This is the Best Grilled Chicken Marinade for tender, juicy chicken with bold flavor and beautiful color. It’s an easy way to level up your next BBQ or weeknight cookout.
This is hands down, no contest, my favorite grilled chicken marinade recipe. In addition to amazing savory 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 easy 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 the flavorful grilled chicken cold from the fridge are SO good!
Table of contents
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.
- Reduced-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.
- Extra virgin olive oil: Helps prevent the chicken from sticking to the grill and helps the marinade ingredients coat and stick to the chicken more effectively.
- Lemon: To tenderize the chicken and add bright flavor.
- 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.
- Liquid Smoke: By far the best way to add big smoky flavor to marinades. A little Liquid Smoke goes a long way so don’t be tempted to add more than called for in the recipe.
- Brown sugar: Adds a subtle sweetness and helps the chicken caramelize on the grill, creating beautiful color and extra flavor.
- 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.
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 chicken 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.
Optimal marinating time: I recommend marinating chicken for at least an hour and no more than 8 hours. Acidic ingredients, like the lemon juice, 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.
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.
Make-Ahead Tips
- 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.
More Grilled Chicken Recipes You’ll Love
- Grilled Chicken Thighs
- Grilled Paprika Chicken
- Grilled Greek Chicken
- Margarita Chicken
- Grilled Hawaiian BBQ Chicken
- Chipotle Maple Grilled Chicken
- Check out my entire collection of Grilling and BBQ recipes for more ideas!
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Best Grilled Chicken Marinade
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
Nutrition
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.
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!