Here I am, making your life easy with these brilliant Seven healthy Chicken Marinades for Seven days of the week! This is meal planning made easy!
Eating healthy isn’t easy and I cannot tell you how many times I have failed to stick to my lofty diet plans.It’s easier to eat crap then what you actually should.The recall value of those chips lying in the shelf is a lot higher than the watermelon sitting outside.That’s the reason I have created this post on Freezable Seven healthy Chicken Marinades for Seven days of the week of the week.
Doing this, mentally aligns you to a plan, everyday at 10 am you take one marinated frozen chicken pack out, keep it on the counter to defrost.At 1 pm, when the hunger strikes, you know exactly what you will be having for lunch.
You can obviously do this for lunch too, if that’s what you desire.Every morning, move one frozen marinated chicken breast to the refrigerator and grill it straight from the fridge in the evenings with a handful of veggies and your dinner is done!
This post will hopefully help YOU and ME to have a week full of healthy and yummy lunch/dinner.
The idea is to eat at least one healthy meal on all the 7 days of the week by being prepared.So no more ordering from outside or eating junk instead of real good healthy high protein meals.
This is meal prep the smart way.
Get 7 chicken breasts and make 7 marinades.Put them in freezable ziplock packets and freeze them.Pick what you want to eat, transfer that pre marinated chicken to the fridge or defrost it outside and pan fry in literally 7 minutes.Thats all you need.
Your healthy meal is ready in less than 10 minutes.
The marinades are made with Indian sensibilities It’s got the punch we like but at the same time they are easy to make.Most ingredients can be found easily in the pantry.This whole meal plan can be done in around 25 minutes.Thats how long it took me to do it.
My 7 Chicken Marinades are
How to Grill a Chicken Breast
Before we go to the 7 healthy Chicken Marinades for 7 days of the week lets discuss how to cook a chicken breast.
A medium sized chicken breast needs to be cooked for about 6-8 minutes ONLY.Anything more than that will make it tough and extremely difficult to eat.
So let me take you through the steps
- Make sure the chicken breast is completely defrosted.
- Use a flat pan.Heat it with 1 tsp of oil on Med- High Flame.
- When hot(30 seconds), place the chicken on the pan.DO NOT MOVE IT.Cook on this side on medium high flame for 2 minutes.
- Flip.Cook this side for 2 minutes on medium High.
- Lower the flame – Cover the pan with a lid.Cook undisturbed for another 2 minutes.
How to Check if the Chicken is cooked.
A well cooked, but not over cooked chicken breast should be white inside and juicy.The best way to check is to cut through the chicken breast but if that’s not something you prefer then follow the below directive.
Uncooked Chicken– Join your index finger and thumb toghether.Touch the fleshy part south of the thumb.If your chicken feels like that then it’s uncooked
Partially cooked Chicken-Join your middle finger and thumb toghether.Touch the fleshy part south of the thumb.If your chicken feels like that then it’s under cooked
Perfectly cooked Chicken-Join your Ring finger and thumb toghether.Touch the fleshy part south of the thumb.If your chicken feels like that then it’s perfectly cooked.
Overcooked cooked Chicken-Join your small finger and thumb toghether.Touch the fleshy part south of the thumb.If your chicken feels like that then it’s over cooked.
So here you go- Seven healthy Chicken Marinades for Seven days of the week
Download printable cheat sheet for personal use here
1. Green Chutney Chicken
You could eat a samosa with green chutney or grill your chicken using the same chutney.They choice my friend is YOURS.
I usually make lots of chutney and freeze is in small boxes so I can defrost one at a time.If you don’t want to go into the hassle of making the chutney yourself, by all means, use the chutney you got from the Chat you ordered.
- 1/2 cup Coriander
- 1/2 Cup Mint
- 1 Green Chilli
- 1/2 onion
- 1 Clove Garlic
- 1 whole lime-juiced
- Salt to taste
- 1 tsp Oil
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Puree all the ingredients in a food processor.
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Add 3 tbsp to the Chicken and marinade.
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Defrost the Chicken breast(Completely!)
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Heat a flat pan on Med- High Flame.
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When hot(30 seconds), place the chicken on the pan.DO NOT MOVE IT.Cook on this side on medium high flame for 2 minutes.
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Flip.Cook this side for 2 minutes on medium High.
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Lower the flame - Cover the pan with a lid.Cook undisturbed for another 2 minutes.
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A well cooked chicken will be white in the middle but still moist.
2. Italian Herb Chicken
Italian herb marinade – whatever italian herbs you have in your pantry- thyme, basil,rosemary,oregano with olive oil.You can use fresh or dried herbs- the choice is completely yours.
- 1/2 tsp Oregano
- 1/2 tsp Thyme
- 1/4 tsp Chilli Flakes
- 1 tbsp Red wine Vinegar
- 1 tbsp Olive Oil
- 3-4 leaves Fresh Basil optional
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Mix everything toghether to make the marinade.
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Rub on the Chicken breast and store in a freezer bag/Zip lock bag.
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Defrost the Chicken breast(Completely!)
-
Heat a flat pan on Med- High Flame.
-
When hot(30 seconds), place the chicken on the pan.DO NOT MOVE IT.Cook on this side on medium high flame for 2 minutes.
-
Flip.Cook this side for 2 minutes on medium High.
-
Lower the flame - Cover the pan with a lid.Cook undisturbed for another 2 minutes.
-
A well cooked chicken will be white in the middle but still moist.
3.Jerk Chicken
This marinade the inspired from Caribbean Jerk Chicken.If you can’t find certain ingredients then swap.Use chilli powder or flakes instead of paprika.Crushed garlic instead of garlic powder.
- 1/2 tsp Cumin Powder
- 1/2 tsp Paprika
- 1/2 tsp Garlic Powder or 1 crushed Garlic clove
- 1/2 tsp Thyme
- juice of 1/2 lime
- 1 tbsp Olive Oil
- Salt to Taste
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Mix everything toghether to make the marinade.
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Rub on the Chicken breast and store in a freezer bag/Zip lock bag
-
Defrost the Chicken breast(Completely!)
-
Heat a flat pan with 1 tsp of oil on Med- High Flame.
-
When hot(30 seconds), place the chicken on the pan.DO NOT MOVE IT.Cook on this side on medium high flame for 2 minutes.
-
Flip.Cook this side for 2 minutes on medium High.
-
Lower the flame - Cover the pan with a lid.Cook undisturbed for another 2 minutes.
-
A well cooked chicken will be white in the middle but still moist.
4.Tamil Tamarind & Pepper Chicken
This is my quick take on Tamil pepper chicken.Lot’s of pepper with tamarind pulp, little jaggery and curry leaves.
- 1 tsp tamarind pulp
- 1 tsp Jaggery
- 1 tsp fresh cracked pepper
- 4-5 curry leaves
- 1 tsp Oil
- Salt to Taste
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Whisk everything toghether to make the marinade.
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Rub on the Chicken breast and store in a freezer bag/Zip lock bag
-
Defrost the Chicken breast(Completely!)
-
Heat a flat pan on Med- High Flame.
-
When hot(30 seconds), place the chicken on the pan.DO NOT MOVE IT.Cook on this side on medium high flame for 2 minutes.
-
Flip.Cook this side for 2 minutes on medium High.
-
Lower the flame - Cover the pan with a lid.Cook undisturbed for another 2 minutes.
-
A well cooked chicken will be white in the middle but still moist.
5.Tandoori Chicken
How could I not make Tandoori Chicken Marinade.This is a basic Tandoori Chicken marinade.
- 2 tbsp thick Yogurt
- 1 tsp Ginger Garlic Paste or Crushed Ginger +Garlic
- 1 tsp Cumin Powder
- 1 tsp Coriander Powder
- 1/2 tbsp Kashmiri Chilli
- Juice of 1/2 Lime
- 1 tsp Oil
- Salt to Taste
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Mix everything toghether to make the marinade.
-
Rub on the Chicken breast and store in a freezer bag/Zip lock bag
-
Defrost the Chicken breast(Completely!)
-
Heat a flat pan with 1 tsp of oil on Med- High Flame.
-
When hot(30 seconds), place the chicken on the pan.DO NOT MOVE IT.Cook on this side on medium high flame for 2 minutes.
-
Flip.Cook this side for 2 minutes on medium High.
-
Lower the flame - Cover the pan with a lid.Cook undisturbed for another 2 minutes.
-
A well cooked chicken will be white in the middle but still moist.
6. Buttermilk & Coriander Chicken
Did you know buttermilk is a great natural tenderiser?Buttermilk and coriander go really well together.
This marinade is probably the easiest to put toghether!
- 2 tbsp Butter Milk 1 tbsp Yogurt+ 1 tbsp water
- 7-8 Coriander leaves chopped
- 1 clove Garlic- Minced
- Salt to Taste
- 1 tsp Oil
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Mix everything toghether to make the marinade.
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Pour over the Chicken breast and store in a freezer bag/Zip lock bag
-
Defrost the Chicken breast(Completely!)
-
Heat a flat pan on Med- High Flame.
-
When hot(30 seconds), place the chicken on the pan.DO NOT MOVE IT.Cook on this side on medium high flame for 2 minutes.
-
Flip.Cook this side for 2 minutes on medium High.
-
Lower the flame - Cover the pan with a lid.Cook undisturbed for another 2 minutes.
-
A well cooked chicken will be white in the middle but still moist.
7. Asian Soy & Honey Chicken
This marinade is a mix of sweet, spicy and umami.This goes fantastic with some stir fried bak choy.
- 1 tbsp Soy Sauce
- 1 tbsp Honey
- 1/2 tsp Vinegar
- 1 tsp Chilli Flakes
- 1 clove Garlic Crushed
- 1 tsp Sesame Oil
- Salt to Taste
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Mix everything toghether to make the marinade.
-
Rub on the Chicken breast and store in a freezer bag/Zip lock bag
-
Defrost the Chicken breast(Completely!)
-
Heat a flat pan with 1 tsp of oil on Med- High Flame.
-
When hot(30 seconds), place the chicken on the pan.DO NOT MOVE IT.Cook on this side on medium high flame for 2 minutes.
-
Flip.Cook this side for 2 minutes on medium High.
-
Lower the flame - Cover the pan with a lid.Cook undisturbed for another 2 minutes.
-
A well cooked chicken will be white in the middle but still moist.
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On the jerk chicken recipe, it does not specify how much lime juice. Can you clarify? Thank
juice of 1/2 a lime..usually around 1.5 tbsp of the juice