Slightly sweet, slightly smoky, super juicy and crazy delicious, this Ultimate Chicken Marinade is going to become your go-to marinade for grilling chicken.
(Originally posted June 6, 2018)
We love grilling chicken so I’m always searching for new marinade recipes and/or new ways to grill it.
This Ultimate Chicken Marinade has skyrocketed to the top of our “favorite marinades” list.
When I was growing up there were cooking segments during the noon news on some of our local news stations. After an episode aired, the recipes from all the cooking segments would be printed up on a recipe card and available at Dans Foods, a local grocery store.
I’ve explained before my mom’s talent/hobby/addiction/obsession with collecting recipes. Needless to say, over the years she ended up with quite the collection of recipe cards from these cooking segments. I bet she has 100+ of those recipe cards.
Knowing how I’m just a tiny bit like her when it comes to recipes, she brought her collection up to their cabin one weekend last summer for me to look through. I was seriously in heaven and it brought back memories of my childhood. I could remember watching so many of those recipes being made on air.
This Ultimate Chicken Marinade happens to be from one of those cooking segments that aired with Fred Wix the Gabby Gourmet. The date on the recipe card is October 5, 1998 . . . it’s an oldie, but definitely a goodie!
♡This Ultimate Chicken Marinade Recipe is made with olive oil, soy sauce, teriyaki sauce, freshly squeezed lime juice, brown sugar, garlic powder, basil, lemon pepper, liquid smoke and Worcestershire sauce.
There is a whole variety of seasonings in this marinade that might seem a bit strange, but it works, I promise.
Seriously it’s some of the best grilled chicken I’ve ever had.
TIPS FOR THE ULTIMATE CHICKEN MARINADE:
- Make sure you plan ahead because the longer this chicken marinates, the better it is. It needs at least three hours, but longer is even better. I always marinate mine overnight.
- If the chicken breasts I’m using are super thick, I like to lay them between two sheets of wax paper and flatten them out just slightly. I use my rolling pin and either roll back and forth a few times on each chicken breast, using lots of pressure, or I will just gently pound each one a few times with the rolling pin. I try and make sure all mine are the same thickness so they all cook the same amount of time.
- This chicken is delicious cold! We don’t heat up the leftovers, we just slice it and eat it cold. It’s great thrown in salads or use it to make a sandwich or a burrito bowl.
- Because this marinade is so good, I like to take any extra marinade that’s left after I’ve basted the chicken and pour it into a pan. I bring it to a boil and let it boil for about 5 minutes and then we either drizzle more over the grilled chicken or use it as a dipping sauce.
- This marinade would also be delicious for marinating steak or pork.
Ultimate Chicken Marinade
- Total Time: 23 minutes
- Yield: 6 to 8 servings 1x
Ingredients
Marinade:
- 6 tablespoons olive oil
- 3 1/2 tablespoons soy sauce
- 3 tablespoons teriyaki sauce
- 3 tablespoons lime juice
- 2 1/2 tablespoons brown sugar
- 1 1/2 tablespoons garlic powder
- 1 tablespoon dried basil
- 2 teaspoons lemon pepper
- 1 teaspoon liquid smoke
- 1 1/2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
- 2 1/2 to 3 pounds boneless skinless chicken breasts
Instructions
- In a medium bowl, combine all the marinade ingredients and whisk until combined. Place the chicken breasts in a large Ziploc bag and pour marinade over the chicken. Seal bag and refrigerate for at least 3 hours or up to overnight (definitely the longer the better.)
- Grill chicken breasts over medium heat for 8 to 10 minutes per side or until done, basting with extra marinade several times while chicken is grilling.
- Remove from grill and place chicken on large plate or platter. Cover with foil and let chicken rest for 5 minutes.
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 18 minutes
- Category: Main Course
LEAVE A COMMENT BELOW IF YOU GIVE THIS A TRY! I’D LOVE TO HEAR WHAT YOU THINK!
Hi! I’m Jodi, a mom of five boys and lover of chocolate, sweets and everything in-between. Here you’ll find simple, delicious recipes that are all tried and true.
Jodi, that looks so amazing. Your pictures are beautiful! I am going to try that next time we grill up some chicken, so easy and looks so tasty. But I clicked over to that enchilada recipe of your moms and holy cow that is good! I made it tonight for dinner and we all loved it so much. The only change I did was use ground turkey, which I generally cook with instead of ground beef, and used about 2/3 of the can of enchilada sauce since it was our first time eating enchiladas. I found a can of low salt and low fat creamy tomato soup and used that with the mushroom one and enchilada sauce all mixed up–so good. I can’t believe I haven’t ever tried an enchilada. My whole family loved this. Can’t wait to make the marinade!
Teresa, I can’t believe you’ve never had enchiladas. . . that is unheard of (lol!). I’m so happy you tried them and loved them. I will have to try them wth ground turkey because I always have that too in my freezer. That recipe is one my mom has been making since I was a teenager. My whole family loves them and I got my in-laws hooked on them too. So good to hear from you again. You will love this marinade by the way!
Could I use chicken wigs?
This was delicious! We had it for our Sunday dinner yesterday and I am glad I did extra for a few lunches this week! Thanks for putting it on the weekly meal planner to bring to my attention!
Hi Lachelle, I’m so happy to hear you loved this. I agree, it’s so delicious. Thanks so much for letting me know and taking the time to leave a comment. Take care.
Holy moly!!! This is such a good marinade. I absolutely love chicken but I always have such a hard time getting it to where it isn’t dry….until now!! Woohoo!!! This was such a good marinade and my chicken was so tender and juicy. I only had time to marinade for 3 hours, but I’ll try longer next time and I am sure it will even be more tender and juicy.
★★★★★
Thanks my friend! So happy you loved this!
Just used your marinade for some chicken thighs (grilled) and it was delicious! Will definitely be using again!
★★★★★
Hi, company coming tomorrow and I’m doing something with chicken. Just found your marinade. Sounds perfect. I do question the grill time “8-10 minutes per side”. Your hints indicated that you’ve somewhat pounded these breast . So aren’t they pretty thin now?
Karen, I do pound the chicken breasts slightly, but only if they’re really thick. If you have a meat thermometer, you can certainly use that, but 8 to 10 minutes per side is always plenty of time for us. You don’t want to overcook your chicken or it will be dry.
I have made your Coconut Bundt cake many times. It is so delicious and always a hit. But now I want to make a small Bundt cake. I’m thinking I’ll just cut the recipe in half. I’m just very unsure how long to bake it. The regular Bundt is about 70 minutes. Help please.
Hi Karen, even a small bundt cake is going to need a fair amount of time to bake. I would start with about 30 – 35 minutes and then check it every 5 minutes until it’s done.
THIS IS AN ABSOLUTELY AMAZING MARINADE!! WE ACTUALLY DOUBLED THE INGREDIENTS FOR A WHOLE ( SMALL CHICKEN) AND PUT IT ON THE PELLET SMOKER!! HOLY WOW!! THE ONLY INGREDIENT I ADDED WAS 1 TABLESPOON OF SMOKED PAPRIKA-
DONT HAVE SOCIAL MEDIA OF ANY KIND- OR I WOULD BE BLASTING THESE RECIPES EVERYWHERE!!!
★★★★★
Ah thank you so much! I’m so happy you love this marinade. LOVE the idea of adding smoked paprika! Thanks for taking the time to leave a comment!