These are the Best Chicken Thigh Marinades! They’re great for meal prep. Try Sesame, Chipotle, Greek, Balsamic and Honey Dijon.
Ingredients for chicken thigh marinades
- Oil – use a neutral cooking oil like olive, avocado or canola oil; or a flavoured cooking oil like sesame oil for added flavor.
- Seasonings – add in any seasonings or sauces of your choice like soy sauce, garlic, honey, spices and more.
- Acid – you don’t have to use an acid like lemon or lime juice for chicken thigh marinade, but it helps tenderize the meat!
- Salt & black pepper – to taste.
How to make marinated chicken thighs
- Make the marinade.
- Marinate the chicken thighs.
- Bake, grill or pan fry the chicken thighs.
- Serve and enjoy!
Chicken thigh marinade tips
Here are some of my tips of marinating chicken thighs:
- Make multiple marinades at once: Use foil dividers to marinate the chicken thighs in different marinades. Bake for 12 mins, then flip and bake for another 8 mins. It'll give you tons of variety of your weekly meal prep.
- Choose your cooking method: You can cook the chicken thighs anyway you like. Bake them in the oven in a baking dish, make grilled chicken on the BBQ, pan fry them in a skillet or even cook them in the air fryer.
- Try different marinade ingredients: I provided some of my fave options, but feel free to try out different options until you find something you love. As long as you follow the formula (oil + seasonings + acid + salt & pepper), you'll be good to go.
- Marinate for at least 15 mins: This will ensure that the flavors from the marinade have time to penetrate the meat. You can marinate them overnight, but 15-20 mins is the minimum.
- Serve with yummy sides: The side dish options are pretty much endless. Try serving them with mac and cheese, sweet potato fries, rice and more depending on what marinade you're using.
Frequently Asked Questions
You’ll want to let your chicken marinate for at least 15-20 minutes. You can leave them in longer and marinate them overnight or in the fridge during the day, but 15 to 20 minutes is the minimum to make sure they’re infused with all those yummy flavours from the chicken thigh marinade.
These are four main ingredients for any chicken thigh marinade: an acid that tenderizes the meat, a fat such as oil that saturates the meat and makes sure the flavour is fully infused, a salt that intensifies the flavour and bonus flavour for extra deliciousness!
It’s really a matter of preference on whether you make boneless or bone-in marinated chicken thighs. Boneless skinless chicken thighs cook a little quicker, but bone-in thighs are slightly cheaper because there is no extra work required by the butcher. However, if you are used to cooking with boneless skinless chicken breast, boneless skinless thighs are a great swap. The thighs of the chicken have a rich taste and tender texture. Either type of chicken thigh will work with these marinades so go by personal preference.
The best way to know that your marinated chicken thighs are fully cooked is to use a meat thermometer. It should read at least 165° Fahrenheit in the thickest portion of the meat. Also keep in mind that thigh meat will look pinkish-brown, even after cooking. Breast meat will be white when fully cooked.
The skin of the chicken is what gets crispy. So, if you are cooking skinless chicken thighs or breasts, they are not likely to become crispy unless you grill chicken thighs. Make sure to use bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs if you are looking for crispy skin. To produce crispy chicken in the oven, cook it at 450° Fahrenheit on the top third of the oven, which is the hottest part of the oven. It also helps to occasionally baste the thighs with marinade.
Storing chicken thigh marinade
If you prepare your chicken thigh marinade ahead of time, store it in the refrigerator or freezer.
You can refrigerate chicken thighs in marinades for up to 24 hours in the fridge. Chicken thighs are more tender than breasts so you're not using the marinades to tenderize the meat – you’re simply looking to add flavour.
Very important note: Never reuse a marinade that is left over from marinating another meat. The bacteria from the other meat will contaminate the marinade. As a result, the marinade will contaminate the chicken thighs.
Can you freeze chicken in the marinade?
Yes, you can freeze marinated chicken thighs! It's great to have an easy and delicious protein option ready to go in the freezer. After the marinade is prepared, put the chicken and marinade in a freezer-safe Ziploc bag. Remove all the air, seal the bag and lay it flat to freeze. You can freeze chicken thighs in marinades up to 3 months.
When you're ready to use your chicken, transfer the package to the refrigerator and allow it to thaw out before cooking. Typically, I'll allow my chicken to defrost in the fridge for 24 hours and then bake it or grill it.
The Best Chicken Thigh Marinade Recipes
I rounded up five of the most delicious chicken thigh marinade ideas. Pick one of the following or use the foil divider method to make them all! All of these recipes are made using simple ingredients you should already have on hand at home, and require five ingredients or less.
Chipotle marinade
Greek marinade
Garlic sesame marinade
Honey dijon marinade
Balsamic marinade
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More easy chicken recipes
Meal Prep Tools
- Grab some glass meal prep bowls if you plan on using these chicken thigh marinades for meal prep lunches or dinners.
- I get all my free-range chicken from Butcher Box, conveniently delivered to me frozen.
- Get a meat thermometer to make sure your chicken is cooked through.
- Use these Ziploc bag holders if you're marinating the chicken then freezing it.
- Freeze this recipe in glass microwave-safe bowls up to 3 months.
- **Get my full list of tools here**
5 Best Chicken Thigh Marinade Recipes
Ingredients
- 8 boneless, skinless chicken thighs
Garlic sesame marinade
- 1 tbsp sesame oil or olive oil or canola oil
- 1/4 cup low-sodium soy sauce or tamari or coconut aminos
- 2 cloves garlic, minced freshly minced or jarred minced garlic
- 1 tbsp fresh minced ginger or ground ginger powder
Chipotle marinade
- 1 tbsp olive oil or avocado or canola oil
- 1/4 cup chipotle peppers in adobo sauce or chipotle powder or paprika
- 1 tbsp lime juice or lemon juice
- 2 cloves garlic, minced freshly minced or jarred minced garlic
- 1/2 tsp each salt & pepper
Honey dijon marinade
- 2 tbsp honey or dates or maple syrup
- 2 tbsp Dijon mustard or stone-ground mustard
- 1 tbsp olive oil or avocado or canola oil
- 1/2 tsp each salt & pepper
Balsamic marinade
- 2 tbsp olive oil or avocado or canola oil
- 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar or red wine vinegar with honey
- 2 tbsp honey or maple syrup, agave or brown sugar
- 2 cloves garlic, minced freshly minced or jarred minced garlic
- 1/2 tsp each salt & pepper
Greek marinade
- 2 tbsp olive oil or avocado or canola oil
- 1/4 cup lemon juice or lime juice
- 1 tbsp oregano or thyme, basil or Italian seasoning
- 2 cloves garlic, minced freshly minced or jarred minced garlic
- 1/2 tsp each salt & pepper
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425 F. Mix together chicken marinade of choice in a small bowl and pour over chicken in a Ziploc bag or small bowl. Marinate for 15-20 minutes.
- Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or tin foil. If you'd like to do multiple marinades at a time, make dividers using your tin foil as shown in the video below. Add chicken thighs with bottom area facing down. Bake for 12 minutes, then flip and bake 8 more minutes.
- Check that chicken is cooked through by slicing one of the thighs down the middle and if meat thermometer reads 165 F.
- Let chicken rest for 5-10 minutes before slicing or chopping. Store in glass containers for later or serve immediately with a side dish. Enjoy!
Comments & Reviews
Jane Ellen says
Is this 8 thighs per marinade? In the Ziplocs it looks like only 4 per bag.
Taylor Stinson says
You can do up to 8 thighs and as little as 2.
Sargam says
Use the Greek marinate chicken recipe A LOT!!! thank you so much 🙂
Also tried the same marinade on fish and it’s amazing!! Just cooked it at a lower temperature for less time and the lemon REALLY complements the salmon!!!
Taylor Stinson says
Yes I feel like the Greek marinade would be amazing with salmon! So happy you enjoyed 🙂
Melissa says
Hello! I’m so excited to give these marinades a try.
Do have suggestions for cooking them in an electric pressure cooker? Any ideas would be greatly appreciated and thanks so much!
Taylor Stinson says
I have a post on that here! http://girlonbloor.com/garlic-sesame-instant-pot-chicken-thighs/
Melissa says
Perfect and thank you so much!! I work 7/7 and prep 21 meals (plus snacks) every other week. I’ve recently discovered and love sesame oil and always have garlic on hand. And I really appreciate that you provide ingredient substitutions. It’s officially on the menu for next week! (Next marinade will probably be the Chipotle one. I’m thinking, maybe, shredded for tacos…?)
PS: I will now follow your blog!
Charlotte says
How long once cooked can the chicken be stored in the fridge please?
Taylor Stinson says
3-4 days
Laurie-Anne says
Can I use this marinade for grilling instead of baking?
Taylor Stinson says
Yes of course!
Judy says
Can I freeze the chicken before cooking and then defrost and cook.
Taylor Stinson says
Yes you can!
Judy says
Can I use bone in chicken thighs?
Taylor Stinson says
Yes you can!
Stephanie Dunbar says
Is this 8 boneless chicken thighs for each marinade?
Taylor Stinson says
Yes it is.
Kelly says
Hello! Could you freeze the chicken after cooked? if so, for how long?
Taylor Stinson says
Hi Kelly – yes you can! You can freeze it for up to 3 months and defrost in the fridge overnight once ready to enjoy again.
Nick says
“1/4 cup chipotle peppers in adobo sauce”
What exactly does this mean? Do I use the whole peppers + sauce, just the sauce or a puree? I genuinely don’t know. I’ve got a can of this stuff sitting around but I’ve never used it before.
Taylor Stinson says
You take 1/4 cup from the can filled with a combination of peppers and sauce, mincing up the peppers so they can be integrated into the sauce better. Hope that helps!