This is such a great Chicken Marinade – it infuses chicken with savoury flavour as well as making it extra juicy! Particularly great for chicken breast though it can be used for any cut.
Use it for a quick 30 minute marinade, though it’s even better if you can leave it for longer!
Chicken Marinade
99% of the time I use this chicken marinade, it’s an emergency eek, gotta do something with that chicken before it goes off! type situation.
And therein lies the beauty of this marinade. It’s the quick-fix for any cut of chicken, and there’s tons of substitution options so you can make it anytime without having to run out to the shops.
It’s savoury with a hint of sweet, and makes the chicken extra juicy which is especially great for chicken breast.
This chicken marinade is sensational for grilled chicken!
Loads of substitution options
Here are the ingredients for the chicken marinade. I’ve listed some of the obvious alternatives here, but there’s actually substitutions for every single ingredient – even soy sauce (just use salt and water, that’s a basic brine mix).
Don’t you wish there were more recipes as flexible as this where I could still guarantee a great outcome??😂
What chicken to use?
This marinade will work for any cut of chicken (bone in or out, skin on or off) though it’s especially good for chicken breast because it’s a fast acting flavour injector that adds juiciness into this lean cut of chicken.
How long to marinade chicken?
3 hours to overnight is best. But for chicken breast or boneless thigh, even 30 minutes is effective – you’ll be surprised how much extra flavour you get from such a quick marinade!
Cooking options?
You’ll see that I cook it on the stove in the recipe video below, and it’s ideal for stove, BBQ or broiler/grill because you’ll get lovely browning on the chicken.
If you want to bake this, it’s best to finish it off with a blast under the broiler/grill to get some colour on it. Because colour = flavour, especially for a marinade like this!
How to serve it
Because the chicken sucks up the marinade and makes it extra juicy, you’ll find a good amount of juices pools on the plate as the chicken rests which sort of serves as the sauce. Plus the chicken itself is loaded with juiciness so you’re not going to be missing a sauce here.
Make up a mighty chicken salad, or serve it for dinner with a side salad. It’s pictured below with a Strawberry Spinach Salad that’s coming on Wednesday. One of the best new salads I’ve tried in a while!
Otherwise, try making a big batch of Lemon Potato Salad, Coleslaw, Broccoli Salad or Macaroni Salad that you can keep in the fridge and serve up for days. I’m fond of these because they’re the type of salads that are even better the next day, and the next! ~ Nagi x
My all time Top 5 favourite chicken marinades
It was a hard call, but here’s my Top 5 6…
Greek Chicken Gyros with Tzatziki – long time reader favourite!
Vietnamese Lemongrass Chicken – the flavour in this is outrageously good
Chicken Shawarma (Middle Eastern) – the smell when this is cooking is unbelievable!
Marinated Thai Chicken (Gai Yang) – you will seriously think you’re in Bangkok…
Thai Chicken Satay with Peanut Sauce – skip the skewers and just use whole chicken pieces!
Honey Soy Chicken – the glossy serving sauce is the cherry on top
Or browse all Chicken recipes (there’s loads more chicken marinades!)
Watch how to make it
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A great Chicken Marinade (great grilled or pan seared!)
Ingredients
- 700g / 1.4 lb chicken breast, tenderloins or thigh (Note 1)
Chicken marinade (subs Note 3):
- 2 tbsp honey OR brown sugar
- 1 tbsp olive oil (or any oil)
- 5 tbsp soy sauce
- 2 tbsp lemon juice
- 2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
- 4 garlic cloves , minced
- 1 tsp dried oregano (or rosemary, thyme, minced herbs)
- 1/2 tsp black pepper , ground
Garnishes (optional)
- Finely chopped parsley
- Lemon slices
Instructions
- Recommended: Pound breast to even thickness using a meat pounder, rolling pin, or fist. OR cut large ones in half horizontally to form 2 cutlets (steaks) for each.
- Mix marinade in a ziplock bag (or container in which chicken fits snugly). Add chicken.
- Marinate 3 hours to overnight, though even 30 minutes is effective. (Note 2)
- Heat 1 tbsp olive oil in a large skillet over medium high heat, and cook chicken per times below until deep golden (see video). If browning too quickly, lower heat.
- Transfer to serving plate, cover loosely with foil and rest for 3 minutes before serving, garnished with parsley and lemon slices if desired.
Cook times:
- Whole breast and boneless thighs: 3 – 4 minutes each side (internal temp 165F/75C)
- Cutlets and tenderloin – 2 minutes each side
Recipe Notes:
- Brown sugar – sub 2 tbsp white sugar, 1.5 tbsp honey, maple syrup
- Soy – any normal, all purpose soy or light soy good here, or tamari, mushroom soy sauce. If you have sweet soy or kecap manis, skip sugar. Dark soy sauce not recommended (label will say “dark soy).
- No soy? Dissolve 1 tsp salt in 4 tbsp water, then use in place of soy sauce.
- Only got DARK soy? Use 2 tbsp then add 3/4 tsp salt and 3 tbsp water instead of 5 tbsp soy sauce.
- Lemon – sub with less sharp vinegars like cider vinegar, white wine or red wine vinegar, rice vinegar. Or 1.5 tbsp other vinegars (normal white vinegar, balsamic)
- Worcestershire – dollop of ketchup or BBQ sauce would be a decent sub there! Say 2 tbsp, then cut down sugar. HP Sauce, steak sauce or other savoury sauces also good.
- Garlic – 3 tsp from jar, or 3/4 tsp dried garlic powder good here. Also 1/4 tsp onion powder would be nice too.
- Dried herbs – anything is the go here, go with what you like. Fresh won’t really work here, too delicate unless doing a short marinade. Exception – fresh rosemary is terrific, 1 tsp finely chopped.
- Breast and boneless thighs – bake 18 minutes at 425F/220C oven, or internal temperature is 165F/75C, followed by quick grill/broil on high to brown
- Drumsticks, wings and bone in thighs – 50 minutes at 180C/350F, basting with juices once or twice
Nutrition Information:
Life of Dozer
Reunited after a week apart! It’s only been an hour or so and he’s already so sick of the smoochy hugs 😂
Nagi, this proved to be a fantastic marinade, not that I had any doubt.
We used it with bnls/skinless thighs and it produced a yummy piece of chicken. We went with maple syrup instead of honey (we were out of honey) and marinated for about two hours, with great results. This will be our new go to marinade. Have you tried it with lamb?
I love this marinade. I’ve tried it with a few variations, too. I’ve used fresh lime juice instead of lemon and added Thai fish sauce. I’ve used apple cider vinegar when I didn’t have lemon or lime juice. I’ve also added a few drops of lemongrass essential oil. The basic recipe is great as is or can be adapted.
Perfect Lisa! N x
Made this chicken yesterday. I marinated it all day long and was impressed at how much flavor the chicken absorbed. I made the recipe as is and used thyme as my herb. YUM! 🙂 I served it with crisply Brussel sprouts and home made Sweet potato fries.. Thank you! Keep these great chicken recipes coming. I am horrible at cooking chicken usually it’s dry chewy and hard to swallow.. 😉 Thank you…
I’m definitely going to try this tonight! I am hooked on your recipes..easy and so flavorful! My first recipe i tried was your pork carnitas and oh my goooossshh so good! You are my favorite go-to when I don’t know what to make! Thank you for simply being you!
Delish! Big hit! Marinated skin-on bone-in chicken thighs overnight and then air fried them.
Followed recipe and marinaded for 1 hour. Family loved the flavor and asked me to make it again!
That’s great to hear Susan! N x
I like this recipe and iam going to try it on steak
Love to know what you think once you try it Theresa! N x
I use this al the time we live this marinade
Can I use this marinade for steak
Sure can Theresa, I also have a steak marinade recipe too 🙂 N x
Would love to have a steak marinade
Here you are, enjoy! N x https://discountspot.info/beef-steak-marinade/%3C/a%3E%3C/p%3E
Really nice recipe. Marinated the chicken breast for 1 hour only and it came out nice as well!
Awesome Carol, I’m so glad you enjoyed it! N x
Loved this recipe! And super thrilled to have found your blog! Pictures, content, everything is great! I paired this chicken with the strawberry and spinach salad! amazing!
I made the Just a Great Chicken Marinade and found it fast, easy, and delicious. Used garlic powder for convenience and grilled the chicken thighs after 35 minute marinade. Thanks.
Perfect Ann! N x
Hi Nagi, I love your site! In your Chicken Shawarma recipe, you say that it’s ok to put the chicken in the marinade, freeze it as such, and then let it marinade as it defrosts. Can you do the same with this marinade? I’m interested in making a big batch and freezing for individual meals. What do you think? Thanks for all the great recipes!
Oops! Never mind. You make that note right in the recipe–I just missed it the first time!
Seriously good!! Grilled, served with potato bake and veg, delicious!
Perfect Kellie! N X
This was really delicious!!!
Really tasty and easy to prepare!
Thx
Just whipped up this marinade for the 4th time in about 3 weeks! Our whole family loves it and it’s so easy to make with pantry ingredients. Thank you!
Wahoo!! N x
My chicken beat was delicious. Loved the flavor of the marinade. Thanks for sharing.
Thanks so much for letting me know Chandra! N x
I like cooking but l don’t know most of recipes.l enjoyed the chicken that l marinated.thanks.l would like to learn more recipes
I like cooking but l don’t know most of recipes.l enjoyed the chicken that l marinated.thanks
I utilize this marinade at least weekly! Sometimes I sub out the oregano for 1/4 tsp each of ground ginger and Chinese five spice. It is truly magnificent for grilling!