An easy, 3 ingredient Grilled Chicken Marinade, perfect for chicken breasts, thighs, or chicken pieces. I’ve deemed this the Best Grilled Chicken Marinade because it’s so easy to put together, and the chicken grills up moist and full of flavor every time!
An Easy, 3 Ingredient Grilled Chicken Marinade
This easy chicken marinade has recently become my go-to. Marinating chicken is the key to grilling moist and flavorful chicken. It takes so little time (just a little preplanning!), and the results are SO worth it!
I adore coconut aminos. It’s a healthier soy-free (and wheat-free!) alternative to soy sauce, perfect for gluten free, soy free, low carb and keto diets. It’s made from coconut tree sap and salt, so there is naturally occurring sugar. Used as a marinade, it leaves the chicken sweet and moist, with no need to add sugar.
Ingredients in Grilled Chicken Marinade
- 2 pounds of chicken breasts, thighs, or chicken pieces
- Coconut Aminos
- Ground Ginger
- Sea Salt
Tips for the Best Grilled Chicken
Marinating chicken before grilling is the best way to make sure the chicken doesn’t dry out while being cooked at night heat.
During the summer when we are grilling often, I try to always be thinking a day ahead, so I can marinate the chicken for at least 12 hours.
How to Marinate Chicken Breasts or Chicken Thighs
- Start with fully defrosting chicken. If my chicken is frozen, I let it sit out at room temperature until it is defrosted.
- Put chicken in a marinating container, or in a large ziplock bag.
- Add marinade ingredients. This recipe calls for coconut aminos, ginger, and salt. These three ingredients take literally a minute to add to your chicken.
- Place the chicken in the refrigerate to marinate overnight. If you don’t have enough time, try to ensure the chicken is marinating at least 4 hours.
- Flip chicken over, or shake up the marinating bag, at least once half way through the marinating time.
How to Grill Chicken
Chicken grills over high heat. The first step to grilling chicken is to make sure your grill is heated to about 400º F. If using a gas grill, this is easy to gauge. If grilling over charcoal, spread your coals out in an even single layer and allow them to become ashy before starting to grill.
I like to use a meat thermometer when grilling chicken. Chicken needs to cook to an internal temperature of 165ºF. This pocket knife sized thermometer is easy to keep near your grill.
At this temperature, chicken takes about 20-30 minutes to grill. Grill on one side until there are charred grill marks on your chicken, and then flip. Depending on how thick the chicken is, it might need to be flipped and cooked longer.
Especially when using a flavorful marinade like this one, I like to cut my chicken in thin, small pieces, so more of the chicken is infused with the flavor, and the grilling time is cut down so the outside has a nice char, but the chicken is still tender inside.
The BEST Grilled Chicken Marinade
Ingredients
- 2 pounds chicken breasts thighs or pieces
- 1/2 cup coconut aminos
- 1 teaspoon ground ginger or sub grated fresh ginger
- 1 teaspoon sea salt
Instructions
- Add chicken to a marinating container or large ziplock bag. Add in marinade ingredients, and mix around to coat chicken.
- Refrigerate while marinating, flipping the chicken over half way through the marinating time. This needs at least 4 hours to marinate, but leaving it overnight (12-24 hours) is recommended.
Video
Nutrition
Grilled Chicken Side Dishes
- Low Carb Asian Chicken Salad, by Blissfully Low Carb
- Mexican Caesar Salad, by Sunkissed Kitchen (omit tortilla strips for low carb)
- Grilled Zucchini Salad, by The Endless Meal
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This really is the best (and easiest) grilled chicken marinade! I love using coconut aminos, especially paired with ginger. Yum!
Michelle makes this a lot. So yummy