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 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. 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.

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.

Make-Ahead Ideas

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. Never eat boring chicken again! Try one of these flavorful marinades to add lots of pizzazz to grilled chicken:  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.

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