Brown sugar bourbon chicken marinade makes incredibly tender, flavorful chicken with just 7 simple ingredients and less than 5 minutes of prep. It’s the perfect sweet-and-savory option for grilled, oven-baked, or slow cooker chicken.
If you need an easy way to add big flavor to chicken without adding extra work, this brown sugar bourbon chicken marinade is it. The combination of brown sugar, bourbon, and seasonings creates a rich, slightly sweet glaze while helping keep the chicken juicy and tender.
The marinade is super easy and comes together in under 5 minutes, uses just 7 ingredients, and can be prepped ahead, all of which makes it perfect for grilling, baking in the oven, or slow cooking.
Ingredient notes and substitutions
- Orange juice: Can use a good-quality premade OJ if can’t use fresh orange juice.
- Bourbon: Or an equal amount of apple juice.
- Ginger: Or 1/4 teaspoon dried ginger.
How to make brown sugar bourbon chicken marinade
Here you’ll find instructions and step-by-step photos showing how to make this recipe. The full recipe, including ingredients, is given below.
Step 1: Stir together the orange juice, brown sugar, bourbon, soy sauce, garlic, onion, and ginger in a medium bowl.
Step 2: Add chicken and marinade to desired container.
Step 3: Let chicken sit in marinade, covered in the fridge, for at least 30 minutes and up to 2 days.
Recipe Tips!
- How to marinate chicken: I wrote a post with tips on how to freeze chicken in marinade, the best containers for marinating chicken, and more. You can find all of those tips in my how to marinate chicken post.
Storage
Let chicken sit in marinade, covered in the fridge, for at least 30 minutes and up to 2 days.
More chicken marinade recipes
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Brown Sugar Bourbon Chicken Marinade Recipe
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 cup fresh orange juice
- ½ cup brown sugar packed
- ¼ cup bourbon
- ¼ cup lite soy sauce
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 1 tablespoon minced onion
- 1 teaspoon grated fresh ginger
- 1-1 ½ pounds boneless skinless chicken breast
Instructions
Marinade
- Stir together the orange juice, brown sugar, bourbon, soy sauce, garlic, onion, and ginger in a medium bowl.1 cup fresh orange juice, ½ cup brown sugar, ¼ cup bourbon, ¼ cup lite soy sauce, 3 cloves garlic, 1 tablespoon minced onion, 1 teaspoon grated fresh ginger
- Add chicken and marinade to desired container.1-1 ½ pounds boneless skinless chicken breast
- Let chicken sit in marinade, covered in the fridge, for at least 30 minutes and up to 2 days.
Grill
- Preheat grill to medium high heat and lightly grease the grates.
- Remove the chicken from the marinade, and let the excess marinade drip off.
- Discard remaining marinade.
- Grill chicken until chicken reaches 165F. The grilling time will vary depending on thickness of the chicken.
- Remove chicken from grill, and tent loosely with foil.
- Let the chicken rest for 5-10 minutes before serving.
Oven
- Preheat oven to 425 F.
- Add the chicken and marinade to a baking dish. An 11×7-inch dish works well for 1-1.5 pounds of chicken.
- Bake for 10 minutes.
- Flip the chicken over, and continue to cook for an additional 15-20 minutes, or until the chicken registers 165F.
- Let the chicken rest for 10 minutes before serving.
Slow Cooker
- Add the chicken and marinade to the slow cooker insert.
- Cover and cook on low for 3-5 hours, or until chicken registers 165 F.
Notes
- Orange juice: Can use a good-quality premade OJ if can’t use fresh orange juice.
- Bourbon: Or an equal amount of apple juice.
- Ginger: Or 1/4 teaspoon dried ginger.
- Nutrition values are estimates and do not account for discarded marinade.
Nutrition
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