With just five simple ingredients, the ginger and lemon chicken marinade infuses chicken with citrussy lemon flavor and a bit of a bite from the ginger. Assemble ahead and freeze your chicken right in the marinade for maximum flavor!
With seven chicken marinade recipes you can freeze on the blog, it's pretty obvious that marinades are a staple in our dinner routine! From cilantro lime to Jamaican jerk, there are so many options to jazz up your chicken.
![Ginger and lemon chicken marinade on sliced chicken on cutting board](https://sweetpeasandsaffron.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/Ginger-and-Lemon-Chicken-Marinade.jpg)
This gingery lemon chicken marinade is light and citrussy, with a zing from the ginger. It pairs well with a batch of coconut rice and Instant Pot broccoli for a simple, easy dinner.
Reasons you’ll ♡ this recipe
- you need five simple ingredients
- it’s meal prep friendly- fridge or freezer!
- it’s gluten-free, paleo, and works great on a variety of proteins
Ingredient notes
This marinade has the perfect blend of marinade ingredients: oil to disperse flavors, lemon to tenderize the chicken and brighten flavors, red pepper flakes for a touch of spice, fresh ginger for sharp and warm flavor, and salt to bring all the ingredients together.
Prepping the ginger
The ginger brings such a nice 'bite' of flavor to this marinade. You have a few options to prep it:
- fine chop- use a knife to chop the ginger as finely as you can. It's pretty hard to avoid chunks using a knife.
- box grater- you can use the fine side of the box grater to grate the ginger, though you will lose some of the juice and it can become stringy.
- microplane- this is my favorite method, but does take a little elbow grease. The microplane gets razor-thin pieces of ginger that are less noticeable in this marinade.
How to marinate chicken
The best way to ensure complete coverage of the chicken breast is to marinate in a bag; a bowl or container just will not cover the chicken breast with the marinade evenly.
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Over the years I have moved away from disposable freezer bags, and now prefer silicone Stasher bags.
- use the sandwich Stasher bags for 1 lb (2 chicken breasts)
- use the ½ gallon Stasher bags for 2 lbs (4 chicken breasts)
Marinate at least 2 hours
In the past, I’ve been disappointed with a lack of flavor from my chicken marinades, and it really comes down to a lack of time. This ginger and lemon chicken marinade requires at least 2 hours to infuse flavor into the chicken breast.
On the other hand, you do not want to marinate the chicken for more than 24 hours, as the lemon juice can start to break down the muscle fibres of the chicken breast, leading to mealy chicken.
If you are not able to cook your chicken breast within 24 hours, I recommend popping it into the freezer! You can freeze for up to 3 months.
Other proteins you can use
This marinade works great for other proteins as well. The recipe as written works for a pound of chicken breasts, but you could swap for the following:
- boneless chicken thighs- 2-24 hours marinating time
- shrimp or fish- 30 minutes marinating time
- pork tenderloin- at least 24 hours to marinate
- tofu- press first, then marinate for 2-24 hours
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How to cook the chicken
After marinating the chicken, pick your favorite method to cook it up. Our go-to is in the oven, but you can cook it on the grill, in a frying pan, or even in the air fryer!
- oven– our go to method. Cook at 425°F for 25 minutes, flipping halfway through
- grill– I recommend pounding the chicken flat before marinating to ensure it cooks through evenly. See my perfect grilled chicken breast recipe for full details
- frying pan– here’s a good tutorial
- air fryer– again I do recommend pounding the chicken before marinating. We cook 4 minutes + 2 minutes (flipping half way). Full details here.
Whichever method you use, make sure your chicken breast reaches an internal temperature of 165°F using a digital thermometer, and allow it to rest for at least 5 minutes before slicing into it.
More chicken marinade recipes
- 7 Chicken Breast Marinades
- Chipotle Chicken Marinade
- Honey Garlic Chicken Marinade
- Curry Yogurt Chicken Marinade
- Lemon Garlic Greek Chicken Marinade
- Sweet Chili Chicken Marinade
Did you make this? Tag me on social @sweetpeasandsaffron and be sure to leave a comment and rate the recipe!
Ginger and lemon chicken marinade
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 teaspoon lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon ginger minced
- ⅛ teaspoon salt
- ⅛ teaspoon red pepper flakes optional
- 1 lb boneless skinless chicken breasts roughly 2 large breasts
Instructions
- Combine olive oil lemon juice, ginger, salt and red pepper flakes in a plastic or reusable silicone freezer bag. Add chicken breasts and turn to coat in marinade.
- Marinate the chicken in the fridge for 2-24 hours.
- Heat oven to 425°F. Bake chicken in a shallow baking dish for 10 minutes, flip over, then bake for another 12-17 minutes, or until internal temperature reaches 165°F.
- Allow chicken to rest at room temperature for 5-10 minutes before slicing.
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Tips:
- grill- I recommend pounding the chicken flat before marinating to ensure it cooks through evenly. Cook over high heat 2 minutes per side until it reaches an internal temp of 155°F
- frying pan- cook in olive oil over medium heat in a nonstick skillet for 5-7 minutes per side
- air fryer- I recommend pounding the chicken before marinating. Cook at 390°F/ 200°C for 4 minutes + 2 minutes (flipping half way).
- boneless chicken thighs- 2-24 hours marinating time
- shrimp or fish- 30 minutes marinating time
- pork tenderloin- at least 24 hours to marinate
- tofu- press first, then marinate for 2-24 hours
Nutrition Information
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Dustin says
I made this as written, perfect, very much enjoyed by the family. This will be a regular now.
Denise Bustard says
Hi Dustin! I'm happy to hear you enjoyed the chicken marinade. Thanks so much for reporting back 🙂
Colleen Moriarity says
Could I use this same marinade for say pork or shrimp?
Denise says
Absolutely! I would not marinate the shrimp for longer than 30 minutes, but you can marinate pork for longer. Here's some timing suggestions for different cuts of pork!
owl says
The ingredients seem to be missing (maybe a webpage glitch) so:
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1 teaspoon minced ginger
1/8 teaspoon salt
(optional) 1/8 teaspoon red pepper flakes
Denise says
Hi I'm so sorry for the inconvenience, you must have caught me just when I was checking my new recipe plug-in 😀 It should be showing now.