Lemon Garlic Grilled Chicken Marinade is a flavorful way to dress up plain old grilled chicken breast. The marinade helps tenderize the chicken, to yield super juicy and delicious meat.
I love a good marinade as a flavorful way to dress up plain old grilled chicken breast. It also helps to tenderize the chicken, so you’ll get super juicy and delicious meat. We usually make this on the grill during summer, but it’s just as good if pan fried.
This recipe uses healthy ingredients from the pantry. It’s great for low carb and Keto diets, too.
And the best part? You can bag up the raw chicken in the marinade and freeze it for easy meal prep – so you’ll always have some marinated chicken on hand!
Ingredients you’ll need
Here is a visual overview of the ingredients in the recipe. Scroll down to the printable recipe card at the bottom of this post for quantities!
Ingredient notes
- Chicken: Use any chicken cut you like with this recipe. I mostly use boneless, skinless chicken breast. But chicken thighs are a close second favorite!
- Lemon juice: I used fresh lemon juice, but you can use ¼ cup – ⅓ cup bottled lemon juice instead.
- Garlic powder: Feel free to use 1-2 freshly minced cloves of garlic in place of the garlic powder.
How to make Lemon Garlic Chicken Marinade
It’s so easy to marinate chicken – just combine all ingredients for the marinade, add the chicken, massage a little and then refrigerate until you’re ready to cook it!
Recipe tips
Can you marinade chicken too long?
You won’t have this problem if you just freeze your marinated chicken 😉
According to the USDA food safety guidelines, you can marinate chicken safely in the fridge for up to two days. A couple of hours are usually enough to reap the benefits though. If you’re short on time, you can get away with 30 minutes – it will just be a little less flavorful.
How do you grill chicken on the stove?
So what if you’re all ready for your backyard barbecue, but it suddenly starts raining like crazy?
If you have a grill pan, you’ll be all set. If it’s a cast iron one, preheat it on the hottest setting. Turn down the heat to medium-high and carefully brush with oil.
Then just grill the chicken as you would on an outdoor grill. It will take a while to be done, up to 15-20 minutes depending on the size and thickness of your chicken breast.
What is the right internal temperature for chicken?
No matter if you’re using the stove or an outdoor grill, always check that the juices are running clear and the internal temperature has reached 165°F at the thickest part.
How to freeze chicken in the marinade
One thing I’ve been doing is marinating chicken breast right after buying them. I usually buy meat in bulk, portion it out and freeze it anyways. So I figured I might as well add a marinade to the bag with the chicken before throwing it in the freezer.
Make sure you label the bag with the name of the dish and the date. I recommend freezing the marinated chicken for no longer than three months.
To thaw, simply place in the fridge overnight. Make sure to place the frozen bag in a soup plate or similar, otherwise you’ll have a puddle of water in the fridge.
Serving ideas
One of my favorite ways to eat this lemon garlic grilled chicken is over my avocado spinach salad with berries!
Other great sides can be marinated grilled vegetables, greek salad stuffed avocados or a pasta salad for summer.
If you’re cooking it year-round indoors, it’s actually great with pretty much any classic sides – but especially so with roasted fingerling potatoes and sautéed green beans!
More marinade recipes
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Lemon Garlic Grilled Chicken Marinade
Recipe details
Equipment
- Ziploc Bags
Ingredients
For the marinade
- 4 teaspoons olive oil
- 2 tablespoons water
- 1 teaspoon dried garlic powder
- 1 tablespoon white wine vinegar
- 2 lemons juice only
- ½ teaspoon fine sea salt
- ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
Meat
- 1 pound boneless skinless chicken breasts
Instructions
- Mix all ingredients for the marinade in a dish or a bag that’s large enough to hold the chicken. Add the chicken and cover. Leave to sit in the fridge for at least 2 hours or for up to 2 days.
- To freeze: To freeze, place the chicken and the marinade in a freezer bag. Seal and label with the name of the dish and the date. Freeze for up to 3 months. To defrost, place in a soup plate (or similar to catch any thawing ice) in the fridge overnight.
- To grill: Place the marinated chicken on the hot grill and cook from both sides until juices run clear and the internal temperature has reached 165°F. The chicken cooks faster if you close the grill.
Notes
Ingredient notes
- Chicken: Use any chicken cut you like with this recipe. I mostly use boneless, skinless chicken breast. But chicken thighs are a close second favorite!
- Lemon juice: I used fresh lemon juice, but you can use ¼ cup – ⅓ cup bottled lemon juice instead.
- Garlic powder: Feel free to use 1-2 freshly minced cloves of garlic in place of the garlic powder.
Can you marinade chicken too long?
You won’t have this problem if you just freeze your marinated chicken 😉 According to the USDA food safety guidelines, you can marinate chicken safely in the fridge for up to two days. A couple of hours are usually enough to reap the benefits though. If you’re short on time, you can get away with 30 minutes – it will just be a little less flavorful.How do you grill chicken on the stove?
So what if you’re all ready for your backyard barbecue, but it suddenly starts raining like crazy? Speaking of experience here… If you have a grill pan, you’ll be all set. If it’s a cast iron one, preheat it on the hottest setting. Turn down the heat to medium-high and carefully brush with oil. Then just grill the chicken as you would on an outdoor grill. It will take a while to be done, up to 15-20 minutes depending on the size and thickness of your chicken breast.What is the right internal temperature for chicken?
No matter if you’re using the stove or an outdoor grill, always check that the juices are running clear and the internal temperature has reached 165°F at the thickest part.How to freeze chicken in the marinade
One thing I’ve been doing is marinating chicken breast right after buying them. I usually buy meat in bulk, portion it out and freeze it anyways. So I figured I might as well add a marinade to the bag with the chicken before throwing it in the freezer. Make sure you label the bag with the name of the dish and the date. I recommend freezing the marinated chicken for no longer than three months. To thaw, simply place in the fridge overnight. Make sure to place the frozen bag in a soup plate or similar, otherwise you’ll have a puddle of water in the fridge.Nutrition
More recipe information
Recipe first published in 2018. Updated with more information on 01/05/2021. The recipe has stayed the same.
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