This simple healthy chicken marinade with lemon & basil is perfect for the grill – but also delicious when baked in the oven or fried stove-top. Marinated with olive oil, lemon & basil this chicken comes out juicy, tender and full of flavor – so good you don’t even need a sauce to go with it. (But if you want one anyway – may I suggest some whipped feta?)
Why this marinade will level up your chicken game
- The chicken is softened and tenderized by the lemon & salt.
- The most flavorful grilled chicken there is…
- … and it’s delicious both warm and cold.
- I don’t say it often – but it’s so good it doesn’t even need a sauce.
- Suitable for all types of chicken meat: be it chicken thighs, filets, kebabs, for skewers or even minced chicken, this marinade will work wonders.
- Works for oven baking and pan frying as well as grilling.
- This flavor packed chicken is a great dish next to a simple side – or the star player in a salad, wrap or pasta.
Expert tips for marinating
- Always marinate in plastic bags – it makes it so easy getting marinade all over your meat (I always double-bag it just to be safe), and also makes turning it while marinating so much easier. Because the next tip is to…
- …turn your meat a few times while marinating, to ensure all the flavors go all around.
- Choose oil according to taste – or lack thereof. For this recipe I want the olive oil taste, but that’s not always the case – so if you don’t specifically want the taste of olive oil, use a more neutral oil like rapeseed.
- Use dried basil if you don’t have fresh. About 1 Tbsp should do as a substitute for 20 leaves of the fresh kind.
- Add salt moderately and only if it fills a purpose – in this recipe the salt helps tenderize the chicken, and the suggested amount is tested so that the chicken doesn’t turn out too salty. If you don’t need the salt to tenderize or are just afraid you’re meat will turn out too salty – add salt just before cooking instead. The lemon will still help make the chicken oh so tender.
- Marinate longer for more flavor but don’t forget to…
- …decrease the amount of salt if marinating longer than 1-1.5 hours (for this recipe).
How to make the best Lemon Chicken Marinade
No annoying choppy prep for this one! We’ll just dive straight into it instead.
Start by zesting your lemon into a bowland then squeeze in the lemon juice.
Follow with fresh basil leaves that you shred roughly with your hands, salt, fresh ground black pepper and olive oil. Mix!
Bring out two plastic bags and place them one in the other. Place the chicken in the inner bag and pour over the marinade.
Then close the bags with a knot and massage the chicken through the bags, to distribute the marinade evenly and start the tenderizing process. Then place the plastic bags in a bowl and put in the fridge for at least 1 hour.
When you bring out the chicken after that hour, it will be a little bit white. This is normal! A lot of lemon juice in there which will tenderize and the acidity will also start to “cook” the chicken – hence, it turns a bit white.
Grill your chicken for about 8 minutes per side (or as long as needed to ensure it is cooked through) and then serve with your favorite side, or as part of a salad, pasta dish, in a wrap… hot or cold! Either way, it’s gonna be yummy.
Tools to help you make it
Now you have my secret chicken weapon – use it well! And let me know what you think about this version of chicken marinade with lemon – it’s easy, just leave a comment and/or a rating below.
Easy Chicken Marinade with Lemon & Basil
Print Pin RateIngredients
- 400 g chicken thigh fillets or another cut of chicken
Lemon Basil Marinade
- 1 lemon juice and zest
- 20 basil leaves roughly shredded
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1/2 tsp fresh ground black pepper
- 1/2 tsp salt
Instructions
- Make the marinade by mixing together lemon zest, lemon juice, basil leaves, olive oil, black pepper and salt in a bowl.
- Bring out two plastic bags and place one in the other. Place the chicken in the inner bag and pour over the marinade. Close the bags with a knot and massage the chicken gently through the bags to distribute the marinade evenly. Place in a bowl in the fridge and leave to marinate for at least 1 hour, turning the bags a few times during this time.
- Grill your chicken thigh fillets for 8 minutes per side, or as needed to ensure the chicken is cooked through.
Video
Notes
- Prep time is for making the marinade
- Cook time is estimated time for grilling – time is estimated at 8 min/side for chicken thigh filets. This time will vary if using other cooking methods or other cuts of chicken. Please always make sure that your chicken is cooked through.
- If marinating longer than 1.5 hours please decrease the amount of salt, or add salt just before cooking instead.
- Nutritional information assumes 1/3 of the marinade is consumed
