Name: Chicken Marinade
Prep time: 10 min
Total time: 40 min
Ingredients: 1 to 1.5 pounds chicken breasts, thighs, or other cuts ((Note 1)); 1/4 cup olive oil; 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice ((Note 2)); 5 cloves garlic, minced; 1 teaspoon dried oregano; 1 teaspoon ground thyme; 1/2 teaspoon table salt; 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper

Summary:

Whether you're looking to bake or grill, this is an all-purpose marinade recipe that works for chicken breasts, thighs, or other cuts. It's easy to make this at home with some basic ingredients like olive oil, lemon juice, and simple seasonings.

Chicken Marinade

5 from 11 votes

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Prep: 10 mins

Marinate: 30 mins

Yield: 2 servings

INGREDIENTS

▢ 1 to 1.5 pounds chicken breasts, thighs, or other cuts (Note 1)

Marinade:

INSTRUCTIONS

Prep Chicken: If moist, pat chicken dry with paper towels to avoid diluting marinade. Optionally, use fork to pierce chicken on all sides to increase marinade coverage. Place chicken in resealable bag or shallow dish (Note 3).
Prep Marinade: Stir all marinade ingredients in bowl until well-mixed. Pour marinade over chicken in resealable bag or shallow dish, arranging chicken so it's coated with marinade on all sides.
Marinate & Cook: Seal bag (squeezing out air) or cover dish, and marinate in refrigerator for at least 30 minutes and up to 24 hours (Note 4). Cook marinated chicken with preferred method, such as baking (Note 5) or grilling (Note 6).

NUTRITION

Makes 2 Servings (Note 7)

Amount Per Serving:

Calories 500 (55% from fat)
Total Fat 31g	47%
Saturated Fat 5g	23%
Cholesterol 132mg	44%
Sodium 730mg	30%
Net Carb 3.5g
Total Carb 4g	1%
Dietary Fiber 0.5g	2%
Sugars 1g
Protein 52g

Vitamin A 0% · Vitamin C 7% · Calcium 4% · Iron 11%

PHOTOS

close up view of chicken soaking in marinade

baked chicken and vegetables in white bowl

NOTES & TIPS

(1) Chicken. I use fresh whole chicken breasts that are boneless and skinless, but thighs or other chicken cuts will also work well. You can also use pre-cut chicken like chicken breast halves, chicken tenders, or chicken cutlets. Since chicken types differ in size and thickness, the cooking time will vary substantially depending on the cut. This marinade’s sister recipe — Baked One-Pot Chicken & Vegetables — assumes you are using fresh, whole, boneless skinless chicken breasts.

(2) Lemon Juice. This can be substituted with your favorite vinegar, such as balsamic vinegar or red wine vinegar.

(3) Resealable Bag vs. Dish. I prefer using a resealable bag instead of a dish for holding the chicken and marinade. A bag can easily mold to the shape of the chicken and provide better marinade coverage, whereas a dish often means that one side of the chicken isn’t fully exposed to the marinade. A resealable bag also means less cleanup.

(4) Marinating Time. Avoid marinating longer than 24 hours. This marinade’s acidic component (lemon juice) can break down the meat’s muscle fibers such that the meat’s texture becomes mushy.

(5) Baking. Make baked chicken by following this Baked One-Pot Chicken Recipe (shown in photos on this page), which re-purposes the marinade to form a flavorful sauce that goes on top of the chicken. The chicken is baked alongside vegetables like tomatoes, onions, and zucchini for a complete meal. It takes about 45 minutes at 400 F for baking whole boneless and skinless chicken breasts.

(6) Grilling. Using a preheated grill, it takes about 10 minutes (flipping halfway) for chicken breasts until you get nice sear marks and it’s cooked through. This is great for summer cookouts, and you can use the grilled chicken for fajitas, kabobs, salads, and casseroles. Serve with side dishes like strawberry salad, low carb fried zucchini coins, or a quick coleslaw.

(7) Nutrition. The calculation includes both the chicken and the marinade ingredients listed in the recipe. This recipe is suitable for a variety of diets, including low carb, keto, and paleo. Most of the carbs comes from the lemon juice and garlic, and to a lesser extent, spices like oregano and thyme.

More Sauces and Dips

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Jenn

This chicken was unreal!!! So good, the kids and my husband gobbled it up. Instead of using 1/4 cup of lemon juice I did 1/8 orange juice and 1/8 lemon (I may have added a little extra orange juice… yum!) it added the perfect amount of sweetness and a nice citrus tang

Crystal

This recipe was amazingly delicious! I have to admit I did tweak it a little with 2 extra ingredients. I added Cilantro and Sazón Goya con Azafran (this is a packet you can find at your local grocery store) it was to die for, this will definitely be my go to for all my chicken marinades. Thank you for sharing such a great delicious tasting recipe!

Bobbi Convery

I made this today, and the chicken was delicious! Thank you for a winning recipe.

Christi

I made this for dinner tonight and it was really good! Thanks for the grilling tips, too.

Nancie

Absolutely delicious! Am considering this as an ingredient for a dish at our restaurant. Making it again today to have on hand for salads, quick pasta dishes and just snacking. Great recipe, thank you!

Amye

I made this chicken the other night and it was awesome!! It’s my new go-to for chicken marinade! I cooked it on my gas stove top using a grill pan. Perfect!!

Susie

So good! I double it for 5-6 breasts and leave a little out to baste the chicken with a few mins before I take them off the grill.

Tammy

Made this, was very good! Was trying to match Aldi frozen chicken breasts we had bought. Very close, added coriander, thyme and a bit of cumin.

susie

the best!!

Noah

Delicious! I appreciate the recipe:) will definitely be making it again. Went well with roasted cheesy garlic Parmesan potatoes! Made my cooking night easy

Joline

This was soooo delicious!!! Will definitely make again 🙂

Claire J

I’ve made this several times and never disappoints. I fillet my chicken breasts and only marinate for 1 hour (30min on each side) and my husband grills it on our charcoal grill. So yummy. Perfect summer chicken!

Angie

Do you think these would be ok to freeze for two or three days?

Sara

Any way to make this lower in sodium and fat? I don’t understand the higher levels of sodium and fat content based on the ingredients listed. Did I miss something somewhere? Thank you

Julia

The marinade has 1/2 teaspoon table salt, which contains about 1400 mg sodium. Divide that by 2 servings, and you get about 700 mg sodium. If you want to lower sodium, you can halve that amount. As for the fat, that’s coming from the olive oil. You can halve both the olive oil and lemon juice but keep the other ingredients the same.

Chicken Marinade