Juicy, flavorful grilled chicken is easy with this lemon chicken marinade recipe. Using just a few pantry staples, it packs lemon and garlic flavor into every bite—and it works in as little as 30 minutes. Perfect for beginner grillers who want a foolproof dinner with minimal fuss.
Jump To (scroll for more)
Featured Comment by Amanda:
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
"I made this tonight per instructions (I didn't get a chance to try the brining part) and I have to give the author some SERIOUS compliments! This is hands down the best chicken marinade I've ever tasted or used..."
👍Why This Lemon Chicken Marinade Works
- Great lemon garlic flavor in just 30 minutes
- Works for both grilling or baking
- The acid helps tenderize the chicken without overdoing it
- Simple ingredients that deliver big flavor
- Naturally low-calorie, low-fat, and low-carb
🍋 What you will need
- Olive oil—the base that carries flavor
- Soy sauce—for depth and rich flavor
- Lemon juice—for flavor and to tenderize
- Garlic (minced or crushed)—a key flavor
- Brown sugar—for sweetness and browning
- Salt—only if not brining
- Optional—Dijon mustard, red pepper flakes, oregano, thyme, Italian seasoning, hot sauce, etc.
👍Pro Tip—Be sure to customize it to your taste.
🤔Pro Tip—Marinating Time: This marinade works in just 30 minutes, but even 20 minutes will give good flavor.
If you have extra time, let it soak for up to 4 hours to intensify the flavor.
⬇Don't miss more pro tips and options below the recipe card!⬇
Save this recipe!
Enter your email address and we'll send the link straight to your inbox!
📖The Recipe Card with Step-by-Step Instructions
Easy Lemon Chicken Marinade for Grilling
Ingredients
- 2 skinless boneless chicken breasts - well trimmed
Marinade
- 4 tablespoons soy sauce - low sodium preferred
- 2 tablespoons brown sugar
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- 2 cloves garlic crushed or minced
- ½ teaspoon salt - skip if you brine
Step-by-Step Instructions
- Mix the marinade in a 1-gallon ziplock bag or a bowl, combining soy sauce, brown sugar, olive oil, crushed garlic, and lemon juice. Mix well. Add salt if you didn't brine.
Preparing to chicken to brine
- Trim chicken breasts of any excess fat and thin to ¾ inch thick with a meat mallet or the bottom of a heavy pan—for safety, protect yourself with plastic wrap or a large ziplock bag.
- Add chicken to the marinade, remove extra air, and seal. Refrigerate for 30 minutes to 4 hours, but even as little as 20 minutes can add a lot of flavor. Remove breasts from the marinade; do not rinse off the marinade.
Cooking—brief grilling and baking instructions
- Grill at 450°F surface temperature with the lid closed. Flip every 5 minutes until the internal temperature reaches 165°—about 20 minutes most of the time, but check the temperature a few times early.
- OR bake in a 425°F preheated oven. Place the chicken in a shallow baking dish and bake until it reaches an internal temperature of 165°F—about 20 to 25 minutes.
- Always rest for 5 minutes off the heat before serving.
Recipe Notes
Pro Tips
- This is a marinade recipe, not a chicken recipe. The cooking instructions are brief. Refer to the recipe post for more comprehensive reference articles if you are unsure.
- Try to use chicken breasts of about the same size and thickness. Even them out some with a meat mallet if needed. Maximum thickness of ¾ of an inch.
- Both grill time and oven time can vary depending on the thickness of the chicken and the exact cooking temperature. So, check the internal temperature a bit earlier than you think.
- An internal temperature of 165 ° in the thickest part of the chicken is the minimum safe temperature.
- Once used, the marinade should be discarded or boiled before reuse. If you want to brush some on during cooking, reserve a small amount or make more as needed.
- Nutrition is calculated without brine, assuming 10% of the marinade is absorbed, and a 10-oz skinless, boneless chicken breast is used.
Your Own Private Notes
To adjust the recipe size:
You can adjust the number of servings above; however, only the amount in the ingredient list is adjusted, not the instructions.
Nutrition Estimate (may vary)
👨🍳Pro tips to cook lemon chicken right
Cooking time is always dependent on the exact temperature and on the thickness and size of the chicken.
Leaving the chicken in the marinade for more than 4 hours can break down the texture and make the chicken mushy.
Replace the brown sugar with honey for a special flavor.
Fresh lemon juice does bring more flavor, and you can then add some zest. A medium lemon typically yields about 2 to 3 tablespoons of juice.
Use skinless, boneless chicken breasts of approximately the same size and thickness. If thicker than ¾ inches, cover with plastic wrap and use a meat mallet or the bottom of a heavy pan to even the thickness.
Chicken thighs may be used, but they should be skinless; however, both bone-in and boneless options will work. While safe at 165°F, 180°F is a better final internal temperature for tenderness.
While you can marinate skin-on chicken, very little of the marinade will penetrate the skin to flavor the meat. I suggest marinades for skinless chicken.
🔥How to grill marinated chicken
- Clean and oil the grill grates. Preheat the grill to 450° surface temperature.
- Grill and flip every 5 minutes until the internal temperature reaches 165°—about 20 minutes. Rest for 5 minutes before serving.
- If you have questions about controlling your grill temperature, please check my Guide to Controlling Grill Temperature.
- For a more detailed discussion, please see How to Grill Chicken Breast on a Gas Grill.
How to Grill Chicken Breasts on a Gas Grill
Are you tired of dry, rubbery grilled chicken breasts? Learn to grill juicy and flavorful chicken breasts with this never-fail recipe, including pro tips on preparation, grilling temperature, timing, and seasoning.
♨️How to oven-bake lemon chicken breasts
- Preheat the oven to 400° convection or 425° conventional.
- Place them in a shallow baking dish and bake until they reach an internal temperature of 165°F, about 25 minutes. Rest for 5 minutes before serving.
- More details at How to Bake Chicken Breasts in a Convection Oven.
How to Bake Chicken Breasts
The best way to bake chicken breasts. Your dinner will be ready in approximately 30 minutes and will be consistently healthy, moist, and tender. Quick and easy, with just a few secrets that any home cook can master.
❓FAQs
Use two cups of water and one tablespoon of table salt for one to two hours. If you brine, rinse after brining. And skip the salt in the marinade.
Marinades combine oil, acid, herbs, and spices to tenderize and boost flavors. In my house, you also must add garlic.
For safety, once used, marinades should be considered contaminated and discarded or boiled before reused. If you want to brush the marinade on the meat during cooking, reserve a small amount ahead of time, or make a bit extra if necessary.
Try it with shrimp, pork chops, or tenderloin.
🍽️Serving and leftovers
Serve these flavorful lemon garlic chicken breasts as the main course or in a sandwich or wrap. Sliced, it is also wonderful on a salad or in a rice bowl.
For some matching side dish recipes, try Stovetop French Fries, which can be made with either fresh or frozen fries, Simple Spinach Salad with bacon, or Grilled Mixed Vegetables.
Leftovers
Store leftovers refrigerated for 3-4 days or frozen for 3 months. Serve reheated, covered, in the oven, or sliced for use on salads or in wraps.
🐓More easy chicken recipes
Check out some other flavorful chicken recipes, such as Garlic Lemon Butter Marinaded Grilled Chicken Breast, Grilled Buttermilk Chicken, Grilled Honey Garlic Chicken, or Italian Grilled Chicken Breasts.
Originally published April 17, 2010. Updated with expanded options, refreshed photos, and a table of contents to help navigation.
Dave says
At the end you said you might try to thicken what juice is left and gave ingredients. What are you using that for? Placing in the Instapot to cook the chicken for the 8 minutes or for a gravy for the chicken?
Dan Mikesell AKA DrDan says
Hi Dave,
Welcome to the blog.
Just a fast note to other readers. Dave is referring to a previous comment and not the recipe or the post above.
Dan
Mr Stewart says
I am going to try using this recipe using a instapot (electric pressure cooker) & a 10lb bag of leg quarters after I removed the skin and de-bone it all. I am making 3 cups of rice in the pot first and setting it aside. Then after letting the chicken marinade in the refrigerator for at least and hour, maybe two, I will put it all in to the pot and cook it 8 minutes on high. While doing all of that I will whip up some sriracha green beans in the skillet. I might try to thicken what juice is left in the pot after cooking with a tablespoon or two of corn starch and equal parts cold water slowly stirred in to the juices and brought to a boil to thicken.
DrDan says
Welcome to the blog.
Sounds like a well thought out plan that should work great. I don't use my instapot much. My mother had a few "accidents" with her pressure cooker and I'm not in a hurry.
Thanks for the note.
Dan
Robert says
I broke down a whole chicken last night, 2 wings, 2 drumsticks, two thighs, then I left both breasts on the bone. I doubled the recipe, brined the whole thing for 30 minutes, then marinade for 30. I had to grill everything for 10 -15 min longer, but my god did this turn out amazing. I fed a family of 5 ( 3 kids - 8,6,3) and we ran out of chicken. EVERYONE at the table asked to have more. This recipe was a keeper and goes into the family recipe book. Luckily my wife keeps all of the ingredients in the house (we had to make our own brown sugar, but that wasn't that hard) Truly AMAZING.
scott l says
Awesome looking marinade recipe...excited to try it, thought I was going to be doing so tonight, but wifey just informed of a change in plans...lol.
Steve says
Dr. Dan, are you closing the lid when grilling the chicken?
DrDan says
Closed. General rule: Less than 1/2 inch (fish) is open. 1/2-1 inch can be open but it is much harder control and over 1 inch is always closed. So always assume closed unless otherwise stated. It is open in the photos just to get the photos.
Elizabeth says
Thank you, Dr. Dan...this sounds amazing! If I'm grilling 4 Breasts, was wondering if I should double all of the ingredients, both for Brine and Marinade?
DrDan says
The brine is fine for 4 breasts. The marinade will need to increase by 50-100%
Dan
Megan says
Amazing marinade! Had chicken breast in fridge and needed something to do with them and stumbled across this. Quick and easy. I did this before going to work at 9am, and let it sit all day and didn't cook it till about 8pm. The longer the better. Since I had 5 breasts I upped the number in the recipe but didn't use any salt since the soy sauce is salty enough and it came out amazing! Definitely going to use again.
DrDan says
Hi Megan,
This is one of those recipes I forget about for a year then use it over and over again. Then I forget about it.
Thanks for the note.
Dan