Need something easy and flavorful to throw on the grill this weekend? This Greek Marinated Chicken is it.
The marinade for this chicken (similar to what I used for this Chicken Shawarma ) takes just a few minutes to stir together and creates an absolute explosion of flavor. It’s incredible. I only marinated my chicken in this magical mix for 30 minutes, but the flavor was still loud and clear. Once marinated, you can grill the chicken outdoors over a gas or charcoal flame, or (if you don’t have a grill) you can bake it in the oven. Either way, you’ll get a super flavorful and moist end product.
I served this Greek Marinated Chicken with my Lemony Cucumber and Couscous Salad, which was the perfect cold summer side, and incorporated both starches and vegetables into the meal. Two birds with one stone!
Greek Marinated Chicken
Greek Marinated Chicken
Servings 8 piecesIngredients
- 1 cup plain yogurt ($0.63)
- 2 Tbsp olive oil ($0.32)
- 4 cloves garlic, minced ($0.32)
- 1/2 Tbsp dried oregano ($0.08)
- 1 medium lemon ($0.49)
- 1/2 tsp salt ($0.02)
- freshly cracked pepper ($0.05)
- 1/4 bunch fresh parsley ($0.20)
- 3 1/2 to 4 lbs chicken pieces ($6.86)
Instructions
- To make the marinade, combine the yogurt, olive oil, minced garlic, oregano, salt, and some freshly cracked pepper in a bowl. Use a fine holed cheese grater or a zester to scrape the thin layer of yellow zest from the lemon skin into the bowl. Also add the juice from half of the lemon (about 1-2 Tbsp). Stir until the ingredients are well combined. Roughly chop a big handful, or about 1/4 bunch, of parsley and stir it into the marinade.
- Add the chicken pieces and marinade to a gallon sized zip top bag. Remove as much air as possible, close the bag tightly, and massage the bag to mix the contents and make sure the chicken is well coated. Refrigerate the bag for 30 minutes.
- After marinating for 30 minutes, either cook the chicken on a grill OR preheat the oven to 375 degrees in preparation to bake the chicken.
- To bake the chicken, place the chicken pieces in a large casserole dish (9×13). Bake the chicken in the preheated 375 degree oven for 45-60 minutes, or until golden brown on top.
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Notes
Nutrition
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Step by Step Photos for Greek Marinated Chicken
First prepare the marinade. Combine the yogurt, olive oil, oregano, minced garlic, salt, and some freshly cracked pepper in a bowl. Add the zest from one lemon and the juice from about half of it (1-2 Tbsp). Stir these ingredients until well combined.
Add a handful, or about 1/4 bunch, of roughly chopped parsley. This is your finished marinade (or a REALLY awesome dip!).
I used about 3.75 pounds of chicken pieces (drumsticks and thighs). You could easily half this Greek Marinated Chicken recipe, if needed.
Add the chicken pieces and the marinade to a large, gallon-sized zip top bag and mix it around to make sure the chicken is well coated. Refrigerate the bag for 30 minutes.
After marinating, you can either grill the chicken or bake it. I don’t have an outdoor grill, so I decided to bake it. Place the chicken pieces in a large casserole dish. I ended up pouring the extra marinade over top, but later realized that this just made it take longer to brown, so I don’t suggest doing so. There is plenty of flavor in the marinade that you won’t need to add the extra.
Bake the chicken in a preheated 375 degree oven for 45-60 minutes, or until it is golden brown. It will smell SO good! Now eat!
I served this Greek Marinated Chicken with my Lemony Cucumber and Couscous salad and it was PERFECT! :D
Should I use plain yogurt or Greek yogurt?
Regular plain yogurt. :)
I used plain greek
Thank you for posting such a wonderful recipe like this. It looks delicious. Can’t wait to try it.
I made this tonight and it was delicious. I used skin-on chicken thighs and baked uncovered for 55 minutes. I was hesitant not to cover it for fear the chicken would dry out. Quite the opposite. The chicken was juicy and the skin crisped up just enough to my liking. The marinade absorbed into the chicken wonderfully. I did, however, use garlic powder instead of fresh garlic. And that’s only because I was too lazy to go to the freezer in the basement to retrieve my fresh (frozen) garlic. (An oxymoron, I know).
I have been counting calories and trying to reduce my carb intake and this recipe was a perfect fit. I paired it with a chopped Greek salad With balsamid dressing and steamed broccoli.
well, I have been waiting for two weeks to make this and my mouth has watering for hours to taste it. I don’t know if it was me but it was not good, to much lemon, to much parley, but it did look like the pictures but was not good,help!
Hello, I made this twice and it was delicious. I’m not an expert cook but I do have a heightened sense of taste. I find both lemon & parsley to be stronger flavors. I would suggest making this again but mix the marinade using LESS lemon/parsley and tasting the marinade as you go. Adjust it to your preference and what you know you like or don’t like. Also, when zesting the lemon, do not zest down to the white part – it’s very bitter. Hope this helps and hope you try it again!
Can you marinate the chicken overnight?
I haven’t tried it, but I think the only possible issue might be that if meat is marinated too long in an acidic mixture it can start to break down and get mushy. Since I haven’t tried it, I’m not sure if overnight would be long enough to cause that problem.
what can I sub for parsley?
I think I’d just leave it out instead of adding something in its place. If you have it available, a little dill or mint would also be good in this, although not necessarily a “replacement” for the parsley.
I have made this recipe twice now. It has been a hit every time! Nice to find something new to do with chicken. Definitely keeping it on the rotation.
Love it, this one’s a keeper!
For a side dish, I put aside a few tablespoons of the marinade, whisked in some extra olive oil, and used that on some zucchini and summer squash. Just put the veggies and diluted marinade in a foil packet and stuck it in the oven 15 minutes after I started the chicken.
Love this marinade! I’ve used it on boneless, skinless chicken breasts and it’s still very good.
Oh that’s what I would do! Same cooking time?
A little less time
I made this last night and can’t thank you enough for the recipe! I only had one package of chicken thighs to serve 2, so I parboiled baby yellow ‘tatoes, sliced them in half, doused them with a dash of Balsamic vinegar, gave them a quick toss in olive oil and the same spices used for the chicken (minus garlic). I tucked them in all around the chicken and baked them at the same time.
For a veggie, I sliced a zucchini, cut a few “channels” in each half, brushed those with olive oil and freshly ground pepper and sprinkled them with feta. I tucked those in foil and popped them in with the chicken/’tatoes for the last 15 mins. I had an entire meal out and ready at the same time.
Oh – and the meaty pan drippings went over the chicken and ‘tatoes. If I could have eaten it two times in a row without my belly bursting, I would have. This will be a regular meal for us now.
I made this a couple nights ago. I was good and had so much flavor. I just used lemon juice and it worked out fine and I marinated it for an hour and baked it with all the marinade. It was good and I served it with rice.
I’m in the middle of making this right now…I wasn’t all that impressed with the marinade UNTIL I opened the ziplock bag to cook the chicken!! I added a small Vidalia onion to mine as well as using fresh oregano instead of dried. It smelled SOO good!!! I can’t wait to taste it!!! I can already tell it’s going to be scrumptous!
Can’t make your salad atm, suggestions on other things to serve this with?
It would probably be really good with this Carrot Orzo Salad, too.
I’m making his tonight and it smells absolutely amazing! Almost done can’t wait to try it!! This is what I made as a healthy side to stick with the Greek theme! Very simple too :)
http://www.closetcooking.com/2008/04/spanakorizo-greek-spinach-rice.html?m=1
This recipe is one of my top 5 faves of all time. I make it often, with all different cuts of chicken, and its always delicious.
I tried this last weekend and absolutely LOVED it! Made it with chicken breasts and grilled the chicken after marinating them for a couple days, SO good. I enjoyed it so much I put a batch of chicken thighs in the marinade tonight to have again this weekend. VERY flavorful, would definitely recommend to anyone!