The Best Chicken Marinade Recipe

So you already know that I’m reluctant to make things like salad dressing and marinades. But the more I do it, the more I realize it’s the way to go. Not only are they easy to make, but the taste is so fresh and you don’t have any added preservatives or strange ingredients, like you’ll find in many store-bought products. When my go-to brand of pre-made chicken marinade changed its ingredients, I had to come up with my own. Here’s the happy result. And we realized that we never really loved that store-bought one anyway!

This chicken marinade is gluten free, dairy free, soy free, nut free and seed free. It contains balsamic vinegar, which normally has a strong taste. However, this marinade has only a subtle balsamic taste. What I love is that this doesn’t taste like any other marinade (which are boring), and is perfect for chicken cooked on the grill.

This recipe makes enough to marinate about 1.5 pounds of boneless, skinless chicken breast. It may not seem like enough, but the marinade is kinda thick. When you put it in a plastic bag with the meat and squish it all around, it should cover all of the meat surfaces so that it’s yummy goodness seeps in everywhere. We use boneless, skinless chicken breast, cut into large cubes and skewered for grilling. This would be great with bone-in chicken breast too, or chicken thighs.

I used to slowly and carefully whisk the olive oil into the other ingredients in a steady stream to make an emulsion. However, the last couple of times I made this, I just dumped in the olive oil and whisked up the whole thing. It turned out just fine and is much quicker.

We get a lot of compliments on this recipe, and you will too. And once you get over your aversion to making condiments, try this Caesar salad dressing recipe on a salad to go along with the chicken!

Yummy Easy Chicken Marinade Recipe

Ingredients:

2 T. Dijon mustard

1 T. balsamic vinegar

2 tsp. fresh thyme (or 1 tsp. dried thyme)

1/4 tsp. sea salt

1/4 tsp. ground black pepper

1/4 cup olive oil

Directions:

Measure all ingredients into a medium-sized bowl, and use a whisk to combine it all thoroughly.

Pour the marinade in a zip-top plastic bag and add your chicken. Squeeze the air out of the bag, seal it up, and massage the mixture so that the marinade covers all surfaces. Place the bag in the fridge and let the chicken marinate for at least two hours, up to 24 hours. When it’s time to cook, remove the chicken from the bag and discard any extra marinade.