4-Ingredient Easy Lemon Pepper Chicken Marinade
Serve bright, zesty chicken with this super easy 4-ingredient lemon chicken marinade recipe. It goes great with pasta, rice, or on top of a salad!
Lemon pepper chicken is a classic for a reason—it’s bright, bold, and full of flavor. This simple marinade uses just three ingredients, but the combo creates a punchy, citrusy kick that brings chicken to life.
Whether you’re grilling, baking, or pan-searing, this marinade keeps the chicken juicy and tender every time. It’s perfect for busy weeknights, meal prep, or even a casual summer cookout—just mix, marinate, and cook your favorite way!
What’s in easy lemon chicken marinade?
This simple chicken marinade has a short ingredient list filled with simple ingredients:
- Lemon: You will need one lemon for this recipe. You’re going to juice and zest it to make sure you don’t miss any of that citrusy goodness!
- Olive Oil: You can sub olive oil with other types of oil. I like the mild flavor and health benefits of olive oil, but others, like avocado oil have similar benefits. Just be aware that they may change the taste, and vegetable oil may also make your chicken brown up more quickly when pan frying.
- Lemon Pepper Seasoning: This really ups the lemon flavor! If you can’t find it, you can simply add salt and black pepper. The chicken will still taste delicious.
Making a quick chicken marinade
Start by using a zester or cheese grater to zest your lemon. When you’ve finished, cut your lemon in half and use a juicer to juice the lemon.
You can either mix the lemon zest, lemon juice, lemon pepper seasoning and olive oil in a small bowl or in a gallon-size resealable plastic bag.
This marinade will marinate about 1 lb of chicken. Place your raw chicken either into a the gallon Ziploc bag you mixed the marinade in, or into a baking dish.
Pour the lemon marinade over the top of the chicken and make sure that each piece is covered. I like to massage the Ziploc bag a little bit to make sure that the marinade really gets in there.
Cover your chicken with plastic wrap or seal the Ziploc and let the chicken sit in the fridge for a half hour, or for best results, up to 4 hours. The longer you leave it, the stronger the flavor. Turn your chicken half-way through the marinading period .
You can cook your chicken any way you’d like: pan-fry, bake, grill, or air-fry. The chicken in the images was air-fried at 375° for 12 minutes.
To serve, top with some chopped fresh herbs, lemon slices, and cracked black pepper!
Cooking Chicken Cheat Sheet
For food safety, chicken should always be cooked to an internal temperature of 165°. Other than that, you can pick the best way to cook your lemon chicken. There are plenty of different ways to get flavorful chicken!
- Pan Fry or Skillet: Heat 1 tbsp olive oil in a pan over medium-high heat. Place the chicken in the pan and allow to cook for 3-5 minutes each side.
- Oven: Preheat oven to 400°. Place chicken on a rimmed baking sheet. Bake chicken for 20-25 minutes.
- Air Fryer: Place chicken meat in the basket, making sure not to overlap. Air-fry at 375° for 12-14 minutes.
- Grill: Preheat grill to 400°. Place chicken pieces on grill. Allow chicken to cook for 6-8 minutes per side.
What to serve with lemon pepper chicken
- Creamed Spinach
- 15 Minute Rolls
- Broccoli Cheese Casserole
- Super Easy Flatbread – Serve the chicken on the flatbread with greek yogurt, tomatoes, cucumbers, and red onion for a greek lemon chicken gyro!
FAQs
Fresh lemon juice and zest really make a difference in the flavor, but bottled juice will work in a pinch. Just keep in mind that you’ll miss out on the brightness from the zest.
This marinade works great on chicken breasts, chicken thighs, drumsticks, or even chicken wings. Bone-in or boneless—both turn out juicy and flavorful!
You can also use this marinade on pork chops!
Store any leftover chicken in an airtight container in the fridge. It will stay fresh for up to 3–4 days.
Yes, but it’s best not to marinate longer than 12 hours, or the lemon juice may start to break down the chicken and make it mushy.
Ingredients
- 1 lemon
- 1/2 cup olive oil
- 1 tsp lemon pepper
- 1 lb chicken breasts, thighs, wings, etc
Instructions
- Zest and juice the lemon.
- In a small bowl, add zest and juice from lemon, olive oil, and lemon pepper seasoning. Mix until well combined.
- Place chicken in baking dish or gallon Ziploc bag. Pour marinade over chicken, ensuring that each piece is covered with marinade.
- Cover chicken (or seal Ziploc), and place chicken in refrigerator for 30 minutes to 4 hours to marinate.
- Remove chicken from bag and cook in favorite way. Option: bake chicken at 400° for 20-25 minutes, or until internal temperature is 165°.
