This Citrus Chicken Marinade is made with an amazing blend of herbs, spices and three citrus fruits that keeps chicken tender, juicy and full of flavor. You can grill, oven-bake or even stir fry your marinated chicken for a super simple dinner any night of the week.
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Easy Citrus Marinade for Chicken
This Citrus Marinade for chicken is such an easy dinner idea that can create a host of juicy, tender chicken dishes that are packed with flavor. Just throw the ingredients together into a ziplock bag, let marinate in the fridge for a day or two, then remove and use for your favorite grilled chicken, oven-baked chicken or even stir fry recipes.
Feel free to make flavor adjustments to the marinade, too. Sometimes I like to add fresh ginger, garlic and a little soy sauce for an Asian twist. Or, you could stick to lemons only for a super bright, super simple lemon chicken. No matter how you make it, you can kiss boring chicken goodbye.
Ingredients in Citrus Chicken Marinade
- Italian Dressing Mix - we usually use the Good Seasons brand Italian Dressing Mix that comes in 0.7 oz packages. Any similar brand will work just as well.
- Orange Juice - fresh orange juice tastes amazing in this marinade, or else you can use bottled juice from the grocery store.
- Avocado Oil - avocado oil is great because it is relatively flavorless. Olive oil would make a good substitute as the flavor goes well with the citrus and Italian seasoning.
- Lemons and Limes - you’ll need whole lemons and limes that are sliced thin.
How to Make This Citrus Chicken Marinade
- Combine all ingredients. In a small mixing bowl, combine the Italian dressing mix, orange juice, and avocado oil. Pour marinade mixture into a gallon size freezer bag and add the chicken breasts and sliced citrus. Close the bag and shake well to combine.
- Marinate the chicken. Marinate chicken in the refrigerator for 12-48 hours.
- Cook chicken as desired. Remove from the fridge, discard remaining marinade and grill, roast or saute chicken as desired. Enjoy!
Easy Grilled Chicken Instructions
- Preheat the grill.
- Using tongs, place marinated chicken onto the preheated grill, making sure that no pieces are touching.
- Grill over direct medium heat for about 5-7 minutes, or until golden on the underside. Flip, then cook again for 5-7 minutes longer. (Note: if the chicken sticks to the grill, don’t force it! Let it cook another minute or two and then try again)
- Use a digital thermometer to check that the internal temperature at the thickest part of the chicken breast has reached 165 degrees F., then remove the chicken from the grill and let it rest for about 5 minutes.
- Season and serve as desired. Enjoy!
Frequently Asked Questions
For best results, we suggest marinating in the Citrus Chicken marinade for at least 12 hours and up to 48 hours. This will give you the juiciest and most flavorful chicken. However, if you are short on time you can marinate for as little as 2 hours and still taste a noticeable difference.
Grilling marinating chicken is our favorite cooking method. The high intense heat almost seals in the juices, creating ultra moist chicken. You can also oven-roast your chicken, or even cut it up and cook it in a stir fry.
You want to discard any remaining marinade that has been in contact with raw chicken. If you have any reserved marinade that has not been in contact with chicken, you can store it in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days.
Absolutely! Chicken thighs are a great option for this citrus marinade recipe. You could also use it for chicken drumsticks or even pork. The method would be exactly the same - all that would differ would be the cooking time.
Citrus Chicken Marinade Recipe
Ingredients
- 6 small Chicken Breasts
- 1 0.7-oz package Good Seasons Italian Dressing Mix
- 1 cup Orange Juice
- ½ cup Avocado Oil
- 2 whole Lemons sliced
- 2 whole Limes sliced
Instructions
- In a small mixing bowl, combine the Italian dressing mix, orange juice, and avocado oil.
- Pour marinade mixture into a gallon size freezer bag and add the chicken breasts and sliced citrus. Close the bag and shake well to combine.
- Marinate chicken in the refrigerator for 12-48 hours before grilling, roasting or sauteing as desired. Enjoy!
Nutrition
More of the Best Grilled Chicken Recipes
- Grilled California Chicken
- Rosemary Garlic Chicken Breasts Marinade
- Grilled Garlic Parmesan Chicken
- Honey Mustard Grilled Chicken
- Grilled Apricot Chicken
- Grilled Chicken BLT Salad
- Mediterranean Grilled Chicken Drumsticks
- Grilled Teriyaki Chicken
- More Healthy Chicken Recipes
- More Easy Dinner Ideas
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This Citrus Chicken Marinade keeps chicken juicy, tender and bursting with bright flavor. You can grill, oven-bake or even stir fry your marinated chicken for a super simple dinner any night of the week.
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