Best Ever Grilled Chicken Marinade
The best ever grilled chicken marinade recipe by far!
For years we used Dale’s Steak Seasoning and then switched to Moore’s Original Marinade for the lower sodium content.
I would mix those marinades with bottled Italian dressing and just go with it. Why not make a homemade version, right?
Please don’t let the ingredient list frighten you away. I PROMISE this is the best marinade you will ever try and it’s super easy.
Best Ever Grilled Chicken Marinade Video
Why You’ll Love This
- It is 100 times better than any store-bought kind.
- This best chicken marinade imparts the ultimate flavor experience and produces a juicy tender piece of grilled chicken.
Ingredients
- Chicken – For this, we used chicken breast, and we like to cut them into strips. But it’s also great for chicken thighs! You can also pound the chicken breasts out to an even thickness.
- Marinade Liquids– Worcestershire sauce, low-sodium soy sauce, olive oil, molasses, and white wine vinegar.
- Seasonings – Garlic powder, onion powder, fresh ground pepper, dried thyme, dried basil, dried parsley, and dried oregano. Salt to your taste, there is sodium in the Worcestershire and soy sauce.
We grill year-round and this chicken was planned for our lunches. Every week I make a large salad to keep in the fridge.
It’s lunch for me most days. But my husband has to be coaxed to eat salad on a regular basis.
Well, this week he actually asked for salads with grilled chicken for his lunches. (We’ll see how long this lasts.)
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How to Make Best Ever Grilled Chicken Marinade
Just whisk the healthy chicken marinade ingredients together in a small bowl. Pour over the chicken (usually about 2 1/2 to 3 pounds of chicken) and marinate for a minimum of 1 hour.
We usually go for 3-4 hours of marinating the chicken.
This infuses more marinade flavor and allows for more grilled crispiness (my favorite part) on the chicken pieces.
Reserve some of the marinade in a separate bowl to baste the chicken while grilling.
Grill the chicken for 3-6 minutes per side. This will depend on the thickness of the chicken. Do NOT overcook! Use a meat thermometer to cook to an internal temperature of 165 degrees F.
No one likes dry chicken.
Serve and enjoy! This marinade also works great for pork too.
This grilled chicken marinade works with chicken breasts, thighs, drumsticks, tenders, skin on or off, bone-in or out. Remember the cooking times will vary for each type of chicken you choose. The chicken needs to reach an internal temperature of 165 degrees F.
A minimum of 1 hour. If you only have 30 minutes to marinate do it at room temperature. But be aware that you should not do it any longer than 30 minutes, bacteria can grow. Reserving some of the marinade (before touching the chicken) and basting while it’s cooking will also impart more flavor.
We recommend 3 to 4 hours, any longer than 8 hours and the acids in the marinade will give the chicken a mushy undesirable texture.
Place grilled chicken in an air-tight container or bag and refrigerate for up to 4 days.
More Grilling Recipes
- The Best Keto Grilled Pork Tenderloin Recipe
- Southwest Grilled Chicken Salad
- BBQ Chicken Thighs With Bite-Through Skin
- Easy And Delicious BBQ Chicken Legs Recipe
- The Secrets To Amazing Smoked Chicken Wings Every Time
Best Ever Grilled Chicken Marinade Recipe
Ingredients
- 4 boneless skinless chicken breasts
- 1/3 cup Worcestershire sauce
- 1/3 cup low-sodium soy sauce
- 1 Tablespoon molasses
- 1/3 cup olive oil
- 1/4 cup white wine vinegar
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1/2 teaspoon fresh ground pepper
- 1/4 teaspoon thyme optional
- 1/2 teaspoon dried basil
- 2 teaspoons dried parsley
- 1 Tablespoon dried oregano
- Salt to taste
Instructions
- In a small bowl whisk all the marinade ingredients together.
- Place the chicken in a zip bag or covered container, pour the marinade over and mix the marinade around to cover evenly.
- Marinate at least 1 hour but 2-4 hours is preferred.
- Preheat the grill to medium heat about 375-425 degrees F.
- Grill the chicken 3-6 minutes each side until cooked through. Chicken should be at 165 degrees F at its thickest part.
We just tried this on both a whole chicken that we smoked and grilled pork chops. Delicious!
Any idea how much sodium is absorbed into the chicken? For someone who is on a sodium restricted diet.
I have no idea. But I know it’s good! Sorry!! :/
This recipe is a winner! Best chicken marinade I have ever tried.
Have you ever made this recipe in bulk to use more than once during a week? What do you think the shelf life would be?
We’ve never made this in bulk but I don’t see why it couldn’t live in your fridge for 5 days or so. Thanks for the good question. If anybody else wants to chime in with an opinion have at it.
I’ve got to try this soon looks tempting.
We had your grilled chicken recipe tonight. It was wonderful!!! The only things I changed: I used teriyaki sauce instead of soy sauce ( it’s what I had) and I also added crushed garlic. All 7 of us loved it!!!! Used chicken tenders, too, so it grilled quickly and had a lot of your yummy seasoning!!!
This marinade is my new go to for
a fast, tasty, summer dinner. I’ve made it twice in the one week and the whole family loves it.
This is by far the best marinade recipe I’ve come across is a long time!! Absolutely delicious! Thanks for sharing it!
Jennifer, we are so happy to hear you love the marinade! Thank you so much for coming by!
I wanted to cook a boneless, skinless turkey breast for supper on a rainy day here and happened upon your recipe thru a Pinterest email. I thought well it’d be just as good on turkey and after marinating a few hours put the breast, marinade and all in the oven to bake. It was awesome and the marinade thickened down to a lovely, flavourful sauce for the turkey! Thanks for a great recipe.
Hey, Cathy! Great idea, we are going to have to try it soon! Thanks so much for coming by to tell us!!!
Meilleure recette de marinade au monde! Simple, rapide et des ingrédients toujours sous la main. Merci pour cette belle trouvaille.
Merci beaucoup, je suis content que vous l’ayez apprécié.. 🙂