Italian Dressing Chicken Marinade
This is a wonderful staple recipe for chicken, using homemade Italian dressing to marinate the chicken. You can use this recipe for endless varieties of chicken preparation - stovetop, roasting in the oven, grilling or cooking it in the slow cooker or Instant Pot.
Ingredients
Marinade:
1/2 cup olive oil
1-2 Tablespoons red wine vinegar or lemon juice (+lemon zest, if using lemons)
1-2 teaspoons sugar or honey
salt, ground black pepper, to taste
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 Tablespoon fresh parsley (you can also add lots of other fresh herbs, like rosemary, thyme, cilantro, basil, etc.)
1/2 Tablespoon dry Italian seasoning mix
1/4 cup finely grated Parmesan cheese
1 small shallot, finely minced
2-4 garlic cloves, minced or grated
Chicken
2 lbs chicken (drumsticks, thighs, chicken breast)
Instructions
- Combine all the ingredients for the homemade Italian dressing together.
- Pour the marinade over the chicken and mix to combine. Marinate for at least 30 minutes. You can also prep it ahead and marinate the chicken hours in advance or even overnight.
- I often make a big batch and freeze half of the marinated chicken to enjoy another time. This is a perfect make ahead recipe for meal prep.
- To cook the chicken, you can cook it in the oven, on the grill, on the stovetop or even in the slow cooker/Instant Pot until the chicken is cooked through, 165 degrees Fahrenheit for the chicken breast and 175 degrees Fahrenheit for the chicken thighs or drumsticks. This is a very versatile recipe.