Our favorite marinade for grilled chicken!
This is a very easy recipe that also feels really special and unique. It’s a go-to for summer get-togethers because it’s easy to make a huge batch and people LOVE IT.
Every time I’ve made this for people, they have asked for the recipe. Which I think is the number one sign that you have a VERY GOOD dish on your hands.
When I say this is an easy marinade, I am not messing with you. Get all of your ingredients out. Put them in your blender. Blend them together. Marinate chicken. It takes 5 minutes!
This recipe also employs two of my favorite kitchen shortcuts:
- Not peeling garlic. Garlic peels are my least favorite thing about garlic. I usually buy the bag of pre-peeled cloves, but for this, I take a whole head and put it in the blender. The peels will get burned up during the grilling.
- Using orange juice instead of lime juice. For marinades or other cooked sauces with lots of strong flavors, I sub orange juice for fresh-squeezed lemon/lime juice. It is so much quicker and still delivers the same citrus punch/ability to tenderize.
What gives this the smoky and spicy chipotle flavor is a can of chipotle peppers in adobo. This is an ingredient I didn’t know existed until a couple of years ago and it has changed my world cooking-wise! You can find this in the Mexican food aisle of your grocery store. I get mine at Aldi. (It’s also available on Amazon if you’re living that prime life.)
I use the whole can in this recipe, but feel free to tone it down a bit if you want less spice. Also, keep in mind the longer you let it marinate, the spicier your chicken will get!
THE BEST Chipotle Chicken Marinade
Ingredients
- 2/3 cup orange juice
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 1/4 cup honey
- 1 (7 ounce) can chipotles in adobo
- 2 tablespoons Dijon
- 1 head garlic, cut in half
- 1 tablespoon kosher salt
- 5 – 10 pounds chicken (we use boneless/skinless breasts, but use whatever you like!)
Directions
- Place orange juice, olive oil, honey, chipotles in adobo, Dijon, garlic, and salt in a blender or food processor and blend until smooth.Pour over chicken and marinade for 1 hour to overnight. Grill until chicken is cooked through.
