Lemon Garlic Chicken Marinade
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My friends and family always ask me to make this lemon garlic chicken marinade. It’s simple and delicious. I’ve made the recipe easy to follow, but it’s hard to forget!
If I were to name one thing I’m known for in my circle of friends, it’s a tasty, comforting dinner that’s easy to make yet full of flavor. This is exactly the kind of recipe that helps me keep that reputation.
This lemon garlic chicken marinade creates a tangy, savory dinner with plenty of depth and a fresh herb finish. It’s simple, reliable, and the kind of recipe you’ll want to keep on repeat. Let me show you how it’s done.
Key ingredients you’ll need
This lemon marinade for chicken uses basic kitchen staples. You won’t find any fussy ingredients here. And the great thing about this recipe is that when you marinate chicken with lemon, the lemon helps to tenderize the meat and makes tender and juicy chicken.
Chicken: This marinade is delicious on chicken breast, chicken thighs (boneless and bone-in), wings, and chicken tenders.
Olive oil: Use a basic cooking olive oil for this recipe. No need to pull out your best drizzling olive oil.
Herbs: I love fresh herbs, but dried ones work well, too. You can also substitute my Italian seasoning.
Garlic: Fresh is best and I like to mince it very small (or even grate it on a Microplane) to avoid any garlic chunks and make the flavor more pronounced.
What to serve with lemon garlic marinated chicken
My favorite sides are my creamy cucumber salad (pictured below) and my creamy celery salad; both go really well with the lemon garlic chicken. Complete the meal with some crispy roasted potatoes or some garlic butter rice.
Lemon Garlic Chicken Marinade
Ingredients
- ¼ cup lemon juice (freshly squeezed for the best flavor)
- ¼ cup olive oil
- 2 tablespoons minced fresh oregano (or sub 2 tablespoons dried Italian seasoning for all of the fresh herbs)
- 2 tablespoons minced thyme
- 2 tablespoons minced rosemary
- 1 teaspoon EACH: sea salt and pepper
- 2 cloves garlic (minced)
- 2 lb chicken thighs or breast
Instructions
- Combine the lemon juice, olive oil, oregano, thyme, rosemary, salt, pepper, and garlic into a small bowl.¼ cup lemon juice, ¼ cup olive oil, 2 tablespoons minced fresh oregano, 2 tablespoons minced thyme, 1 teaspoon EACH: sea salt and pepper, 2 cloves garlic, 2 tablespoons minced rosemary
- Place the chicken in a shallow bowl or baking dish and pour the marinade over the top. Mix it around a little so that all the pieces are coated in the marinade. Cover the bowl then put it into your fridge to marinate for 30 minutes – 24 hours.2 lb chicken thighs or breast
Cook the chicken
- Bake: Put the chicken and all of the marinade into a shallow baking dish. Bake at 425 degrees Fahrenheit, uncovered, for 15 minutes for boneless thighs, 20-25 minutes for breast, and 35-40 minutes for bone-in thighs.
- Grill: Remove the chicken from the marinade and grill over medium heat for 10 minutes for boneless thighs, 18-22 minutes for breast, and 30-35 minutes (over indirect heat) for bone-in thighs.
Optional: freeze the chicken
- Put the raw chicken into freezer bags (these are my favorite freezer bags), then pour the marinade over the top. Squish the bag around a little so that the chicken is coated in the marinade, then seal the bag and put it into your freezer.
Last step:
- After you make this recipe, take a picture with your phone and share it in the comments section below. I love seeing it when you make my recipes!
Equipment
Video
Nutrition
We have thoroughly tested this recipe for accuracy. However, individual results may vary. See our full recipe disclosure here.
Tried this recipe the first time and love it!
I’m so happy it was a hit!
nice chicken
I made this for dinner last. Let the chicken marinate for about 40 minutes and the chicken was super flavorful. Going to try your trick of freezing some in the marinade!
Could you sub butter for the olive oil? There’s just something about buttery chicken that is soooooooooo good. 🙂
I think that would be tasty!
Simple, quick, perfect flavor. Thank you
I used fresh herbs from my windowsill, marinated boneless/skinless chicken breasts for for about 3 hours, then baked in the oven…..hands down, this is the BEST marinade recipe for chicken I’ve ever tried, and I will be using it often! DELICIOUS! Many, many thanks!
I used this recipe for chicken tenders. I marinated for about an hour and they were perfect addition to a salad and pasta. The only change I made was adding 1/2 tsp of smoked paprika. I grilled them using a cast iron grill pan.
Wow! so delicious. I am still feeling the taste and my wife is good at copying recipes. You made our day.
My fiancée loved this! Keeping it in my monthly rotation!
This is a great recipe. My family loved it. I’m going to serve it to guests this weekend. I plan to prepare it today and freeze it in the marinade until Sunday night. Thank you so very much. Mark Bittman, move over! Here comes Kristen Stevens with fabulous recipes too!
BRILLIANT!!! Thank you so much, we loved this recipe and directions so easy to follow.
Absolutely delicious. Everyone in the family loved it!
I am always on the lookout for different ways to marinate meats. This chicken marinade is perfect in my book. The flavor combinations are so tasty and delicious. Thank you for this inspirational recipe.
OMG – delicious!! i’m always looking for new marinade ideas and this was delicious!!! i’m a sucker for lemon and garlic!
Such an easy and flavourful marinade for chicken! We all loved it.
Add some Dijon mustard to the marinade for more flavor. Herbs de Provence also substitute nicely for the Italian seasoning.