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 Robyn,
How do you measure/determine the ingredients if you have 14lbs of chicken? I can figure how to double but that would be for 10lbs, what about the excess? Thanks.
As I say in my Notes in the recipe, this recipe works best for about 5 pounds of chicken so I would triple the recipe for 14 pounds, Gerri.
This sounds great, Robyn! All I have is pineapple juice. Do you think that could work?
I haven’t tried this with pineapple juice but it sounds good, Andi. Hope you enjoy!
Would lite beer (corona) work? Or am I better off using apple juice?
Lite beer works perfectly in this recipe, Gina. I use Corona most of the time. This recipe also works great with apple juice if you don’t want to use the beer.
I only have diet ginger ale- would that be ok? Also, do you think it would work if I made extra marinade and thickened it on the stove for extra glaze after it was baked?
You should be able to use the diet ginger-ale in this recipe, Rebecca. I have not tried using the marinade as a glaze so I’m not sure how it would work.
Followed recipe as written using a local IPA- chopped garlic, onion, and parsley in my Blendtec, then stirred in the spices, olive oil and beer in the blender jar. Super easy and quick. Marinated bone in chicken breasts for 4 hours and then grilled on a gas grill using the alternating indirect/direct heat method. Chicken was terrifically moist and delicious. Will definitely be using again and look forward to marinating overnight next time. Thanks Robyn!!
So glad you liked it, Liz. xo
Found this recipe earlier this month and today is the 2nd time we’ve used it. It’s fabulous!! We even used it with shrimp tonight and omgggg! Definitely be using this ALL summer!
Thank you, Kari. I’m so glad you and your family like this.
Made it tonight. Used a winter ale beer. Didnt have cumin so used chili powder. Used Skinless bone in chicken thighs. Marinated for 4 hours flipping the bag per hour. This was deadly delicious. Other then the chili powder I didnt deviate and it was incredibly moist and the marinade permeated right into the meat. Winner winner chicken dinner!! Sorry
Thank you, Bert. So glad this recipe was a winner for you!
I only have a citrus IPA on hand beer wise. Would that work?
I haven’t used a citrus IPA beer in this, Taylor, but it should work. Hope you enjoy the recipe.
Very nice recipe
So glad you liked this, Yvonne!
Amazing! Didn’t change a thing and used a Revolver Blood & Honey for the beer portion. My new go-to chicken marinade. Thank you Robyn!
Thanks, John. So glad this marinade was a hit with you!