Name: Marinated Root Beer Grilled Chicken
Prep time: 190 min
Cook time: 10 min
Total time: 200 min
Ingredients: 12 ounces Root Beer (1 can); 2 Tablespoon apple cider vinegar; 2 Tablespoon vegetable oil; ½ cup soy sauce; salt and pepper to taste; 6 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

This post may contain affiliate links. Read our disclosure policy.

Marinated root beer chicken recipe is a fun summer recipe that will get you excited to pull out your gas grill. It is made with a root beer bbq sauce marinated and created with household staple ingredients without needing Worcestershire sauce.

Make this recipe as is with boneless skinless chicken breast, or you can make this with a whole chicken or anything in between. You can even turn this recipe into a slow cooker meal, however, I would double the marinade to make sure the chicken is completely covered.

Four grilled chicken breasts with char marks on a metal baking sheet, resting on a blue and white checkered cloth.

A plate with grilled chicken breast, mixed green salad with cherry tomatoes and red onion, and a lemon wedge.

Recipe Ingredient Notes

To make our marinated root beer grilled chicken, you need the following ingredients:

Can of root beer (not ginger beer!)
Apple cider vinegar
Vegetable oil
Soy sauce
Salt and pepper to taste
Boneless, skinless chicken breasts

Equipment Needed

For this recipe, you only need a few simple kitchen tools. We recommend using the following equipment:

Three grilled chicken breasts with char marks, garnished with herbs, on a wooden surface next to a small bowl of barbecue sauce.

Two grilled chicken breasts, one whole and one sliced, on a wooden cutting board with a knife, placed on a blue plaid cloth on a marble surface.

How to Make Our Marinated Root Beer Grilled Chicken

Combine root beer, tablespoons apple cider vinegar, tablespoons vegetable oil, soy sauce, and salt and pepper in a large bowl or container to make the marinade. Add chicken to the marinade. Cover and refrigerate for at least 3 hours, or overnight.
Grill over medium-high heat until cooked through. You can even get fancy with it and try to do the indirect heat method to cook this chicken to the internal temperature of 165 degrees F.

Recipe Notes

Transform this chicken into sandwiches. Take the cooked root beer chicken, and make it sandwich size. Place your chicken on your favorite bun or Kaiser roll, and put your favorite toppings, such as lettuce, tomato, cheese, cooked bacon, pickles, mayo, or Chick-fil-a sauce.

Serving Suggestions

We recommend serving this recipe with our Instant Pot Corn on the Cob, Creamy Pasta Salad, Easy Potato Salad. You can find more classic American recipes here.

Grilled chicken breast sliced on a wooden cutting board, showing a juicy interior and charred exterior.

Enjoy More Delicious Chicken Main Dishes

Chicken is an all-time favorite for weeknight dinners, but so many of us end up making the same few dishes over and over again. Explore our comprehensive collection of chicken recipes.

Marinated Root Beer Grilled Chicken

5 from 3 votes

This marinated root beer grilled chicken is a tender, flavorful favorite using a simple soda-based glaze for the grill.

6 servings

Prep Time 3 10

Cook Time 10

Total Time 3 20

Save Print Review Pin

Ingredients

▢ 12 ounces Root Beer, 1 can
▢ 2 Tablespoon apple cider vinegar
▢ 2 Tablespoon vegetable oil
▢ ½ cup soy sauce
▢ salt and pepper to taste
▢ 6 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

Equipment

Instructions

Combine root beer, apple cider vinegar, vegetable oil, soy sauce and salt and pepper in a large bowl or container to make marinade. Add chicken to marinade. Cover and refrigerate for at least 3 hours, or overnight.
Grill over medium-high heat until cooked through.

Notes

If you are concerned about the amount of sodium in the recipe, you could easily use lemon juice or a low sodium soy sauce. The chicken just needs something a little more acidic to make it tender and juicy for grilling.

Nutrition

Calories: 205 kcal · Carbohydrates: 7 g · Protein: 26 g · Fat: 8 g · Saturated Fat: 4 g · Trans Fat: 1 g · Cholesterol: 72 mg · Sodium: 1219 mg · Potassium: 463 mg · Fiber: 1 g · Sugar: 6 g · Vitamin A: 34 IU · Vitamin C: 1 mg · Calcium: 13 mg · Iron: 1 mg

Cuisine: American

Cost: $15

Author: Steph Loaiza

Course: Main Course

Did You Make This Recipe?We’d love to hear your thoughts! Leave a review or a question in the comment section below the post.

Questions & Reviews

Annie Rowan says:

That is way too much sodium in this recipe!
Depending on the soy sauce a half a cup of
soy sauce would contain between 7,000 to 10,000
milligrams of sodium.

Soy sauce is a condiment and is to be used sparingly.

Stacey says:

Your not eating all the soy sauce, you will be dicarding most of it after the meat in done marinading.

Beth Wadsworth says:

Making this today for my Freezer Club. Looking forward to trying it. I give it up to you blogger girls. I could totally dig blogging myself, except for the negative comments from people who have not even made the recipe, or hardly even read it. I am too sensitive, I guess. I hope you can all laugh it off.

Michelle K says:

Your blog is fantastic… makes me want to make EVERYTHING!!! :]

Amy B says:

Made this last night and it was wonderful!! My girls ate most of the thighs so I was lucky to get a few bites. I did omit the salt because of the soy sauce.

James says:

I made this tonight for a lot of people. I didn’t have any root beer, so I used Dr. Pepper and it was AMAZING!!!!!! I did put in the recommended soy sauce and the salt, but it was mostly discarded so I’m not worried about an excessive amount of sodium consumption. I do have high blood pressure, and I did not feel any ill effects from the sodium content (usually I can feel it if there is too much sodium in something). I highly recommend this recipe.

Susan Jean says:

I made this chicken Tonite , followed the recipe only thing I did was I added no salt garlic, pepper spice, & chicken tenderloins Was my first time using our new foodie grill, I kinda burned it One side, but it was so good the flavor was Mmmmmmmgood, hubby liked it alot, will make again & try not to burn it next time.

Join The Discussion

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Annie Rowan says:

That is way too much sodium in this recipe!
Depending on the soy sauce a half a cup of
soy sauce would contain between 7,000 to 10,000
milligrams of sodium.

Soy sauce is a condiment and is to be used sparingly.
Stacey says:

Your not eating all the soy sauce, you will be dicarding most of it after the meat in done marinading.
Beth Wadsworth says:

Making this today for my Freezer Club. Looking forward to trying it. I give it up to you blogger girls. I could totally dig blogging myself, except for the negative comments from people who have not even made the recipe, or hardly even read it. I am too sensitive, I guess. I hope you can all laugh it off.
Michelle K says:

Your blog is fantastic… makes me want to make EVERYTHING!!! :]
Amy B says:

Made this last night and it was wonderful!! My girls ate most of the thighs so I was lucky to get a few bites. I did omit the salt because of the soy sauce.
James says:

I made this tonight for a lot of people. I didn’t have any root beer, so I used Dr. Pepper and it was AMAZING!!!!!! I did put in the recommended soy sauce and the salt, but it was mostly discarded so I’m not worried about an excessive amount of sodium consumption. I do have high blood pressure, and I did not feel any ill effects from the sodium content (usually I can feel it if there is too much sodium in something). I highly recommend this recipe.
Susan Jean says:

I made this chicken Tonite , followed the recipe only thing I did was I added no salt garlic, pepper spice, & chicken tenderloins Was my first time using our new foodie grill, I kinda burned it One side, but it was so good the flavor was Mmmmmmmgood, hubby liked it alot, will make again & try not to burn it next time.