The Best Chicken Marinade Recipe
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The Best Chicken Marinade recipe is easy and delicious and makes the best grilled chicken and baked chicken you’ve ever tasted. It’s quick to make, uses simple ingredients, and makes juicy, tender chicken that tastes incredible!
Use this chicken marinade recipe year-round on your favorite cuts of chicken when you are grilling or baking, and enjoy! It makes the perfect marinade and produces some of the most juicy, delicious, and flavorful chicken ever! Everyone always loves the chicken I’ve marinated with this. I think you will enjoy it too!
We’ve used this simple yet scrumptious chicken marinade for many years, especially when making grilled chicken. But the beauty of this recipe is that it makes a delicious marinade for baked chicken, too, so there’s no need to save the recipe for warm weather grilling season!
I originally only included this marinade recipe with my grilled chicken legs recipe many years ago. This recipe was requested so often that I thought it only fitting that the BEST Chicken Marinade recipe got its own spot on Add a Pinch.
How to Make the BEST Chicken Marinade
Here’s how you make this quick, easy, and delicious marinade.
Ingredients
Be sure to see the recipe card below for the full listing of ingredients, instructions, notes, and estimated nutritional information.
This marinade recipe works best for about 5 pounds of chicken. You’ll need:
- Olive oil – Use a good quality extra virgin olive oil
- Spices – salt, pepper, cumin, paprika, and cayenne
- Garlic – fresh garlic cloves, chopped
- Onion – chopped
- Fresh parsley – chopped
- Beer – Use the beer of your choice. You can substitute with ginger ale, apple cider, or apple juice if you wish. Beer helps tenderize the chicken and adds to the flavor.
I rarely cook with beer, but it works great in this recipe to help make the chicken tender. Use whichever brand you prefer – I usually use Corona or Yeungling, but any beer will work. If you can’t use beer or prefer not to, one of the substitutes listed also tastes delicious.
Step-by-Step Instructions
Combine the ingredients. In a medium to large-sized mixing bowl, stir together all of the spices with the olive oil. Mix in the chopped onion, garlic, and fresh parsley. Slowly pour in the beer (or substitute if using one), as it may foam over if poured too quickly. Mix all ingredients together until combined.
Pour mixture over chicken. Place the chicken you plan to marinate in either a large, sturdy zip-top bag or another airtight container. Pour the marinade over the chicken in your zip bag or container. If using a zip-top bag, press as much air as possible out of the bag as you seal it.
Chill the marinade-covered chicken. If using a zip-top bag, place it on a baking sheet. If in a container, make sure the lid is secure and airtight. Make sure that all of the chicken is well coated with the marinade and place in the refrigerator to chill.
How Long to Marinate Chicken in Refrigerator:
- At least 1 hour
- Preferably overnight for best results
- No longer than 2 days
Every few hours, turn the bag from one side over to the other to keep the chicken coated with the marinade.
Freezer Instructions for Chicken in Marinade
You can freeze the raw chicken in this marinade. Here are the steps.
Package in a freezer-safe container. Place the chicken into a freezer-safe container and pour the marinade over the chicken, making sure all of the raw chicken is well coated. Remove as much air as possible as you seal the container. Place the bag on a baking sheet to freeze if using a zip-top bag. Label the container with the contents and date.
Freeze chicken with marinade. Place the container in the freezer. Freeze for up to 3 months.
Thaw, then cook as desired. Remove from the freezer and thaw in the refrigerator overnight. After the chicken is thawed, then remove the chicken from the marinade and discard the marinade. Then, cook the chicken according to your favorite chicken recipe.
What Chicken Recipes Can I Use With This Marinade?
You can use this recipe with many of your favorite chicken recipes! We love it for our grilled chicken and our simple baked chicken!
More Delicious Marinades and Sauces
Here’s The Best Chicken Marinade Recipe. I hope you love it as much as we do!
The Best Chicken Marinade Recipe
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup olive oil
- 1 teaspoon sea salt
- 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon paprika
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 2 cloves garlic, chopped
- 3 tablespoons chopped onion
- 1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley
- 1 1/2 cups beer, ginger ale, apple cider, or apple juice
Instructions
- Pour olive oil into a 2-cup liquid measuring cup.
- Mix together salt, pepper, paprika, cumin, and cayenne pepper and add to olive oil. Add garlic, onions, and parsley. Mix together well with a fork. Slowly add beer as it will cause the mixture to foam and bubble slightly.
- Pour marinade over the chicken in the zip top bag. Remove as much air as possible from the bag and seal. Turn the bag from side to side to make sure all chicken has been coated with the marinade.
- Place the bag flat on a small, rimmed kitchen sheet pan and into the refrigerator. Allow to sit up to 1 hour or overnight for best results, turning the bag over every few hours to keep the chicken coated.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Enjoy!
Robyn xo
From the Add a Pinch recipe archives. Originally published 2012.
Hi would ginger beer work
I haven’t tried this with ginger beer, Robyn, so I can’t tell you how it would do.
I rarely cook meat (more plant-based) and was so happy to find your recipe for a camping trip tonight. I’m in charge of the chicken (kinda ironic) and wanted to make sure it’s marinated well— and this looks amazing. Appreciate it so much Robyn!
Hope everyone enjoys the chicken tonight, Jen. Thanks
You don’t say how hot the oven should be or how long it should be cooked??
Sally, This recipe is just for the marinade you put on the chicken. You will need to follow whatever chicken recipe you are using for the temp and how long to cook. Hope you enjoy!
This was incredible, best chicken marinade I’ve ever tasted. Will be using until I die of old age.
Thank you, Joe. Hope you can enjoy this for many years to come.
Have some chicken thighs in this marinade and going to smoke them tomorrow. Wanted to try something different and this recipe sounds great! Might try this as a mop sauce on a pork butt as well. Bet it goes great with pork.
I wish I had made more. Best, juiciest, most flavorful chicken breasts I’ve ever made. I lightly browned mine in a little butter and oil first, then convection baked at 375 for about 20 minutes. They were even juicy the next day!
Thanks for letting us know how you baked your chicken using this marinade, Toni. Sounds delicious!
Did not indicate how much of each ingredient to use.
The amount for each ingredient is listed under the Ingredients tab in the recipe, Carmen.
Thanks for the recipe. I followed it to the letter with the exception of the onion and garlic in which I used my heart ( about a cup and a half of onion and 7 large cloves of garlic) for 5 pounds of spare legs i had taking up freezer space. I’ll let them get happy for 18-36 hours then sous vide for another 12 hours then finish on the hardwood grill. Wish me luck, and thanks again !!!
Thanks, Mike. Hope you really enjoy the chicken.
is this for oven cooking or barbecue? some marinades stick to grill and flare up, and are better suited for the oven, have you tried both methods?
Hi Julie,
You can actually use this marinade for cooking chicken on the grill or in the oven, whichever you prefer. Thanks!
This marinade recipe is the bomb!!!. I BBQ’d chicken after marinating it for 2 hours and it was the best tasting BBQ chicken I have ever had in my life… Thank you so much for sharing it
Thank you, Shawna! I’m so glad you liked this marinade.
My children are very picky and chicken has to be wow so I avoid making it for them. Until Yesterday When I found this recipe andthe chicken wowed all of us, both my daughters loved it and so did we. Used dark beer and planning to use ginger ale next time. Thank you very much!
I’m happy everyone loved the chicken, Liako.