Looking for flavorful chicken this season? Creating this 4-Ingredient Chicken Marinade at home is just the ticket. With a handful of pantry ingredients and some chicken breasts, you’ll have a delightful meal ready in minutes!
This easy chicken marinade recipe is super versatile, meaning you can mix and match ingredients to suit what you have on hand. It’s an excellent way to shop your kitchen and save money.
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We’re big on grilling around here. Lazy, sunny weekends just scream, “Fire up the barby.” But, since they are lazy, sunny weekends, I’d rather not do too much work. That’s when I just throw together some chicken marinades.
Without measuring. Gasp. Yes, it’s true! You can skip the recipe!
Chicken marinade recipes are really flavor-packed dressings. You need seasonings that add flavor, a little acid to penetrate the meat, a little oil to keep the meat from sticking to the grill. Marinade recipes are pretty simple really. Try this simple template for a 4-Ingredient Chicken Marinade.
Why Do This
It’s easy. This marinade for grilled chicken takes just minutes and only 4 ingredients!
It’s tasty. With this 4-Ingredient Chicken Marinade, you’re increasing the chances of juicy chicken full of flavor.
It’s versatile. There are so many ways to mix and match ingredients. Don’t have red wine vinegar? Use lemon juice or even soy sauce. Want it a little sweeter? Sprinkle in some brown sugar or a few squeezes of honey. You can marinate chicken with whatever you have!
Ingredients
This 4-Ingredient Chicken Marinade is super simple. Here’s what you’ll need:
vinegar or another type of acid – This can range from rice vinegar, red or white wine vinegar, sherry vinegar, or apple cider vinegar to other types of acid, such as soy sauce, wine, sherry, or a citrus juice. You can also use buttermilk or yogurt. Pickle juice works, too!
seasoning – The flavoring for your 4-Ingredient Chicken Marinade can be as simple as a custom spice blend. You might choose something like Dijon mustard, some herbs, some garlic, some ginger, or a few shakes of crushed red pepper. Choose whatever flavors you like. Just don’t too many. This isn’t the Suicide you used to mix up at the Coke machine at the roller rink when you were a kid. Think about the flavor profiles you enjoy and mimic those. Make sure you’ve got a salt element to your flavorings.
oil – I like to use an oil that matches the flavor profile I’m going for. If Mediterranean, I use olive oil. If BBQ or Asian-style, I’ll use a neutral oil like avocado.
chicken pieces – Boneless, skinless chicken pieces will absorb more marinade than pieces with skin and bone. Choose what you like best and allow a longer marinating time for bone-in pieces.
Variations
There are so many ways you can mix and match the elements in this 4-Ingredient Chicken Marinade. Consider the following combinations:
- red wine vinegar, Italian seasoning
- soy sauce, fresh ginger
- orange juice, taco seasoning mix
- lemon juice, peri-peri seasoning
- apple cider vinegar, Dijon mustard
- buttermilk, chili seasoning
Step-by-Step Instructions
It’s super easy to mix up this 4-Ingredient Chicken Marinade:
- Combine the acid and seasonings in a dish. Stir in the oil.
- Add the chicken pieces and flip them. Allow the chicken to marinate, covered, in the refrigerator, from 30 minutes to a few hours.
- Cook your marinated chicken over a hot grill, turning once, until cooked through. If the chicken is boneless, it will cook in a shorter amount of time, as little as 8 to ten minutes for a chicken tender.
Note: Dark meat with the bone in can take much, much longer. The most reliable time gauge is to use an instant read thermometer. Chicken is ready at 165°, though you can cook until 155 and then let it rest.
FAQs
You can use any combination of acid, seasonings, and oil to make a chicken marinade. These can include vinegar, citrus juice, wine, soy sauce, seasoning mixes, jam, honey, brown sugar, mustard, fresh ginger, fresh garlic, and oil.
Typically a chicken marinade is a liquid that tenderizes and seasons the chicken meat. You can flavor chicken with a dry seasoning rub as well.
While it’s traditional to marinate chicken prior to grilling it, you can broil, fry, sauté, or cook the marinated chicken in the instant pot if you don’t want to grill it.
More Great Chicken Recipes
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4-Ingredient Chicken Marinade
Equipment
- ziptop freezer bags
Ingredients
- ½ cup vinegar, any kind
- 1 tablespoon seasoning mix
- ½ cup neutral oil
- 4 boneless skinless chicken pieces
Instructions
- In an airtight container or ziptop freezer bag, place the vinegar and seasoning mix. Stir or swish to combine. Stir in the oil.½ cup vinegar, any kind, 1 tablespoon seasoning mix, ½ cup neutral oil
- Add the chicken pieces to the bowl or bag, turning to coat. Seal and store in the refrigerator for at least an hour, up to 12 hours.4 boneless skinless chicken pieces
- About 30 minutes before serving, preheat the outdoor grill. Remove the chicken pieces from the bag and cook on the hot grill until an internal temperature of 155 degrees is reached.
- Remove to a platter and tent with foil. Allow to rest for ten minutes. During this time, the chicken should rise to the optimal internal temperature of 165 degrees. Slice and serve.
Notes
Variations
There are so many ways you can mix and match the elements in this 4-Ingredient Chicken Marinade. Consider the following combinations:- red wine vinegar, Italian Seasoning, olive oil
- soy sauce, fresh ginger, avocado oil
- orange juice, taco seasoning mix, avocado oil
- lemon juice, peri-peri seasoning, olive oil
- apple cider vinegar, Dijon mustard, avocado oil
Nutrition
This post was originally published on September 25, 2012. It has been updated for content and clarity.
Pamela
Carrie… I do the same thing. I have also found that if you put the meat in frozen & let it sit out until it’s thawed then put in the fridge, or leave in fridge til thawed but that takes a long time. Anyway, the marinade permeates the meat even deeper. Also, if you just throw your frozen meat into a freezer ziploc with the marinade & freeze like that it is really great too. <3
Carrie @ In the sweet sunshine
I like to mix my marinades together in a gallon-size ziploc bag, then I can just put the meat pieces in, seal it, and squish it around. After marinating, dump the sauce down the drain and toss the bag! No dishes to wash! 🙂
Karl B (The Frugal Berry)
I LOVE the ziplock bag idea. What ever makes it simpler!