The Best Chicken Breast Marinade Recipe

The best way to ensure that your grilled or baked chicken breasts turn out tender and juicy is to let them soak in a marinade before cooking them. However not all marinades are created equal.

The secret to marinade is in how a specific combination of ingredients can tenderize the meat and provide great flavor to the chicken. Throughout the years I have used various marinades, including both store-bought and homemade versions.

But hands down this is the absolute best marinade that I have ever used. The chicken turns out perfectly moist on the inside and the flavor is top notch.

Best of all, with just a few simple ingredients you can make the marinade in minutes. Then all that is left to do is to let the chicken breast soak in the liquid.

As the liquid penetrates the meat it will begin to break down the proteins. This is what will make the chicken tender and also why it will remain juicy as it cooks.

So what exactly is the secret to the best chicken marinade? It must have the perfect balance of acidic, sweet, and savory ingredients to work properly.

Chicken Breast Marinade Ingredients

*Specific measurements and complete recipe instructions are located in a printable recipe card at the bottom of this article. However, be sure to continue to read the tips and tricks to making this recipe below.

Extra Virgin Olive Oil

The oil is the base for the marinade and helps to distribute flavors evenly. It also helps to keep the chicken moist and prevents it from drying out during cooking.

Balsamic Vinegar

Adds acidity, which helps to tenderize the chicken by breaking down the proteins. It also imparts a slightly sweet and tangy flavor to the chicken itself.

Lemon Juice

Provides another level of acidity to help tenderize the chicken. However it also adds a fresh, bright flavor to the chicken breast marinade.

Brown Sugar

A little bit of sweetness helps to balance the acidity of the vinegar and lemon juice. It also aids in caramelization, giving the chicken a nice brown crust when cooked.

Soy Sauce

Adds saltiness and a slight umami flavor. Not only does it enhance the overall taste, it also helps to tenderize the meat.

Worcestershire Sauce

This is the surprise ingredient. However it is one of my favorite ingredients to add to a marinade. Its blend of tangy, savory, and slightly sweet flavors adds depth and richness to the liquid.

Minced Garlic Cloves

Adds a pungent warm flavor that compliments the other ingredients. Although if you aren’t a fan of fresh garlic you can use garlic powder or simply leave it out all together.

Salt & Fresh Ground Pepper

No marinade would be complete without a little salt and pepper. Salt helps to penetrate and season the chicken, while black pepper adds a warm flavor.

As a word of caution, I don’t recommending adding more salt and pepper than what is listed in the recipe. Many of the other ingredients also have salty and warm flavors as well.

These ingredients listed above work together to create a well-balanced marinade that tenderizes, flavors, and moistens the chicken breast, resulting in a delicious and juicy meat. Instead, season with additional salt and pepper once you serve the chicken breasts if desired.

How Long To Marinate Chicken Breasts

Now that you have the chicken breast marinade it is time to let the chicken soak. I prefer to use a large shallow container or a large resealable plastic bag.

Although you could also use any type of food safe container. The key here is to allow the meat to be entirely coated in the marinade.

Then comes the question of how long chicken breasts should marinate. The ideal answer is for 4 hours. Anything longer and the meat will break down too much and turn somewhat mushy.

However, I also realize that sometimes making chicken for dinner is sometimes a last minute decision and you don’t have 4 hours to let them marinate. Even allowing them to soak for 30 minutes will help the meat become more tender than if you didn’t marinate them at all.

Not to mention that the breasts will still absorb some of that delicious flavor. So the answer to how long to marinate chicken breasts is 30 minutes – 4 hours (but preferably 4 hours).

Is It Better To Grill or Bake Chicken?

So the question now arises on whether it is better to grill or bake the chicken breasts. During the summer months, I love to grill out everything that I can. I even grill corn on the cob! (See my recipe: The Easiest and Best Way To Cook Sweet Corn).

In my opinion, there is no need to heat up the kitchen on a hot day if you don’t have to. That is especially true now that the temperatures are consistently staying in the mid-90’s.

Not to mention that you can easily keep an eye on the chicken as it cooks. However, in the middle of winter grilling isn’t always an option for many of us due to adverse weather conditions.

Therefore the second best option is to bake the chicken. And as much as you want to put the chicken breasts that have been soaking in the marinade in your air fryer, use caution when doing so.

Depending on the size of the chicken and the size of your air fryer, the chicken may not cook properly. Instead, use my recipe specifically designed for air frying chicken: Air Fryer Chicken Breast Recipe.

However, no matter if you grill or bake the chicken be sure to allow it to come to room temperature before cooking it. This is another secret to keeping the meat tender and juicy.

How To Know When Chicken Breasts Are Done

It is safe to eat chicken breasts once they reach an internal temperature of 165°F when checked with an instant read digital thermometer. However I actually remove the chicken from the grill or oven when the temperature reaches 155°F.

Then place the chicken on a plate or platter and tent it with aluminum foil and let it rest. This process is important to allow two things to happen.

First of all the chicken needs to rest so that the moisture that has been drawn to the surface of the chicken during the cooking process can disperse back into the meat.

And second, the chicken will continue to cook after being removed from the heat source. This is why it is important to remove the chicken at the 155°F mark.

So when you are ready to eat it, it will not be overcooked and dried out. Instead it will be at the safe to consume temperature but still be tender and juicy.

Enjoy! Mary

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