Description
Italian marinated chicken is juicy, tender, and bursting with herby flavor. The marinade comes together quickly, and the chicken is easy to cook. Serve the chicken with any simple veggie, side salad, or grains for a complete meal. Or, make it a meal-prep ingredient for busy weeks.
Ingredients
Units
Scale
Chicken
- 2 to 4 chicken breasts (about 1 to 2 pounds) – could also sub boneless, skinless chicken thighs
Italian Marinade
- 1/3 cup red wine vinegar
- 1/3 cup avocado oil, or other neutral, high-smoke-point oil
- 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
- 1 tablespoon granulated sugar, or honey
- 2 teaspoons kosher salt (if using table salt, reduce to 1 teaspoon)
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
- 2 teaspoons onion powder
- 1 teaspoon dried basil (see notes for subbing with Italian seasoning blend)
- 1/2 teaspoon dried rosemary
- 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder (or 1 garlic clove, minced)
- optional: 1/2 to 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
For cooking
- 1 tablespoons avocado oil, or other neutral, high-smoke-point oil (as needed)
Instructions
- Pound the chicken breasts – If using chicken breasts, I recommend pounding the chicken breasts into an even thickness. Note: if using boneless, skinless chicken thighs, you can skip this step. You can do this by placing the chicken breasts on a plastic cutting board, and covering them tightly with plastic wrap. I recommend using a plastic cutting board that is non-slip, like this one. Use the flat side of a meat mallet to pound the thicker parts of the chicken so that it’s thinner. Ideally, you want the thicker parts of the chicken breast to be an even thickness with the thinner parts of the chicken. TIP: If the chicken breasts are wet, pat them dry really well, otherwise they will slip around. Also, depending on the size of your chickens/how many you are doing, you might needs to do two at a time. If careful, you can re-use the plastic wrap.
- Poke holes in the chicken – Use a fork to poke a few holes throughout the chicken. This helps the marinade to really soak into the chicken.
- Make the marinade – To a gallon-sized zipper bag, add all of the ingredients for the Italian marinade, close the bag, and squish the marinade around until it is well combined. Open up the bag again, and add the chicken. Re-seal the bag and place the bag in a baking dish, or other container to catch any potential leaks. Alternately, you could mix the marinate up in a large bowl, and marinate the chicken in that same bowl.
- Allow the chicken to marinate – Place the chicken in the fridge to marinate for up to 6 hours, flipping the chicken in the marinate every once in a while, if possible (I just flip the bag over, when I think about it). Even marinating the chicken for as little as 15 minutes results in a really flavor chicken. Note: Don’t marinate longer than 6 hours. When using a vinegar based marinade, the high acid content can break down the chicken and give it a weird texture.
- Bring the chicken to room temp – 30 minutes to 1 hour before you cook the chicken, pull it out of the fridge and allow it to come to warm up a little. Cooking room temp chicken helps the chicken to cook more evenly, preventing your chicken from drying out. If you’re only marinating your chicken for 15 minutes, you can just leave it out at room temp.
- For grilled chicken – prepare your outdoor grill by heating it to about 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Once the grates are heated, brush the grates of the grill with 1 tablespoon of avocado oil. Tap any excess marinade off the chicken, and discard the marinade. Place the chicken on the hot grill, cover the lid, and grill for 5 to 7 minutes, or until you see the edges of the chicken start to turn white, and the chicken releases easily from the grill. Cook on the other side for 3 to 4 minutes, or until the internal temperature reads 155 to 160 degrees Fahrenheit when using a meat thermometer in the thickest part of the chicken (the residual heat will bring the temperature up to 165 degrees Fahrenheit, after the chicken is removed form the grill). Allow the chicken to rest for 5 minutes before cutting into it. This helps the juices in the chicken to redistribute into the chicken, rather than running out, giving you a juicer chicken.
- For indoor grilled pan on the stovetop – Note: you can also use this same method with a skillet. Heat your grill pan on high heat. Once the grill pan nice and hot, and smoking a little, brush the grill pan with 1 tablespoon of avocado oil. Tap any excess marinade off the chicken, and discard the marinade. Place the chicken on the hot grill pan. Cook 5 to 7 minutes, or until you see the edges of the chicken start to turn white, and the chicken releases easily from the grill pan. Cook on the other side for 3 to 4 minutes, or until the internal temperature reads 155 to 160 degrees Fahrenheit when using a meat thermometer in the thickest part of the chicken (the residual heat will bring the temperature up to 165 degrees Fahrenheit, after the chicken is removed form the grill pan). Allow the chicken to rest for 5 minutes before cutting into it. This helps the juices in the chicken to redistribute into the chicken, rather than running out, giving you a juicer chicken.
- For baking the chicken – Preheat the oven to 435 degrees Fahrenheit. Line a baking sheet with foil. Tap any excess marinade off the chicken, and discard the marinade. Place the chicken on the baking sheet and bake for 10 to 15 minutes, depending on the thickness of your chicken. Bake chicken until the internal temperature reads 155 to 160 degrees Fahrenheit when using a meat thermometer in the thickest part of the chicken (the residual heat will bring the temperature up to 165 degrees Fahrenheit, after the chicken is removed form the oven). Allow the chicken to rest for 5 minutes before cutting into it. This helps the juices in the chicken to redistribute into the chicken, rather than running out, giving you a juicer chicken.
- For the Air Fryer – Preheat your air fryer to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Note: depending on the size of your air fryer, and the size of the chicken, you may only be able to fit 1 to 2 chicken breasts in at the same time. Make sure the chicken breasts are laying flat, and not overlapping. You can cook them in batches. Tap the marinade off the chicken breasts, and place the chicken in the air fryer and cook for 6 minutes on the first side, flip, and cook the chicken for 4 to 6 minutes on the other side, or until the internal temperature reads 155 to 160 degrees Fahrenheit when using a meat thermometer in the thickest part of the chicken (the residual heat will bring the temperature up to 165 degrees Fahrenheit, after the chicken is removed form the grill pan). Allow the chicken to rest for 5 minutes before cutting into it. This helps the juices in the chicken to redistribute into the chicken, rather than running out, giving you a juicer chicken.
- To serve – Once the chicken has rested for 5 minutes, you can serve the chicken warm. This chicken is great as is with a side dish (see notes for ideas), or cut it up and add it to a salad. It also is great for meal-prep because the chicken stays nice and juicy when re-heated.
Notes
Sub Italian seasoning – You can sub an Italian seasoning blend for all of the herbs. Use 1 tablespoon Italian seasoning. I would still add the garlic powder, onion powder, and red pepper flakes, if there isn’t any already in there. Along with the kosher salt and pepper.
Fresh herbs – you can sub any of the dried herbs for fresh herbs, if you would like. Simply double the amount when using fresh herbs.
Side dishes to serve this chicken with – You can easily cook up some steamed green beans, broccoli, or whip up a simple side salad, or you can make any of these easy side dishes: easy roasted potatoes, Mexican street corn salad, classic creamy coleslaw, instant pot garlic mashed potatoes, marinated 3 bean salad
