20 Easy Best Chicken Marinade Recipes
These easy best chicken marinade recipes will add delicious flavour and tenderness to your grilled and baked chicken dinners! We've got 20 grilled and baked easy chicken marinade recipes for every cuisine you can think of, from an Asian chicken marinade to an easy Mediterranean chicken, and so many more!
Whether you're looking for some easy chicken dinner recipes or you're looking to grill chicken more, easy chicken marinades will certainly help make weeknight cooking a breeze!
You can make most of these easy chicken marinade recipes ahead of time – one of my fave ever meal prep tricks is to freeze your chicken breasts in the marinade itself so all you have to do is pull them out of the freezer, then grill or bake. Your choice!
How to Make an Easy Chicken Marinade
Making an easy chicken marinade is as simple as whisking together a few simple ingredients for the chicken to sit in for a few hours. Marinating chicken allows the meat to tenderize and to soak up the flavours of the marinade. A basic 4 ingredient chicken marinade usually includes:
- oil
- vinegar
- soy sauce, dijon mustard or some other emulsifier
- sweetener
You can use that simple marinade template alone, or add additional herbs and spices to create more depth of flavour. Let your creativity shine and your taste buds lead the way.
Here are some of our best chicken marinade recipes linked below to help you get started!
The Perfect Baked Chicken Breast
If you're looking for more chicken marinades and spice rub ideas, you'll definitely want to check out my formula for the BEST baked chicken breast. I've included three easy spice rubs and three easy marinades to get you started with baking chicken in the oven.
It can be a tricky task – you don't want your chicken to dry out, but you also don't want to undercook it. Check out the post linked above for my tips to getting your chicken breasts perfect every time!
More Healthy Meal Ideas
If you're looking for more delicious meal inspiration, look no further than some of these helpful resources below!
- 52 Healthy, Easy Dinner Ideas for Busy Weeknights
- Meal Prep for Weight Loss
- Eating Healthy on a Budget + 10 Cheap Dinner Ideas
Grilled Chicken Breast Marinade Recipes
The most obvious choice for cooking chicken marinades are on the grill! You get that delicious smokey taste and the flavours of whatever marinade you're using really shine. Just be sure to let your chicken marinate for at least 20 minutes if you're going to be grilling it afterward. You can also slice your chicken breasts in half lengthwise to get more of the marinade flavour shining through!
The Best Chicken Marinade Recipe, via Mom on Timeout
Favorite Everyday Chicken Marinade, via A Beautiful Plate
The Best Greek Chicken Marinade, via Foodie Crush
Honey Mustard Chicken Marinade, from Rachel Cooks
Isabel's Island Chicken Marinade, via Healthy Seasonal Recipes
Spicy Beer Chicken Marinade, via Family Food on the Table
Asian Chicken Marinade Recipes
Asian chicken marinades are probably the most popular form of marinade out there! You'll notice tuna stacks linked below as one of the marinades but you should know that the sauce the tuna is marinated in also tastes delicious with chicken and can totally be used as a chicken marinade. Soy sauce absorbs faster as a flavour too so these marinades need far less marinating time – usually only 5-10 minutes!
Korean Chicken Marinade, via Skinnytaste
Ahi Tuna Sushi Stacks with Sesame-Soy Marinade, via The Girl on Bloor
Asian Ginger Chicken Marinade, via Oh Sweet Basil
Savory Low Carb Chicken Marinade, via Kalyn's Kitchen
Roasted Miso Chicken, via Real Housemoms
Japanese Ponzu Sauce, via A Family Feast
Baked Chicken Marinade Recipes
Baked chicken is probably most people's go-to since not everyone has a BBQ. These chicken marinades linked below are super creative and flavourful ways to get the most out of baked chicken without going overboard. Stronger flavour profiles also do better in the oven so keep on the look out for delicious curry-spiced chicken and shawarma in this list!
Chicken Shawarma Meal Prep Bowls, via The Girl on Bloor
Baked Cuban Mojo Chicken, via Spend with Pennies
Curry Yogurt Chicken Marinade, via Sweet Peas and Saffron
Spanish Chicken in Pepitoria Sauce, via A Family Feast
Baked Hasselback Greek Chicken with lemon-oregano marinade, via The Girl on Bloor
Instant Pot Chipotle Lime Chicken Breasts, via Sweet Peas and Saffron
Coconut Mango Chicken Meal Prep Bowls, via The Girl on Bloor
Spanish Chicken Marbella, via She Wears Many Hats
And there you have it, my fave ever chicken breast marinades! There are so many more out there (just see this baked chicken breast compilation), but the above recipes are some of my fave ways to get creative.
If you'd like some more help with meal planning and getting dinner on the table faster, then you'll love my free 5-day meal prep challenge! It's basically a free course that will teach you how to meal prep and cook healthy meals at home with some PDF bonus materials. Over the course of the challenge, I'll send you a free meal planner and shopping list templates so that you stay on the right track with meal prep (plus more goodies of course!)
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