Healthy Marinade Recipes

Find healthy, delicious marinade recipes including steak, chicken and pork marinades. Healthier recipes, from the food and nutrition experts at EatingWell.

Staff Picks

Marinated Grilled Vegetable Kebabs

Tender vegetables soak up this tangy marinade and turn delicately smoky and tender on a hot grill. These kebabs make a wonderful side dish with grilled meats or fish.
By Carolyn Casner

Creamy Shallot Dressing

Tangy and luscious, this creamy vinaigrette has an ideal balance of sweet and savory from honey tempered by buttermilk and Dijon. Use it to marinate chicken or fish, slather your greens with it, or use it as a dip for veggies.
By Carolyn Casner

Honey-Garlic Dressing

This versatile dressing pairs well with bitter greens, cucumbers and even with shrimp when used as a quick marinade before sautéing or grilling.
By Carolyn Casner

Balsamic Marinade

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Sweet-tart balsamic vinegar spiked with garlic and Italian seasoning makes a fast and flavorful marinade for just about anything you're inspired to grill for dinner.
By EatingWell Test Kitchen

Plank-Grilled Tuna Steaks

This Asian-inspired grilled tuna recipe is bursting with zesty ginger-lime flavor. Place any leftover ginger, unpeeled, in a freezer bag. It freezes well, and you can peel and grate it as needed from its frozen state.
By Diabetic Living Magazine

Teriyaki Marinade

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Soy sauce, mirin, brown sugar, garlic and ginger combine in this teriyaki-inspired marinade for grilled chicken or pork chops.
By EatingWell Test Kitchen

Rosemary-Red Wine Marinade

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Richer tasting meats like chicken thighs, beef and lamb work best in this red wine marinade.
By EatingWell Test Kitchen

Grilled Tofu with Korean BBQ Glaze & Stir-Fried Napa Cabbage

In this vegetarian grilling recipe, the hot grill gives tofu smokiness and some crispy edges. A BBQ sauce made with gochujang, the hot Korean chile paste, doubles as both a glaze and some sauce to slather on the tofu at the table. Serve with brown rice or farro.
By Bruce Aidells

Pirate Marinade

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This big, bold marinade recipe was adapted from a local Vermont restaurant and caterer. We make it in huge batches and freeze the extras so we always have it on hand. Use on: Extra-firm tofu, salmon, chicken, duck, pork, beef, lamb
By EatingWell Test Kitchen

Mojito Marinade

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The mojito, a Cuban cocktail, is made with rum, lime juice and fresh mint muddled with sugar at the bottom of a tall glass. We turned this refreshing idea into a brightly flavored marinade that works well with any light meat or seafood. Use on: Extra-firm tofu, shrimp, scallops, mahi-mahi, chicken, pork
By EatingWell Test Kitchen

Flank Steak with Coffee-Peppercorn Marinade

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Coffee has a remarkable affinity with beef. Here, it is complemented by balsamic vinegar, garlic and crushed peppercorns.
By Beth-Ann Bove

Tandoori Chicken Thighs with Lemon Couscous

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This Tandoori chicken recipe is marinated overnight in yogurt with a blend of aromatic spices and served with a light-tasting couscous full of lemon zest, cilantro, currants, and toasted pine nuts.
By Diabetic Living Magazine
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Inspiration and Ideas

31 Vinaigrettes That Make Great Marinades
You could even double the recipe for a side salad dressing that perfectly complements your main dish.
Indian-Spiced Marinade
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This tangy marinade, spiked with the Indian spice blend garam masala, is a terrific way to enliven chicken, tofu or pork chops.
Wood Ear Mushroom Salad
Citrus Tilapia with Fruit Salsa
Jerk Paste Marinade

This jerk paste recipe gets heat from a Scotch bonnet pepper, sweetness from a little brown sugar, acid from lime juice and cider vinegar and classic jerk flavors from three spices. Perfect for chicken, pork or shrimp, serve with rice or in tacos. For the best flavor, marinate meat (or shrimp) for about 1 hour before cooking.

All Healthy Marinade Recipes

Moroccan-Citrus Marinade

This easy marinade recipe for chicken, turkey, pork, lamb or tofu blends citrus zests and juices with flavor-enhancing aromatic spices. For best flavor, marinate meat (or tofu) for at least 4 hours and up to 8 hours. Shake off any excess marinade before cooking.
By David Bonom

Orange-Balsamic Marinated Shrimp

The cook time on this shrimp dinner is minimal, but don't skimp on the marinating time. Let the orange juice, orange zest and white balsamic vinegar work its magic--you won't be disappointed!
By Diabetic Living Magazine

Lemon-Soy Marinated Flank Steak

The quick-and-easy lemon and soy marinade on this flank steak is so flavorful! The steak takes about 20 minutes to grill and may just become your new favorite summer grilling recipe.
By Diabetic Living Magazine

Lemongrass-Thai Lime Leaf Marinade

Fragrant lemongrass and Thai lime leaves infuse your favorite fish or seafood with flavor. Serve with Chile-Lime Dip.
By Corinne Trang

Tropical Fiesta Steak

Pickapeppa sauce is a tart-sweet, slightly hot seasoning sauce from Jamaica. Along with fruit nectar and mint, the Pickapeppa sauce does a great job of flavoring the marinade for the steak in this dinner recipe.
By Diabetic Living Magazine

Bok Choy and Mango Stir-Fry with Skillet-Seared Barramundi

Barramundi is high in omega-3s and packed with protein. In this dish it's marinated in a citrus-soy mixture, skillet-seared and served with stir-fried baby bok choy, sweet pepper and sweet mango strips.
By Diabetic Living Magazine

Pineapple-Chipotle Marinade

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Molasses adds a rich character to this tropical marinade. Try it with chicken, pork or shrimp.
By EatingWell Test Kitchen

Oregano-Garlic Marinade

This Greek-inspired marinade works best on tuna, shrimp, chicken and vegetables.
By EatingWell Test Kitchen

Lemon-Pepper Marinade

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Lots of crushed black pepper and pungent Dijon mustard in this marinade adds loads of flavor to seafood, chicken or vegetables.
By EatingWell Test Kitchen

Grilled Salmon Steaks with Mustard-Orange Marinade

Staples like orange-juice concentrate and Dijon mustard turn into a quick and flavorful marinade for omega-3-rich salmon. Make it a meal: Warm Green Bean Salad with Toasted Walnuts is a nice side dish for this tangy salmon.
By EatingWell Test Kitchen

Greek Lemon-Pepper Marinade

Add some zest to your chicken or pork with this classic lemon-pepper marinade.
By EatingWell Test Kitchen

Curry-Glazed Pork Tenderloin Kabobs

Pork tenderloin is much tastier when marinated before it's cooked. In this recipe, the pork is cut into smaller pieces so it can soak up more of the orange-curry marinade.
By Diabetic Living Magazine

Peppered Salmon Steaks with Yogurt-Lime Marinade

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The yogurt marinade, with hints of lime and ginger, makes the salmon wonderfully succulent.
By EatingWell Test Kitchen

Maple-Bourbon Chicken with Grilled Sweet Potatoes

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The sweetness in this Maple-Bourbon Chicken recipe is from the real maple syrup and grilled sweet potatoes. Bacon is also included!
By Diabetic Living Magazine

Balsamic-Dijon Chicken

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Experiment with various flavored mustards to add a different spin to this simple marinade recipe. It's low in fat and carbs because it's oil- and sugar-free.
By Diabetic Living Magazine

Indian Spice Marinade

Here we combine traditional Indian spices like cumin, coriander, mustard and paprika with yogurt and lime for a tangy marinade. Marinate seafood in the refrigerator for 20 minutes to one hour, or chicken for as long as eight hours.
By EatingWell Test Kitchen

Orange-Thyme Marinade

A double-hit of orange comes from orange juice concentrate and fresh orange zest.
By EatingWell Test Kitchen

Yogurt-Cumin Marinade

Cumin, fresh mint, fruity chutney and tangy yogurt combine in a flavorful marinade perfect for chicken, lamb or pork.
By EatingWell Test Kitchen

Coffee-Balsamic Marinade

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You might not think of coffee as a marinade ingredient but it adds depth and flavor that's not duplicatable. Richly flavored meats like beef and lamb work best with this marinade.
By EatingWell Test Kitchen

Provencal Marinade

Try this rosemary and white wine marinade with lamb, pork or chicken.
By EatingWell Test Kitchen

Jerk-Seasoned Beef Skewers

A delicious marinade of cilantro, orange juice and jerk seasoning provides incredible flavor to the sirloin steak in this beef skewer recipe. The kebabs are threaded with alternating pieces of onion, beef and orange wedges so there's a spicy-sweet kick in each bite.
By Diabetic Living Magazine

Moroccan Marinade

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This Moroccan blend works well with chicken or tuna.
By EatingWell Test Kitchen
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