Amazing Grilled Chicken Marinade Recipe – chicken marinated in a mixture of apple cider vinegar, dijon mustard, garlic, olive oil, lemon and lime juice, and brown sugar. Sweet and tangy in every bite! It is truly amazing. We ate this two nights in a row. Everyone gobbled it up. Leftovers are great chopped up on a salad or in a sandwich wrap. Gluten-free and easily adapted to a low-carb/keto-friendly diet.
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This grilled chicken is the best grilled chicken recipe We both took one bite and said “WOW! This is amazing!”. The chicken marinates all day in a mixture of apple cider vinegar, dijon, lemon, and lime juice, and brown sugar. The marinade gives the chicken tons of great sweet and tangy flavors. I whisked the marinade up the morning we grilled the chicken and let the chicken hang out in the fridge all day. It only takes a few minutes and dinner is prepped. I LOVE super simple recipes like this one!
How to Make Amazing Grilled Chicken
This marinade is super easy to make with only a few simple ingredients. In a bowl, whisk together apple cider vinegar, dijon mustard, garlic, lime juice, lemon juice, brown sugar, olive oil, salt, and black pepper. Place boneless skinless chicken breasts in a gallon ziplock bag. Pour the marinade over the chicken and refrigerate it for a few hours up to overnight. When ready to cook the marinated chicken, remove it from the marinade and grill until it reaches an internal temperature of 165ºF.
Helpful Tips and Frequently Asked Questions
- You can use this marinade on any cut of chicken – chicken breasts, chicken tenders, chicken thighs, chicken wings, or drumsticks/legs.
- You can use boneless or bone-in chicken. Adjust the cooking time to ensure an internal temperature of 165ºF.
- I don’t have a grill. Can I cook the chicken in the oven or skillet? Yes! To cook the chicken breasts inside, pan sear them in a skillet or grill pan for 3 to 4 minutes per side. Place on a rimmed baking sheet. Bake at 400ºF for 10 minutes.
- One tip on grilling chicken – pound your boneless chicken breasts to an even thickness before marinating. We put the chicken in a ziplock bag and use a flat meat tenderizer to pound out the thick part. Having the chicken at an even thickness will help the chicken cook evenly on the grill.
- Is Amazing Grilled Chicken Marinade gluten-free? Yes. All of the ingredients in the marinade are gluten-free.
- For a low-carb/keto-friendly recipe, use Truvia or Swerve brown sugar.
- For a kick, add a dash of cayenne pepper to the chicken marinade ingredients
- Can substitute garlic powder for fresh garlic in the marinade.
- Can I freeze Amazing Grilled Chicken? Yes! You can freeze the chicken uncooked in the marinade and thaw and grill when ready.
- To freeze leftover cooked chicken, cool completely. Place chicken in a freezer bag and freeze.
- Store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator.
What to Serve with Grilled Chicken
We think this is the best chicken marinade. It has quickly become one of our all-time favorite chicken recipes. We make this at least once a month. We usually serve this with some potatoes and green beans. Leftover chicken is great chopped up on salad, in your favorite chicken salad recipe, or in a tortilla sandwich wrap. Give this a try the next time you fire up the grill. I promise you won’t be disappointed!
Here are a few of our favorite recipes from the blog that go great with this chicken marinade:
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Amazing Grilled Chicken Marinade
Ingredients:
- ¼ cup cider vinegar
- 3 Tbsp dijon mustard
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 2 Tbsp lime juice
- 1½ Tbsp lemon juice
- ½ cup brown sugar
- 1½ tsp salt
- 4 Tbsp olive oil
- ¼ tsp pepper
- 6 boneless skinless chicken breast halves
Instructions:
- Whisk together vinegar, mustard, garlic, lime juice, lemon juice, brown sugar, salt, olive oil and pepper. Pour over chicken and refrigerate for 8 hours or overnight.
- Remove chicken from marinade. Grill chicken for 8-10 minutes per side, or until done.
Notes:
- You can use this marinade on any cut of chicken – breasts, tenders, thighs, wings, or drumsticks/legs.
- You can use boneless or bone-in chicken. Adjust the cooking time to ensure an internal temperature of 165ºF.
- I don’t have a grill. Can I cook the chicken in the oven or skillet? Yes! To cook the chicken breasts inside, pan sear it for 3 to 4 minutes per side. Place on a rimmed baking sheet. Bake at 400ºF for 10 minutes.
- One tip on grilling chicken – pound your chicken breasts to an even thickness before marinating. We put the chicken in a ziplock bag and use a flat meat tenderizer to pound out the thick part. Having the chicken at an even thickness will help the chicken cook evenly on the grill.
- Is Amazing Grilled Chicken Marinade gluten-free? Yes. All of the ingredients in the marinade are gluten-free.
- For a low-carb/keto-friendly recipe, use Truvia or Swerve brown sugar.
Steph
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If using the bqq, do you grill the chicken on high at about 400 F or do you grill it in medium heat at 350 F?
I cook with charcoal, so I can not say.
Can this marinade be kept for a while…have lemons and limes to use up but not planning on having chicken for a week.
Delicious. Grilled breasts ahead of guest arriving and served at room temperature with pasta salad. So easy and so good!
Have used this marinade two times and my family loves it! In fact we are having it tonight for dinner. Easy to make. Thanks for sharing!
Best chicken marinade ever, I use it all the time!
Gonna have to try this when my hubby gets back from working out of town next week. Looks so good!
Tried this tonight – VERY tasty. Thanks for the recipe.
The marinade sounds very good and your finished chicken looks excellent with just that little bit of black on it.
Looks so delicious. xo Catherine
YUM!!! I can't wait to try this marinade this weekend!! Thanks for sharing.
War Eagle!!