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    🏠Home » Recipes » Chicken Recipes

    Easy Chicken Marinade

    Jul 15, 2021 · Modified: Oct 28, 2022 by Dan Mikesell AKA DrDan · 42 Comments

    Recipe Table of Contents    
    4.09 from 116 votes

    Quick and easy marinaded chicken breasts are great on the grill or in the oven. Bursting with outstanding flavor, they will make a great salad topping, served in a sandwich or just on the plate.

    Cut marinaded chicken breast in a green salad.

    Jump To:
    • 👨‍🍳How to make this recipe
    • 🐓Cooking the marinaded chicken
    • ❓FAQs
    • 📖Other Marinades
    • 🖼️Step-by-Step Photo Instructions
    • 📝Recipe

    Blue ribbon divider used for visual effect

    Introduction

    We all know that skinless boneless chicken breast can be tasteless. Made with lemon juice, olive oil, soy sauce, and a few other ingredients, this marinade delivers a wonderful taste that will take your chicken to the next level.

    This could easily be a weeknight dinner recipe since 20-30 in the marinade works well—just enough time to heat, clean, and oil the grill.

    👨‍🍳How to make this recipe

    1. In a 1-gallon zip lock bag, combine soy sauce, brown sugar, olive oil, crushed garlic, and lemon juice. Add salt if you didn't brine.
    2. Add trimmed skinless boneless chicken breasts to the bag, remove extra air, and seal.
    3. Refrigerate for 30-120 minutes, but as little as 20 minutes gives a lot of taste.
    4. Remove and cook as desired. Leave the marinade on the chicken for cooking—do not rinse or pat off.

    🐓Cooking the marinaded chicken

    The first tip is to try to cook chicken breasts of about the same size and thickness. If one is just thicker, you can use a meat mallet or the bottom of a heavy pan to even them out. The maximum thickness you want is ¾ of an inch.

    I prefer fresh, but frozen can be fine but it must be completely thawed. A few will come pre-brined, which is fine, but please do not brine or salt again.

    🧂Optional Brine

    A brine is always a good thing, and if you have time, you will be glad you did. A recommended quick brine of 2 cups of water and 1 tablespoon salt for 30 minutes to 2 hours, but as little as 20 minutes, will have some effect.

    I don’t like raw chicken at room temperature, so I always refrigerate it.

    While we no longer recommend rinsing chicken, you should always rinse carefully after brining. Also, don’t add any more salt after a brine is used.

    🔥How to grill marinated chicken breasts

    The most important part of this recipe is not to rush the cooking. I used a grill surface temperature of 450°, a tad above medium on most grills.  The total grill time of about 20-25 minutes but could be a bit longer depending on the thickness of the chicken and the exact grill temperature.

    For a more detailed discussion, please see How to Grill Chicken Breast on a Gas Grill.

    If you have questions about controlling your grill temperature, please check my A Beginners Guide to Grill Temperature on a Gas Grill.

    ♨️How to oven baking

    No grill, no problem. Preheat the oven to 400° convection or 425° conventional. Place them in a shallow baking dish. That is all there is to it.

    Cooking time is dependent on the thickness and size of the chicken. With an average size (about 10 oz) chicken breast and a 400° oven, about 25-30 minutes is a good estimate. The only real answer is to cook until 165° internal temperature—so check a little early.

    More details at How to Bake Chicken Breasts in a Convection Oven.

    ❓FAQs

    How do marinades work?

    Marinades are generally made up of some oil, an acid, and a variety of spices. In my house, you also must add garlic. Then, it is used to soak various meats to transfer the flavors—a wonderful and easy enhancement to many types of meat.

    Why should marinades not be reused?

    For safety, once used, marinades should be considered contaminated and discarded. If you want the marinade to brush the meat during cooking, reserve a small amount ahead if there is enough, or make a bit extra

    📖Other Marinades

    Garlic Lemon Marinaded Grilled Skinless Boneless Chicken Breast

    Buttermilk Grilled Skinless Boneless Chicken Breast

    Garlic Marinated Grilled Flank Steak

    The Best Steak Marinade

    This recipe is listed in these categories. See them for more similar recipes.

    Chicken Breast Recipes, Chicken Recipes, Grill Recipes
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    🖼️Step-by-Step Photo Instructions

    trimmed chicken breasts on a red board.

    Trim chicken breasts of any excess fat.

    adding chicken to the brine.

    Optional brine: If you have time, brine is always a good thing for skinless boneless chicken breasts. I suggest a brine of 2 cups water and 1 tablespoon table salt for 20-120 minutes. If you brine, remove the salt from the recipe and rinse the chicken under running water when removed from the brine.

    marinade ingredients for chicken.

    In a 1-gallon zip lock bag, combine soy sauce, brown sugar, olive oil, crushed garlic, and lemon juice. Add salt if you didn't brine. Add chicken to the bag, remove extra air, and seal. Refrigerate for 30-120 minutes, but as little as 20 minutes gives a lot of taste.

    clean and oil grill crates.

    Clean and oil grill grates and preheat to a surface temperature of about 450°, which is about medium-high on most grills. I recommend a surface thermometer to be able to control your grill well.

    marinaded chicken on a gas grill.

    Remove breasts from marinade and place over direct heat. Do not rinse off the marinade.

    two marinaded grilled chicken on a whit plate.

    Flip about every 5 minutes. Remove from the grill at an internal temperature of 165°—about 25 minutes of total grill time. Allow to rest for about 5 minutes before serving.

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    📝Recipe

    Quick Marinade For Grilled Chicken Breast from 101 Cooking for Two

    Easy Chicken Marinade

    From Dan Mikesell AKA DrDan
    Quick and easy marinaded chicken breasts are great on the grill or in the oven. Bursting with outstanding flavor, they will make a great salad topping, served in a sandwich or just on the plate.
    Tap to leave a Rating
    4.09 from 116 votes
    Print Email CollectionCollected
    Prep Time: 10 minutes
    Cook Time: 20 minutes
    Total Time: 30 minutes
    Servings #/Adjust if desired 2 servings

    Ingredients

    US Customary - Convert to Metric
    • 2 skinless boneless chicken breasts - well trimmed

    Marinade

    • ¼ cup soy sauce - low sodium preferred
    • 2 tablespoons brown sugar
    • 2 tablespoons olive oil
    • 2 tablespoons lemon juice
    • 2 cloves garlic crushed
    • ½ teaspoon salt

    Optional Brine

    • 2 cups water
    • 1 tablespoons salt
    Prevent your screen from going dark

    Instructions

    • Trim chicken breasts of any excess fat.
      trimmed chicken breasts on a red board
    • Optional brine: If you have time, brine is always a good thing for skinless boneless chicken breasts. I suggest a brine of 2 cups water and 1 tablespoon table salt for 20-120 minutes. If you brine, remove the salt from the recipe, and rinse the chicken under running water when removed from the brine.
      adding chicken to the brine
    • In a 1-gallon zip lock bag, combine soy sauce, brown sugar, olive oil, crushed garlic, and lemon juice. Add salt if you didn't brine. Add chicken to the bag, remove extra air, and seal. Refrigerate for 30-120 minutes, but as little as 20 minutes gives a lot of taste.
      marinade ingredients for chicken.
    • Clean and oil grill grates and preheat to a surface temperature of 450°, which is about medium-high on most grills. I recommend a surface thermometer to be able to control your grill well.
      clean and oil grill crates
    • Remove breasts from marinade and place over direct heat. Do not rinse off marinade.
      marinaded chicken on a gas grill.
    • Flip about every 5 minutes. Remove from the grill at an internal temperature of 165°. About 25 minutes total grill time. Allow to rest for about 5 minutes before serving.
      two marinaded grilled chicken on a whit plate.
    See the step-by-step photos in the post. Some recipes have an option to display the photos here with a switch above these instructions but the photos DO NOT print.

    Your Own Private Notes

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    Recipe Notes

    Pro Tips

    1. Like most chicken recipes, cooking temperature and final temperature are critical.
    2. 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.
    3. Brining is optional but will give more moist results. As little as 20 minutes will give good results, but 30-120 minutes refrigerated is suggested. Longer can start to affect the texture.
    4. Once used, the marinade should be discarded. If you want to brush some on during cooking, reserve a small amount or make more.
    5. Both the grill time and oven time can vary some by the thickness of the chicken and the exact cooking temperature. So check the internal temperature a bit earlier than you think.
    6. An internal temperature in the thickest part of the chicken of 165° is the minimum safe temperature.
    7. Nutrition is calculated without brine and with 10% of marinade absorbed.

    Optional Oven Baking

    1. Preheat the oven to 400° convection or 425° conventional. Place them in a shallow baking dish.
    2. Baking time will be about 25-30 minutes.

    To adjust the recipe size:

    You may adjust the number of servings in this recipe card under servings. This does the math for the ingredients for you. BUT it does NOT adjust the text of the instructions. So you need to do that yourself.

    Nutrition Estimate

    Nutrition Facts
    Easy Chicken Marinade
    Amount Per Serving
    Calories 143.4 Calories from Fat 35
    % Daily Value*
    Fat 3.9g6%
    Saturated Fat 0.8g4%
    Trans Fat 0.1g
    Polyunsaturated Fat 0.6g
    Monounsaturated Fat 1.6g
    Cholesterol 72.3mg24%
    Sodium 295.8mg12%
    Potassium 426.5mg12%
    Carbohydrates 1.3g0%
    Fiber 0.1g0%
    Sugar 1.1g1%
    Protein 24.2g48%
    Vitamin A 34IU1%
    Vitamin C 1.8mg2%
    Calcium 7.1mg1%
    Iron 0.5mg3%
    * Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.
    Serving size is my estimate of a normal size unless stated otherwise. The number of servings per recipe is stated above. This is home cooking, and there are many variables. All nutritional information are estimates and may vary from your actual results. To taste ingredients such as salt will be my estimate of the average used.
    Course : Main Course
    Cuisine : American

    © 101 Cooking for Two, LLC. All content and photographs are copyright protected by us or our vendors. While we appreciate your sharing our recipes, please realize copying, pasting, or duplicating full recipes to any social media, website, or electronic/printed media is strictly prohibited and a violation of our copyrights.

    Originally published April 17, 2010. Updated with expanded options, refreshed photos, and a table of contents to help navigation.

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    More Chicken Recipes

    • Grilled Whole Chicken without Spatchcocking
    • Super Moist Grilled Reversed Seared Chicken Breast with Marinade
    • Extra Crispy Oven Baked Chicken Wings
    • Baked Split Chicken Breasts (Bone-in)

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    1. Dave

      July 19, 2021 at 11:35 am

      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?

      Reply
      • Dan Mikesell AKA DrDan

        July 19, 2021 at 11:53 am

        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

    2. Mr Stewart

      January 28, 2019 at 8:28 pm

      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.

      Reply
      • DrDan

        January 28, 2019 at 11:30 pm

        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

    3. Robert

      August 13, 2018 at 8:22 am

      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.

      Reply
    4. scott l

      July 18, 2018 at 4:04 pm

      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.

      Reply
    5. Steve

      June 20, 2018 at 8:12 am

      Dr. Dan, are you closing the lid when grilling the chicken?

      Reply
      • DrDan

        June 20, 2018 at 8:23 am

        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.

    6. Elizabeth

      June 12, 2018 at 4:59 pm

      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?

      Reply
      • DrDan

        June 12, 2018 at 5:13 pm

        The brine is fine for 4 breasts. The marinade will need to increase by 50-100%
        Dan

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