This grilled chicken marinade is sweet, tangy, garlicky, and made with simple pantry ingredients like apple cider vinegar, Dijon mustard, citrus, brown sugar, and olive oil. It helps keep chicken juicy on the grill and gives it the kind of flavor that works for cookouts, meal prep, or an easy summer dinner.
Why This Grilled Chicken Marinade Works
- Apple cider vinegar and citrus add tang and help brighten the flavor.
- Dijon mustard helps the marinade cling to the chicken.
- Brown sugar balances the acidity and helps with browning on the grill.
- Olive oil keeps the chicken moist.
- Garlic, salt, and pepper keep the flavor simple and savory.
Grilled Chicken Marinade Ingredients:
This marinade uses boneless chicken breasts, apple cider vinegar, Dijon mustard, brown sugar, lemon juice, lime juice, garlic, salt, pepper, and olive oil. Chicken thighs, drumsticks, or bone-in pieces can also work, but cooking time will vary.
How to Make Grilled Chicken with Marinade
Prepare the chicken. Slice the chicken breasts in half lengthwise, then pound them to an even thickness. This helps the chicken cook evenly on the grill.
Make the marinade. Whisk the marinade ingredients together in a small bowl. If you want extra marinade for drizzling over the cooked chicken, set some aside in a clean container before adding the raw chicken.
Marinate the chicken. Add the chicken to the marinade and refrigerate for 30 minutes to 2 hours.
Grill the chicken. Grill over medium-high heat until the chicken reaches an internal temperature of 165°F. Let it rest for a few minutes before serving.
Important: Discard any marinade that has touched raw chicken.
How Long To Marinate Chicken
For boneless chicken breasts, marinate for at least 30 minutes and up to 2 hours. Because this marinade has apple cider vinegar, lemon juice, and lime juice, I would not marinate thin chicken breasts overnight. Too much time in an acidic marinade can make the texture soft or gummy.
If you are using thicker pieces, thighs, drumsticks, or bone-in chicken, you may be able to marinate a little longer, but 1–2 hours is the sweet spot for this recipe.
Storage and Freezing
Store leftover grilled chicken in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. It is great sliced for sandwiches, salads, wraps, or quick lunches the next day.
You can also freeze the cooked chicken for up to 2 months. Let it cool completely, then store it in a freezer-safe bag or airtight container. Thaw in the refrigerator before reheating.
Print
Best Grilled Chicken Marinade Recipe
- Total Time: 50 min
- Yield: 6 servings 1x
Description
A sweet, tangy grilled chicken marinade made with apple cider vinegar, Dijon mustard, citrus, garlic, brown sugar, and olive oil. Reserve a little before adding the chicken so you can drizzle it over the cooked chicken.
Ingredients
- ¼ cup apple cider vinegar
- 3 tablespoons Dijon mustard
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 lime, juiced
- ½ lemon, juiced
- ¼ cup brown sugar
- 1 ½ teaspoons kosher salt
- ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
- Ground black pepper, to taste
- 3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, sliced in half lengthwise
Instructions
- Whisk together the apple cider vinegar, Dijon mustard, garlic, lime juice, lemon juice, brown sugar, salt, and pepper.
- Slowly drizzle in the olive oil while whisking until the marinade is combined.
- Reserve ¼ cup of marinade in a separate clean container for serving. Do this before adding the raw chicken.
- Place the chicken in a glass dish or zip-top bag and pour the remaining marinade over the chicken. Refrigerate for 30 minutes to 2 hours.
- Let the chicken sit at room temperature for about 20–30 minutes before grilling.
- Grill over medium-high heat, turning once, until the chicken reaches 165°F in the thickest part.
- Rest for 5 minutes, then drizzle with the reserved clean marinade before serving.
Notes
- If you want extra marinade for serving, reserve it before adding the raw chicken. Discard any marinade that has touched raw chicken.
- Prep Time: 10 min
- Marinate Time: 30 min
- Cook Time: 10 min
Looking for some side dishes to go with your chicken:
- Our infamous Potato salad pairs beautifully with this chicken.
- How about a side dish of perfectly cooked Rice Pilaf?
- The flavors and freshness in this Four Bean Salad are amazing!
Such a great marinade! Gave amazing flavor and kept the chicken moist. The taste is not so strong that it overpowered anything served with the chicken. Definitely will make again.
Loved it as well. Sweet but tangy. Made the chicken flavorful and tender in 1 1/2 hours marinating.
Always a family favorite!
I have been making this since 2015 and lost my printed copy. I was panicking and found it again! Hooray!!!
I'm so glad you found it again! If that ever happens, just shoot me an email and I'd be happy to help.
I just wanted to say that I've been using this recipe for years now. It is pretty much the only chicken marinade I use now. I've just never left a comment and wanted to tell you Debi that your recipes are amazing! Thank you!
This recipe is DELICIOUS! I cooked chicken using this recipe and was so proud of it.
So so so good!! Great recipe I followed it to a T almost I added onion powder to the marinade and more garlic... because I love garlic.. This turned out perfect I think the longer you marinade the better!
Thank you!! Great recipe!!
I only marinated it for 6 hours but it had great flavor.
Just made this. Why do you not pour all the marinade on chicken.? It didn’t say, so I put it all in. Im assuming the left over is for brushing on while grilling. Hopefully it will be ok without doing that..
Missy 1964, just wanted to tell you that, if pour all the marinade on the raw chicken, you can get Campylobacter bacteria ! Please reserve some for brushing or boil the marinade after you chicken is on the grill! Either way is better for you!
This was a great marinade. Everyone at dinner commented on how delicious the chicken was!
I found this recipe last year the name says it it is the best I have done chicken thin pork chops and shrimp with this it is my go to marinade love it
When you say cider vinegar, do you mean apple cider vinegar?
Yes
Whole family loved this
We made this marinade this weekend and it was GREAT!! The taste was perfect and I am looking forward to the leftovers!! Thank you for posting it.
I had everything but the lime and it turned out great! My picky eater loved it as well as the rest of the family. Thanks for posting!
My new go to chicken marinade. I used thighs and they were delicious.
Used this marinade yesterday for my first time grilling...everyone LOVED IT!!
THE BEST MARINADE IN THE WORLD !!! I didn't even marinade it that long b/c I didn't have time and it still came out full of flavor.
Awesome marinade. I couldn't wait the full two hours but didn't need to. The meat was so tender and the flavor was delicious.
Can U use all the marinade on the chicken and not save any?
HiJenpi - of course you can. I just like to save some to drizzle over once my chicken is done grilling, but you don't have to.
You know if you forget to save out some marinade you can always boil some of the marinade that was on the chicken. It’ll be just as good and safe