This Secret Ingredient Will Ensure Juicy Chicken Every Time

Forget dry, tasteless chicken breasts. Mayo is the key to adding both flavor and moisture, making sure your chicken stays juicy every time.

Yes, you read that right—mayonnaise is more than just a sandwich spread. It’s the secret to achieving tender, succulent chicken.

Mayonnaise is a creamy blend of eggs, oil, vinegar, and spices. It's already a go-to for keeping burgers, potato salads, and dressings moist, so why not use it to ensure your chicken is just as juicy?

Baking or grilling chicken can often leave the meat dry, especially lean chicken breasts. Dry chicken is a major disappointment. Since chicken is low in fat, it needs extra fat to stay juicy. While butter and oil are common in most chicken recipes, mayonnaise is the superior choice for juicy, flavorful results.

As the chicken cooks, it absorbs the fat from the mayo’s egg and oil blend, locking in moisture and flavor. Don’t worry, the chicken won’t taste overly mayonnaise-flavored. If you let the chicken marinate in mayo before cooking, the vinegar in the mayo will also tenderize the meat, resulting in an even juicier bite.

The benefits of using mayo go beyond juiciness. Ever tried coating chicken with oil and seasonings only to find the seasoning left behind in the pan? That’s because oil can slide off the chicken as it cooks, but mayo stays put.

Mayo is thick enough to stay on the chicken even as it heats up, ensuring that seasoning and other ingredients adhere. No more finding spots of uncovered chicken in your Parmesan-crusted dishes.

Coating chicken with mayonnaise creates a perfectly crispy, golden-brown crust in less time compared to other fats. Whether grilled or baked, mayo triggers the Maillard reaction—a chemical process where proteins and sugars react, and heat speeds it up, giving the chicken a rich, caramelized flavor and gorgeous color.

Mayo Chicken Recipes

Ready to try the mayo method for yourself? Check out these mouthwatering mayo chicken recipes for the juiciest, most flavorful chicken you’ve ever had:

• Mayo Chicken
• Mayo-Roasted Chicken
• Simple Chicken Mayo with Parmesan and Bread Crumbs
• Tender Italian Baked Chicken
• Amazing Chicken