Buttermilk Chicken Marinade

This Buttermilk Chicken Marinade makes unbelievably juicy, flavorful grilled chicken. Learn how long to marinate chicken in buttermilk and why this simple marinade works so well.

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“Thanks for your excellent Buttermilk Chicken Marinade recipe. It makes the most moist and tender chicken I’ve ever had. And that’s after cooking professionally for 25 years! Absolutely delicious!”

—Rick

“I have made this four times since I happened upon your wonderful recipe. It’s a winner every time. The buttermilk sure tenderizes the chicken and keeps it so moist. Perfectly delicious!”

—Annie

This Buttermilk Marinated Chicken Is A Family And Reader Favorite!

This recipe was created out of frugality at first, but we’ve been making it again and again for the past 15 years. It’s become a reader favorite, as well as a go-to meal for our family, too.

It started when we had some extra buttermilk on hand. Because every time you buy buttermilk to make a certain recipe (even when you buy the smallest bottle), you’re always left with extra, right?

This buttermilk marinade for chicken was made to use up what you have and not waste ingredients. It uses 1-1/2 cups of buttermilk for 4 servings of grilled chicken, so it’s almost always perfect for using up the end of a bottle of buttermilk.

The natural acidity of the buttermilk tenderizes the meat, and also adds a tangy flavor to the chicken. It’s so good that we now occasionally even buy buttermilk JUST to make this recipe!

Buttermilk Marinade Ingredients

A full recipe card, including exact ingredient amounts, appears at the bottom of this post.

• buttermilk – you’ll need 1-1/2 cups buttermilk for this buttermilk grilled chicken, which is 3/4 of a pint-sized bottle.
• mustard powder – Colman’s mustard powder (in a yellow tin) is probably the most recognizable brand. McCormick also sells it, labeled as “ground mustard.” This ingredient adds some subtle heat and depth of flavor to the marinade.
• minced garlic – don’t worry too much about mincing this perfectly, it’s just a marinade. Chop it up a bit, and you’re good. A few shakes of garlic powder or even onion powder is also fine here.
• sriracha – always a versatile hot sauce to have on hand. If you don’t have it, you can use a few dashes of Tabasco or a pinch of cayenne pepper to balance the richness of the buttermilk. If you’re not into heat, a pinch of black pepper is also great.
• paprika – you can use traditional Hungarian paprika to add color to this buttermilk marinade for chicken, or smoked paprika for another level of flavor.
• salt – to season the buttermilk soaked chicken.
• chicken – our preference here is bone-in skin-on chicken, like thighs and drumsticks. However, you can also use boneless and skinless chicken, like breasts or thighs, if you prefer. No matter what, white meat or dark meat, cook until the internal temperature reaches 165 degrees F.

How To: Marinating Chicken In Buttermilk

1. MAKE THE MARINADE. Stir together the garlic, buttermilk, mustard powder, sriracha, salt and paprika until smooth. 

2. MARINATE. Place the chicken pieces in a large resealable plastic bag and pour the marinade in. You can also do this in a large bowl covered with plastic wrap. Refrigerate 2 hours or up to overnight.

3. GRILL. Preheat your grill for direct grilling over medium heat, as well as an indirect grilling area on the grill, if possible. Remove the chicken from the marinade and transfer it to an oiled grill rack over direct heat. Let the chicken cook until it is dark golden brown and the internal temperature reaches 165 degrees F, turning occasionally. If the chicken starts to flare up over direct heat, move to the indirect heat area of the grill and continue cooking until cooked through.

4. SERVE. Transfer the chicken to a serving platter and sprinkle with parsley, if desired.

How Long To Marinate Chicken In Buttermilk

It’s best to marinate the chicken in this buttermilk marinade for at least two hours so that the flavors can start to soak into the meat, and the acidity can tenderize the chicken.

You can also marinate overnight! About 8 to 12 hours of marinating chicken with buttermilk is truly ideal. However, try not to marinate longer than 24 hours if you can help it.

After TOO long, the acid in this buttermilk chicken marinade will start to “cook” the chicken, and the chicken will be tough once you grill it.

How To Bake Buttermilk Marinated Chicken

On their Chicken from Farm to Table page (under the “Safe Cooking” section), the USDA has a really nice chart of approximate chicken cooking times, for each type of chicken piece (like boneless breasts, or bone-in legs or thighs, etc).

Drumsticks are expected to take 35 to 45 minutes to bake at 350 degrees F, while bone-in thighs generally take about 40 to 50 minutes (or a little less if you sear them on the stove before transferring to the oven).

Whether you use this buttermilk chicken marinade or not, always be sure to use an instant-read thermometer to make sure the internal temperature reaches 165 degrees F in all the pieces of chicken you are cooking.

Storage And Reheating

• Refrigerate: If you have leftovers, transfer them to an airtight container and place them in the refrigerator uncovered for a few hours until they are fully chilled, then cover them with the lid and keep in the refrigerator up to 3 days.  
• Reheat: Warm in a 350 degree oven, or in the microwave, until heated through.
• Freeze: Chill and then freeze in an airtight container for up to 3 months. Thaw in the fridge overnight before reheating. 

Chicken Buttermilk Marinade FAQs