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Home Collections Australia Day!

Italian Dressing Chicken Marinade

By:Nagi
Published:6 Jul '15Updated:7 May '19
66 Comments
Recipe v

Italian Dressing Chicken Marinade is an Italian Chicken Marinade that doubles as a salad dressing! This is one of my tricks for easy midweek meals and it’s a highly effective method to make delicious meals with less effort.

I use this Double Duty trick in a handful of recipes, like this Lemon Chicken Salad and Mexican Chicken Salad – and readers love it!

Italian Marinated Grilled Chicken with Zucchini - using a marinade that doubles as a dressing is a nifty way to make midweek meals even faster!

Italian Dressing Chicken Marinade

Did you know that most salad dressings also make great marinades? Not creamy ones. But pretty much all non creamy ones do, including French Dressing, Honey Mustard Dressing, this Asian Sesame Dressing and Balsamic Dressing.

Today I’m sharing an Italian Dressing Chicken Marinade. So it’s an Italian dressing recipe – that doubles as a chicken marinade, made with:

  • White wine vinegar  – sub with other vinegars

  • Olive oil

  • Mustard

  • Garlic

  • Sugar, salt and pepper

Use some to marinade the chicken, and the rest to dress your side salad!

Italian Marinated Grilled Chicken with Zucchini - using a marinade that doubles as a dressing is a nifty way to make midweek meals even faster!

You’ll love how the Italian Dressing does double duty as a marinade AND salad dressing in this recipe!

Italian Chicken Marinade

For the Italian Chicken Marinade, I do like to add some dried herbs – just to make the flavour of the chicken slightly different, otherwise everything tastes the same.

Cook this Italian marinated chicken on the grill, stove – or even bake it!

How long does the chicken need to be marinated? It’s best overnight, but even 20 minutes is enough, especially if you make this with chicken breast cut in half horizontally to make 2 thin steaks.

Best chicken for Italian Chicken Marinade? I’m a brown meat gal so for most chicken recipes, I opt for thigh over breast because it’s juicier with not much difference in calories. But this recipe will work just fine with breast too!

Italian Dressing Side Salad

I’ve made a side salad using very thinly sliced raw zucchinis – something a little different! I really enjoy raw zucchini – it actually doesn’t have that much flavour so it’s a great vehicle to add pretty much any type of dressing and it works very well with the Italian dressing.

BUT you can use the Italian Dressing/Marinade for any type of leafy salad you want – or even for steamed vegetables. Enjoy! – Nagi x

Italian Marinated Grilled Chicken with Zucchini - using a marinade that doubles as a dressing is a nifty way to make midweek meals even faster!

Italian Marinated Grilled Chicken with Zucchini - using a marinade that doubles as a dressing is a nifty way to make midweek meals even faster!

My favourite back-pocket marinades

These are the ones I use over and over again, made with pantry staples with lots of sub options!

  • Just a great Chicken Marinade

  • Asian Chicken Marinade

  • A Great Pork Chop Marinade

  • Beef Steak Marinade

  • Rosemary Garlic Marinated Lamb Chops

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Italian Marinated Grilled Chicken with Zucchini - using a marinade that doubles as a dressing is a nifty way to make midweek meals even faster!

Italian Dressing Chicken Marinade

Author: Nagi | RecipeTin Eats
Prep: 10 mins
Cook: 10 mins
Total: 20 mins
Barbecue, BBQ, Chicken, Grill
American-Italian, Italian
4.93 from 13 votes
Servings4
Tap or hover to scale
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Italian Dressing Chicken Marinade is an Italian Chicken Marinade that doubles as a salad dressing! This is one of my tricks for easy midweek meals and it's a highly effective method to make delicious meals with less effort. I've made a zucchini side salad here, but feel free to use the dressing for ANY salad you want!

Ingredients

Dressing Marinade

  • 4 1/2 tbsp white wine vinegar (Note 1)
  • 2 cloves garlic
  • 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
  • 1 tbsp dijon mustard
  • 1 1/2 tsp sugar
  • 1 tsp salt
  • Black pepper

Marinated Chicken

  • 1/2 tbsp olive oil
  • 2 1/2 tsp mixed Italian dried herbs (either a packet mix or mix herbs like basil, parsley, oregano, rosemary and thyme)
  • 1 tsp dried red chili flakes (optional)
  • 750 g / 1.5lb chicken thighs, boneless skinless, or breast (cut in half horizontally)

Zucchini Side

  • 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
  • 2 zucchinis , finely sliced into rounds using a mandolin
  • 2 tbsp baby mint leaves , or 1 tbsp sliced larger mint leaves

Instructions

  • Place the Dressing Marinade ingredients in a small jar and shake well to combine.

Marinade Chicken:

  • Put the Marinated Chicken ingredients in a bowl or ziplock bag and add 5 tablespoons of the Dressing Marinade. 
  • Massage / mix to coat the chicken. Set aside for marinade for at least 20 minutes, ideally 3 hours or up to 24 hours.

Cook Chicken:

  • Grill/BBQ: You shouldn't need any oil, but if you are concerned, brush your grill with oil. Heat the grill on medium high and cook the chicken for around 3 to 4 minutes on each side. (Cook breast for less)
  • Stove: Preheat 1/2 tbsp oil in a large non stick fry pan over medium high heat. Add the chicken and cook each side for around 4 to 5 minutes, or until dark golden brown and cooked through. 
  • When the chicken is cooked, remove it from the grill/fry pan onto a plate, loosely cover with foil and set aside for 10 minutes.
  • Serve the chicken with the zucchini salad and toasted bread.

Salad & Dressing:

  • Add the 1 tablespoon of olive oil (from the Zucchini Side ingredients) into the jar with the remaining Dressing Marinade and shake well. Set aside.
  • Toss the zucchinis and mint with the Dressing Marinade.

Recipe Notes:

1. You can substitute with chardonnay or apple cider vinegar, or lemon juice. Or even rice vinegar! You just need a vinegar that is not as harsh as ordinary white vinegar.
2. This can be made with breast fillets too, but just be careful with the cooking time as you don't want to overcook it. Dry chicken breast is not pleasant!
3. Nutrition per serving assuming 4 servings.

Nutrition Information:

Serving: 318gCalories: 322cal (16%)Carbohydrates: 5.7g (2%)Protein: 38g (76%)Fat: 17.3g (27%)Saturated Fat: 3.5g (22%)Cholesterol: 158mg (53%)Sodium: 794mg (35%)Potassium: 281mg (8%)Fiber: 1.2g (5%)Sugar: 3.3g (4%)Vitamin A: 200IU (4%)Vitamin C: 23.9mg (29%)Calcium: 20mg (2%)Iron: 2.3mg (13%)
Keywords: Italian chicken marinade, Italian Dressing Chicken Marinade
Did you make this recipe?I love hearing how you went with my recipes! Tag me on Instagram at @RecipeTinEats.

 

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Hi, I'm Nagi!

I believe you can make great food with everyday ingredients even if you’re short on time and cost conscious. You just need to cook clever and get creative!

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66 Comments

  1. Claire Barstow says

    January 25, 2022 at 8:25 am

    5 stars
    Juicy (check), moorish (check), easy (check), healthy (check)! This simple marinade is SO good. It’s become a staple in our house whenever we decide what to do with chicken breasts. Cannot wait to get my hands on your cookbook! Thank you, Nagi!

    Reply
  2. Janet says

    August 18, 2021 at 12:09 am

    You have 2 cloves of garlic in the ingredients list, however it doesn’t say whether to crush them, chop them or leave them whole. Do I assume you leave them whole so as not to over power the other flavours in the dressing?

    Reply
    • Nagi says

      August 18, 2021 at 8:02 pm

      Hi Janet, sorry you’ll need to crush them for the dressing here. N x

      Reply
  3. Krlly says

    May 5, 2021 at 4:18 pm

    Have you used red wine vinegar?

    Reply
    • Nagi says

      May 6, 2021 at 4:39 pm

      It would be a last resort Kelly – the ones listed in the notes would be my preference 🙂 N x

      Reply
  4. Elizabeth says

    January 5, 2021 at 11:06 pm

    5 stars
    My husband and I love this recipe! Although, we’ve only done the chicken and not the zucchini.

    We were looking for a light marinate that would go with lots of different sides/meals. We’ve done these for wraps/pittas and I’ve used it to top some pasta dishes as well. It’s become a go-to weeknight dinner for us!

    Reply
  5. Princess A says

    August 29, 2018 at 9:39 am

    Hi Nagi,

    I was reading your recipe, and it doesn’t say mention any type of chicken in the ingredient list. Please let me know what type of chicken to use, and how much to use. New cook who needs specific directions.

    Thanks

    Reply
  6. Princess A says

    August 17, 2018 at 9:36 am

    Hi Nagi,

    I was reading your recipe, and it doesn’t say mention any type of chicken in the ingredient list. Please let me know what type of chicken to use, and how much to use. New cook who needs specific directions.

    Thanks

    Reply
  7. Dan says

    July 23, 2017 at 6:00 am

    4 stars
    Only made the chicken because didn’t have any zucchini. But the chicken was good. I marinated it for three hours which was not enough. There was not that much mustard flavor to it. Served with green peas and sauerkraut salad.

    Reply
    • Nagi says

      July 25, 2017 at 3:50 pm

      Hi Dan! Nope, there would not be a strong mustard flavour to it, it is a subtle affect 🙂 N xx

      Reply
  8. Zoe and Mia Lau says

    March 13, 2017 at 1:27 am

    Nagi thank you so much for the chicken marinade recipe! My sister and I was trying to find a light grilled chicken recipe to pair with our homemade vegan ricotta and pita bread (https://sprinkleofvanillasugar.wordpress.com/2017/03/11/sponsored-grilled-italian-chicken-pita-w-the-most-amazing-vegan-ricotta-df-nut-free/) . This was perfect! Thank you for your easy recipes and beautiful pictures!

    Reply
    • Nagi says

      March 13, 2017 at 4:54 pm

      ooh! that looks wonderful, sharing!

      Reply
  9. Anna says

    July 19, 2015 at 9:57 am

    5 stars
    Hi Nagi,

    I cooked this chicken feeling very sceptical about the marinade but I shouldn’t of worried as it turned out beautiful.
    The dressing is fabulous and great for the zuchini salad.
    I have never seen my husband eat zuchini but when he tried this recipe he actually went back for more.
    I did this with your gnocci recipe which took me a while as my dough was quite sticky so I did have to add more flour,
    but in the end it all turned out yummy, maybe not as pretty but still yummy.
    Thank you for all your recipes as they taste great and are quite easy. Your’s is the best site ever. Thank you again.

    Reply
    • Nagi | RecipeTin says

      July 20, 2015 at 9:31 am

      Oh wow Anna, I LOVE hearing that!! (Especially the part about your zucchini-hating hubby going back for more!!)

      You know, gnocchi is not the prettiest food in the world, full stop. but as you say, yummy! I’m glad you persevered because the stickiness of the dough does vary depending on weather, flour brand etc. I’m constantly adding more flour/water to get the consistency right, an exact formula that works for everyone is near impossible! And thank you for your kind words, so glad you are enjoying my recipes!! N x

      Reply
  10. Dorothy Dunton says

    July 10, 2015 at 2:35 am

    I Nagi! The thighs came out great! I wrapped that extra “flap” over the bottom and secured it with a toothpick. I used four large thighs (about 2-1/2 pounds) which was just right for the amount of seasoning – if doing more the seasoning would obviously have to be increased. The spice level was perfect! I baked them at 300 for 30 minutes and then upped the temp to 400 for another 30 minutes. We are not big on ranch sauce, so I used honey mustard for the dipper (blue cheese would also be very good). They came out crispy and crunchy and SO juicy! Served them with David’s (of Spiced) BLT pasta salad. I will definitely be doing them again! In my humble opinion I think they would be a great post! 🙂

    Reply
    • Nagi | RecipeTin says

      July 10, 2015 at 7:26 am

      Hi Dorothy!! I’m SO GLAD you loved it!! OK, you’ve convinced me! Can you let me know when it’s baking weather over there? 😉 I have so many readers telling me it’s so hot they refuse to turn the oven on so I’m staying away from baking recipes for a while!!! N x THANK YOU for your wonderful feedback! I’ll incorporate this into the post!!

      Reply
      • Dorothy Dunton says

        July 10, 2015 at 7:59 am

        Hi Nagi! Here in the South 95% of the homes have air and, trust me, they are using it! Even when I didn’t have air in MI I still baked – ya gotta eat! Plus I would bake on my gas grill – the time I baked lasagna on the grill my son said it was the best I’d ever made! I’m one of those people who eat chili in the middle of summer – if I’m hungry for it, no matter what the weather, I make it! Guess that makes me a glutton for punishment…. 🙂

        Reply
        • Nagi | RecipeTin says

          July 11, 2015 at 7:50 am

          Me too! I made chowder the day after Christmas when it was stinking hot….but I had to! I was CRAVING it! 🙂

          Reply
  11. GiGi Eats says

    July 9, 2015 at 3:06 pm

    5 stars
    OH YES I would binge on this! LOL!

    Reply
    • Nagi | RecipeTin says

      July 10, 2015 at 6:06 am

      🙂 Wouldn’t blame you!

      Reply
  12. Marissa | Pinch and Swirl says

    July 9, 2015 at 9:09 am

    5 stars
    We’re cooking about everything on the BBQ right now, so I’m all over this! I love how simple the marinade is and it looks super tasty!

    Reply
    • Nagi | RecipeTin says

      July 9, 2015 at 12:42 pm

      Marissa, when I read how hot it is where you are, I couldn’t even imagine how you mustered the will to boil an egg for your Nicoise Salad! 😉

      Reply
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