Just 4 ingredients is all you need for the best chicken marinade!
Over the weekend we fired up the grill. My husband makes the best grilled chicken, he has it down to a science. A few extra minutes can either make it or break it. This marinade plus the grilling method makes the best grilled chicken! Our friends shared this quick marinade with us last Summer, and I have to say…we love it! It’s now my go to marinade when it comes to chicken.
It’s the perfect solution for when your brown sugar gets too hard for baking, because it dissolves right into the liquid of the marinade. Technically speaking…I did not measure the brown sugar exact here, but that’s the beauty of cooking vs. baking, right?!
Let it marinate for at least 30 minutes or best for 4 hours. You can marinate chicken overnight (covered in the fridge), but with the soy sauce in this marinade, it can sometimes discolor the uncooked chicken if you marinate for too long.
How to Grill Chicken perfect every time
Here’s his best grilling tips when it comes to chicken:
-Fire up the grill…preheat to medium high.
-Place the chicken breasts on the grill and do not touch them for 6 minutes.
-Right at 6 minutes, you flip them over and then don’t touch them for another 4 to 5 minutes.
-Then move it over to a plate and let it rest a bit (not long) and then serve.
That’s it! I hope these tips help you get perfectly grilled chicken every time!
The Best 4 ingredient chicken marinade
Ingredients
- 1 cup brown sugar
- 1 cup oil
- 1/2 cup soy sauce
- 1/2 cup vinegar
Instructions
-
Mix all ingredients together in a bowl or a ziplock bag.
-
Place the boneless skinless chicken breasts in the marinade.
-
Marinate chicken for at least 30 minutes or at the most overnight.
Making This Recipe? Tag us on Instagram: @NoBiggie using the hashtag #NoBiggieRecipes, so we can see what you are making in the kitchen!
It’s the best grilled chicken! You’ve gotta try it!
You will love our favorite Steak Marinade too! Happy Grilling!
More chicken recipes we LOVE:
–Chicken Broccoli Casserole
–Asian Chicken Pasta Salad
yum, I must try this!
Oh good! Yay!
What kind of vinegar do you use? Apple cider? White? Rice? – Does it even matter?
This looks really good (and easy) and I’d love to try it! Thank you!!
I use whatever I have. Seriously. If you have a favorite, go with that one.
Can I make them in the oven
I have several recipes that use vinegar. I find that if you want that “bite” of vinegar, Apple cider is your choice. But if you like more of a mild taste, white vinegar is best. :).
I had the same question. Bet apple cider vinegar would go well with this.
I have used white, red wine, balsamic and rice wine vinegar. All are equally fantastic. Rice wine is my favourite, but I use whatever I have on hand. I also put one whole, slightly crushed clove of garlic into the marinade. Perfect chicken every time. Love it.
I’m going to try this tonight if I can get my act together!
Oh good! Good luck!
This sounds awesome for pork also!!!!??
Maybe pork tenderloin to serve in 1/2 inch slices…..YUM
Hi Kami,
Just a tip : If your brown sugar gets hard, put it in a container with a tight fitting lid and add a slice of bread.
in 24 hours you will have soft brown sugar.
Oooh! great tip! I will try it next time! Thank you!
A marshmallow will work to keep the brown sugar soft, too! 🙂
More snow this weekend! Looking forward to trying this. BTW, did you know a slice of white bread in your brown sugar will keep your sugar soft. Good for chocolate chip cookies, snicker doodles, & when the bread gets hard, & it will, I break it up for my birds!
Great tip! Thank you! #lucky birds! 🙂
It looks amazing! We grill all year long- in snow boots and gloves 🙂
This looks super yummy but one question, does it taste vinegary at all? We don’t use vinegar hardly ever due to the smell. Just wondering if you can taste it! Thanks!
Hi Shelley!
No, not at all. the brown sugar really cancels it out.
so glad they asked and so glad you answered i love the vinegar taste and was hoping for that here ;( maybe i will try with less sugar
What kind of vinegar did you use? They all have a noticeable difference in flavor and I dont want to us the wrong one and hve it taste bad!
Just use the kind you like!
I don’t have a grill. Will it be good to cook on stove top or bake it? I would love to try it, I really havent been cooking long so i’m just starting to try new recipes.
Sure! It would work! For the stovetop, I would pound the chicken flat before you marinade for faster cooking. For the oven, I would make a tinfoil tent so it won’t dry out.
I made this tonight… AMAZING! My picky eater asked for seconds! Thank you for sharing.
Oh good! Thanks for sharing! 🙂
This was awesome followed it to a t. Kids and hubby loved it!!!!!
I made the marinade last night but I used grape-seed oil and I thought I was supposed to use 1 cup of vinegar so I used 1/2 cup rice vinegar and 1/2 cup white wine vinegar. Chicken marinated over night and all day. This evening, I cooked as directed and I have to say the chicken came out fabulous! Thanks for the great quick and easy marinade…I’ll definitely be using it again.
How long do you recommend marinating the chicken?
Thanks! Looks delish:)
Can I use Worcestershire sauce instead of soy sauce? How would it compare? Thanks!
I would say no on the worcestershire sauce. The soy sauce is the perfect saltiness to go with the sweetness of the brown sugar.
I wouldn’t mess with the it. But that’s just me…
I think Worcestershire sauce would be delicious.
at what temp would you put this on if I was to use the George Forman grill? I would leave it on there for 12 mins total and not flip it because it grills on both sides..thanks
Hi Sarah! sorry, I couldn’t tell you the answer to this. Hopefully you can try it out and figure it out as you go. Good Luck!
Wondering if Sarah figured this out? I have mine marinating right now and am planning on doing them on my George Foreman since I live in an apartment building and don’t have a regular bbq.
It should work great!
i did mine on the GF and mine dried out. im never good at getting the chicken moist enough. i think i ended up putting it on the lowest temp and for about 5 mins since i had the chicken that was already pre cooked.
I used thawed boneless skinless breasts… baked them just until done then put them on the GF for a few minutes on medium heat to give them a little bit of a sear. They were delicious! Definitely will make again, next time will plan ahead and marinade them overnight.
I would say pre-cooked meat is your problem. It should begin with raw meat to marinate.
Might sound a little ridiculous, but can this be baked or fried on the stove instead of being grilled? I find myself a little intimidated to use the grill without my boyfriend around, I want to surprise him with a new dinner!
This chicken is amazing!! Made it with boneless chicken thighs and it was a hi with my husband and company. They could not stop eating.
Made this for 4th of July dinner and cooked it over a campfire and it was wonderful. I will make this again.
How many lbs chicken does this make?
Add a little pineapple juice, fresh ginger and garlic and it tastes just like the Hawaiian bbqs.
Thank you, my kids loved it!
I ended up baking the chicken instead of grilling them. I put them in a pan, pour some of the marinade on it (just a little) and then covered the pan in foil and baked for about 45 minutes @350. I also put aside some of the marinade before I added the chicken, so I could use it as a sauce to pour over the chicken before serving. Came out amazing and was such a hit. Thank you for sharing!!
I forgot to to mention that I added a splash of balsamic vinegar and some minced garlic to the marinade. 🙂
because the raw chicken has soaked in the marinade I don’t believe it is safe to pour it over the cooked chicken just before serving
BBO she said she put some marinade aside BEFORE she added the chicken. So what she poured on to serve wasn’t touched by raw chicken.
Set some aside before you marinate it and you can use it just before serving. The raw chicken was never in it so it would be safe.
YUM! We made this tonight and really enjoyed it!!
HI,just wanna ask is it can only be used to marinade chicken?
Hi Amy!
No, I think it would work for other things too, it’s worth a try!
Hey Kami, this looks great, i have some marinating now 🙂 What do you usually serve it with?
Hi Bianca!
You could serve it with steamed veggies or roasted veggies along with a baked potato or wild rice. Depending on the time of year…
Could you do this in a crock pot?!?!
no, I wouldn’t cook it in a crock pot.
What kind of vinegar do you use???
Any kind works!
I’ve made this 3 times in past month and it’s amazing and really makes the chicken tender. I only made one addition, added a T. of Montreal Steak Seasoning. It’s a huge hit and I served it aside a lemon asparagus risotto. Delish
Can you do this mariade, then bake chicken in oven?
Sure! You might want to cover with tinfoil until the last 10 minutes, to help keep it moist.
How many servings does this recipe make?
It totally depends on how many chicken breasts you marinate. You could do chicken tenders and feed more or chicken breasts. Sorry not of much help on that one.
I would sub olive oil, and tamari for the soy sauce. Also, apple cider vinegar t make it completely gluten free! Sounds delicious!
Can i broil this? White or apple cider?
Sure you can broil it! You can use white or apple cider.
Mmm I followed this general recipe but I didn’t have everything at hand so.. I improvised!
Also… my name is Cami with a C! 🙂
I also have a cooking blog 🙂
Take care!
Just made it..cant wait to eat it. Thank you!
Can I use olive oil instead of vegetable oil? And would balsamic vinegar work instead of regular?
Sure!
This recipe was super delish and super easy! I used the crock pot and cooked it in the marinade at the end I added some broccoli. I will definitely be making this again. Thanks for sharing this recipe!
Cool! Thanks for sharing!!
This is called TERIYAKI Brown sugar, soy sauce, vinegar, and oil. It has been a famous taste from Japan all over the world for years.
haha! this made me laugh. 🙂
Tried this last night. Wasn’t very impressed. I had high hopes for it but I ended up having to use BBQ sauce because of the taste (I don’t know if it just wasn’t strong enough of it I didn’t like it all together). Very oily
What an easy marinade. I will definitely try this tomorrow. I am mixing it up now so the chicken can soak overnight. Thanks for sharing.
How much chicken do you need for the receipe that you have listed?
about 8 – 12 chicken breasts will work great!
This is such an easy marinade to do! I have been looking for a marinade that makes chicken juicy and flavorful and this one is it!!! I will be using this recipe from now on!!!
I’m out of vinegar. Would it be okay still if I left it out?
Can i put red wine instead of vinegar?
Sure! I bet it works fine.
Thanks. I tried and it was delicious.
Trying Balsamic tonight!!
I have chicken tenders marinating now. Going to do them on the grill with bacon on skewers. Can’t wait to try them!
I’m marinating a whole chicken. Cooking it on the big easy cooker from charbroil. Wish me luck !
so i’m marinating the chicken right now. im going to cook it in a pan let’s see how this goes 🙂
This marinade works really well with chicken. I used an apple cider vinegar and it tasted delicious.
I really wasn’t impressed with this marinade. I think it had too much brown sugar for my taste. Sorry I will have to find a different recipe to try.
I’ve made this twice within 10 days. I use the chicken for burrito bowls. The first time it marinated for 1 day. Second time, 2 days; better than ever! I let it marinate so long because I’m meal prepping throughout the week instead of doing it all on one day. I prep a new meal every 2-3 days. So far so good. Thank you sooo much for sharing this!
So great! Thanks for sharing!!
I’ve been doing similar ingredients for several years now. I use 1 cup brown sugar (have even used agave only 3/4 cup) 1 cup low sodium soy sauce, 1 tbsp. garlic (any way minced, pressed, chopped) and a good squeeze of lemon and lime) marinade for about 2 hrs. So yum. You can also broil when weather isn’t good ,for grilling and it’s cooks up so fast and very tender.
Makes me hungry just thinking about it.
marinated 4 large chicken breast overnight. I followed the recipe and added 2 cloves of fresh minced garlic. Grilled tonight & my picky husband says it was the best marinade ever! Thx for sharing!
Do you have to use Vegetable oil? How about olive or even coconut oi? I really try to avoid vegetable oil.
Thanks and it looks delicious.
you can use what ever oil you like!
Do you think i could throw the chicken and marinade together in a freezer bag and freeze for a future easy meal i just take out to thaw , premarinated??
All the salt in the soy sauce won’t freeze so it won’t work with the marinade.
I don’t know if anyone has tried this. It does take a bit of time. When my brown sugar gets rock hard, I use my kitchen grater.
Is 4 hours long enough to marinade the chicken and if so what do I cover it with in the fridge until it’s ready to grill?
4 hours is great! You could just cover it with plastic wrap until ready to grill. Thanks Cristy!
Could olive oil be used instead of vegetable oil?
Never mind, I saw an answer to my question 🙂
Hopefully this will help someone out. I just did this recipe with 4 lbs. of chicken legs and the ratio is just right. I would recommend cutting this recipe down if you have less meat respectively.
I will also note that this marinade is amazing. I have done it once before and I was admittedly skeptical at first. I am not a fan of soy sauce, vinegar, or the idea of sweet tasting chicken. The Mrs. is though and so I thought I’d try it out. Something happens in the bag when all those ingredients are becoming friends and morph into this glorious tasty combination. The chicken was phenomenal and I’m looking forward to smoking this next batch.
*In case someone is doing a page search for the amount of chicken to marinade* – lbs., meat, pounds
Thanks for the helpful info for someone wondering the same thing!
What type of vinegar was used in the original recipe (as shown in the images)? I don’t use vinegar really at all in my cooking — is just plain cheap white vinegar good enough? Or is apple cider or some sort of red vinegar preferred?
Hi Steven – You can use any kind of vinegar.
Would this work as a freezer meal?
The best marinade ever!!! Thank you for sharing
Dumb question. Do I coat the chicken with the brown sugar before placing in the liquid ingredients? That’s the way it looks in the photos but no one else had mentioned it so I wasn’t sure.
Also, how long is “too long” to marinate this? One time I marinated chicken breast with a soy sauce mixture and did it too long and the chicken was not even edible!!
Hi Cristi! – No you do not coat the chicken before. Just mix the mixture together then marinade. You can marinade for 30 minutes to 2 hours to overnight. I think a few hours is best. You can over marinate chicken, so don’t go for too long.
Instead of soy sauce I took a chance and used worcestershire sauce and it was absolutely delicious. Marinated over night and grilled the next evening for a big gathering. It was a huge hit. Everyone came back for seconds. No leftovers.
I’d love to like this tomorrow and have it marinate while I’m at work. Only problem is I work 10 hour days. Just wondering what the max marinate time would be?
You will probably be okay.
I have made something similar many times in the past! Instead of the vinegar and oil, though, I just use italian dressing! It is SOOOOOO good!!!
REALLY GOOD Suggestion!!! Already made my marinade this time but I’ll try that next time.
Got to try this chicken marinade tomorrow after our morning run, cheat day on a Saturday, so we will eat plenty! I am looking forward that this will taste really good.
Hi, thanks for the recipe. I was just about to try this but couldn’t find he amount of chicken the recipe is made for? Is this for 4 chicken breast? I try to guess the picture,
Thanks
Been doing one similar for years. No oil just 1 cup low sodium soy sauce, 1 cup brown sugar, 1 tbsp. minced garlic, and 1 tsp. lime juice. So good.
I will this it seems yummy. Thanks for sharing!
Perfect! Cut the amounts in half and marinated eight drumsticks in a ziplock bag. More than enough and the flavor was very nice, texture was so moist, thanks to the vinegar. Thanks for the recipe!
I make this today!marinade the chicken overnight. Ate it with pita bread,veges.it tastes so so good!!! Thank YOU for the recipe!
What does the oil do for the marinade?
Marinades containing oil penetrate deeper and faster. It also helps in keeping the chicken from sticking to the grill.
I will have to give this a try. I hardly ever give reviews without trying it out first but I wanted to let you know of my favorite marinade for grilled chicken. It’s similar to yours in that they both have soy sauce.
1/2 cup soy sauce
1/2 cup lemon lime soda (I call it pop) 😉
1/4 vegetable oil (I have replaced vegetable oil with extra light olive oil in all of my cooking)
Marinate it for 4 hours or all day. (Or overnight.) The longer you marinade it the stronger it is. Adjust the amounts with the amount of meat you use.
I have served this to many many people and they always ask for the recipe. I also love it because you just can’t ruin it. I became distracted once while cooking it and by the time I went to flip it, it was well charred. I went ahead and finished cooking the other side just knowing it was ruined but hoping some of it was edible. It ended up tasting great. It wasn’t even dried out. I’ve put it in salads, ate it with a baked potato, put it in a quesadilla. There are so many ways of eating it that I even cook extra so I can use it for leftovers. My pickiest of eaters who doesn’t eat hardly anything practically dances when he knows I’m making it for dinner. It’s that good. I’ll try yours and you try mine and we will see whose is better. 😉
yum! That sounds good! I’ll have to try it. Thanks for sharing!
Thank you ! thank you! thank you ! made it tonight and it was amazing!!!
Sounds great but is it very sweet
I made this tonight and it was delicious! I used apple cidar vinegar and vegetable oil (I wasn’t sue what kind to use). It was absolutely delicious! I glazed half with BBQ sauce and both kinds were amazing and flavorful. I marinated for an hour, so I can only imagine how could it would be after marinating overnight. I’ll find out tomorrow 🙂
Can I reuse this marinade? It’s a shame to have to toss so much money away.
I guess if you make the marinade, you can set some aside and as long as it doesn’t touch the raw chicken, you can use it again later?
Thank you for the recipe. I just got through making the marinade and turned my back to get the chicken and my naughty dog jumped up and knocked the container to the floor!! Apparently he loved it….Lol. So now I have made my second batch (dog is outside) and chicken is marinating. I think my family is going to love this!! Thanks again!
I made this last night and added a few dashes of hot sauce and liquid smoke to the mix. I used chicken tenders, and cooked the chicken in a skillet on the stove. It was wonderful! I only wish I had longer to let the chicken marinate.
Can you substitute teryaki sauce for soy sauce?
What is the healthiest kind of oil to use?
I tried this for my BBQ yesterday and I am SOOO in love. It was the perfect combination of sweet and tangy and the grilling tips helped too! Thanks for sharing!
This seems like a nice easy go-to. Can you specify which type of vinegar you use?
May I ask, how long can I keep chickens in a marinade like this? I’m asking, since I like to simplify my life and reduce friction. So, I’m looking for a marinade that would allow me to stuff chicken for a week in a fridge, and cook when I need a meal.
Going to try this marinade today with bone-in chicken legs & thighs. Will follow up with the results.
Alright so I have made this marinade 3 times and every time it comes out amazing. Thank you so much!
I was looking for something easy for dinner tonight and came across your blog. I decided to try it and let me tell you, OMG! Was the chicken delicious!!!
I did tweak it a little based on some of the comments:
1) No chicken breasts but rather bone in legs and thighs
2) 3/4 c brown sugar
3) used apple cider vinegar
4) used a bit more soy sauce (not sure how much but more than 1/2 cup)
4) used a cup of oil as directed BUT ended up spooning some of it off as it was way too much, I will prob use either 1/2 or 3/4 in the future
5) added crushed garlic
6) I brushed marinade throughout the grilling process (making sure sauce was cooked off of course)
Thanks for sharing such delicious and easy recipe. By my family’s demand, it has now been added to our menu rotation!
Can I use water instead of oil? If not, why oil? could you explain?
Just made this chicken to put in Caesar salad it was perfect best chicken ever and if you use his grilling tips it comes out perfect thanks for this
Can I make this in the crockpot?
What kind of vinegar
any kind!
Kami, you made me like chicken breasts finally! It was already late so I only marinaded the chicken for 40 minutes. I prepared just half of the marinade and it was more than enough for my four chicken breasts. Used balsamic vinegar and less sugar. I hate when they are too thick so I sliced them in half which made them cook faster also. They must be awesome out of the grill but they came out really good and moist from the oven! Great recipe!
Yay! Thanks for sharing your success!
Is that much oil necessary? I’m assuming that’s to thinker and make it stick…
Can I make this in the oven and if so how long and what temperature
Hi Linda! I have yet to try it in the oven. To keep it from drying out or the sugar from burning, I would keep it wrapped in foil until the end, and then stick it under the broiler to brown the top for a minute, watching it closely under the broiler set on low. Let me know!
This recipe is spectacular! Super quick and easy to put together. The first night I had it, the chicken had marinated for about 6 hours. It was much better after 24 hours. A new favorite. Thanks!
Planning to make this tonight. You mentioned covering the chicken in foil in the oven? At what degrees? For how long? Thank you!
I made this tonight in the oven & it was beautiful, thank you for the recipe.
As we’re advised in Australia not to give our children honey before the age of 1 I was looking for a substitute for ‘honey soy’ so my daughter could try some & this was perfect. Thanks 🙂
Oh good! Thanks for sharing!
Oh good! Happy you love it!
Delish! Used thighs, chargrilled them so they have a nice crust and used extra marinade for salad dressing.. Will be on regular rotation 🙂
I love this recipe, thank you. Its my go to for a simple dinner. Its great on any cut of chicken.