Lemon Herb Chicken Marinade

This lemon herb chicken marinade is simple to put together and the taste is fabulous. Perfect for summertime grilling, or making anytime feel like summertime.

Every good cook needs to have a repertoire of good marinade recipes.  A good marinade can be a total life saver, especially in the summer when it’s just too hot to cook!.

It doesn’t get much easier than marinating a piece of meat and then popping it on the grill at dinner time.

Go To Lemon Herb Marinade Recipe

Today’s simple but delicious marinade came from my friend Tracy and it has become my go to chicken marinade.  The use of lemon juice and herbs gives it a fresh, light summer time flavor.

Can I Use Fresh Herbs?

You can use either fresh herbs or dried herbs in this recipe.  In the summer when I have easy access to all the herbs in my garden I use fresh, in the winter dried herbs work just great.  You can even switch up the combo of herbs depending on what you have but I like to use basil, rosemary and thyme.  A little garlic, salt and pepper and you are good to go.

The ratio of fresh herbs to dried herbs is 3 to 1.  Three teaspoons or 1 Tablespoon of fresh to 1 tsp of dried.

How to Make Lemon Herb Chicken Marinade

• Mix together olive oil, lemon juice, garlic and herbs.
• Place mixture in a zippered plastic bag and add chicken.
• Refrigerate for 2-4 hours.

How Long Should I Marinade Chicken?

For this recipe, I like to marinate it for 3-4 hours. You don’t really want to marinate chicken for longer than four hours when the marinade has a high acidity level thanks to the lemon juice. If you marinate for too long it can cause the meat to become mushy. 

If you. need to marinade for longer than four hours, add the lemon juice in the last couple of hours.

What Kind Of Chicken is best to Marinade?

I usually use boneless, skinless chicken breasts but you could also use thighs, drumsticks or even a whole chicken.

How Long to Grill Chicken

The length of time will vary depending on how hot your grill is so it is always best to use a meat thermometer to check the chicken’s temperature.

Chicken is considered done at 165 degrees F. I always remove my chicken from the grill at about 155 and then allow it to sit a few minutes, this helps prevent overcooking and drying out the chicken.

If you don’t have a meat thermometer, prick the chicken with a fork to see if the juices run clear. If the juices are pink, the chicken isn’t cooked through. Don’t cut into the meat as that allows too much of the juice to run out and dry out the chicken.

• Boneless skinless chicken breasts usually need about 4-5 minutes per side 
• Bone-in chicken needs about longer, about 10 minutes per side.

Other things we like to throw on the grill are:

• Fast Fire Flank Steak
• Grilled Vegetables
• Grilled Caesar Salad
• Garlic Herb Shrimp
• London Broil Marinade

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Lemon Herb Marinade Recipe