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 😂
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!
I really want to make this but my friend is allergic to garlic (I know. Terrrrrible) do you think I could sub garlic for something else??
I m marinading chicken right now. Everyone is amazed at the smell of the marinade. Can’t wait to taste it.
Tried chicken marinade with drum sticks 3 hour marinade,spot on ,thank you.
Perfect Neil – Winner winner chicken dinner! N x
I just made your steak marinade the other week, so when I was looking for a chicken marinade, my first thought was “ I bet Nagi has one!”
This was great, & made the chicken moist & juicy. Easy to make with ingredients easily found in the pantry.
I marinated for 8 hrs; the whole family loved it!
That’s awesome Renee!! N x
Very nice and moist. I did exactly as recipe. I marinated overnight. Barbecued. Paired with broccoli salad and cauliflower-bacon casserole
BJ–
JUST SO YOU KNOW, BBQ IS NOT AN ADJECTIVE BUT IT’S A NOUN.
CG
Catherine – Just so you know, BJ used it as a verb! HA! – ‘Karen’
Yum! I’m so happy you enjoyed it Bjs!
As usual, a perfect recipe from Nagi. Moist and tasty chicken. Your recipes reflect the result of research and testing and easy to follow instructions. Thank you for empowering us with the knowledge to cook better food.
I love hearing this Lynn, thanks so much! N x
this recipe has become my sunday night staple, this is now the only way I prepare and bake chicken breasts.
Let;s have a recipe book next!!! Fantastic marinade
Wahoo! That’s great to hear Laura! N x
this recipe has become my sunday night staple, this is now the only way I prepare and bake chicken breasts.
Let;s have a recipe book next!!! Fantastic marinade
I made this last night with 2 chicken breasts. Followed the recipe exactly, no subs. I marinaded them for about 4 hours. Did them on top of the stove. My hubby and I loved them, so tender and juicy. I served them with dill carrots and little potatoes with herbs. There wasn’t any leftovers. Yummy! I will add this to my menu often.
Thanks
Is the sweet component necessary to get a good flavour? I’m trying to limit sugar intake (including honey, agave, etc.) Thanks!
Just wondering if you can use lime instead of lemon
Hi Jacob, yes you can if you don’t have lemon – N x
Always love your recipes and yes I am.one of the guilty ones scrolling down to see what master Dozer is doing😊
I always knew he’d steal the show!! 😂
Sensational! Love the new save option also.
I don’t see the save option – how do you do that? Thanks.
Wahoo, thanks Ross!
Just received my first email recipe and want you to know that I love it and am on my way to buy some chicken & try this for tomorrow night.
I hope you love it Dottie, please keep me update on how you went!
Gawd I love the photo of you & Dozer 💕 oh & I also LOVE all your recipes 🙏
Why is dark soy not recommended?
Thank you for mentioning all the subs especially the kecap manis, since its a staple in Indonesian kitchen. So I made it with kecap manis, turned out delishhh
Hi Rachel! Dark soy sauce has a far more intense, concentrated soy flavour than other soy sauces. If you use it, it will overwhelm the flavours in this. But if that’s all you’ve got, use 2 tbsp then add 3/4 tsp salt and 3 tbsp water instead of 5 tbsp soy 🙂 N x
Hi, I think you forgot to add honey in your ingredients, I saw you add it in the video
what will the measurements if i only use 1 chicken thigh?
Hi Emely, if you weigh it, you can adjust the serving size by using the recipe scaler to adjust the other ingredients 🙂