This Lemon and Soy Ginger Marinade is one of my go-to marinades! It's easy to make with pantry staples and great for pork, beef, chicken, lamb, or salmon! It's also oil-free, so it's lighter and healthier than a typical soy ginger marinade.

I love easy recipes that are quick to throw together and so versatile. You can use this oil free marinade any time of the year, but it's ideal for grilling. However, it can also be used in the air fryer or on the stovetop.
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If you love easy meat marinades, you'll love my maple lemon marinade, too!
🥘Ingredient Notes
You only need 5 marinade ingredients for this oil-free soy ginger lemon marinade recipe, and oil is not one of them!

- Lemon juice (freshly squeezed). Citrus tenderizes the meat, and fresh is best because it doesn't have any preservatives and tastes better!
- Fresh ginger and garlic. Fresh ginger and garlic elevate the flavor and add complexity. Fresh ginger also has an enzyme that breaks down tough proteins, which makes it ideal for marinating meats.
- Soy sauce. Light soy sauce is best for marinades. It has a thinner body and a golden brown color. Using natural fermentation methods, light soy sauce has a strong aromatic umami and savory flavor. Don't use dark soy sauce, as it's overpowering. You can use a multi-purpose soy sauce if you don't have light.
- Ketchup. Ketchup is a simple way to add sweetness and flavor complexity.
*See recipe card for full list of ingredients and quantities.
📖Variations & Substitutions
- Raw Meats - you can use chicken breast, pork chops, boneless pork, beef, lamb, tuna steaks, or salmon
- Garlic - you can use minced garlic from a jar, if you don't have fresh garlic
- Spicy - add ½ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes or ½ teaspoon sriracha sauce to the marinade
- Lemon juice- if you don't have fresh lemon juice, use concentrated, but only use HALF the amount. If you don't have either, you can use another citrus juice, like fresh lime juice.
🔪How to Make Lemon and Soy Ginger Marinade
Because there is no oil in this ginger soy marinade recipe (and oil helps the marinade absorb into the meat), it's important that you marinate the meat for at least 8 hours or overnight to get the maximum depth of flavor from this marinade recipe.
If you marinate it for less time, you won't get as much flavor.

Combine all ingredients and whisk together (or shake together in a tightly sealed jar or Tupperware shaker - see equipment).

When ready to use, place the meat in a shallow dish or a resealable plastic bag. Pour about half the marinade over the meat.
Turn to coat, pour the remainder (setting aside about ¼ cup if you want to baste the meat after it's cooked), and cover and refrigerate for 8 hours or overnight, to get full flavor.
Turn the meat over at least once during the marinating process.
Expert Recipe Tips
- Marinate in a vacuum-sealed bag. This helps the marinade penetrate the meat more deeply and quickly by eliminating air pockets. You can reduce marinating time to just 4–6 hours instead of overnight.
- Use Microplane for ginger & garlic. A Microplane grater gives a finer texture, helping the marinade coat the meat more evenly while releasing more flavor from the fresh ginger and garlic.
- Add an acid balance booster. A splash (about 1 teaspoon) of rice vinegar or apple cider vinegar can enhance the overall flavor, especially when using this marinade on beef or lamb.
- Don’t skip the turn. Turning the meat halfway through marinating ensures even flavor absorption, which is especially important in an oil-free marinade that doesn’t cling as easily.
- Warm up the reserved marinade. If you’re using some of the marinade for basting after cooking, be sure to bring it to a gentle boil for 2–3 minutes to make it food safe.
- Double up for freezing. Make a double batch and freeze half along with your meat in a Ziplock bag. It’s a great way to prep a future meal—just label it with the date and protein type.
- Use as a stir-fry sauce base. Turn this marinade into a delicious stir-fry sauce by simmering it with a cornstarch slurry (1 teaspoon cornstarch mixed with 1 tablespoon water) until thickened.
- Low sodium tip. Use low-sodium soy sauce to reduce salt content without sacrificing flavor, thanks to the bold ginger, garlic, and lemon.
- Ideal pairings. This marinade goes perfectly with grilled pineapple, veggie skewers, or a chilled noodle salad for a fresh and balanced meal.
🥗 Side Dishes
No matter what type of meat you are marinating and grilling, these flavors pair perfectly with my Corn Stuffed Grilled Bell Peppers! (shown below).
It also goes well with sides like my Onion Baked Potatoes in Foil, my Easy Bean Salad (Vegan and Gluten-free) or Slow Cooker New England Baked Beans!

If you are looking for something even lighter, try my Healthy Artichoke and Red Pepper Coleslaw!
🍽Equipment
You'll need a whisk and a bowl or a salad dressing shaker , as well as a microplane (affiliate links) to make this meat marinade.
🌡️Storage
Store this marinade in the fridge in a sealed jar or an airtight container for up to 3 days. You can also freeze in a Ziplock freezer bag for up to 3 months.
👪 Serving Size
This recipe makes enough marinade for 4 servings. However, you can half, double, or triple the recipe by clicking on the serving number and selecting the number of servings you'd like. The ingredient quantities will automatically adjust. I multiplied the recipe by 1.5X for the 6 pieces of pork.

🔢WW Points
This recipe is Weight Watchers friendly @ 2 WW pts, but because not all of the marinade is absorbed, I only count it as 1 point. This soy ginger marinade has fewer points than similar sauces with oil. If you added olive oil to this marinade, it would be 6 WW points instead of 2.
Top tip
Store your fresh ginger in a ziplock freezer bag in the freezer! It lasts so much longer, and then when you need it, you simply take it out, peel the rough part (only what you need) with a vegetable peeler, then use a zester to finely grate what you need for the recipe. Then you simply put the remainder back in the freezer, where it will last 3-6 months.

❔ Recipe FAQs
You can marinate chicken in a soy marinade for up to 2 days.
Marinating in soy sauce adds flavor and tenderizes the meat.
You can marinate meat with oil if you use citrus juice (lemon, preferably) wine or vinegar. These ingredients help break it down and tenderize meats.
So, if you're looking for healthy recipes for marinade, you'll love this oil-free version of soy ginger marinade!
📋More Grilling Recipes
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📋 Lemon and Soy Ginger Marinade Recipe (oil free)
Equipment
Ingredients
- ½ cup lemon juice
- ½ cup soy sauce
- 2 tablespoon gingerroot grated
- 2 tbsp ketchup
- 4 cloves of garlic
Instructions
- Combine all ingredients and whisk together or shake together in tightly sealed jar.
- When ready to use, place meat in a shallow dish or plastic Ziplock bag. Pour about half marinade over meat. Turn to coat, and add remaining (but reserve about ¼ cup for basting on after cooking, if desired)
- Refrigerate for at least 8 hours or overnight to get maximum flavor. Turn meat over at least once during process.
- Cook meat as per directions in your recipe (it will depend on type of meat you are making and cooking process you are using) and brush on a little marinade if desired (you can quickly warm it on the stovetop over medium-high heat or in the microwave).
Garnish
- Garnish with fresh chives, green onions or sesame seeds (optional)
Notes
-
- Marinate in a vacuum-sealed bag. This helps the marinade penetrate the meat more deeply and quickly by eliminating air pockets. You can reduce marinating time to just 4–6 hours instead of overnight.
-
- Use Microplane for ginger & garlic. A Microplane grater gives a finer texture, helping the marinade coat the meat more evenly while releasing more flavor from the fresh ginger and garlic.
-
- Add an acid balance booster. A splash (about 1 teaspoon) of rice vinegar or apple cider vinegar can enhance the overall flavor, especially when using this marinade on beef or lamb.
-
- Don’t skip the turn. Turning the meat halfway through marinating ensures even flavor absorption, which is especially important in an oil-free marinade that doesn’t cling as easily.
-
- Warm up the reserved marinade. If you’re using some of the marinade for basting after cooking, be sure to bring it to a gentle boil for 2–3 minutes to make it food safe.
-
- Double up for freezing. Make a double batch and freeze half along with your meat in a Ziplock bag. It’s a great way to prep a future meal—just label it with the date and protein type.
-
- Use as a stir-fry sauce base. Turn this marinade into a delicious stir-fry sauce by simmering it with a cornstarch slurry (1 teaspoon cornstarch mixed with 1 tablespoon water) until thickened.
-
- Low sodium tip. Use low-sodium soy sauce to reduce salt content without sacrificing flavor, thanks to the bold ginger, garlic, and lemon.
-
- Ideal pairings. This marinade goes perfectly with grilled pineapple, veggie skewers, or a chilled noodle salad for a fresh and balanced meal.
Asha
I used this marinade on some salmon and it was simply delicious. Loved how easy it was to make as well since I already had all of the ingredients. Would make this again.
Bernice
I love marinating with soy sauce. I usually just use one acid but the ketchup really added extra umami. Can confirm...great on pork!
Vanessa
I love trying new marinades and this was fantastic. I used it to marinade pork tenderloin before grilling. Delicious!
Terri Gilson
Hi Vanessa,
So glad to hear you loved it!
Terri
nancy
adding lemon totally brightens the whole marinade profile. i love it!
Terri Gilson
I agree, Nancy! 🙂
Shelby
Used this lemon marinade on kabobs the other night and it was amazing, so refreshing and light!
Terri Gilson
Great idea to use it on kabobs!
Cindy Mom the Lunch Lady
This marinade is so simple, but it made out pork chops so tender and flavorful.
Terri Gilson
Thanks, Cindy! Yes, it does really tenderize the meat!
Colleen
This is such a simple but flavorful marinade. The lemon is a perfect touch. And thanks for the great tip about freezing ginger!
Terri Gilson
Glad you enjoyed it, Colleen!