The Best Ever Grilled Chicken Marinade creates a juicy, tender, and immensely flavorful chicken breast. It’s a balsamic vinegar marinade that uses Worcestershire, soy, and brown sugar along with some garlic and herbs to create a main dish that goes with a large variety of sides. Plus tips are included for how to grill a juicy chicken breast every time!
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This marinade is the bomb! By the time this post is done I hope you are convinced to grab some chicken, let it marinate in this magic liquid, and then fire up your grill for tomorrow night’s dinner.
I originally found this on Mom on Timeout. It was delicious although a bit sweet for us. We lowered the sugar and added some freshness by swapping our dried herbs and garlic for fresh. What a difference! Now it’s over the top.
If you need a great grilled chicken recipe but don't have time for a marinade, try this easy Honey Mustard Grilled Chicken!
🥇 Why it’s great!
- It's amazingly delicious! Like everyone stops and comments on how good the chicken is!
- It pairs well with a variety of sides. Rice or potatoes. Grilled veggies or roasted veggies. Frozen veggies or fresh veggies. Which makes it so easy to serve.
- The leftovers make the most amazing salads for lunch.
- It is freezer friendly. My go-to method for keeping dinner easy is to freeze packets of chicken in marinade.
- It is so easy to serve a large group.
🐓 Ingredients
Extra virgin olive oil: Sometimes using a neutral flavored oil is fine, but we want the flavor from the EVOO.
Balsamic vinegar: High quality balsamic is not necessary. The standard grocery store bottle will do. If you want a lighter flavor try white balsamic instead.
Soy sauce: Regular or low-sodium.
Worcestershire sauce: Essential for deep flavor.
Brown sugar: Either light or dark.
Stone ground mustard: Can be substituted with Dijon or Spicy Brown.
Herbs: Dried rosemary is easiest, but feel free to substitute fresh.
Salt & pepper: Essential to rounding out the flavors.
Garlic: Fresh minced garlic is perfect here. I love the already minced stuff from the grocery store. 🤫
🥣 Marinade Instructions
This is a very simple process. Place all the ingredients into a bowl or jar and mix thoroughly until the sugar is dissolved.
There are a couple tips for ensuring the tenderness of the chicken. If the breast is any larger than the palm of your hand be sure to slice it in half horizontally. Once you place the breasts in a zip baggie or bowl for marinating, be sure to move them all around so that the marinade gets in between all the pieces.
🔥How to grill juicy chicken breasts
In my home I am the main griller. My oldest son has taken on the role of grilling hamburgers, but I do everything else. We grill multiple times a week, mainly chicken breasts.
Essentially, the trick with chicken breasts is keeping the heat hot enough to create a good crust, but not so hot that the outside is incinerated before the inside is finished.
The best way to accomplish this is to heat half of the grill to medium-high heat, leaving the other side turned off. Grill the first side of the chicken for 5-6 minutes over the heat until the edges begin to dry out and change color. Flip them over and grill for another 4-6 minutes depending on their size. If they begin to brown too much on the heated side, transfer them to the unheated side, close the lid, and cook until done.
👨👩👧👦 For a crowd
Absolutely! Make up as many pounds as you need ahead of time, and then just grill off the day of. Serving is especially easy if you have a helper and if you plan side dishes that require very little hands-on time while you are grilling.
👇🏻 Look below for hands-free sides ideas if you are serving a crowd.
🙋 Questions & Answers
This is one of my go-to freezer prep marinades. After slicing the chicken breasts in half horizontally and placing in a gallon size bag, pour in the marinade and agitate the bag to get the marinade in between all the pieces. Then lay the bag down on a cookie sheet and freeze until it’s solid. Stack multiple bags on top of each other to make the most of available space.
The chicken breast shouldn't be left in the marinade longer than overnight. If they are left too long they will develop a mealy texture. If you want to make ahead I recommend freezing them. Instructiona are listed above.
📖 What to serve with grilled chicken breasts
- Pan Roasted Frozen Corn is a quick and delicious side dish that everyone can agree on. Bonus: It uses frozen corn!
- The Best Brown Butter Rice Pilaf can be made before going out to the grill and will wait patiently on the stove (or in the Instant Pot!) while the chicken is grilling.
- If you want something supremely delicious yet hands-off while you grill, make this Twice Baked Potato Bake. YUM!
- This Autumn Chopped Salad is AMAZING! Are you getting hungry yet?
👨🏼🍳 Tips & Tricks
- Dissolve the sugar completely by stirring before adding the chicken breasts.
- Before marinating the chicken breasts cut in half horizontally.
- Make sure all parts of the chicken come in contact with the marinade. Sometimes they like to stick together.
👋 Connect with us!
If you try this recipe, please leave a comment and star rating below to let us know how it is! We’d also love to connect with you on Facebook, Instagram, or Pinterest. Tag @borrowedbites or hashtag #borrowedbites to show us your food!
📋 Recipe
The Best Ever Grilled Chicken Marinade
Ingredients
- 4 chicken breasts sliced in half horizontally
- ½ cup extra virgin olive oil
- ½ cup balsamic vinegar
- ¼ cup soy sauce
- ¼ cup Worcestershire sauce
- ½ cup brown sugar
- 2 tablespoon stone ground mustard substitute dijon or spicy brown
- 1 tablespoon minced garlic
- 2 teaspoon dried rosemary may substitute with fresh
- 2 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon pepper
Instructions
- Stir all ingredients together until sugar is dissolved. Marinade chicken for 8-24 hours. * See notes. Store unused marinade in fridge for up to 2 weeks.
- Heat grill to medium-high heat (leave half the grill unheated). Grill first side of chicken for 5-6 minutes until edges begin to dry and change color. Flip and grill for 4-6 minutes longer. *If chicken begins to brown too much, move chicken to unheated side of grill. Close lid and allow to finish cooking.
Notes
- Stir the marinade until the sugar is dissolved.
- Cut the chicken breasts in half horizontally before marinating them.
- Make sure all parts of the chicken come in contact with the marinade. Sometimes they like to stick together.
- In our experience this marinades 10 chicken breasts cut in half which is approximately 5 pounds.
Nutrition
All nutrition information is provided by a third party and is an estimate only. Use your own nutritional calculator for more specific measurements.
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