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Five Chicken Marinades

Five delicious and distinct chicken marinades to prepare in advance and store in the freezer for effortless dinners throughout the week! From Chicken Satay to Moroccan Chicken, the flavors are so versatile and will have you eating at home more often than going out to eat. Perfect for those who are busy but still want home-cooked meals!
You can choose to do a marathon session, and make all five marinades at the same time, or you can just make one at a time.
Prep Time2 hours
Total Time2 hours
Author: Hajar - Moriban

Ingredients

CHICKEN SATAY

  • 2 pounds boneless & skinless chicken thighs cut into small pieces
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 2 teaspoons fresh garlic finely minced
  • 2 teaspoons ginger paste
  • 2 tablespoons low-sodium soy sauce
  • 2 teaspoons yellow curry powder
  • 1 teaspoon turmeric
  • 2 teaspoons coriander
  • 2 teaspoons chili powder
  • ¼ cup coconut milk
  • 1½ teaspoon salt or to taste
  • ½ teaspoon black pepper
  • 2 teaspoons brown sugar sugar or honey
  • red pepper flakes to taste to make it spicy

HONEY HARISSA CHICKEN

  • 2 pounds chicken thighs boneless and skinless
  • 3 tablespoons olive oil
  • 3 tablespoons harissa more to taste
  • 1½ tablespoon garlic finely minced
  • 2-3 tablespoons lemon juice
  • 1 tablespoon parsley finely chopped
  • 1 tablespoon cilantro finely chopped
  • 2 teaspoons paprika
  • 2 teaspoons coriander
  • 2 teaspoons cumin
  • 2 teaspoons salt
  • 2 tablespoons honey

CILANTRO JALAPENO LIME CHICKEN

  • 2 pounds chicken breast or boneless skinless chicken thighs chopped
  • 1 whole bunch cilantro
  • 2 whole jalapeños seeds and stems removed
  • 1½ teaspoon salt to taste
  • 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
  • 1 teaspoon cumin
  • ¼ teaspoon black pepper
  • 4 to 6 garlic cloves
  • ½ cup mayonnaise
  • ⅓ cup plain whole milk yogurt
  • juice of 1 whole lime

MOROCCAN CHICKEN

  • 2 pounds chicken thighs boneless and skinless cut into small pieces
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • ½ cup plain whole milk yogurt
  • 2 teaspoons paprika
  • 2 teaspoons cumin
  • 2 teaspoons salt
  • ½ teaspoon onion powder
  • 1 teaspoon ginger
  • ½ teaspoon black pepper
  • ½ teaspoon turmeric
  • 2 to 3 teaspoons minced garlic to taste
  • 2 tablespoons parsley finely chopped
  • 2 tablespoons cilantro finely chopped

TANDOORI CHICKEN

  • 1½ pounds chicken breast or boneless skinless chicken thighs cubed
  • 3 tablespoons olive oil
  • ⅓ cup plain whole milk yogurt
  • 2 teaspoons fresh ginger minced or paste
  • 1 tablespoon fresh garlic minced
  • 2 teaspoons garam masala
  • 2 teaspoons salt
  • 2 teaspoons cumin
  • 2 teaspoons mild chili powder
  • ½ tablespoon turmeric
  • 1 teaspoon coriander
  • 1 teaspoon paprika
  • ¼ teaspoon cayenne powder optional
  • juice of 1 whole lime

Instructions

CHICKEN SATAY

  • Chicken satay is a very popular street food in a few countries – Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, and a few more. I always order it whenever we go out for Thai food. It’s typically served as a long skewer and the flavor profile is a little spicy, a little sweet, and very creamy and nutty from the coconut. You can use the satay to make spring rolls or bowls with jasmine rice, carrots, cucumbers, and a peanut sauce!

HONEY HARISSA CHICKEN

  • This chicken has the perfect balance of sweet and spicy and makes for the perfect protein to create a Mediterranean-inspired dinner. You can serve this chicken up in a pita wrap or even in a bowl with yellow rice and your fave veggies. I love adding lots of garlic white sauce on top too!

CILANTRO JALAPENO LIME CHICKEN

  • Green chicken might look funky at first to you but it tastes so SO good. This recipe came to exist by accident. I love making this cilantro jalapeno lime sauce and keeping it in the fridge to make sandwiches with, use as a dressing, and drizzle it on rice bowls. I had some leftovers and decided to cook chicken in it and it turned out so good and now we’re here! This recipe makes for delicious tacos or burritos.

MOROCCAN CHICKEN

  • The marinade for Moroccan chicken skewers is inspired by a chicken dish that my mom makes at least once a week. It’s packed with so many fresh herbs, lots of garlic, and ginger. The yogurt base makes it so light and refreshing as well. I love enjoying this with some salad, with bread in a sandwich, or some basmati rice.

TANDOORI CHICKEN

  • If you love Indian food, this one will be a big hit. It’s packed with so many warm flavors and the vibrant orange color from the turmeric is so inviting. I love grilling this chicken and serving it with seasoned basmati rice, cilantro sauce, and some veggies like red onions and cucumbers.

PREPARING THE MARINADE

  • You can use a bowl or a mason jar to prepare each marinade.
    Just add all the ingredients for every marinade (minus the chicken) in the bowl/jar and mix together well, and that’s it.
  • Now it's time to cut up the chicken! This can take a bit more time but it’s still pretty simple. You can decide if you want to use thighs or breast for each recipe. It’s truly up to you. For boneless skinless chicken thighs, just make sure to trim any excess fat and thinly slice it or chop it. Do the same for the breasts.
    Choose, for each recipe, the size of pieces to cut the chicken into, depending on what you wish the final result to be: whole, or medium or small chunks, etc.
  • Add around two pounds of the prepared meat into a large gallon-size Ziploc bag. If you are a big family and need to make two pounds per meal, put it in one bag. If you are just a family of two, divide into two different Ziploc bags – each one having one pound of meat and just divide the marinade in half too.
  • Once the marinade and meat are in every bag, make sure they are labeled properly with the name of the marinade as well as the date it was packaged on. Seal it up and shake it to make sure everything is incorporated well.

STORAGE AND THAWING

  • Now that all the meat is marinaded and in Ziploc bags, it’s time to store them in the freezer! The whole point of doing this is so that you have some meals ready to go for a few months ahead. If you store these in the refrigerator, they’ll go bad in a few days. So right after prepping them, place them in the freezer on a shelf away from other non-meat items for food safety.
  • If you want to use one of the marinades the same day or the next day, leave it in the fridge for up to 24 hours. For anything longer, keep it in the freezer for up to 4 months. It could last longer in the freezer but sometimes things can get freezer burned if they stay in too long so try to use in 3 to 4 months.
  • The safest way to thaw any meat is to take it out from the freezer 24 hours before and transfer it to the refrigerator.

COOKING THE MEAT

  • You can decide how you want to cook the meat. You can turn them into skewers and cook on the grill or BBQ. You can air fry the chicken, roast in the oven, or saute in a pan. All delicious!
  • Enjoy!