Italian Marinated Chicken
This Italian Marinated Chicken is so easy to throw together and can be served up so many ways! And that homemade dressing is going to become a favorite!
When I was in college I cooked two things. (1) Corn from a can that I poured into a bowl, heated in the microwave, and drowned in salt and butter. (2) Chicken marinated in store bought Italian dressing and baked in the oven.
Also brownies from a box of brownie mix. I was a beast at brownie making.
Now I’m a little older (ahem, thirty-six), wiser, and my food tastes have most definitely changed. But I still crave Italian Marinated Chicken.
These days I use my own Easy Homemade Italian Dressing. It contains no sugar or junk of any kind. (Those sneaky salad dressing makers are not scared to throw in a crazy sounding ingredient.) My dressing is completely Whole30 compliant, gluten free, dairy free, and sugar free. I can personally attest that it’s also dang tasty on a salad or as a marinade.
So if it doesn’t have dairy, gluten, or just plain junk… what is in this dressing exactly? Only the good stuff, friend! Olive oil and red or white wine vinegar are essential. A splash of lemon juice helps balance out that vinegar. Plus it’s loaded with dried herbs and seasonings like garlic powder and onion powder. A little crushed red pepper flakes adds a bit of spice but the finished product isn’t actually spicy. It’s so simple but has such a big flavor!
Now that we know about our dressing, how about the chicken? You can use chicken breasts or thighs. Turkey breasts, cutlets, or legs would also do well in this marinade.
For this recipe you’ll add your chicken (or protein of choice) to a bag or bowl with the Easy Homemade Italian Dressing ingredients.
I like to let the chicken marinate for at least an hour. You can get away with 30 minutes but if that marinade sits longer you’ll get even more flavor.
From there it’s up to you how you want to prepare it. It’s delicious on the grill or in a sauté pan on the stove with a little olive oil. I’ve provided instructions for both methods in the recipe card below.
How to serve this flavorful chicken?
You can obviously enjoy this as an entree with some incredible sides.
If you’re thinking of something green I recommend my Spicy Roasted Broccoli, Easy Roasted Broccoli, Garlic Green Beans, Simple Sautéed Cabbage, or Roasted Green Beans with Almonds.
Want to add more color to your plate? These Roasted Ranch Veggies will give you your vegetable fix and look so dang pretty. You’ll enjoy these Roasted Parsley Carrots and my Roasted Red Cabbage too.
I love to use this chicken in my Italian Marinated Chicken Lettuce Wraps for a hearty lunch.
What other protein options would work well in this marinade?
I recommend chicken breasts or thighs. Turkey breasts, cutlets, or legs also work beautifully!
How long should you marinate chicken?
I always like to marinate chicken for at least an hour and up to 12 hours. The longer you marinate the more pronounced the flavor will be. You can of course marinate for as little as 30 minutes. I don’t recommend longer than 12 hours because your meat can start to breakdown and the texture changes if it sits in a marinade for too long. (That goes for any marinade.)
More recipes like this:
Ultimate Marinated Grilled Chicken
Garlic Balsamic Chicken Kabobs
Tropical Salsa Grilled Chicken
Italian Marinated Chicken
Ingredients
- 6 chicken breasts, trimmed
Easy Homemade Italian Dressing
- 3/4 cup olive oil
- 1/4 cup red or white wine vinegar
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 teaspoon dried basil
- 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
- 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper
- 3/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon pepper
- 1 teaspoon lemon juice
Instructions
- Place your chicken breasts in a gallon Ziploc bag with all ingredients for the Easy Homemade Italian Dressing. Seal the bag, squeezing out any excess air. Let the chicken marinate for at least one hour and up to 12 hours.
- Grill or saute your chicken depending on your preference. I'm providing instructions for both below.
On the Grill
- Remove each chicken breast from the bag and place on a hot grill over medium heat. Grill 5 to 7 minutes on each side or until done. (Juices should run clear.)
On the Stove
- Add 2 tablespoons of olive oil or another cooking fat to a skillet on the stove. Heat the oil over medium high heat. (You'll know it's ready when the chicken sizzles as you place it in the pan.) Add each chicken breast to the skillet in a single layer. Cook for about 5 minutes. Flip your chicken. Cook for an additional 5 minutes. (Chicken should be firm to the touch when done and juices should run clear.)
37 Comments on “Italian Marinated Chicken”
Can you bake this in the oven and if so what temperature would you recommend to bake them at? Can you make more dressing and keep it in the refrigerator and how long do yiu think it would last in the refrigerator. Thanks for sharing the recipe. It sounds very easy to make and delicious.
Absolutely fantastic marinade. Our chicken was so moist and so flavorful. I highly recommend. Such an easy thing to do in the morning before leaving the house when you come home just cook up the chicken either in the oven or on the grill and it’s absolutely amazing. We paired ours with zucchini on the grill and a cold pasta pesto salad. I can’t say it enough but it’s absolutely fantastic!!!
Thank you for doing both grill and stove. I’m not a griller.🙄
Excellent. Used a grill pan, no one knew it wasn’t cooked outside.
This marinade is excellent! Â I use it weekly.
So happy to hear that!! 🙂
Can I use this chicken for  salad?
Definitely!
This recipe is such a winner. Chicken is moist and delicious every time! I use it for thighs as well and my meal prep Sundays. Simple, easy and tasty = BIG WIN.
Oh I love this! Thank you!!
Could the chicken marinate for 18-24 hours? Or would that give you an unfavorable result?
also another question–your recipe says red or white wine vinegar, what do you recommend tastes better?
I enjoy both!
It can be but I find that the meat can break down if you marinate beyond 12 hours so I try to stick to that.
This is a great delicious recipe even for the pickest of eaters…we added 1 ingredient freshly grated parmesan while cooking. 1/2 the family had it over bowtie pasta the other half had it over salad. Pure Perfection!! Thank you for the recipe
ahhhh what a great comment! Thank you, Tammy!
I love this recipe and make it at least once a week to eat with sweet potatoes or make chicken Caesar salads/wraps. Makes great leftovers too!
Hi made this tonight using what I had in my garden here in Bohol, Philippines. It was really good 🙂 I like the fact it has no preservatives in it and is 90% less expensive compared to Wishbone brand or any other brand (wow it’s almost $10 a bottle here in the Philippines). I used fresh basil from my garden and added some fresh Italian parsley as well (from the garden) as well as fresh oregano (from the garden). It really came out great but I did add a little bit more Vinegar to the mix, like 2tbs as I like it more potent LOL. “personal taste” but as a base recipe? Its spot on! Thanks, Christina for this recipe! Bookmarked! Steve from the island of Bohol the Philippines
This is so easy, I had everything in my pantry already! I had defrosted some bscb and wanted to make them for salads this week and voila! I found your recipe! I can’t wait to grill them tomorrow!
I can’t count the times I’ve made this recipe! Thank you!
The Whole Cook’s marinades are always my go-to! This one was delicious, as expected. 🤩
That’s so nice of you to say! Thank you!
Wonderful, Wonderful, Wonderful!
This was the first time using your site and I loved your Italian Marinated Chicken.  I didn’t have red or white wine vinegar so I subbed balsamic vinegar. It turned out well. I cooked it on my bbq and it was really tender. Usually I don’t care for breasts as they tend to be dry but not tonight. Thanks so much for an easy, healthy and delicious meal.
Awesome marinade. I used chicken tenderloins instead of breasts and pan seared them. Some of the tastiest chicken I’ve ever made!
Perfect – so moist and flavorful! Browned the chicken on the stovetop in a cast iron pan, best chicken I’ve ever made. Thanks so much!
Hands down, this is my favorite marinade recipe and we use it all the time!
Ummm…. YUMMMM!!!!!
So flavorful and moist! I will definitely make this weekly. I needed another chicken option that is tasty and not dry. This is so simple but delicious. I want to make just the marinade and use it on my salads too.
Thanks
Delicious! Just found this recipe recently and have used it weekly. So must better than bottled dressing. I use it for chicken and beef kebabs.
My husband and I recently switched from a diet high in fast foods to eating a hybrid of Whole30, Paleo, and Grain Brain diet. Essentially we are avoiding all gluten and otherwise eating whole foods with an emphasis on vegetables. We enjoyed chicken strips on the grill marinated in Italian dressing. I was so happy to find this recipe (and find it again when I lost it the first time!) We both LOVED it!! I used chicken breasts but cut them into generous strips (about 3 strips per breast). They were so tender, juicy, and flavorful! My husband took a mouthful and his eyes got big, ‘Wow! This is good. I mean really good!’ Eating healthy is easy with recipes like this. Thank you so much!!
That thrills me to hear, Melissa! Thank you!!!
Marinated the chicken for 6 hours.Â
Grilled it. Fantastic!Â
Thank you for the great recipe.Â
I’m so ready for grilling season!! Thank you for the kind comment, Robby!
Made this last night for dinner along with the Chipotle Lime. Both are fanand every one loved them.
Loved this recipe. Can the marinade be made ahead and stored for a few days before adding to chicken? Thinking about pre making a batch for our camping trip coming up.Â
Hi Megan! Yes, you can absolutely make the marinade ahead of time and just add the chicken to it closer to when you’re ready to grill (no more than 12 hours prior). Enjoy your camping trip!
I loved this as a chicken marinade and I’ve just made a second batch to use just as a salad dressing. When it’s just a dressing, does it need to be refrigerated?