Today’s share is a super simple, absolutely tasty marinade that will knock your socks off – Italian Barbecue Chicken Marinade!
Italian BBQ Chicken Marinade (3-Ingredient Recipe)
This super easy marinade requires just three ingredients, Italian dressing, BBQ sauce and chicken – that’s it! This AWESOME SAUCE has become one of our go-to marinades for grilling. Perfect for chicken breasts, thighs, kabobs and more. This simple sauce packs so much wonderful flavor, sure to become a family favorite!
WHAT YOU NEED TO MAKE ITALIAN BBQ CHICKEN MARINADE
For this recipe, I use Sweet Baby Ray’s BBQ Sauce and Kraft Viva Italian (Zesty Italian is great too).
PLEASE NOTE: This is NOT a sponsored post. I have no affiliation with Sweet Baby Ray’s or Kraft. This recipe can be found on Sweet Baby Ray’s website – Three Ingredient Italian BBQ Chicken.
HOW TO MAKE ITALIAN BBQ CHICKEN MARINADE
Add 1 cup of Italian dressing and 1 cup of barbecue sauce to a ziplock bag or dish for marinating, mix well. Add chicken, coating well and allow to marinate in fridge for 4 hours. When ready, remove chicken discarding remaining marinade. Grill chicken until it reaches a safe internal temperature of 165 degrees F.
Tip: I make an additional small batch of sauce for basting the chicken while grilling – 1/3 cup of Italian dressing and 1/3 cup bbq sauce.
RECIPES TO CHECK OUT
Another family favorite to check out – Kickin’ Chicken Marinade! Only FOUR fabulous ingredients. If you like Buffalo style wings, chicken and dip…you will love this recipe!
If you like this Italian BBQ Chicken marinade, be sure to check out this awesome slow cooker recipe – Slow Cooker Zesty BBQ Chicken!
PINNABLE IMAGE
Italian BBQ Chicken Marinade
Recipe from Sweet Baby Ray’s
Ingredients
Marinade
- 1 cup Sweet Baby Ray’s BBQ Sauce
- 1 cup Viva Italian Dressing (or Zesty Italian)
- 1 1/2 – 2 lbs boneless skinless chicken breasts (works great with bone-in chicken, thighs and more)
Additional Sauce for Basting (optional)
- 1/3 cup Sweet Baby Ray’s BBQ Sauce
- 1/3 cup Viva Italian Dressing (or Zesty Italian)
Directions
Add 1 cup of Italian dressing and 1 cup of barbecue sauce to a ziplock bag or dish for marinating, mix well. Add chicken, coating well and allow to marinate in fridge for 4 hours. When ready, remove chicken discarding remaining marinade. Grill chicken until it reaches a safe internal temperature of 165 degrees F.
Check out Rachel Ray’s great tips on How To Grill Chicken.
Tips:
- I make an additional batch of sauce for basting the chicken while grilling – 1/3 cup of Italian dressing and 1/3 cup bbq sauce.
- I’ve only used Sweet Baby Ray’s BBQ Sauce and Kraft Viva Italian Dressing or Kraft Zesty Italian Dressing for this marinade and highly recommend sticking with them for the recipe.
Thanks for stopping by!
Cheers!

Can the remaining marinade be simmered to be used as a baste? It would then not have any raw chicken in it.
I don’t have a grill. How would you adapt this to a skillet or baking in the oven? I would prefer baking in the oven as I don’t really have the time to stand at the stove and cook it.
Way back Fannie Farmer created a recipe very similar to this, we have to put all the ingredients together rather than 2 bottles. My family has used it for 50+ years, it is great. 1 thing you may want to add is 1 raw egg. Raw eggs are sticky and it glues/holds the marinate to the meat. Cooking the meat, the egg gets cooked so no issue with bacteria. 1 egg does not change the flavor.