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.
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!
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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.
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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
Ingredients
- 3 tablespoons or 1 pkg. ranch dressing mix
- 1 tablespoon garlic salt
- 2 tablespoons water
- 1/4 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.
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?
Or do you think I could substitute the olive oil for the dressing?
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.
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.
Want to try this but that much sodium will not work for me, can I substitute the garlic salt with garlic powder??
Definitely!
Delicious chicken, very moist and flavorful! Love this recipe!
Really delicious!!
I would just like to know the Nutritional Facts.
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.
Oh I love chicken and this looks like something we would love. I need to try it. Thanks for the recipe.
What an easy and delicious way to prepare chicken, thank you.
Perfect recipe for a busy day! Quick, not a lot of fuss, yet beautiful flavor!
Can this be frozen or should it just be like the day of marinade?
Very good chicken. 🙂
This sounds yummy! Looking forward to trying.
Question though…Is it really 1 Tablespoon of garlic salt or did you mean 1 teaspoon garlic salt?
I think its one teaspoon because when i did it the food was too salty
The end product was delicious. Thanks! So moist and tasty.
Hello Heather,
I just tried your Chicken Ranch marinade and it was delicious! This is going to be my new favorite.
It was so tasty and so moist.
Thanks
Joan
Do you think I could substitute the ranch mix with actual ranch dressing for this marinade?
I think I’d be afraid of the dressing burning when cooking, so I’d stick with the mix. If you try it though, let me know!
I love chicken off the grill. Thanks for the great recipe, Heather!
This chicken looks fabulous! I can just imagine it paired with some pasta and maybe some asparagus… perfect!!
Love that this has subtle flavor so that you can use so many different ingredients with it. Also great that it’s quick & easy and has make-ahead options!
I need to start experimenting with marinades more often. Your chicken looks delish!
Looks so simple and delicious!