12 Easy Essential Marinades (2024)

By:Nagi

93 Comments

Quite often on a Sunday I’ll marinate a bunch of meat for the coming week (or two), most of which I freeze. For such occasions I would refer to various scraps of paper (and even napkins) I had stuck on my fridge with various marinade recipes on them – ranging from a classic steak marinade, an Italian chicken one, a Mexican marinade, simple marinades for fish, andvarious Asian marinades.

I finally decided tocondense them into one easy “quick reference” image.

I hope you find this easy reference handy too!

12 Easy Essential Marinades (1)

This is a photo of chicken I made using the Sticky & Hot marinade – I call it Sticky Pantry Chicken with Rice and Broccolini, and because I used the marinade as a glaze instead of marinade, it’s on the table in 15 minutes!

12 Easy Essential Marinades (2)

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93 Comments

  2. 12 Easy Essential Marinades (4)Patricia wilson says

    I am a diabetic and a bad cook
    Your videos on how to have improved my cooking skills immensely.Thank you.
    I need to stay away from pasta rice & potato but so your mashed cauliflower is a winner.
    The tips on what you can frees & how is also appreciated.

    Reply

  3. 12 Easy Essential Marinades (5)Bekah says

    I love this and use it all the time, it makes dinner so much easier. Thanks so much for putting it together!

    Reply

  6. 12 Easy Essential Marinades (8)Cheryl says

    I am trying to sign up for your recipe book but my device wouldn’t let me can you sign me up.

    Reply

  7. 12 Easy Essential Marinades (9)Barb says

    Here’s one I created for grilling many years ago
    Chuck roast in large chunks (5 lbs trimmed)
    1/2 C Lea & Perrins
    1/2 C Kikkoman teriyaki sauce
    garlic powder 1 Tbs or more to taste.
    Put all ingredients in a heavy duty plastic bag, marinate overnight, turning a couple of times.
    Grill until slightly caramelized
    Instant meat candy!

    Reply

  11. 12 Easy Essential Marinades (14)Zina says

    Hi. Thanks for putting this together. I am just starting to use marinades and it is so nice to have variety all in one place. I was wondering if you freeze the meat in the marinade or freeze the meat after removing from the marinade. Also do you cook the meat before freezing?

    • 12 Easy Essential Marinades (15)Nagi says

      Hi Zina, freeze the uncooked meat in the marinade, then thaw and proceed to cook when required. N x

      Reply

  12. 12 Easy Essential Marinades (16)Cathi says

    I’m old and old school, I like hard copies of recipes to look at when making them. Is there a printer friendly version of the marinades above?

    Reply

    • 12 Easy Essential Marinades (17)Jeni says

      If you have an iPhone/iPad it’s easy. Touch & hold your finger on the screen near the title for a second, it will show just the recipes & give you the option to share (but not print).
      Email or message it to yourself, then when it arrives, touch the image (or link, if you email it) and it’ll open in your browser as a page showing simply the recipes.
      You can then print it.

      Reply

  13. 12 Easy Essential Marinades (18)Kristina says

    Hi Nagi! For some reason the image on this page has become distorted and is a bit hard to read. It used to be okay but I’m not sure what happened. We’ve tried nearly every marinade on this list and they’re all wonderful! Thanks!

    Reply

    • 12 Easy Essential Marinades (19)Nagi says

      Hi Kristina – it must be to do with your settings, the image appears fine on my end 🙂 N x

      Reply

      • 12 Easy Essential Marinades (20)Luisa says

        Hello the image also show blurry for me , any chance you can email it to me so I can print and stick on the frigde ?

        Reply

  16. 12 Easy Essential Marinades (23)Jilli says

    Thank you so much for your creating this page❤️ I have an autoimmune and have had to change my diet and lifestyle. I’m.learning.how to use substitutes in recipes and I was looking for different new recipes. That’s what I found here, thank you again so much. Are you on IG??

    Reply

    • 12 Easy Essential Marinades (24)Nagi says

      Hi Jilli, that’s so great to hear – thank you so much for the great feedback! N x

      Reply

  18. 12 Easy Essential Marinades (27)Ahmed says

    How should I cook the chicken, should I fry it or grill it (mexican marinations)

    Reply

    • 12 Easy Essential Marinades (29)Nagi says

      Hi Maddy, grate it with a fine grater or microplane and then add to the marinade – N x

      Reply

  20. 12 Easy Essential Marinades (30)Brenda says

    Thank you for the Great Recipe booklets… I have just read through them and can’t wait to experience the recipes.

    Reply

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12 Easy Essential Marinades (2024)

FAQs

What are the essentials of a marinade? ›

A typical marinade is made up of three essential components: an acid (such as vinegar, wine, or citrus), an oil (such as olive oil or sesame oil), and a flavouring agent (such as herbs and spices). These elements work together to transform the taste and texture of your dish in different ways.

Discover More ›
What is the basic marinade formula? ›

ANSWER: In general, you can substitute either one as the acid part of the marinade. The rule -of-thumb ratio for marinades is 3-to-1, three parts oil and 1 part acid.

Keep Reading ›
Do 30 minute marinades work? ›

The meat soaks up the marinade and the flavour compounds within. This is not exactly a very fast process, and for that reason you get more flavour the longer you marinate the meat. Thirty minutes is about the lower limit to actually get much of an effect.

Get More Info ›
What is the secret to a good marinade? ›

Making a mouth-watering homemade marinade isn't rocket science! You simply need to follow this simple formula: an acidic ingredient to tenderize the meat (think vinegar, juice, yogurt, or mustard), fresh herbs and spices for added flavour, and a fatty ingredient, such as oil or butter.

Find Out More ›
What liquid is best for marinade? ›

Marinades generally consist of cooking oil, an acidic liquid, such as vinegar, wine, tomato, or citrus juice (or a natural enzyme, such as ginger or pineapple), and flavorings, including garlic, molasses, honey, fresh or dried herbs, and spices.

Get More Info ›
What is the best base for marinade? ›

Marinades typically feature an oil and an acid — but the sky's the limit for creativity: For your oil base, try olive, peanut, truffle, sesame, walnut, or chile oil. You can also use milk, coconut milk, buttermilk, or yogurt. For acids, experiment with different types of vinegar, wines, beers, lemon, or lime juice.

View Details ›
What are the three main ingredients when marinating? ›

What to use in a marinade
  • Oils. The oil content in a marinade locks in the natural flavour of the food and prevents it drying out. ...
  • Acids. These ingredients tenderise meat by unravelling its proteins – this softens the surface and allows flavours to be absorbed. ...
  • Seasonings. These provide the unique flavours.

Learn More ›
What spices are good for marinating meat? ›

Spices you can add to enhance flavor; Blackened seasoning, Lemon Pepper or Lemon Herb seasoning, Herb Grill seasoning, Creole seasoning, Italian seasoning, Fresh rosemary sprigs, fresh dill, fresh basil Leaves, fennel, sage, thyme, marjoram, oregano, celery salt. Let marinate 1-2 hours before cooking.

Find Out More ›
What to avoid in marinades? ›

These are the top 5 marinating mistakes to avoid
  1. Marinating and then freezing. Whether you are marinating meat for Shawarma or a nice steak, be sure to keep it from freezing. ...
  2. Too much acid. Acid is the super star in many marinades. ...
  3. Too much salt. ...
  4. Too little flavour. ...
  5. You're getting the timing wrong.
Oct 6, 2021

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What does vinegar do in a marinade? ›

Balsamic vinegar is a good marinade for red meats because it helps to tenderize them. The acid in the vinegar helps to break down some of the protein and fat in the beef, which makes it softer. The balsamic vinegar also adds a sweet flavor while tenderizing, without having to add any sugar.

Learn More Now ›

Should you refrigerate meat while marinating? ›

Always marinate meat and poultry in the refrigerator, and boil the used marinade if you want to brush it on the meat or poultry while it's grilling. Do not save the used marinade.

Keep Reading ›
Should marinade be rinsed off? ›

Remove Marinade Before Cooking: To prevent flare-ups on the grill and ensure properly browned meat when sautéing or stir-frying, wipe off most of the excess marinade before cooking. Keep just a little marinade on the meat surface to maximize flavor.

Read On ›
What is the best marinade to break down tough meat? ›

Make a marinade with acidic components—such as citrus juice, buttermilk, yogurt, wine, vinegar or soda—to help break down tough connective tissue and muscle fibers.

Find Out More ›
Do you put vinegar in marinade? ›

In the marinating process, salts, organic acids, fruits and vegetables, drinks (soda, wine, etc.), enzymes, and vinegar, as well as combinations of these agents, are commonly used as marinades.

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What are the four components of marinades? ›

The basic components in marinades are fats, acids, aromatics, salt, seasonings, sugars and sometimes enzymes or alcohol.

Read More ›
What are the three primary ingredients involved in marinating? ›

A good marinade will have the proper balance of flavorings, acids, and oil. Acids commonly used include vinegars, tomato or citrus juice. Oil: Oils are used to moisten the meat and to add flavor. Recipes for red meat marinades may not include oil since the meat contains enough fat already.

Keep Reading ›
What is marinade and why is it important? ›

Marinating meat works by adding flavour to meat and also aiding the texture to become more tender. Marinades often have some acidity added to them, whether this is from types of vinegar or from citrus like lemon juice, or enzymes that are commonly found in fruits like mangoes.

See Details ›
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