This delicious chicken marinade is a simple recipe that creates a fragrant sauce and tender chicken every time. It’s a staple to an easy weeknight dinner we all need.
This delicious chicken marinade recipe is great because you can start it the day before and then, when dinner rolls around the next day, you put the chicken in the oven. Sometimes I serve it with steamed green beans, baked rice, or a baked potato. But it goes well sliced over a salad with some delicious crusty bread.
This chicken is my favorite combination of sweet and savory. The marinade becomes a sauce and the chicken is incredibly tender. The flavors are unbeatable and it makes for such an easy dinner, perfect for a midweek night. Really, you need to make this.
What Makes This Overnight Chicken Recipe So Good?
I love to make this recipe for my family because:
- It requires 5 minutes of prep and minimal cleanup.
- Marinating the chicken overnight makes it a set-it-and-forget-it recipe.
- All I have to do the next day is turn on the oven and prep a green veggie for a complete, well-balanced meal.
- The curry powder adds a flavorful and aromatic warmth (without being spicy).
- This is an incredibly versatile recipe. It goes with just about anything, be it roasted vegetables, rice, potatoes, or salad!
Ingredients
All it takes is four ingredients for the marinade (which you probably already have on hand) and the chicken.
- 1/2 cup honey
- 1/3 cup Dijon mustard
- 4 tbsp soy sauce
- 1 tbsp curry powder
- 4 chicken breasts
How to Make a Delicious Chicken Marinade – The Steps
Step 1: Prepare the marinade. Mix together the honey, mustard, soy sauce, and curry powder.
Step 2: Put the chicken and marinade in a plastic bag or glass container, ensuring the meat is fully saturated, and marinate overnight.
Step 3: The next day, put the chicken and the marinade in a pan and bake in a 350° F oven for 45 minutes, covered with tin foil.
Step 4: Uncover the chicken and baste. Cook another 15 minutes. When finished, slice and top with some of the remaining sauce.
How Long Can You Marinate Chicken?
The timeframe for marinating chicken depends on the ingredients in the marinade. The trick is to refrain from using vinegar or acid in the marinade to keep the meat from breaking down. (If an acidic ingredient is present, such as vinegar, citrus juice, or yogurt, the maximum marination time is 2 hours).
When marinating your chicken with this recipe, don’t exceed the 24-hour mark, as this is when the chicken will begin to break down.
FAQs
Curry powder is usually a mixture of chili powder, ground coriander, ground cumin, ground ginger, pepper, and turmeric (which gives it that golden hue). It can be bought in mild, medium, or hot strengths, but my family prefers mild. Ingredient and flavor combinations will vary by brand.
Four large or six small chicken breasts provide just the right amount of meat for an equal meat-to-marinade ratio. Boneless, skinless chicken thighs would be a wonderful alternative. I would use 8-10 small thighs for this recipe.
Absolutely, you can incorporate any flavors you like into this marinade. You could substitute the soy sauce for Worcestershire, the curry powder for Italian seasoning, or make a barbecue sauce-based marinade. Just remember that adding acids will shorten your marinading time.
How to Store Delicious Chicken Marinade
Once cooked, any leftover chicken and marinade can be kept in the refrigerator for 4 days, or the freezer for 3 months. Just be sure to let everything cool down before sealing it in an airtight container. When reheating, let your chicken come to room temperature before placing it back in the oven at 350° F for 10-15 minutes (or until heated through). You could also heat it in the microwave or on the stove.
Delicious Chicken Marinade
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup honey
- 1/3 cup Dijon mustard
- 4 tbsp soy sauce
- 1 tbsp curry powder
- 4 chicken breasts
Instructions
- Mix together the honey, mustard, soy sauce, and curry powder.
- Put the chicken and marinade in a plastic bag or glass container, ensuring the meat is fully saturated, and marinate overnight.
- The next day, put the chicken and the marinade in a pan and bake in a 350° F oven for 45 minutes covered with tin foil.
- Uncover the chicken and baste. Cook another 15 minutes.
- Slice and top with some of the remaining sauce.