This Healthy Chicken Marinade is full of flavor! Using lemons, fresh herbs, fresh garlic, and dijon mustard, we let the chicken breasts marinate and absorb the flavors though some added chicken broth, resulting in juicy, tender flavorful chicken breasts.
Healthy Chicken Marinade Ingredients:
- Fresh Garlic: Don’t skimp for jarred, or granulated. The fresh garlic really gives this a kick!
- Fresh Herbs: Fresh is best. I use a medley from my garden (parsley, rosemary, and oregano), but whatever you have on hand will work. Dill, tarragon or thyme would also be great.
- Lemons: We use the whole lemon for this recipe. Zest, juice, and then slice it for added flavor while marinating.
- Dijon Mustard: Smooth or whole grain works.
- Chicken Broth: Marinating chicken in lemon juice on its own can dry out the chicken (too much acid) so we add chicken broth to lighten it up. A double bonus to using chicken broth is the chicken soaks up the liquid, and creates a juicy, tender interior.
- Salt/Pepper
How to Prepare Ingredients for Lemon Chicken Marinade
It’s important to mix the marinade first before adding in the chicken. I like to prepare my marinade right in the same casserole dish I’m marinating the chicken in, but if you want easy cleanup, a ziplock bag works as well. Be sure to seal it well, there is a lot of liquid in this recipe!
- Garlic: I bought prepeeled garlic and rough chopped it. You could mince it as large or as small as you like.
- Herbs: I rough chopped my fresh herbs (after washing them). You could chop the herbs smaller so they ‘stick’ more to the chicken when you’re cooking it, chef’s choice.
- Lemons: Zest lemons using a microplane, juice them if you like a big lemon punch of flavor, and then slice them.
- Chicken Broth: Add dijon and whisk to disperse the flavor. You can do this in the pan or separately.
What cuts of chicken work best with this marinade recipe?
Any! This recipe is super versatile. I used chicken breasts but chicken thighs, or chicken tenders would be great as well.
How to cook Marinated Chicken:
Air Fryer: Preheat air fryer to 400 degrees fahrenheit. Spray basket with nonstick, and place chicken in air fryer basket. Cook for roughly 15-20 minutes, flipping at the halfway point, and cook until chicken reaches 165 degrees fahrenheit internally at its thickest point.
Bake: Preheat oven to 375 degrees fahrenheit. Line a sheet pan with foil, and spray with nonstick. Place chicken onto foil lined pan sprayed with nonstick, and bake for about 20 minutes. Chicken is done once it reaches 165 degrees fahrenheit at its thickest point.
Grill: Preheat grill to 400 degrees fahrenheit. Place chicken on grill, and flip over at the 10-15 minute mark. Continue to cook for additional 10-12 minutes. Chicken is fully cooked once it reaches 165 degrees internally.
If you’re looking for other healthy chicken recipes, here’s a few more that we love!
Healthy Chicken Marinade
Ingredients
- 4-6 chicken breasts (or desired cut of chicken)
- 1.5 cups chicken broth
- 2 tbsp dijon mustard
- 3 tbsp fresh rough chopped herbs (I used parsley,rosemary and oregano)
- 3 tbsp fresh chopped garlic
- 2 large lemons (Zested, juiced, and sliced)
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp pepper
Instructions
- Prepare lemons: Zest 2 lemons, juice the, and slice them. Add juice and zest to casserole dish, reserving slices to top chicken with.
- Add herbs, garlic, dijon, salt/pepper and chicken broth to casserole dish. Whisk to combine.
- Place chicken into casserole dish. Top chicken with lemon slices and additional herbs if desired. Marinate for at least 12 hours, and up to 24 hours.
- Cook chicken as desired. Chicken is fully cooked once it reaches 165 degrees internally at its thickest point. Air Fryer: Preheat air fryer to 400 degrees fahrenheit. Spray basket with nonstick, and place chicken in air fryer basket. Cook for roughly 15-20 minutes, flipping at the halfway point, and cook until chicken reaches 165 degrees fahrenheit internally at its thickest point.Bake: Preheat oven to 375 degrees fahrenheit. Line a sheet pan with foil, and spray with nonstick. Place chicken onto foil lined pan sprayed with nonstick, and bake for about 20 minutes. Chicken is done once it reaches 165 degrees fahrenheit at its thickest point.Grill: Preheat grill to 400 degrees fahrenheit. Place chicken on grill, and flip over at the 10-15 minute mark. Continue to cook for additional 10-12 minutes. Chicken is fully cooked once it reaches 165 degrees internally.
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