Italian Grilled Chicken Marinade
This Grilled Chicken Marinade has a mouthwateringly fresh flavor thanks to the Italian herbs with a zesty kick from cayenne pepper! Whip up this homemade marinade in just 10 minutes!
The Best Chicken Marinade
Grilled Chicken Marinade (Italian) packs your favorite cut of chicken with the most delicious punch of zesty flavor that will instantly be a crowd-pleaser! This easy-to-make marinade will have you making grilled chicken year-round!
Serve it up with corn on the cob and Best Mashed Potatoes for an incredibly satisfying meal! Maybe even go the extra mile with some Classic Parker House Dinner Rolls, because who doesn’t love warm buttery carbs?!
Rebecca’s Recipe Review
Taste: Fresh flavor with a zesty kick from cayenne pepper.
Ease: 2/10
Pros: Lots of delicious variations to try! Scroll down for ideas on how to give this recipe a tasty twist!
Cons: I think at least 12 hours of marinating is best. However, throw this together the night before, and you just meal prepped a day or even two in advance!
Would I Make This Again? Yes, this is a go-to in the summer grilling months!
Ingredients for Italian Chicken Marinade
This easy Chicken Marinade Recipe will have you running to your home-grown herbs to cut pieces off just to use for this marinade! Don’t grow your own herbs? No worries, I don’t either! However, if you’re still wanting that fresh herb flavor most produce sections of the grocery store do carry cut fresh herbs!
Quickly mix together this marinade with herbs such as parsley, basil, sage, thyme, and rosemary. To complete the marinade you’ll also need olive oil, dry red wine, garlic cloves, salt, onion powder, and cayenne pepper.
Once the food processor has mixed it all together into a creamy, delicious marinade you just cover your chicken with it! SO easy, right? This recipe is easier to whip up than running to the store for a bottle of pre-made marinade!
Substitutions & Variations
- Throw a delicious twist onto this recipe by adding some sundried tomatoes, olives, or fennel seeds to the marinade! If you’re feeling super adventurous you could also play around with brown sugar, balsamic vinegar, and lemon juice!
- For a non-alcoholic recipe, just swap out the dry red wine with part wine vinegar and chicken broth!
- Reduce the zest in this marinade by reducing or omitting the cayenne pepper altogether if you want to get rid of the slight kick this recipe has!
How To Make Italian Chicken Marinade
- Add all of the ingredients into a food processor.
- Mix them together until creamy.
- Add the chicken and marinade to a covered dish or large Ziploc bag.
- Marinate the chicken for an hour in the refrigerator. Then remove the chicken and cook!
How To Cook The Marinated Chicken
This depends largely on the cut of chicken you’re using (chicken breast, chicken thighs, a whole chicken, etc.) as well as the cooking method (grilled, baked, stove-top, etc.).
Just keep in mind that the internal temperature of chicken should be 165 degrees F to be safe for eating regardless of cut or method.
Check out more chicken recipes that I think you’ll love just as much!
- Ranch Chicken – This easy-to-make recipe uses just 2 ingredients to pack chicken full of ranch flavor!
- Oven Fried Chicken – A healthy version of everyone’s favorite comfort food!
- Garlic Chicken – Super juicy chicken that’s made with over 40 cloves of garlic!
- Baked Chicken Wings – Crispy chicken that doesn’t involve deep frying!
Did You Make This Recipe?
If you’ve tried this recipe, please let leave a review in the comments below. I love hearing from you! Don’t forget to tag me – @sugarandsoulco – on Instagram and Pinterest with your photos, or join our Sugar & Soul Show-offs Community and share them there.
Grilled Chicken Marinade
Ingredients
- ¼ cup olive oil
- ¼ cup dry red wine 1
- 3 garlic cloves minced
- ¼ cup fresh parsley around 8-10 stems
- 8-10 basil leaves
- 3 sage leaves
- 1 sprig thyme
- ½ sprig rosemary just the needles
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- ½ teaspoon cayenne pepper
Instructions
- Mix all ingredients for the marinade in a food processor until creamy.
- Place the chicken in a covered dish or large ziploc bag with the marinade and marinate for at least 1 hour in the refrigerator, best if left overnight.
Notes
- You can also use white wine or substitute with part wine vinegar and chicken broth if you want a non-alcoholic version.
- Marinate for at least 1 hour to marinate – best overnight – so the salt and the flavors can truly infuse the meat.
- Variations:
- Add dried herbs instead of the fresh ones, if you don’t have them.
- You can also add some sundried tomatoes and/or olives to the marinade, some fennel seeds are also amazing with this.
Nutrition
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