This balsamic chicken marinade is fast, simple, and uses everyday pantry ingredients. Whip it up in 5 minutes!
If you're looking for an easy balsamic chicken recipe, you've come to the right place! This is a tasty addition to the menu for your Memorial Day BBQ.
How to make balsamic vinegar marinade for chicken
Add the olive oil, balsamic vinegar, lemon juice, mustard, and garlic powder to a small bowl. Whisk together. This quantity is good for marinating 3-4 chicken breasts. Recipe easily doubles (or triples) if needed.
I suggest marinating for at least 30 minutes in order to get the best flavor. It's not necessary to marinade chicken overnight, but the longer you leave it, the more pronounced the flavor will be.
To make this balsamic grilled chicken, I simply marinated the chicken for 30 minutes and then grilled it for about 5-6 minutes/side.
The chicken can be served with any number of sides (potato salad, pasta salad, grilled corn, cowboy caviar, rice, etc.) or it's delicious in salad.
Hope you enjoy this easy balsamic marinade recipe!

Balsamic Chicken Marinade
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 1 tablespoon mustard (I used yellow)
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- Salt & pepper to taste
Instructions
- Add the marinade ingredients to a small bowl and whisk together until smooth.
- I suggest adding the chicken to a large ZipLoc bag along with the marinade and marinating for at least 30 minutes (up to a few hours) in the fridge. You may also use a covered bowl to marinate the chicken.
- To prepare the chicken in the photos, I cut 3 chicken breasts in half lengthwise, added them to a large ZipLoc with the marinade, and let them sit for 30 minutes in the fridge. I grilled them over medium-high heat (gas BBQ) for 5-6 min./side.
Notes
- This recipe works for 3-4 chicken breasts or 4-6 chicken thighs.
You may also like my balsamic chicken pasta or my easy honey mustard chicken kabobs.
Jamie says
Can you use this recipe then put it on a slow cooker?
Natasha says
Hi Jamie! I don't see why not. I can't really speculate exactly how it will turn out, but if you've made chicken in similar ways before, it should work. I would just make sure there's enough liquid in there so it doesn't dry out.
K Trinkle says
Tried this tonight. My hubby and I liked it a lot, even though the marinade time was super short. Since time was limited, I cut the chicken up into kabob size pieces before marinating. Marinated for about 20 minutes before skewering and grilling. It was good even with the short marinade time. We're already looking forward to trying this recipe again with a longer pre-grill time!
Natasha says
I am so pleased you guys liked it!!
Kaitlyn says
After marinading the chicken,could I bake it instead? I live in an apartment with no grill access but still want to try this delicious looking marinade!
Natasha says
Absolutely! Let me know how it goes ๐
Liz M says
This is so easy and good! I did this with 1 1/2 pounds of chicken and it was perfect. The whole family (2 and 5 year olds included) loved!! Thanks for the recipe ๐
Natasha says
Yay!! I am so happy to hear that! Thanks for letting me know, Liz! ๐
Sheeba says
delicious! feeling hungry already!!
Natasha says
Thanks so much!