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
This is one of my favorite recipes to make for dinner for my family! Thank you- we love it!!
Love it Lydia!
So good! Turned out great. The only moderation I did was turn it up to 415 the last ten minutes for a crispier skin :)
Nothing wrong with getting a little extra crispy skin!
I used greek yogourt for the marinade. While the chicken was cooking in the oven, I was looking for sauce to puddle on the bottom of the dish and it wasn’t happening, so I added some olive oil and a little bit water…this propably made the yogurt curdle a bit. However, the chicken was excellent and flavourful. Maybe next time I will use another kind of plain yogurt.
Oh no! Yes that could possibly be the culprit.
Thank you thank you! My VERY fussy son just ate three pieces of chicken tonight and asked me to make it again next week. He almost never eats meat (4years old and also hates red sauce) so to see him eat anything other than pasta and cheese nearly made me cry. I used Greek yogurt and marinated for 8 hours. Delicious.
This is awesome Carrie!! Thanks for sharing!
I love this recipe but I can never find the right way/time to cook the drumsticks. Any suggestions???
Are you baking them as the recipe states? “Bake the chicken in the preheated 375 degree oven for 45-60 minutes, or until golden brown on top.”
I love this recipe and I am thinking of using the marinade and put the chicken in a slow cooker…. any thoughts on any changes I should do to make it work… I am trying to do a shredded Greek chicken for in pitas
Hmm, I have to be honest, I’m not sure how a marinade like this would hold up in a slow cooker. I’ve never done a yogurt based sauce in a slow cooker, so I don’t know if the yogurt will curdle more or stay smooth. If you get brave and decide to give it a shot, let me know how it turns out!
I do this recipe boneless, skinless thighs. Then I dice it up and eat the meat in a wrap with some romaine lettuce, tomato, olives, and feta. I also save some of the marinade (before adding the chicken) to use as a sauce! It’s been a favorite in our house for years!
Do you do it in the oven or on the stove top?
Can u make full marinade,recipe and save half for next day?
Yes, the marinade will be fine in the refrigerator for a day. :)
This was really good. I’ll have to let it marinate a little longer next time to really soak up the flavors. But we really enjoyed it served with a cucumber salad, flatbread, and couscous. Thanks for another great recipe!
Wow!! We loved this chicken. I never made a yogurt marinade before. I used bone in breasts and they were so moist and full of flavor. I’ll definitely make this again. Thanks for another great recipe!!
Can I use Greek yogurt instead?
Greek yogurt has a lot less moisture, so it will definitely affect the texture of the marinade. I haven’t tested using that ingredient, so I’m not sure how that would affect the end result.
I used Greek yogurt and will from now on. It was good. But the recipe calls for only half the juice of a lemon where the ingredient list says 1 medium lemon. It was pretty lemony.
Used Greek yogurt instead and nixed the lemon zest (my shredy do-dad wandered off). Turned out great on my chicken quarters. Moisture level was spot on. Even better as leftovers. Reminded me a lot of chicken in a bag, which you can’t find anymore. Tasted like I put in a lot more work than I did. Used the extra lemon half to season some boiled green beans for a side.
My husband doesn’t eat anything with bone in it. I want to make this recipe with Boneless Chicken Breast. What do you think I should do for time wise on them?
For boneless breasts I’d probably cook them in a skillet instead, so you get some browning action and the quick heat will prevent them from drying out. The total time will depend on their size and thickness, but probably about 5-7 minutes on each side, over medium. Or, if you still want try baking them, you can use this method.
Made this tonight using boneless skinless chicken leg meat. It turned out great. Also, I have to say the marinade (before adding the oil) is pretty amazing on it’s own. It could make a nice sauce for something. I baked it in a dish and there was enough flavorful liquid left in the pan I might try using it to cook some rice!
Delicious! I tweaked this recipe a little by using boneless thighs and added some chopped mint, green onions, a little onion powder, and paprika for color to the marinade. I was worried that the thighs would dry out so I also used a little more yogurt than in the recipe. So juicy and flavorful, will definitely make again. I had never used yogurt as a marinade before, but will now try making other marinades with it, thank you!
I can marinade overnight?
Yes