5 easy chicken marinade recipes that will help you get a flavorful, simple meal on the table that your whole family will enjoy! These easy Whole30 chicken marinade recipes are all paleo and gluten free! You can make the marinades early in the week to marinate your chicken with overnight, or you can even freeze marinated chicken to use for later in the week!
Most people love the idea of meal prep, but don’t want to spend hours and hours in the kitchen on the weekend or don’t want to eat the same meal over and over again during the week! One solution I often recommend to my clients is to spend a few minutes on the weekend making some marinades and sauces that will take your normal meal from boring to exciting!
Why these recipes work
By just spending a few minutes on the weekend measuring ingredients, you can be sure to have a different, healthy meal for dinner every night, even if you don’t always have a ton of time! You won’t believe how easy it is to create healthy, tasty meals with these easy chicken marinade recipes.
There are often quite a few common questions when it comes to marinating chicken. Here are my top tips!
How long can you refrigerate marinated chicken?
- Because of the acid in the marinade, the chicken should not be in the fridge for more than 24 hours in the marinade.
- If you find that you cannot cook the chicken within 24 hours, place the chicken and the marinade together in the freezer, sealed tightly!
- The minimum amount of time for marinating chicken is usually 20 minutes, but 8-12 hours is ideal. You can place the marinade over the chicken right before work or the night before if you are cooking it in the slow cooker the next day!
What is the best way to cook marinaded chicken?
Use the oven
The best way to cook marinated chicken (fresh or defrosted) in the oven is to preheat the oven to 450F and place the chicken in a glass pyrex and cover it with foil. For chicken breasts, you will want to cook for about 18 minutes covered, and about 5 minutes uncovered at the end. You want to be sure the chicken reaches 165F internal temperature. For chicken tenders or when using chicken cutlets, you will want to cook for 10 minutes covered, and about 5 minutes at the end, making sure the chicken reaches 165F internal temperature.
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Use the crock-pot or slow cooker
To cook marinated chicken in the crock-pot or slow cooker, you will want to add some chopped vegetables to the bottom of the slow-cooker so the chicken doesn’t burn and so the veggies will give off some moisture to the dish.
- I like to add frozen pre-chopped veggies (like peppers and onions or green beans) to the bottom of the slow cooker.
- If you are using fresh veggies, add about 1/4 cup of water to the veggies as well to make sure they have the moisture they need.
- Top the veggies with the fresh or defrosted chicken and cook on high for 4 hours or on low for 8 hours. Make sure the chicken reaches 165F before serving. If you are cooking the chicken from frozen, you will want to cook on high for 6 hours or low for 10 hours and make sure you check the temperature of the chicken before serving.
Use a pressure cooker
Since the pressure cooker requires at least 1 cup of water to be added in order to reach pressure, you will have to get creative with this.
- Add 1 cup of water to the insert of your pressure cooker. Add a trivet and put the marinated chicken on the trivet. Cook on high pressure for 12-14 minutes and allow to naturally release or manual release. Make sure the chicken reaches 165F.
- Alternatively, you can first sear the chicken breasts using the sauté function (for about 7 minutes, cooking on the first side for about 3 minutes, flipping and finishing on the next side. Remove the chicken and add 1 cup of water, scrape down the bottom of the insert so you don’t get a burn noticed. Add the trivet and place the chicken on top of the trivet. Cook high pressure for 10-12 minutes (depending on the size of the chicken breast). Manual release or allow it to release pressure naturally, making sure the chicken reaches 165F.
How to store chicken while marinating?
Typically you want to be sure the chicken is in a well sealed bag or even in a vacuum sealed bag while the chicken is marinating in the fridge. I like to store the bag the chicken is sitting in in a glass bowl or container, this way if there is a hole in the bag, the chicken doesn’t leak all over the fridge.
If you decide to freeze your chicken with the marinade, you will definitely want to remove as much of the air as possible before freezing, and a vacuum sealing device can be great for this. If you don’t have a vacuum sealing bag, press out as much of the air as possible and double bag the chicken before freezing. This way when you are defrosting, you don’t have to worry if the first bag has a small hole or something in it.
5 easy chicken marinade recipes:
These 5 easy chicken marinade recipes will make your meal prep for this week so simple! These recipes are Whole30 compliant, but don’t require any crazy ingredients or specialty items. The recipes are written for 1 pound of chicken or turkey! For more flavorful chicken, you can cut the breast into strips or bite size pieces, ensuring more of the chicken gets covered in the marinade mixture.
These chicken marinade recipes cook up easily and go great with your favorite veggies and starches like rice, quinoa, roasted potatoes, sweet potatoes or cauliflower rice or low carb pasta!
Greek Chicken Marinade
Ingredients:
- Olive oil (or roasted garlic olive oil for low FODMAP)
- Red wine vinegar
- Salt
- Dried oregano
- Dijon Mustard
- Garlic powder (omit for low FODMAP)
- Lemon Juice
Balsamic Herb Marinade
Ingredients:
- Balsamic vinegar
- Olive oil (or roasted garlic olive oil for low FODMAP)
- Herbs de Provence or Italian seasoning
- Dijon mustard
- Garlic powder (omit for low FODMAP)
- Salt
Citrus Herb Marinade
Ingredients:
- Olive oil (or roasted garlic olive oil for low FODMAP)
- Lemons (juice and zest)
- Coconut aminos
- Fresh herbs (thyme, rosemary, parsley, sage) or dried
- Garlic powder (omit for low FODMAP)
Teriyaki Marinade
Ingredients:
- Medjool date
- Coconut aminos
- Rice wine vinegar
- Olive oil (or roasted garlic olive oil for low FODMAP)
- Fresh ginger
- Garlic powder (omit for low FODMAP)
- Salt
Dijon Herb Marinade
Ingredients:
- Dijon mustard
- Coconut aminos
- Apple cider vinegar
- Olive oil (or roasted garlic olive oil for low FODMAP)
- Garlic powder
- Salt
- Dried thyme
How to make Whole30 marinade:
Combine all the ingredients together in a plastic bag, add chicken and marinate at least 20 minutes (8-12 hours is best).
Note: for the teriyaki chicken, you will want to blend the dates into the rest of the ingredients with a high speed blender before adding it to the bag for marinating.
5 Easy Chicken Marinade Recipes (Whole30)
Ingredients
Greek Chicken Marinade
- 1 tbsp olive oil – or roasted garlic olive oil for low FODMAP
- 2 tbsp red wine vinegar
- 1/2 tbsp dried oregano
- 1/2 tbsp dijon mustard
- 1/2 lemon juiced
- 1 tsp garlic powder – omit for low FODMAP
- 1/2 tsp salt
Balsamic Herb Marinade
- 2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
- 1 tbsp olive oil – or roasted garlic olive oil for low FODMAP
- 1/2 tbsp herbs de provence – or Italian Seasoning
- 1/2 tbsp dijon mustard
- 1 tsp garlic powder – omit for low FODMAP
- 1/2 tsp salt
Citrus Herb Marinade
- 1 tbsp olive oil – or roasted garlic olive oil for low FODMAP
- 2 lemons juiced – or 1 orange
- 1 lemon zest
- 1 tbsp coconut aminos
- 2-3 tbsp fresh chopped herbs (thyme, rosemary, parsley, sage) – or 1 tbsp dried herbs
- 1 tsp garlic powder – omit for low FODMAP
Teriyaki
- 1 medium Medjool dates – pitted
- 3 tbsp coconut aminos
- 1 tbsp rice wine vinegar
- 1 tbsp olive oil – or roasted garlic olive oil for low FODMAP
- 1 tsp grated fresh ginger
- 1 tsp garlic powder – omit for low FODMAP
- 1/2 tsp salt
Dijon Herb Marinade
- 1 tbsp dijon mustard
- 1 tbsp coconut aminos
- 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
- 1 tbsp olive oil – or roasted garlic olive oil for low FODMAP
- 1 tsp garlic powder – omit for low FODMAP
- 1/2 tsp dried thyme
- 1/4 tsp salt
Instructions
Greek Chicken Marinade
- Combine the ingredients. Pour over 1 pound of chicken or turkey and allow to marinate for at least 20 minutes, preferably 8 hours.
Balsamic Herb Marinade
- Combine the ingredients. Pour over 1 pound of chicken or turkey and allow to marinate for at least 20 minutes, preferably 8 hours.
Citrus Herb Marinade
- Zest a lemon. Juice two lemons or one orange. Add the rest of the ingredients to the lemon or orange juice and stir well to combine ingredients.
- Pour over 1 pound of chicken or turkey and allow to marinate for at least 20 minutes, preferably 8 hours.
Teriyaki
- Combine the ingredients in a blender and blend on high until date has been completely broken down. Takes about 1 minute.
Dijon Herb Marinade
- Combine the ingredients. Pour over 1 pound of chicken or turkey and allow to marinate for at least 20 minutes, preferably 8 hours.
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Notes
Nutrition Information
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Josh
Great easy, quick and tasty recipes. Do you think the Dijon herb marinade would work for steak such as flank or hanger?