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This Savory Low-Carb Marinade (for Chicken, Pork, or Beef) will add amazing flavor to whatever you’re cooking on the grill. And this multi-purpose marinade recipe makes enough to marinate a big ziploc bag of protein, and it can be made ahead and kept in the fridge!

PIN the low-carb Marinade to try it later.

Savory Low-Carb Marinade for Grilled Chicken, Pork, or Beef photo of cooked chicken breasts on plate

This Savory Low-Carb Marinade that’s equally good on chicken, pork, or beef, is the recipe I’m reminding you about for Friday Favorites this week. And this marinade is the perfect solution to keeping the meat moist and adding flavor no matter what you’re cooking on the grill.

This amazing low-carb marinade is a recipe I’ve used often and always had great results no matter what type of protein I’ve used it on. And the recipe makes enough marinade for a big ziploc bag of meat and or chicken, and this will keep in the fridge for a week or two, so I recommend making the whole amount and trying it on different types of meat.

And Memorial Day weekend is the unofficial start of grilling season, right? So I hope you’re getting excited about marinating some protein and cooking it on the grill!

What ingredients do you need for this recipe?

(This is only a list of ingredients; please scroll down for complete printable recipe. Or if you use the JUMP TO RECIPE link at the top of the page, it will take you directly to the complete recipe with ingredient amounts.)

What is marinating?

Marination or marinating is a process where food is soaked for a period of time in a liquid that usually includes oil and an acidic ingredient like lemon juice, lime juice, vinegar, wine, or fruit juice. Marinades can also include fresh or dried herbs, spices, and often have onion or garlic. Use plastic storage bags or glass or plastic food storage containers to hold the food while it marinates; don’t marinate in containers that are metal. If you’re not familiar with this technique, here are some great tips for marinating from What’s Cooking America and Jessica Gavin.

How long should you marinate foods for the grill?

For this savory low-carb marinade recipe I recommend marinating chicken at least 6-8 hours, and pork or beef for 8-10 hours if possible. Marinating times slightly longer than this won’t hurt.

Does marinating meat need to be refrigerated?

Always refrigerate the chicken, pork, beef, or other types of meat that you’re marinating to be cooked later on the grill. That prevents the growth of harmful bacteria.

Why I like this low-carb marinade so much:

I think this marinade has a perfect combination of savory ingredients for adding flavor to chicken, pork or beef. One ingredient that I love here is Worcestershire sauce, and I use one tablespoon of Worcestershire sauce when I’m making this for chicken, but when you try it on pork of beef, I’d double the Worcestershire sauce to two tablespoons.. Be sure to use Gluten-Free Worcestershire Sauce (affiliate link) if you need this to be gluten-free. The small amount of mayo really keeps the meat moist, and the lemon juice, dried spices and herbs, and garlic all add flavor.

Savory Low-Carb Marinade process shots collage

How to make this Low-Carb Marinade and use it for food cooked on the grill:

(This is only a summary of the steps for the recipe; please scroll down for complete printable recipe. Or if you use the JUMP TO RECIPE link at the top of the page, it will take you directly to the complete recipe.)

  1. Combine marinade ingredient in a glass measuring cup and whisk together. (Or you can shake it in a jar if you prefer.) Don’t worry if there are some beads of mayo that don’t mix in.
  2. I always prepare my chicken using the Tips for Juicy Grilled Chicken Breasts. See that post if you’re not experienced cooking chicken breasts.
  3. For pork or beef I would also trim the fat and make little scores in the meat or cut it into cubes if you’re using the marinade for kabobs.
  4. Let the meat or poultry marinate in the fridge 6-8 hours (or longer is fine.)
  5. Then drain the chicken, pork, or beef in a colander placed in the sink when you’re ready to cook. (Marinades should never be re-used because they contain bacteria.)
  6. Let chicken, pork, or beef come to room temperature while you preheat the grill to medium temperature.  
  7. When you’re ready to put chicken on the grill, brush it on both sides with olive oil (or use another neutral-flavored higher smoke-point oil if you have one.)
  8. To get criss-cross grill marks, lay meat or chicken diagonally across grill grates and cook until you see grill marks (about 3-4 minutes for chicken).
  9. Rotate the meat so it is diagonal on the grill grates going the opposite way and cook 3-4 minutes.
  10. Turn over and cook until it reaches desired level of doneness, about 2-4 minutes more for chicken. For all types of meat or poultry, I using an Instant Read Meat Thermometer (affiliate link) to tell when it’s done. Here’s a good chart with safe temperatures for grilled food.
  11. Serve the grilled food hot and wait for compliments!

Make it a Low-Carb Meal:

In the photo the marinated and grilled chicken is served with Green Bean, Tomato, Onion, and Basil Summer Salad. Other side dish options for anything you prepare with this low-carb marinade include:

Savory Low-Carb Marinade for Grilled Chicken, Pork, or Beef photo of marinated and grilled chicken breasts

More Great Recipes for Low-Carb Grilling:

Savory Low-Carb Marinade for Grilled Chicken, Pork, or Beef photo of cooked chicken breasts on plate
Yield: 8 servings

Savory Low-Carb Marinade (for Chicken, Pork, or Beef)

Prep Time 5 minutes
Total Time 5 minutes

This Savory Low-Carb Marinade will add amazing flavo tor Chicken, Pork, or Beef that's cooked on the grill! The recipe makes enough marinade for 2 or 3 batches of protein to marinate for the grill and it will keep in the fridge for a few weeks.

Ingredients

  • 1/2 cup olive oil
  • 1/4 cup white wine vinegar
  • 3 T full fat mayo
  • 1 T Worcestershire sauce (see notes)
  • 1 T lemon juice, preferably fresh squeezed (see notes)
  • 1 tsp. Veg-Sal or salt
  • 1 tsp. fresh ground black pepper
  • 1 T Poultry Seasoning
  • 1 T garlic puree or garlic powder
  • 1 T sweet paprika, preferably Hungarian paprika
  • 1/2 T onion powder
  • 1 tsp. dried thyme (optional, but recommended)

Instructions

  1. Put all ingredients in a bowl or glass measuring cup and whisk together, or you can combine ingredients by shaking in a jar. (Don’t worry if there are some beads of mayo that don’t combine; they will dissolve when you’re marinating the meat.)
  2. If I’m using this on chicken I follow my Tips for Juicy Grilled Chicken Breasts. No matter which types of meat I’m using, I like to make shallow score marks on the surface of the meat to make a little more surface area, which helps it cook more evenly.
  3. Put the chicken, pork, or beef in a Ziploc bag or a plastic container with a tight-fitting lid. Pour over just enough marinade to cover the meat, then let it marinate in the fridge for 6-8 hours or longer.
  4. To cook, preheat gas or charcoal grill to medium heat. (You can hold your hand there for only about 3 seconds at that heat.) Lay the pieces of chicken or meat diagonally across the grill grates and cook until you start to see grill marks (3-4 minutes for chicken and maybe slightly longer for meat).
  5. Then rotate the chicken or meat until it’s diagonally going the opposite way on the grill grates and cook until you see good grill marks going the other way.
  6. Turn over and cook until it’s firm, but not hard to the touch for chicken (just a few minutes more unless the chicken is really thick.) For beef or pork I would use an Instant Read Meat Thermometer (affiliate link) to cook to your preferred level of doneness. Here's a good chart with safe temperatures for grilled food.
  1. If you’re cooking just a few piece of meat, just store the extra marinade in the fridge and use it later on some other type of meat
  2. Extra marinade will keep in the fridge for at least a week (or maybe longer, but I’ve never managed to keep it around for more than a week.)

Notes

I used my fresh-frozen lemon juice for this recipe. I used 1 T Worcestershire sauce for chicken but when I used it on pork or beef I increased it to 2 T. Be sure to use Gluten-Free Worcestershire Sauce (affiliate link) if needed.

Nutritional information is for the marinade only.

This recipe is one Kalyn has made for so long, she can't remember where she got it.

Nutrition Information

Yield

8

Serving Size

1
Amount Per Serving Calories 168Total Fat 18gSaturated Fat 3gTrans Fat 0gUnsaturated Fat 15gCholesterol 2mgSodium 129mgCarbohydrates 3gFiber 1gSugar 0gProtein 0g

Nutrition information is automatically calculated by the Recipe Plug-In I am using. I am not a nutritionist and cannot guarantee 100% accuracy, since many variables affect those calculations.

Did you make this recipe?

Did you make this recipe? Please leave a star rating (under the PRINT button in the recipe) or share a photo of your results on Instagram! THANKS!

© Kalyn Denny
Category: Grilling
Square image for Savory Low-Carb Marinade for Chicken, Pork, or Beef, with chicken on plate and salad in back.

Low-Carb Diet / Low-Glycemic Diet / South Beach Diet Suggestions:
Chicken, pork, or beef marinated in this low-carb marinade would be perfect for low-carb or Keto eating plans, or for any phase of the original South Beach Diet.

Find More Recipes Like This One:
Use Grilling Recipes to find more recipes like this one.Use the Recipes by Diet Type photo index pages to find more recipes suitable for a specific eating plan. You might also like to follow Kalyn’s Kitchen on Pinterest, on Facebook, on Instagram, on TikTok, or on YouTube to see all the good recipes I’m sharing there.

Historical Notes for This Recipe:
This multi-purpose low-carb marinae recipe was first posted in 2005, and Kalyn had been using it for years at that point. The recipe was last updated with more information in 2025.

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