This simple yet delicious chicken marinade does two things well. It tenderises the chicken breasts, which prevents them from drying out during cooking. It also imparts delicious flavour of lemon, garlic and smoked paprika. This marinade recipe is ideal for grilling or oven baking!
For another chicken marinade recipe, check out Mojito Grilled Chicken Thighs.
The grilling season is here and we couldn’t be happier. Yay, for lighter meals cooked outside, fresh produce and summer holidays!
Burgers are great but most of the time I find myself wanting something a bit lighter. I prefer grilled chicken for my BBQs and if you share my affection, you will want to know my secret for tender and juicy chicken breasts cooked over fire.
4 Ingredient Chicken Marinade
- buttermilk
- garlic
- smoked paprika
- lemon juice
What is meat marinade?
Marinade is a liquid mixture that is designed to add flavour and improve the texture of various meets through tenderising them.
What does buttermilk do to chicken?
The marinade recipe I am sharing today is quite special if not slightly unusual. It is buttermilk based.
Buttermilk is a magic ingredient as it tenderises the chicken and makes it juicier, which is extremely important when cooked in the intense heat of the grill.
How long can I marinate chicken for?
I recommend marinating chicken overnight for best flavour, always in the fridge. 2 hours is the shortest amount of time, in which the chicken will still benefit from this marinade.
You should never marinate chicken longer than for 2 days according to food safety guidelines.
What container should I use for marinating?
Avoid using metal, aluminium foil or glazed pottery containers as the acid in the marinade will react with the listed materials.
Can I use chicken marinade as a sauce afterwards?
Generally yes but only after it’s been boiled for at least 10 minutes. However, it is not the case with the buttermilk based marinade. It should NOT be used as a sauce but discarded.
Side dishes to go with your grilled chicken:
- Greek Orzo Salad
- Russian Potato Salad
- Mediterranean Salad with Fried Halloumi and Hummus
- Herby Farro Salad
Ingredients
For the chicken marinade
- 250ml/1cup buttermilk or kefir
- 2 cloves garlic, pressed
- 1 tsp smoked paprika I used Spanish smoked paprika
- 1 tsp lemon juice
- 2 lbs chicken breasts or skinless, boneless chicken thighs
Instructions
- In a small bowl combine the buttermilk, pressed garlic, smoked paprika and lemon juice. Pour over chicken breasts or thighs and marinate for at least 8 hours. Salt and pepper the chicken before grilling.
- Grill chicken breasts on the grill for approximately 6 minutes on each side until cooked through and internal temperature registers at 165F/75C.
Hi. I was reading through the comments and felt sure I saw someone ask about using the marinade as a sauce afterwards and you didn’t recommend it…but now I can’t see that comment, so my question is (and I’m sorry if you’ve already answered it and you now have to repeat yourself) but is the buttermilk marinade suitable to use as a sauce once the chicken is removed and is cooking?
Thanks
Hi Ruthie, I actually answer that question in the post itself. 🙂
“CAN I USE CHICKEN MARINADE AS A SAUCE AFTERWARDS?
Generally yes but only after it’s been boiled for at least 10 minutes. However, it is not the case with the buttermilk based marinade. It should NOT be used as a sauce but discarded.”
Thank you… I knew I’d read it…apologies for not re-reading more carefully. So next question…. how come ??
Ta
Buttermilk is not the type of liquid that would benefit from being boiled at high temperature for at least 10 minutes. It just doesn’t work as a sauce.
Hi! To clarify, you mix up the marinade AND chicken in the bag and freeze. Then when you thaw, the chicken marinades AND thaws at the same time. You can also skip freezing if you’d like, and just mix up the chicken and marinade the night before!
There are 0 freezing instructions in this recipe. In fact I wouldn’t recommend it.
Sounds GREAT. My question is can I make Keto butter milk ? 1/4 cup whipping cream, and 3/4 teaspoon cider vinegar ??
Hi Sherry, I’ve never tried making keto buttermilk, so can’t advise but you can just replace buttermilk with oil and vinegar. It’s the acidity in buttermilk that aids in tenderizing the chicken and since you are replacing them with vinegar, there is really no point in adding whipping cream.
Can you substitute coconut milk? I have used it in the past for other recipes.
Hi Lisa, I’ve never done it. The reason I use buttermilk is because of acid. It tenderises chicken. Lemon juice or vinegar are used in the same way. I am not sure how acidic coconut milk is, so if you use it for flavour I’d add lemon juice.
this is the nicest post… and offers different ways to eat chicken… especially when the kids say – chicken? again? thank you!
I assume you rinse and pat dry the chicken before grilling. Nothing in the directions for this step.
There is nothing in the directions because I actually don’t rinse the chicken as that unnecessary step would get rid of half of the flavour as well as would go against recent health and safety recommendations. https://www.nhs.uk/live-well/eat-well/never-wash-raw-chicken/
So delicious. I’m on a mission to pull my family away from the usual BBQ burgers and sausages and I think this recipe will help me do just that.
Oh I hope this is the one too, Jane! My family loves and they usually go for burgers as well!
I’m going to try this with a boned chicken on the grill. I think it’s a great marinade with that buttermilk.
Oh yes, Angela! This marinade is so versatile, it will also work with white fish.
LOve the flavors you used for the marinade, it’s such a summery dish
Love the flavours you have used and really love those grill marks! Yum!
Thanks so much, Cat! It’s such a simple marinade but everyone just loves it!
That sounds like a delicious marinade – perfect for a summer barbecue session
Can I freeze it? I didn’t use after marinating and I don’t want to leave it like that. So I’m hoping freezer should be fine? Thank tou
Ho Siran, I would not recommend freezing marinated chicken, which is not safe as bacteria can grow and prolonged marination can also negatively affect the texture of the meat.
Delicious, thank you for this.
💗🌷
My pleasure, Cristina!