450°F for 14-18 minutes, depending on the thickness of chicken.
- Bone-In chicken – For bone-in chicken, bake at 425°F for 25 minutes, flip each piece over, and bake for another 10-15 minutes. Use a digital read thermometer to check if the chicken is at 170-175°F.
Cooking chicken in a pan:
- Preheat a cooking pan over medium heat until hot and add a couple of tablespoons of oil. Take chicken out of the marinade and add it to the hot pan.
- Breast – Cook chicken breasts on one side for about 5-7 minutes, depending on the size. Don’t move or touch the chicken until ready to flip. Flip chicken and cook on the other side for another 5-7 minutes. Use a digital read thermometer to check if the chicken is at 165°F.
- Bone-In chicken thighs – preheat the pan to medium and add some oil. Place chicken thighs in the pan skin side down first and cook for 15-20 minutes. Turn them over and cook another 10-15 minutes until internal temperature reaches 170-175°F.
- Chicken drumsticks – To cook chicken drumsticks in the pan, cook them over medium heat and turn them a quarter of the way every 10 minutes or so. Again, internal temperature of the chicken when done is 170-175°F.
To Make Sauce Out of Leftover Marinade:
- Pour the marinade into a sauce pot and simmer it over medium to medium-low heat for 15-20 minutes. Make sure to stir from time to time. You can use the sauce to brush the chicken while it's grilling or to top off cooked chicken.
Video
Notes
- Balsamic vinegar – this vinegar is hard to substitute because of its specific flavor. Choose a good quality balsamic vinegar.
- Soy sauce – use low sodium soy sauce. If you need a gluten free option, use gluten free soy sauce, tamari, or coconut aminos.
- Dijon mustard – make sure to use Dijon mustard, do not substitute with yellow mustard!
Nutrition
Some More Chicken Marinade Recipes To Try
Originally published on Will Cook For Smiles in July, 2020.
All images and text ©Lyubov Brooke for ©Will Cook For Smiles. Please do not use my images without prior permission. If using my posts in collections and features, please link back to this post for the recipe.
Disclaimer: Nutrition information shown is not guaranteed to be 100% accurate as most ingredients and brands have variations.
Very good. Awesome flavor. Some people like less vinegar I prefer less honey since i cook tor diabetics. I just cooked it in the marinade, turned out perfect. Thank you for the recipe.
This was so good!!!
Thank you, Rachel!
Made boneless chicken breasts with this marinade today. Marinated for 3 hours and then put on the grill. Cooked the marinade as you stated and used it on top of chicken. We enjoyed it very much. The only change I would make would be to use a little less balsamic vinegar. Thank you for the recipe.
Thanks, Caroline! I am so glad you liked it!
I love roasted chicken I love this recipe.
I am so glad you liked it! 🙂