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    Home / Recipes / Chicken

    Garlic Ranch Chicken Marinade

    By Heather · Published: Nov 3, 2017 · Updated: Mar 21, 2022 · This post may contain affiliate links · See the privacy policy linked in my footer.

    Jump to Recipe Print Recipe

    Garlic Ranch Chicken Marinade is a quick and easy marinade that is full of flavor and makes grilling, sautéing, or baking delicious chicken a snap.

    grilled chicken on a cutting board

    This garlic ranch quick chicken marinade is one of my go-to recipes. This recipe gets used all the time when I need some super flavorful chicken. It's most often used to make grilled chicken to eat throughout the week on salads for my lunch. I find that if I have a container of grilled and sliced chicken breast ready to eat in the fridge, I'm more likely to throw a salad together when I'm hungry than eating the kid's left-over peanut butter sandwiches.

    I also like this chicken marinade recipe because while it is ranch-flavored, it's a subtle ranch flavor and works well when added to basically anything. Like tonight, I'm using the chicken on top of fettuccine alfredo and I've used it inside of casseroles and wrapped it up in burritos, too! It's super versatile!

    Grilled ranch chicken being sliced on a cutting board

    Pin This Recipe To Your Chicken Board

    Recipe tips for this quick chicken marinade

    • My favorite ranch dressing mix to use for this chicken marinade is the Original Hidden Valley Ranch. I once tried Hidden Valley's Buttermilk Ranch mix and didn't like the results. I've also tried store brand ranch dressing mixes and felt the flavor just wasn't the same.
    • Grilled-- This is my absolute favorite way to eat chicken, so it makes sense that this is how I typically cook my chicken after marinading it.
    • Baked-- Preheat your oven to 400 degrees. Take the chicken out of the garlic ranch chicken marinade and place on a lined baking sheet.  Bake for 10 minutes, flip and cook for an additional 15 minutes or until a thermometer reads 165 degrees.
    • Seared and Baked-- This is my second favorite way to make/eat chicken-- Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Heat a heavy-bottomed, oven-proof skillet (I love cast iron) over high heat with 2 tablespoons of oil. Sear the chicken until golden on both sides and transfer skillet to the hot oven. Cook about 10 minutes or until a thermometer reads 165 degrees.

    Pin This Recipe To Your Chicken Board

    Close up of garlic ranch grilled chicken

    Tools Used For Garlic Ranch Chicken Marinade:

    • Lodge Reversible Cast Iron Griddle-- When we moved a few months ago we didn't bring our grill with us so I had to find an alternative until we get a new one. This pan heats up evenly and gives me the grilled taste I love. I'll admit that it makes my house a little smoky, but it's worth it.
    • OXO Stainless Steel Tongs-- These tongs take a beating in my kitchen. They go from the grill for flipping meats to the salad bowl for tossing with very little complaint. They are built like a tank and have silicone grips that make them super easy to use, even with my very small hands.
    • Lodge 10" Cast Iron Skillet-- Cast Iron Skillets are your BEST friend and are totally underrated. Cast iron retains heat really well and allows you to get that irresistible sear on steaks and other meats you can usually only get at a restaurant. Pair this with the fact that they are CHEAP it's a no-brainer.

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    Garlic Ranch Chicken Marinade is a quick and easy marinade that is full of flavor and makes grilling, sautéing, or baking delicious chicken a snap.

    Garlic Ranch Chicken Marinade

    Garlic Ranch Chicken Marinade is a quick and easy marinade that is full of flavor and makes grilling, sautéing, or baking delicious chicken a snap.
    By Heather Cheney
    Print Pin Rate
    Prep Time: 5 minutes
    Cook Time: 30 minutes
    Marinade Time: 1 day
    Total Time: 1 day 35 minutes
    Servings: 4 servings

    Ingredients

    • 3 tablespoons or 1 pkg. ranch dressing mix
    • 1 tablespoon garlic salt
    • 2 tablespoons water
    • ¼ cup olive oil
    • 1 tablespoon lemon juice
    • 4 boneless skinless chicken breasts

    Instructions

    • Combine all ingredients in a small bowl and pour over 2-3 lbs boneless skinless chicken breasts in a gallon sized ziplock bag. Let marinade in the refrigerator for 4-24 hours.
    • Cook as desired, seasoning lightly with salt before cooking.

    Nutrition Facts

    Serving: 1 serving | Calories: 280 kcal | Carbohydrates: 6 g | Protein: 24 g | Fat: 16 g | Saturated Fat: 2 g | Cholesterol: 72 mg | Sodium: 2719 mg | Potassium: 418 mg | Vitamin A: 35 IU | Vitamin C: 2.8 mg | Calcium: 6 mg | Iron: 0.5 mg

    Nutrition and Food Safety Disclosure

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    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Danielle says

      August 24, 2021 at 6:46 pm

      Can the marinade and chicken be put into a freezer to be cooked later?

      Reply
    2. Grisby says

      May 03, 2021 at 3:55 pm

      4 stars
      Really good just too salty. Will adjust the garlic salt and make again in the future 🙂

      Reply
    3. Dianna West says

      August 29, 2020 at 9:30 am

      5 stars
      Delicious and the chicken was so tender. Will be a go-to recipe. Thanks, Heather. ?

      Reply
    4. Sara slick says

      February 28, 2020 at 1:30 pm

      5 stars
      I’ve made this before and it was really good… I’m marinating it now and I’m going to grill it tonight, and eat it on Romain lettuce leaves with bacon and guacamole!

      Reply
    5. Rachel says

      May 19, 2019 at 1:01 am

      5 stars
      I’ve tried this and it’s so delicious! I want to make it again and was thinking about using Italian dressing instead of water. Do you think it will work or taste just as good?

      Reply
      • Rachel says

        May 19, 2019 at 1:04 am

        Or do you think I could substitute the olive oil for the dressing?

        Reply
      • Heather Cheney says

        August 07, 2019 at 1:31 pm

        The water is there to just help thin out the ranch dressing mix a bit so it coats the chicken better. Using oil in its place should be just fine. I'd be leery of adding dressing as that will add to the salt and could over season the chicken.

        Reply
    6. Christine @ myblissfulmess says

      December 09, 2018 at 8:14 am

      5 stars
      This recipe is so simple to put together. I put this together the night before and let it marinate in the fridge. We grilled our chicken breasts, Yes, we will grill in the snow, we don't care LOL. It was amazing! So much flavor. Hubby, Kids and I loved this! Beautiful recipe. Served it with some green beans and some cheesy cauliflower. Will definitely be making this again.

      Reply
    7. Deb says

      July 14, 2018 at 8:39 am

      Want to try this but that much sodium will not work for me, can I substitute the garlic salt with garlic powder??

      Reply
      • Heather Cheney says

        February 22, 2019 at 11:35 am

        Definitely!

        Reply
    8. Crissy says

      April 20, 2018 at 1:22 pm

      5 stars
      Delicious chicken, very moist and flavorful! Love this recipe!

      Reply
    9. Luis Perez says

      February 15, 2018 at 2:16 pm

      4 stars
      Really delicious!!
      I would just like to know the Nutritional Facts.

      Reply
      • Heather Cheney says

        February 16, 2018 at 10:52 am

        There are lots of nutrition calculators online that allow you to enter the ingredients to calculate nutritional facts for recipes. I'm just not set up to offer that for every recipe right now. Sorry.

        Reply
    10. Ann P says

      November 05, 2017 at 6:45 am

      Oh I love chicken and this looks like something we would love. I need to try it. Thanks for the recipe.

      Reply
    11. George Wooden says

      November 03, 2017 at 9:54 pm

      What an easy and delicious way to prepare chicken, thank you.

      Reply
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