The Best Lemon Pepper Marinade recipe is quick, easy, and delicious thanks to fresh ingredients. This simple citrus marinade is the only one you will need for fish, chicken, vegetables, and more. Save this recipe & use it all summer long.
Why this Homemade Lemon Pepper Marinade Recipe is the Best: It is made from scratch with quality ingredients, nothing artificial or processed here like other recipes that use unhealthy processed oils or spice packets; just real fresh-squeezed lemon juice, olive oil, & minced garlic cloves.
Whether you are grilling, broiling, baking, or even slow cooking, this lemon pepper marinade adds so much flavor to your food and only takes a few minutes to prepare.
If you will be enjoying this marinade with the food you plan to grill, make sure you are grilling the right way. Check out my story - Grilling with the Lid On or Off - All You Need to Know. Ok, now we cook!
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Ingredients
Just a few simple items you likely have in your home or pantry already. The 6-ingredient marinade is quick & easy to make from scratch - way better than anything store-bought or bottled!
This marinade is perfect for a low-carb, keto, or diabetic lifestyle. Like my recipe for Keto Steak Marinade, it has no added sugar.
Here are important notes for some ingredients:
- Lemon Juice - fresh-squeezed is best but real bottled can be used.
- Olive Oil - the Mediterranean favorite for both it's delicious flavor & it's heart-healthy benefits.
- Garlic - fresh minced cloves taste much better than garlic powder or prechopped garlic sold in water or oil.
- Parsley Flakes - flat leaf Italian dried parsley is used (fresh parsley tends to burn when cooked)
- Seasoned Salt - the spice combo includes sugar, salt, & other spices that adds a bunch of flavor from 1 item.
- Black Pepper - the heat from this spice is the classic pairing with lemon that makes this irresistible; fresh ground or coarse ground can also be used.
See the recipe card for full list, quantities, & any substitutions/variations.
How to Make Lemon Pepper Marinade
It is as easy as 1-2-3. Add all the ingredients to a mason jar or bowl, shake or whisk, and pour over the food you want marinating!
Measure and add all ingredients to a mason jar. Shake vigorously to combine. Taste test & adjust salt or pepper to your liking.
Once the marinade is ready, add to your vegetables, seafood, pork, beef, or chicken. Let marinate for up to four hours for pork, chicken, or beef. For vegetables or seafood, only marinade for an hour or the acid in the citrus will start breaking down the fish or tender veggies.
NOTE: always marinate meats in the refrigerator, do not leave on the counter or at room temperature. Knowing how long you leave raw chicken or meat out is best for safe food handling.
TOP TIP: You can reserve some of this marinade to use for basting as you grill, broil, or bake. I sometimes drizzle some on my food after done cooking for a final fresh pop of flavor.
REMEMBER TO NEVER REUSE MARINADE THAT
RAW MEAT CAME INTO CONTACT WITH.
Recipe Tips & Behind the Scenes
Here's my recipe for success - including what I learned when testing, fun stories, recipe history, and more.
- #1 Tip - taste test the marinade before adding to meat, adjust salt, pepper, or garlic to your liking.
- NEVER reuse marinade, utensils, or kitchen gadgets that have touched raw meat.
- If lemons are not in season, real lemon juice from the bottle can be a substitute.
- Like Spicy ? Add ½ teaspoon red pepper flakes to the marinade.
- Like Fresh Herbs? Add finely minced herbs like parsley, chives, cilantro, or rosemary AFTER grilled so the tender leaves do not burn.
- Marinade defrosted chicken for a few hours for best flavor & this recipe also works when trying to marinade frozen chicken overnight.
The Best Lemon Pepper Marinade
Ingredients
- ½ C olive oil
- ⅓ C lemon juice freshly-squeezed
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 1 teaspoon dried parsley flakes
- 1 teaspoon seasoned salt
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
- additional black pepper for sprinkling on food before cooking
- lemon wedges to serve with
Instructions
- Add all ingredients to a small mixing bowl or container that has a tight-fitting lid.
- Whisk all the ingredients together to combine. If using a container, tighten the lid and shake all ingredients together.
- Add marinade to your food of choice and marinate for the desired time, storing in the refrigerator (do NOT leave on the counter). See Notes below for marinade time guide.
- Before cooking, add more pepper to your food beforehand for added pepper flavor.
- Unused marinade (whatever has NOT touched any raw foods) can be stored for up to 2 weeks in the refrigerator. Can also be used as a salad dressing.
- Serve with lemon wedges to squeeze on added lemon flavor at the end. Enjoy!
- THIS RECIPE MAKES ENOUGH MARINADE FOR 1.5 POUNDS OF FOOD
Notes
- Chicken, Beef, Lamb, or Pork - 4 hours or overnight
- Veggies, Tofu, or Seafood - 1 hour max
Nutrition
More Recipes with Marinades
Love adding flavor to meats by marinating; try these similar recipes also found here:
Cindy Mailhot says
Looks delicious!
Sabrina DeWalt says
I love the lemon pepper combination. Will have to give this marinade a shot.
Lisa Shivel says
This looks incredible! We will hopefully be trying it this weekend!
Angela says
Thanks, Lisa.
Beth says
This marinade is so simple and so tasty-looking it really makes me wish we had a grill. But I have all the ingredients to try it anyway, even a little fresh parsley.
Angela says
It is great for marinating anything you wish to bake as well. Enjoy.
judean says
Yum! Always looking for new marinades...this is a simple one! Thanks!
Angela says
You are welcome.
Bonnie says
I don't think I've ever had lemon pepper marinade before but I love lemons and this looks easy to make. I might try this the next time I make grilled veggies!!!!
Angela says
Thanks for your comment and I hope you enjoy your grilled vegetables. This marinade is perfect for that.
Charlene Hartley says
I love a good lemon-pepper marinade! Can't wait to try this one!
Angela says
Enjoy this versatile marinade that goes with everything.
Amanda says
Oh, this looks amazing! I think I might try it right away tonight on chicken. After seeing your photo, I'm wishing I had some fresh squash and zucchini to go with it. Yum!
Angela says
Glad this recipe gets you excited to marinate some chicken and have a great easy dinner tonight. The marinade is great on squash, maybe a neighbor has a garden with extra squash to share, our garden and neighbors' are blooming mad right now.
Stephanie says
This sounds yummy on veggies to grill. 😋
Maggie | LeaveMeToDream.com says
Lemon pepper is so yummy, and I’m so happy to come across a marinade recipe for it. Thank you!
Angela says
You are welcome.
Sabrina DeWalt says
Lemon pepper is one of my favorite flavor profiles.
Roger says
Use this with chicken thighs & it was just what we needed. I marinated overnight & it was good.
John says
Simple and excellent results. Guests asked for recipe!
Angela says
Awesome, love hearing that. It is one of my favorite marinades & always happy to hear others love it too. There is no better compliment that others asking for a recipe.