Chicken is a staple food found in most meat-lovers’ kitchens. Cooking chicken is easy as well, but preparing the same recipes day in and day out leaves us bored. To overcome this challenge, you can try some no-fail chicken marinades that would surely make you and your family eagerly look forward to dinner.
Marinating chicken is a very simple way to infuse flavor into bland chicken and make the meat tender, moist, and juicy. After adding the required ingredients, you can store the chicken in the freezer or refrigerator so that the meat ‘marries’ the flavors. You can also store the marinated chicken in the freezer for a couple of days until you are ready to cook it.
What Are The Marinating Staples?
You have endless options for marinating and a few pantry staples can always help you with a good marinade. A good marinade requires acids like vinegar, lemon juice, or mustard to tenderize the protein. You can add any combination of seasonings, herbs, and spices to the acid to infuse flavor. To add moisture, extra virgin olive oil should be added. Adding oil makes it easy for the chicken to get prepared well. Once marinated, you can grill the chicken or bake it in an oven or even cook it in a pan.
Chicken Marinades That You Can Store
Here are a few marinade recipes to pamper every taste bud of yours. From lemon garlic and sweet and sour to ginger teriyaki and honey mustard to name a few, these marinade recipes will surely make a chicken-rich dinner extremely satisfying. They are not just easy to create but also, make for a great go-to chicken dinner at all times.
Each of these marinades are enough to coat at least one pound of chicken, and that is two large boneless, skinless chicken breasts in a 1-quart bag. If you want to make a larger dinner, you can always double the quantities of each ingredient. All you must do is add all the ingredients for the marinade in the 1-quart bag and shake it well to mix them. Then, you need to place the chicken in the bag, seal the bag from the top, and turn it to coat the chicken well. Freeze it until you are ready to cook or place the marinated chicken in the refrigerator if you are preparing it within 24 hours. Once you decide to cook it, just saute, bake, grill, or fry the chicken. You always have the option to make all the chicken marinades on a Sunday and freeze them so that you have ready-to-cook dishes all throughout the busy week.
Chicken Marinade Recipes
Total time needed: 25 minutes
Cooking time: 20 minutes
Preparation time: 5 minutes
Serves: 2 people
Tools Needed: Freezer bag
Each marinade recipe is for 2 chicken breasts.
1. Sweet And Sour Marinade
Ingredients:
1 cup chopped pineapple
4 tablespoons coconut aminos
2 tablespoons coconut sugar
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
½ teaspoon garlic powder
½ teaspoon minced ginger
2. Honey Mustard Marinade
Ingredients:
2 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
2 tablespoon yellow or Dijon mustard
2 tablespoon honey
1 teaspoon paprika
3. Chimichurri Marinade
Ingredients:
4 tablespoons red wine vinegar
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon fresh or dried cilantro
1 teaspoon fresh or dried parsley
1 teaspoon cumin
4. Chipotle Marinade
Ingredients:
4 tablespoons minced garlic
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon paprika
1 teaspoon onion powder
5. Lemon Garlic Marinade
Ingredients:
Juice of 1 lemon
4 tablespoons minced garlic
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
6. Ginger Teriyaki Marinade
Ingredients:
4 tablespoons coconut aminos
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons minced ginger
2 teaspoons sesame seeds
1 teaspoon tapioca flour
7. Coconut Curry Marinade
Ingredients:
¼ cup unsweetened coconut milk
4 tablespoon coconut aminos
1 teaspoon curry powder
1 teaspoon garlic powder
8. Balsamic Marinade
Ingredients:
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
Instructions:
1. Take the 1-quart freezer bag and place the ingredients for the marinade recipe you have chosen. Seal the bag and shake it well for all the ingredients to mix well.
2. Place the chicken in the bag and seal it and turn it to let the chicken get coated evenly.
3. Marinate for a minimum time of 2 hours.
4. To grill: Preheat the grill for 7 to 10 minutes. Place the chicken on the heated grill and flip once.
On the stove: Place the marinated chicken in a skillet over medium heat. Do this for 12 to 15 minutes and flip once.
In the oven: Preheat the oven to 375 F. Place the marinated chicken in a glass baking dish or on a baking sheet. Bake the chicken for 20 minutes until it gets cooked through the center.
With these delicious chicken marinade recipes, bid goodbye to all the boring meals at home.
