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
I love this recipe and have made it many times, it’s always a crowd pleaser. I am hosting some ladies next week but need to work around food allergies dairy is one of them, has anyone made this recipe with coconut milk yogurt?
Do you know the nutrition value of this dish?
TIA
This is a pretty good recipe. For 4 lbs of chicken, I made adjustments using 1.5 tbsp of dried marjoram in lieu of oregano, 5 cloves of smashed garlic, 1 tsp of turmeric to color the yogurt mix. Oh, and I used home-made kefir yogurt instead.
My marinating time was around 10 min, but the chicken came out very flavorful and juicy. I think the extra liquid from the kefir yogurt allowed the chicken to stay moist during the baking process. Anyway, this was a fun and straight-forward recipe that I will try again. Thanks!
Thanks for the recipe Beth! Made this for dinner but used chicken breasts and Greek yogurt since it’s what I had on hand. I think I’d have to agree with most of the others that it wasn’t quite as flavorful as I would’ve liked but maybe it’s the Greek yogurt and dried parsley sub. In any case, still very tasty and it wasn’t completely lacking in flavor. I ended up slicing up the chicken throwing it in a wrap with some spinach, tomatoes, and cucumbers and a smear of hummus! Would highly recommend :)
Also made the potato wedges with shawarma sauce which were bommmmb per usual. Thanks!
So good! I used this recipe with boneless skinless breasts and fat free greek yogurt. I sliced the chicken and served on flat bread with homemade tzaatziki for a healthy take on chicken gyros. My husband loved this so much that he asked me to make it again in the same week and asked to have it in our weekly rotation. Thank you!
Do you cover the dish in foil when baking?
No foil :)
Can’t wait to make this! Can I make the marinade in the morning and leave the chicken marinating all day until I get back from work to cook it? Or would that be too long? Thanks!
That should work fine. :)
what yogurt do you use?
I don’t remember for sure because this was a long time ago, but Dannon 2% plain has always been my favorite regular yogurt, so it was probably that.
I am a college student and do not have an oven, could you prepare this in a microwave or on the stove?
Unfortunately for this one you need the dry heat of a stove. :(
Can we cook this in an instant pot?
No, you definitely need the dry heat of an oven for this one. Pressure cookers hold in all the moisture and cook in a steam environment, which will make the skin soggy.
I bet you could cook it in the instant pot for moist chicken and finish in the broiler to crisp up the skin. That’s what I’ll be doing.
Works as “Greek Marinated Turkey” also. Good recipe.
This recipe was delicious. I substituted with chicken breast instead of a whole chicken. The chicken was tender and tasty! My husband requested that this recipe stay in our rotation! Thank you!!!
We love this recipe at my house! Thanks for sharing it. Do you think this could be prepared as a freezer meal?
I think you could combine the chicken with the marinade and then freeze it, but I don’t think I’d try freezing this one after cooking.
Great recipe! It’s become my go-to chicken dinner dish…THANK YOU!
I gave this recipe a try last night for dinner and it was spectacular! I used Greek yogurt as I couldn’t find regular & accidentally used the juice of one entire lemon. My fiancé enjoyed it so much that he asked me to make it again tonight! So excited to have found your website! Your recipe collection is great! I’m an avid cook and I really look forward to trying more of your recipes! Thanks for the great work!