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
Hey there! Do you think this would work well on skewers on the grill like the previous commenter mentioned? I’m pretty picky with my chicken and don’t like bone-in chicken or anything but chicken breasts basically.
Thanks for all your recipes- I’ve made a ton from here over the past few years and pretty much love them all!
Yep, I think that would work great! It would be very similar to the Tandoori Chicken Kebabs I made a couple years ago.
Think I can try this in my crockpot? Maybe brown in the pan and throw in crock pot to retain all the flavor AND juicy chicken?
I’m not sure it will brown well because of how thick the marinade is, but you could try it out. You could definitely cook it in the slow cooker, though. Maybe try broiling it *after* slow cooking it to get it brown? I did that with my slow cooker jerk chicken and it worked pretty well, although this marinade is quite different.
Hi, I made this yesterday for dinner, turned amazing!
I used breasts and I wanted to grill them on skewers, but by the time the chicken had marinated, I … chickened out! :) I didn’t want to bother lightning up the charcoal grill and the whole stuff. The oven wasn’t an option since my kitchen was hot as hell, so I just cooked it in a big skillet. And served it with farfalle pasta mixed with sauteed zucchini and onions. Fan-tas-tic! This marinade bursts with flavour! Next time, I’m gonna try it with grilling or baking the chicken, it’s gonna be even better for sure!
Thanks Beth for sharing these amazing recipes with us!
i was a little hesitant about cooking this one, as my mild-to-moderate OCD didn’t think yogurt belongs on chicken. well, you proved it wrong! i used a little less than a cup and loaded up on the garlic and lemon juice. i outsourced the couscous salad to The Girl and dinner turned out nicely. thank you!
This was dinner tonight and it was a success. I used thighs and would not use breasts for this. When I make it again I will double the garlic and oregano. The marinade tasted strongly of garlic, but the chicken itself did not. My house smelled divine while it cooked!
hi this looks delicious. I’m wondering if it’s good to freeze? if it is should i freeze it with the marinade sauce (before baking)?
I don’t think I would suggest freezing this one. It’s hard to reheat bone-in chicken without over cooking and I’ve heard that freezing meats in the marinade can cause them to over tenderize (although I haven’t done it myself).
While mine turned out extremely moist, it was also completely flavorless and didn’t brown at all. I suppose that’s what I get for using pre-minced garlic. Never again.
I tried this recipe tonight. My husband liked it, and it did make the chicken nice and moist (I did the oven version). However, I thought that the combination of spices was just okay, nothing special (to be fair, I used dried parsley, not fresh). Also, although the garlic flavor was strong in the marinade, I didn’t think it was very distinct in the cooked dish. Still, it was an easy meal and a nice change of pace.
This recipe sounds amazing but I have a lactose-intolerant flatmate, is there anything you could suggest replacing the yoghurt with?
Hmm, I was thinking buttermilk, but that wouldn’t work either! You may be able to find a lactose free yogurt, though. Most yogurt is nearly lactose free anyway, because the bacteria have converted it all to lactic acid. You can make a really amazing oil based marinade with all of the same ingredients, as well. Just skip the yogurt and increase the olive oil so that you have enough to spread over all of the chicken.
Hi! For a lactose allergy I’m pretty sure you can use goat milk based yogurt, like plain kefir.
Try Coconut yogurt…I plan on trying it made with this as we don’t eat dairy products due to allergies also
I make it with plain kefir-it’s 99 percent lactose free
This was SO good! I used boneless skinless chicken thighs, and everybody raved about how good it was. Served it with roasted red potatoes and fresh green beans. I will definitely be making this over and over again!
Eating this now. Amazing! I made a 1/2 recipe using 2 bone-in, skin on thighs. I usually pass on both those but I decided I’d be smart to trust the recipe and very glad I did. The boyfriend’s getting this easy chicken dish for dinner next weekend.
Sounds great for the 4th! If I marinate a double batch, can I freeze 1/2 before cooking?
I’ve read a few things lately that suggest meat shouldn’t be frozen in marinade because the extended exposure to the acidic marinade can make it overly mushy. I’ve never done it, though.
I tried this with chicken breasts, and was not impressed. The marinade is DELICIOUS—I obviously tasted it first—but I don’t think it worked very well with the bigger pieces. It came out too dry and the flavor wasn’t quite that strong. I’ll have to try it with thighs!
I had much the same problem… this is the first Budget Bytes recipe that wasn’t PHENOMENAL, so I may try it again with thighs. the marinade was so good I refuse to accept that it isn’t good on chicken!
I made this dish on Sunday with some modifications. I didn’t have parsley or lemon zest and I used Greek yogurt because that was on sale and it still turned out fabulous. I let it marinate for an hour but the next time I fix it I might let it marinate overnight.
I tried this tonight and it came out awesome. I don’t have the best grill, but it still worked really well. The marinade is really flavorful and would even be good on chicken breasts if you didn’t have anything else. This is the greatest recipe blog ever and I’m totally hooked.