For the Italian Chicken Marinade, 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
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!


Italian
Dressing Chicken Marinade is an Italian Chicken Marinade that doubles
as a salad dressing! Used 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: 322kcal (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%)
Let us know what you think.