This easy, delicious Tarragon Chicken Marinade combines olive oil, white wine, tarragon, garlic, and Italian seasoning for amazing chicken meals! It's a super easy marinade to mix up and get your chicken well on the way to upgrading your plain chicken!
Tarragon Chicken Marinade Recipe
This lovely herb marinade combines the rich flavor of tarragon with garlic and white wine for an incredibly light and flavorful chicken! It's a perfectly versatile marinade that is fabulous for grilling, kabobs, baked chicken, or pan-seared then tossed with pasta!
My family and I are fans of tarragon, and it's a herb used in my very popular leftover prime rib stroganoff recipe for it's amazing flavor! If you know you don't like the licorice taste that is characteristic of tarragon, you can choose one of my many tarragon substitutes here.
Marinade Ingredients
Use your pantry staples to make this simple marinade! Or upgrade to fresh garlic, tarragon, and Italian herbs for a super boost to an already delicious marinade!
If you have a lemon on hand, lemon juice and zest can be swapped out for the white wine if desired.
- Olive Oil - is a great way to make sure that your chicken turns out perfectly moist! Plus it adds its delicious EVOO flavor too! If you want to use a different oil for the marinade, make sure to choose one that is flavorless. The oil should also have a high enough smoke point for your intended cooking method.
- Garlic - adds a robust, earthy, but completely unique garlic flavor! Use 2 teaspoons of garlic powder to swap out from fresh minced garlic. If you have the jarred minced garlic, it's just as wonderful as fresh garlic when used in marinades.
- Tarragon - is a wonderful, aromatic herb to add to marinades! To chop fresh tarragon, pull the slender leaves from the stem and then finely chop. Use 2 tablespoons fresh tarragon, or 1 tablespoon dried tarragon.
- Italian Seasoning - a wonderful blend of more classic Italian herbs that combine to make this super tasty marinade! Use fresh chopped herbs like basil, oregano, thyme, and rosemary or freeze dried Italian herb blend that can be found in your produce aisle. For dried Italian seasoning, use 1 teaspoon rather than 1 tablespoon of fresh herbs.
- White Wine or Chicken Broth - choose a fantastic white wine like Pinot Grigio for your marinade! Or opt for an alcohol-free marinade and use chicken broth instead.
- Salt & Pepper - are the base spices that make all of our recipes delicious! Both salt and pepper work to highlight all of the wonderful flavors in your tarragon chicken marinade!
How To Make Tarragon Chicken Marinade
In addition to all of our easy marinade ingredients, I suggest using a ziploc or zip-top style plastic storage bag. These bags will keep the marinade 'clinging' to your chicken for better marinating results!
- In a small bowl, combine the olive oil, white wine or chicken broth, tarragon, garlic, Italian seasoning, salt, and pepper. Mix well until the herbs are well distributed in the marinade.
- Transfer the marinade and chicken into a ziploc plastic storage bag, then squeeze out all of the excess air while sealing the bag securely.
- Massage the marinade by squishing it around in the bag while working it into the chicken and making sure that the chicken meat is well coated.
- Refrigerate and marinate the chicken for at least 4 hours. Freeze for up to 3 months.
Pro Tip:
If you will be grilling whole boneless, skinless chicken breasts, it is best to flatten the chicken breasts for quick and even cooking. Place your chicken breasts between two sheets of plastic cling film and pound with a meat mallet or tenderizer ( the flat side ).
Start at the center of each chicken breast and work your way toward the edges. Continue until the whole chicken breast has an even thickness.
Marinating the Chicken
Your chicken needs to marinate for at least 15 - 20 minutes before cooking. The longer you can let the chicken marinate, the more flavorful your cooked chicken will be!
I would usually recommend at least 4 hours, or overnight ( 8 - 24 hours ) for optimal marinating. However, you can marinate the chicken for up to 2 - 3 days refrigerated.
While frozen chicken pieces can usually be stored in the freezer for 6 months or more. However, I recommend freezing your marinated chicken for a maximum of three months.
Allow the frozen marinated chicken to thaw while refrigerated overnight. The marinade will slowly seep into your chicken while it thaws, making it just delicious!
Check out all of my super tasty and oh-so-easy chicken marinades in one place! The marinades are absolutely perfect for grilled, pan-fried, or oven-baked chicken breasts, thighs, wings, skewers, and more!
📖 Recipe Card
Tarragon Chicken Marinade
Ingredients
- ¼ cup olive oil (extra virgin)
- ¼ cup white wine (or chicken broth)
- 2 tablespoon garlic (minced)
- 2 tablespoon tarragon
- 1 tablespoon Italian seasoning
- ½ teaspoon each, salt & pepper
(Note: 2x or 3x only changes the ingredient list)
Instructions
- In a small bowl combine the olive oil, white wine, garlic, tarragon, Italian seasoning, and salt. Whisk until well combined.
- Place the chicken and marinade into a ziploc plastic storage bag then squeeze out excess air while sealing securely.
- Massage the marinade into the chicken by squishing the marinade throughout the bag. Continue until the chicken is thoroughly coated.
- Refrigerate for at least 4 hours for best results. Freeze for up to 3 months.
Notes
If you will be grilling whole chicken breasts, it is best to flatten the chicken breasts for quick and even cooking. Place your chicken breasts between two sheets of plastic cling film and pound with a meat mallet or tenderizer ( the flat side ). Start at the center of the chicken breast and work your way toward the edges.
Nutrition
Jesse says
Absolutely delicious