The best Grilled Chicken Marinade for tender, juicy, incredibly flavorful chicken with gorgeous color. Elevate your next summer BBQ with this easy chicken marinade recipe.
This is hands down, no contest, my favorite grilled chicken marinade recipe. In addition to amazing flavor, it imparts a beautiful, rich golden hue to the chicken as it grills. It’s one of my oldest go-to summer grilling recipes and it has stood the test of time.
It takes just minutes to whip up this flavorful chicken marinade and the result is absolutely heavenly. When I’m low on inspiration, it’s an effortless choice for a delicious summer meal. Plus, leftovers of this grilled chicken cold from the fridge are SO good!
Ingredient Notes
- Assorted chicken pieces – This marinade works well with a variety of cuts of chicken, but I usually do a combination of boneless skinless chicken breasts, either bone-in or boneless chicken thighs, and drumsticks. Grill a few extra pieces so you can throw together a summery grilled chicken salad or sandwiches for lunch the next day.
- Extra virgin olive oil
- Less sodium soy sauce – I always recommend using less sodium soy sauce which helps control the sodium level but still eliminates the need to add any additional salt.
- Lemon – To tenderize the chicken and add bright flavor.
- Brown sugar
- Spicy brown mustard – You can use Dijon mustard if you’d like, but spicy brown mustard is more intense and adds great flavor to this marinade.
- Freshly ground black pepper
- Garlic powder
- Liquid Smoke – Liquid Smoke is by far the best way to add big smoky flavor to marinades. A little goes a long way so don’t be tempted to add more than called for in the recipe.
- Chili garlic sauce – This is as an optional ingredient but highly recommend you give it a try. Chili garlic sauce is a super versatile ingredient that adds zippy, garlicky flavor and just a touch of heat.
How to Make the Best Grilled Chicken Marinade
- Place all chicken marinade ingredients in a small mixing bowl and whisk until well combined.
- Place the chicken a plastic storage bag and add the marinade.
- Seal the bag and turn around a few times to distribute the marinade. Refrigerate until you’re ready to grill.
How Long Should You Marinate Chicken?
I recommend marinating chicken for at least an hour and no more than 8 hours. Most marinades include an acidic ingredient like the lemon juice in this Grilled Chicken Marinade. Whether it is citrus juice, vinegar, or yogurt, these acidic ingredients work wonders to break down the fibers and help tenderize marinated chicken, but you’ll end up with a mushy, undesirable texture if it marinates too long.
Marinated Chicken Make-Ahead Tips
Although, I don’t recommend marinating chicken for longer than 8 hours, this Grilled Chicken Marinade is still a great meal prep option. Make the marinade several days in advance or even freeze the chicken in the marinade months in advance.
Refrigerate Separately
- Mix the marinade together and store it in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 2 to 3 days. Follow the marinating directions as directed in the recipe when you’re ready to cook the chicken.
Freeze the Chicken in the Marinade
- For longer storage, add the chicken to the marinade in a freezer-safe plastic storage bag and transfer it to the freezer. The marinating process is halted once frozen and the chicken can be thawed and grilled whenever you’re ready for it! Freeze it for up to 3 months and thaw the frozen chicken safely in the refrigerator for at least 24 hours before grilling.
Chicken Grilling Tips
- Size and cut – Try to use chicken pieces that are close to the same size so they will cook at an even rate. Boneless breasts can be very thick and it’s best to pound them slightly thinner or even cut them down into smaller portions before grilling so they’ll cook more quickly without drying out.
- Indirect heat – You want to cook over a high enough heat to sear the chicken, but much of the grilling time should take place over indirect heat. On a charcoal grill, build your coals off to one side so the chicken can be moved over. My husband swears by this rotating grill grate which makes it super easy to just spin the grill around as needed. For a gas grill, just turn off one or more of the burners directly underneath the chicken.
- Cover the grill – Covering your grill creates an oven-like environment which will speed along the cooking process. Plus, the drippings are more likely to catch fire in an uncovered grill.
- Temperature – Using a meat thermometer may be the most important tip of all. Chicken should be grilled to a safe internal temperature of 165 degrees F. You don’t want to exceed this temperature for the best tender, juicy chicken. Check the temperature in the thickest portion of the thickest piece of chicken.
More Grilled Chicken Recipes You’ll Love
- Grilled Paprika Chicken
- Grilled Greek Chicken
- Margarita Chicken
- Grilled Hawaiian BBQ Chicken
- Chipotle Maple Grilled Chicken
Best Grilled Chicken Marinade
The best Grilled Chicken Marinade for tender, juicy, incredibly flavorful chicken with gorgeous color. Elevate your next summer BBQ with this easy chicken marinade recipe.
Servings: 8
Ingredients
- ⅔ cup olive oil
- ⅔ cup less sodium soy sauce
- 1 lemon, juiced
- 1 tablespoon brown sugar
- 2 tablespoons spicy brown mustard
- 1 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon liquid smoke flavoring
- 1 teaspoon chili garlic sauce, optional
- 2 to 3 pounds assorted chicken pieces
Instructions
- Place all the marinade ingredients in a small mixing bowl and whisk until well combined.
- Place the chicken into a gallon sized plastic storage bag and add the marinade (split the chicken between two bags, if needed). Seal the bag and turn it around a few times to distribute the marinade.
- Refrigerate for at least 1 hour or up to 8 hours.
Grilling Instructions
- Grill over MEDIUM-HIGH heat until seared then continue to cook over indirect heat until the internal temperature of the thickest portion of chicken reaches 165 degrees F and the juices run clear.
Notes
Chicken Grilling Tips
- Size and cut – Try to use chicken pieces that are close to the same size so they will cook at an even rate. Boneless breasts and be very thick and it’s best to pound them slightly thinner or even cut them down into smaller portions before grilling so they’ll cook more quickly without drying out.
- Indirect heat – You want to cook over a high enough heat to sear the chicken, but much of the grilling time should take place over indirect heat. On a charcoal grill, build your coals off to one side so the chicken can be moved over. A rotating grill grate makes it easy to spin the grill around as needed. For a gas grill, just turn off one or more of the burners directly underneath the chicken.
- Cover the grill – Covering your grill creates an oven-like environment which will speed along the cooking process. Plus, the drippings are more likely to catch fire in an uncovered grill.
- Temperature – Using a meat thermometer may be the most important tip of all. Chicken should be grilled to a safe internal temperature of 165 degrees F. You don’t want to exceed this temperature for the best tender, juicy chicken. Check the temperature in the thickest portion of the thickest piece of chicken.
Nutrition
Calories: 434 kcal · Carbohydrates: 5 g · Protein: 23 g · Fat: 36 g · Saturated Fat: 7 g · Cholesterol: 87 mg · Sodium: 865 mg · Potassium: 285 mg · Fiber: 1 g · Sugar: 2 g · Vitamin A: 162 IU · Vitamin C: 9 mg · Calcium: 22 mg · Iron: 2 mg
Nutrition information is automatically calculated using generic ingredients, and is an estimate not a guarantee. For more accurate results, please refer to the labels on your ingredients at home.
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More Summer BBQ Recipes
Adapted from Allrecipes
This recipe was super easy and yummy!! Even the leftovers were delicious! Thank you!!
The leftovers are THE best! Thanks, Rachael. 🙂
I made this tonight. Big, big hit with even my pickiest eaters – an instant favorite.
My son and I made grilled chicken sandwiches with this recipe and we really loved it. The chicken was so tender and juicy. We used our George Foreman grill and took only few minutes and we had supper ready. So easy and very delicious. A definite keeper.
I marinaded my chicken breasts for about 6 hours and then cooked them on the bbq and lightly basted them while cooking. Chicken was very tender and jiucy and the flavour was great. I didn’t find it hot or spicy, I guess you could add more of the chili garlic sauce if you wanted more kick to it. I followed all of the ingredients and just kept some of the sauce in a container for basting. Thanks for a great tasting marinade for the bbq!
I no longer own a grill. Would you recommend broiling?
I’d be more inclined to cook the chicken in a skillet on the stove. Just heat a little olive oil and cook it over medium heat. If you’re using boneless, skinless chicken breasts, be sure to slice them or pound them to about 1/2-inch thickness so they’ll cook more quickly without drying out.
This was really good – thx for sharing. I’ll be making this frequently.
You got it!