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Herb Marinated Chicken

By The Modern Nonna

on Jul 11, 2022, Updated Aug 26, 2023

5 from 2 votes

My herb marinated chicken is made with hands-down the best marinade you will come across. It’s the perfect recipe to make when your garden is overflowing with fresh herbs, or you have a bunch of fresh herbs in the fridge that are just about to go bad. The secret ingredient that makes this a juicy, moist chicken is mayonnaise, which locks in moisture and takes this recipe to the next level.

Being Bulgarian, my family loves to marinate with anything creamy, such as yogurt, sour cream, or mayo. We typically use yogurt in my family to lighten things up, but mayo and sour cream are so delicious and wonderful tenderizers as well. You can also skip yogurt, mayo, or sour cream all together, making this an egg- and dairy-free recipe.

This recipe is perfect for lunch, dinner, or meal prep. The longer the chicken marinates, the more tender and juicier it will be. Trust me, if you love herbs, this will be your new favorite marinade. This recipe makes 12 skinless boneless chicken thighs so feel free to adjust accordingly, depending on how many servings you want.

If you have a secret ingredient to cook with in your culture, please let us know in the comments below.

Herb Marinated Chicken

This recipe is perfect for lunch, dinner, or meal prep. The longer the chicken marinates, the more tender and juicier it will be. Trust me, if you love herbs, this will be your new favorite marinade.

5 from 2 votes

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Servings: 4

Author: The Modern Nonna

Prep Time: 5 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 30 minutes minutes

Ingredients 

1x2x3x

• ▢ handful of fresh herbs, such as basil, parsley, and oregano , (use any herbs you like)
• ▢ 4 cloves peeled garlic
• ▢ juice of 1 lemon (about 1/4 cup)
• ▢ ¼ to ⅓ cup good-quality olive oil
• ▢ 12 boneless skinless chicken thighs , (any cut of chicken works)
• ▢ salt and pepper
• ▢ 1 heaping tablespoon mayonnaise, plain yogurt, or sour cream
• ▢ 2 yellow potatoes, cut in wedges

Instructions 

• In a food processor or a blender, add any fresh herbs you like. I used basil, parsley, and fresh oregano. Add the garlic, lemon juice, and olive oil. Process for 30 seconds or until a loose consistency forms. You can start off with 1/4 cup olive oil and add more as needed
• Add the chicken to a bowl and season with salt and pepper. Add the mayo and the herb mixture. With clean hands, massage the chicken well and let it sit for at least 1 hour or up to overnight in the fridge.
• Once you are ready to cook the chicken simply add it to a hot grill, over medium heat. If you have any of the marinade left over, I like to pour it on top of yellow potatoe wedges separately in a small dish (or foil tray) and cook them along side the chicken. Cook the chicken for 25 to 30 minutes, turning it over a few times with the grill lid open, or until a meat thermometer inserted into the thickest part of a piece of chicken measures 165F. The chicken can also be baked in the oven, instead of grilled (see notes below.)
• Please keep an eye on the chicken as the cook time will vary based on the size and thickness of the meat.
• Enjoy with salad on the side or any other sides you like.

Notes

You can use this marinade for chicken, pork, seafood and even tofu. It’s absolutely incredible and so versatile. This marinade is also great for vegetables like potatoes as well.

You can bake the chicken in the oven, uncovered, at 400F, for 25 to 35 minutes, until it reaches 165F. Feel free to use bone-in, skin-on chicken, but know that the cook time will need to increase, so keep an eye on the chicken as it cooks and check the internal temp with a meat thermometer. If you use skin-on thighs, you can crisp up the skin in the oven the last few minutes of the bake time by putting the oven on broil, which is the top broiler only.

Feel free to use chicken breasts for this recipe but please note that white meat cooks faster than dark meat, so keep an eye on it as it cooks and cook for about 5 to 10 minutes less so it doesn’t dry out. 

The longer you let the chicken marinate, the better it will be. I recommend overnight in the fridge or a minimum of at least 1 hour.

I used Vegenaise but you can use any brand of mayo you like, or sour cream or plain yogurt. If you don’t want to use any of these three options, the recipe will still be delicious without them. A touch of buttermilk is also an option, so feel free to improvise.

If you don’t have any leftover marinade you don’t need to make the potatoes on the side but I always have some leftover and I don’t want to waste it.  I cook the potatoes alongside the chicken.

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