Recipe Overview
Why you’ll love it: For juicy and flavorful grilled chicken, try marinating it in a zesty Italian chicken marinade. You’ll be amazed at how tasty this homemade marinade is. Making your own marinades is easy and economical. You probably have everything you need already in your pantry.
How long it takes: 5 minutes
Equipment you’ll need: small bowl, ziptop bag or shallow dish to marinade chicken in
Servings: makes enough marinade for 2 pounds of meat
Why make your own Italian chicken marinade? Why not buy a bottle of dressing or a packet of dried dressing mix? I can hear you all thinking that. Take it from me (and you all know how much I like easy cooking), making your own marinade is seriously easy and just so much better.
Have you ever taken a close look at the ingredient list of your zesty Italian dressing packet? It’s fairly short, which is usually good, but there are a few items that you won’t find in most kitchen pantries: maltodextrin, xanthan gum, citric acid, and natural flavors. Not terrible, but not super great, either.
About Natural Flavors
“Natural” sounds pretty okay, right? Natural flavors are used to enhance flavor in processed food. Natural flavors, according to Healthline, are created by food chemists and have to be derived from a natural source, plant or animal. BUT, they can also contain more than 100 different chemicals like preservatives and solvents (called “incidental additives”). Still want to use that packet?Try homemade Italian marinade! It’s easy to make and I bet you have everything you need in your pantry. For flavorful and juicy Italian grilled chicken, it cannot be beat.
What To Serve With Italian Chicken
For a complete meal, serve Italian grilled chicken with panzanella salad, caprese pasta salad, or this grilled vegetable salad with zucchini and summer squash. Lately, we’ve been loving this spring orzo salad with arugula, asparagus, and pine nuts. Roasted green beans with Parmesan and basil go great with this chicken, too, or simple grilled zucchini.
If you like tomatoes, dress the chicken up with these yummy marinated tomatoes. So good! In fact, make a main course salad with romaine lettuce, sliced grilled chicken, marinated tomatoes, cucumbers, and a drizzle of homemade Italian dressing.
If you like the idea of making your own seasoning mixes, try this recipe for Italian seasoning mix. Keep it in your pantry and mix it with olive oil to make a fantastic dipping sauce for warm bread.
You don’t have to be a food chemist to make this easy marinade. I’ll get you started by running through the recipe here with lots of extra helpful tips. Look for the printable recipe card at the end of the post with instructions, measurements, and nutrition information.
Ingredient Notes
- Olive Oil: or any type of oil you like. Canola or grapeseed oils are good choices, too.
- Red or White Wine Vinegar: Sweet and tangy, wine vinegar adds flavor and tenderizes the chicken.
- Honey or Sugar: Just a touch of sweetness to temper the tanginess of the vinegar.
- Dried Oregano, Basil, Parsley: Use dry herbs from your pantry, or if you have herbs in your garden, use fresh herbs. Generally, the rule of thumb for substituting fresh herbs for dry is a ratio of 1:3. So if a recipes calls for 1 teaspoon of dried, substitute 3 teaspoons of fresh.
- Garlic Powder, Salt, Red Pepper Flakes: Simple seasonings that add a lot of pow!
How To Make Italian Marinade
Simply mix all the ingredients in a small bowl or jar.
The beauty of making your own marinade is that you can customize it. Use herbs and seasonings you like best. Use this recipe as a base and tweak it to make your own signature Italian marinade.
Add the marinade to chicken in a zip lock bag, and refrigerate a couple of hours or even overnight. Remove the chicken from the marinade when you’re ready to grill (discard the marinade).
You’ll be amazed at how flavorful and delicious your grilled chicken is! By the way, if you love these flavors, be sure to check out our homemade Italian dressing or creamy Italian dressing.
Chicken can be marinated for as little as fifteen minutes or up to twenty-four hours. Just a short time in the marinade will increase the flavor and texture of the chicken. With acidic marinades such as this one, more than 24 hours will result in tougher chicken.
Always marinate chicken in the refrigerator, not at room temperature.
No, definitely not. You would be rinsing off flavor! If the chicken is brined, the brine is usually rinsed off before cooking because it’s very salty.
Yes, by the time the chicken is thoroughly cooked, the marinade will be cooked as well. You may want to baste the chicken with the marinade in the pan while it’s baking.
Never re-use marinade or baste grilled chicken with used marinade. Always discard marinade that’s had raw meat in it.
Recipe Variations
- Prefer dark meat? This marinade will work great for chicken thighs or drumsticks, whatever you like best.
- Make kabobs. Cut the chicken into bite-sized pieces, marinate, and grill on skewers.
- Vegetarian or vegan? Use Italian marinade for veggies such as zucchini, summer squash, eggplant, mushrooms, or red onion, and grill on skewers or in a grill basket. Marinate and grill tofu — learn how from the Bojon Gourmet if you’re not sure how to do it.
- Use the marinade for pork or steak. Marinate pork chops, pork tenderloin, or flank steak in Italian marinade for extra flavor, juiciness, and tenderness.
- Lemony Italian marinade: Substitute lemon juice for the vinegar. Add the zest of one lemon for even more lemon flavor (or try my lemon pepper chicken marinade).
- Zesty Italian marinade: If you enjoy more spicy heat, increase red pepper flakes to half a teaspoon.
- Rather not grill tonight? Cook this chicken in your air fryer. It’s so quick and delicious.
You can make this marinade a day or two in advance. Store it in a jar or covered container. The chicken can be marinated overnight and grilled the next day.
Free Meal Plan
Interested in a weekly meal plan that includes this recipe? Take a look at Meal Plan #71 or Meal Plan #83. You’ll find a wholesome recipe for each weekday plus a categorized grocery list. We add a new meal plan weekly.
Never eat boring chicken again! Try one of these flavorful marinades to add lots of pizzazz to grilled chicken:
More Marinade Recipes
Italian Chicken Marinade
Ingredients
- 2 pounds boneless skinless chicken breasts
- ¼ cup oil (olive, canola, or grapeseed oil)
- ¼ cup white or red wine vinegar
- 2 teaspoons honey or granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon dried basil
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 teaspoon dried parsley
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes, or more to taste
Instructions
- Combine all ingredients in small jar or bowl, shake or whisk to combine.
- Place chicken in zip lock bag and pour marinade over. Seal tightly and place bag in a dish to contain any possible leaks. Refrigerate at least 1 hour or up to overnight. The longer you marinade the chicken, the more flavorful it will be.
- When ready to cook, remove chicken from the marinade, letting excess drip off. Discard marinade.
- To grill: Preheat grill to medium heat. Grill chicken for 15 to 20 minutes, flipping once, until cooked through. Cooking time will vary depending on thickness of meat and exact grill temperature. Let rest 5 minutes before serving.
- To bake: Preheat oven to 400°F. Place chicken in greased baking dish. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes. Baking time depends on thickness of chicken pieces.
- To air fry: Preheat air fryer at 375°F for five minutes. Place chicken in air fryer in a single layer and cook for 10 minutes. Flip, and continue to cook for 6 to 8 minutes or until chicken is done. Let rest 5 minutes before serving. (I find that smaller pieces of chicken cook more evenly in the air fryer so I often cut the chicken breasts in half lengthwise. Check frequently near the end of the cooking time so they don’t get overdone.)
- Cook chicken (all methods) until internal temperature reads 165°F on an instant read thermometer. Do not overcook.
Notes
- Serving suggestions: Italian chicken is delicious served as a main course but it can also be sliced or cubed, and used in pasta dishes, salads, meal bowls, or on sandwiches.
- Try it on other meats: Italian marinade is also perfect for chicken thighs or drumsticks, pork, or steak. Use Italian marinade for veggies: You can marinate zucchini, summer squash, eggplant, mushrooms, or red onion, and grill the marinated veggies on skewers or in a grill basket.
- Variations: For a lemony Italian marinade, substitute lemon juice for the vinegar. Add the zest of one lemon for even more lemon flavor. If you like more spicy heat, increase red pepper flakes to half a teaspoon.
- Nutrition note: Nutrition information is based on 8 ounces chicken breast, with ¼ of the marinade but remember that most of the marinade is discarded.
Video
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Did You Make This?Share a comment and rating below! I love hearing what you think!
Does this recipe work with lamb?
I haven’t tested it, but I think it would be tasty!
Easy and tasty.
So happy you liked it!
I don’t grill (my complex hasn’t put one in yet. The marinade sounds delish…
Can I convection bake this or maybe saute it?
Yes, definitely! You can cook the chicken any way you’d like after you marinate it.