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
Made this tonight and used turkey instead of chicken and greek yogurt instead of plain. Sprinkled Feta cheese over the top and added Greek Olives. Very good. Served with your Focaccia bread from this site. This will be added to our dinner rotation. Thank you Beth!!
We had this for dinner tonight and hit was really really delicious. I did a few things different after reading some of the comments – trying to avoid anything less than flavorful. I used more garlic, full fat yogurt, little more lemon juice, seasoned the meat with salt and pepper before putting into marinade, and I let the chicken marinate all day – about 8 hours. I used split chicken breasts and thighs – and baked in oven on a large sheet pan covered with foil. Chicken was juicy and packed with flavor. This is going into our meal rotation for sure.
Thanks for sharing this recipe! I substituted parsley with dill because that’s what I had on hand and thought it was pretty tasty.
I love how good this looks! My family is stationed in Germany, so I have the luck go being able to use some amazing Greek Yogurt ;) And considering I’m 15 and attempting this says how easy it looks
I think that if you’re baking this, it’s better to use something like a broiling pan which lifts the chicken out of the drippings. It gave me better browning when I did that (I made this recipe twice). This marinade is godlike.
I’m making this recipe tonight. It’s the second time I’ve made it. It tastes great!
great recipe! I will now be trying a whole bunch of your recipes. :D thanks so much for the website (the pictures are so helpful)!!
In an effort to get my 8yr old son to actually eat the things I make I decided to get him involved in meal planning and prep. I let him loose on your blog and he chose this recipe. BIG success. He says you are a “good cooker” and the chicken came out even better than he thought. He had fun zesting lemon and chopping parsley and mixing up the marinade. He’s already chosen the next recipe we’re going to make together :D
That’s so awesome!! I love hearing things like that. :)
This was delicious… I took other reviewers advice and doubled up on the condiments (oregano and parsley), and it was really good and juicy. I also marinated about one hour and a half and served with some quinoa.
I wonder–do you think this would work with fish? We have great local whitefish where I live.
I don’t know if the fish can stand up to the acidic yogurt marinade. It might make it mushy, but I’m not sure. I haven’t experimented with it :)
Just wondering if you would recommend boneless skinless chicken breasts for this receipe?
Nevermind, I scrolled up a few comments and noticed someone already asked :). Thanks and love your site.
I made this last night for dinner and our family loved it. I had to substitute a lime for the lemon because that was what I had. I did marinate it longer and I did add all the marinade to the chicken prior to roasting. The chicken turned out perfectly juicy and well flavoured. We’ll be making this one again, thanks!
This was amazing. Made it twice in one week. Followed the directions as stated, however I cooked it covered for 45 minutes,then removed the foil to allow chicken to brown and cooked for additional 15 minutes. Had it for leftovers the next day and it taste even better. I used wings and drumsticks and I preferred the wings.
Also, I seasoned the chicken with Greek seasoning, garlic salt and pepper
I want to try this with chicken breasts (I don’t like thighs). What modification do I need to make? Just back it for longer? Cut up my chicken breasts?
Usually bone-in chicken takes longer to bake, but if your chicken breasts are larger in size, it might balance out. I’m not sure of the exact cooking time without testing it out, though. I would cut them into slightly smaller pieces, though, because then you’ll get more of the marinade into the chicken. :)
can you do it on the slow cooker
No, I wouldn’t suggest it. The slow cooker is too moist of a cooking method and this marinade really needs dry heat.