Beer Marinade for Chicken

Beer marinade for chicken is a simple recipe with fresh ingredients that creates the most tender and flavorful chicken ever! No chopping required.

Can you believe it is barbecue season already? We are bringing you our favorite summer specialties.

Have you had a chance to try my Honey Balsamic Grilled Chicken? You’ll need to try it soon.

This simple marinade is made with fresh ingredients. It creates the most tender and flavorful chicken ever! And, it couldn’t be easier to make. You just blend it in your food processor and marinate!

 

Beer Marinade for Chicken

This quick chicken marinade has become my go-to recipe when I grill chicken breast. It’s got loads of flavor from the beer, garlic, and fresh herbs. It’s definitely a crowd-pleaser.

The chicken breasts end up being so tender and juicy that I get loads of compliments when I serve it. I hope you’ll try it today.

If you’d prefer not to use a disposable bag, you can marinade this in a glass container with a tightly fitting lid. Just be sure the chicken is completely covered in marinade.

What type of beer is best for marinade?

This all really depends on your personal taste preferences. You can use any type of wheat-based beer. Beer has enzymes that help it to break down the fibers in meat.

This is what makes it such a wonderful base for marinades. It almost guarantees the meat will be tender when it’s done cooking.

How to make a beer chicken marinade

This is really one of the easiest marinades ever! All you need to do is add the chicken to a freezer bag and pour in the marinade.

After working the mixture around for a few minutes, you will let the chicken marinate in the refrigerator for three to 24 hours before grilling it.

What else can I use this marinade on?

You can use this beer marinade for chicken with any type of meat. Why not try it on steak or pork next time?

If you don’t have chicken breasts, you can use this quick chicken marinade on thighs, wings, or drumsticks. Just adjust the cooking time based on the size and type of meat you’re preparing.

Beer marinade for freezer meals

One of the easiest ways to make mealtime preparation easier is to start out with some type of freezer meal.

If you want to cook grilled chicken breast, simply combine this marinade along with the chicken in a gallon-sized freezer bag and freeze.

Take the frozen meat out of the freezer the night before and place it in the refrigerator to defrost. When it’s dinner time, the marinade will have infused flavors throughout the chicken.

Cook it as you would normally either on the grill or in the oven.

What can I do with leftover chicken?

If you have leftovers after grilling with this beer chicken marinade, you can simply enjoy it cold the next day. Cold chicken makes a wonderful topping for any type of garden or chef salad.

Or, if you’d prefer to use it in another recipe for dinner, why not try it in one of these.

Chicken Noodle Casserole is loaded with tender meat, veggies, cheese, and a delicious cream sauce. Make this recipe tonight in under an hour!

Crockpot White Chicken Chili is an easy dinner recipe idea for busy weeknights. Tender chicken is slow-cooked with zesty spices and white beans – topped with cheese, chips, cilantro, and sour cream. Yum!

More marinade recipes

If you enjoyed this beer marinade for chicken, I have a few more marinade recipes that you might want to try next time.

Garlic lime all-purpose marinade is a simple recipe that comes together in a snap and creates the most amazingly flavorful, moist, and tender meat dishes. Perfect on chicken, pork, steaks, and seafood.

Chipotle lime marinade takes only 20 minutes to prepare. The sweet honey, tart lime, spicy chiles, and garlic flavors make a wonderful marinade. It really just has a little kick but isn’t too spicy.

Tequila Lime Grilled Chicken is bursting with flavor. Fresh lime and Jose Cuervo Gold are the stars of this simple marinade! This easy recipe is marinated overnight for the most fabulous flavor.

Enjoy!

With love from our simple kitchen to yours.

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Beer Marinade for Chicken

Donna Elick

Looking for a beer marinade for chicken? Try this quick chicken marinade that is fast easy and flavorful. No chopping required.

5 stars from 1 review

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Print Recipe

Prep Time 10 minutes mins

Cook Time 12 minutes mins

Inactive Time 3 hours hrs 30 minutes mins

Total Time 3 hours hrs 52 minutes mins

Course Main

Cuisine American

Method Grill

Servings 5 Pounds Cooked Chicken

Ingredients

 

1x2x3x

• ▢ 5 pounds boneless skinless chicken breasts, trimmed and washed
• ▢ 1/4 cup olive oil, extra virgin
• ▢ 1/4 cup lemon juice
• ▢ 3 tablespoons fresh basil, or 3 teaspoons dried
• ▢ 1 tablespoons fresh oregano, or 2 teaspoons dried
• ▢ 1 tablespoon fresh thyme, or 1 teaspoon dried
• ▢ 2 teaspoons kosher salt
• ▢ 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• ▢ 6 cloves garlic, large cloves, smashed
• ▢ 12 ounces bottle dark ale beer, I used Black Toad from Trader Joe's

Instructions

 

• Place chicken in a 1 gallon resealable plastic bag. Set aside.
• Combine olive oil, lemon juice, basil, oregano, thyme, salt, pepper and garlic in your food processor or blender.
• Blend until your mixture is smooth. Combine 1/4 cup marinade mix and 1/2 cup beer in an airtight container, reserve this mixture. Place in the refrigerator.
• Pour the remaining marinade mixture and 1 cup (8 ounces) of beer over the chicken in the resealable bag.
• Squeeze out as much air as possible and reseal bag. Turn your bag a few times to make sure chicken is well coated with the marinade. Allow the chicken to marinate in refrigerator for 3 -24 hours.
• Preheat yours grill to medium-high.
• Remove the chicken and reserved marinade from refrigerator and set on the counter to come to room temperature, about 30 to 60 minutes (you never want to grill cold meat, the temperature change will toughen the meat).
• Grill the chicken about 3 minutes per side. When you turn your chicken apply the reserved marinade to the cooked side of the chicken. Grill the other side until your chicken is seared nicely and when you press down on the chicken it is firm but not hard.
• Remove from the grill and place on a tray, tent the chicken with foil.
• Allow the chicken to rest for 5-10 minutes, to redistribute the juices.

Donna’s Notes

You can also cook this in the oven. Preheat oven to 450°F. Pour off 1/2 of marinade, add the chicken and remaining marinade to a 9×13 baking dish and bake for 15-20 minutes, until the chicken is cooked through.

I used a dark ale for this recipe but you can use whatever your favorite is.

Nutrition

Serving: 1 | Calories: 655cal | Carbohydrates: 6g | Protein: 97g | Fat: 23g | Saturated Fat: 4g | Cholesterol: 290mg | Sodium: 1461mg | Sugar: 1g | Fiber: 1g | Calcium: 59mg | Iron: 3mg

All nutritional information is based on third party calculations and is only an estimate. Each recipe’s nutritional value will vary depending on the ingredients used, measuring methods, and portion sizes.

Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!

Originally published May 2012, updated and republished March 2021

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