Nothing smells better than a citrus and herb chicken that perfumes the house while it's cooking. My easy and delicious lemon herb chicken marinade is loaded with delicious flavor from lemon and herbs and that will make any chicken dinner taste amazing. If you are looking for a really easy and delicious marinade for chicken, this is it.
Why I love this easy chicken marinade
This lemon and herb marinade for chicken is one of our favorite ways to prepare chicken. The inspiration comes from a trip to France a while back where I bought the most delicious herb spice blend from a local food market.
It was all green spices and so delicious. This marinade is also:
- Versatile: We use it on whole roasted chicken, chicken breasts, or any chicken dinner that we make.
- So easy! This marinade takes just minutes to assemble and the results are amazing.
- Tenderizer: The lemon tenderizes the chicken and adds so much flavor. The beautiful aroma from the herbs will certainly get people to the table.
You can use this marinade for roasting, grilling or stovetop cooking. All you need to do is make the marinade, give it about 30 minutes to infuse into the chicken and cook.
Ingredients needed
All you need for this chicken marinade are the herbs and some basic ingredients. Here is a list (full recipe below)
- 2 bunches of Italian parsley lightly chopped and stems removed. About 2 cups not packed.
- ⅓ cup Olive oil
- 20 fresh basil leaves
- 2 cloves garlic lightly chopped
- 1 large lemon juiced
- 1 tsp kosher salt plus more to taste
How to Make
Making this lemon herb chicken marinade is very easy since you just throw it all into a food processor. If you don't have a food processor, you can mash the herbs in a bowl with the other ingredients.
- Add all of the ingredients to a food processor.
- Mix together until the mixture is mostly smooth
- Add the marinade to the chicken. Let the chicken sit in the marinade for about 30 minutes for the best results.
- Cook. You can bake the chicken, roast it, or grill it. This marinade works on any cut of chicken but my personal preference is using boneless chicken breasts.
How to cook chicken with marinade
Before doing any cooking, you want to make sure the chicken has had time to sit in that delicious lemon herb marinade. Preferably 30 minutes.
From there, follow the steps below:
- Pan-roasting and baking boneless chicken breasts: Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Place chicken on a lined baking sheet and cook for about 20 minutes or until cooked all the way through.
- Grilling boneless chicken breasts; Preheat a grill to medium heat. Place chicken breast on the grill and cook (flipping halfway through) for about 12-15 minutes or until cooked all the way through.
- Sauteeing boneless chicken breasts; Preheat a large saute pan over medium heat. Add a little oil and place chicken breasts in the pan. Cook for about 4-5 minutes a side or until cooked all the way through.
Pretty simple right!
Recipe Tips
For the best results using this lemon herb chicken marinade, here are some important tips:
- Let the chicken sit in the marinade for at least 30 minutes. This allows the chicken some time to pick up the flavors of the marinade.
- After cooking the chicken, allow it to rest for at least 5 minutes. This allows the chicken to stay juicy. If you eat the chicken right away after cooking, the juices will run out. Resting allows those juices to go back into the chicken.
More Delicious Marinades And Seasonings!
Delicious Lemon Herb Chicken Marinade
Equipment
- food processor
Ingredients
- 2 bunches of Italian parsley lightly chopped and stems removed. About 2 cups not packed.
- ⅓ cup Olive oil
- 10 fresh basil leaves
- 2 cloves garlic lightly chopped
- 1 large lemon juiced
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt plus more to taste
Instructions
- Add all of the ingredients to a food processor.2 bunches of Italian parsley, ⅓ cup Olive oil, 10 fresh basil leaves, 2 cloves garlic, 1 large lemon, 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- Mix together until the mixture is mostly smooth and slightly thick (a few lumps are fine)
- Add the marinade to the chicken and coat evenly then let sit for at least 30 minutes or up to one hour in the fridge.
- Cook chicken according to instructions listed below based on cooking method.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition Values are estimates only.
See full nutrition disclaimer hereTried the Recipe? We Would Love To Hear From You In The Comments Below!
Meg says
Thank you for sharing this recipe