Yogurt Marinated Chicken

4.80 from 10 votes

This tangy and garlicky Yogurt Marinated Chicken is full of warm spices and can be served several different ways!

Prep Time10

Cook Time15

Marinate Time30

Course: Dinner, Main Course

Cuisine: American, Middle-Eastern

Total Cost: $7.29 recipe / $1.82 serving

Servings:

Combine the yogurt, minced garlic, lemon juice, cinnamon, oregano, salt, nutmeg, and cloves in a bowl.
Slice the chicken breasts into two thinner pieces so they cook quickly and evenly in the skillet. If slicing is too difficult, you can cover the chicken breasts with plastic and use a rolling pin or mallet to pound the chicken into an even thickness (1/2-3/4 inch thick), then slice the breast across into two smaller portions.
Place the chicken in a shallow dish or zip-top bag and pour the yogurt marinade over top. Make sure all sides of the chicken are coated in yogurt, then refrigerate for at least 30 minutes or up to 24 hours.
When you're ready to cook, heat ½ Tbsp cooking oil in a large skillet (preferably some sort of non-stick surface) over medium heat. Once hot, add two pieces of chicken and cook on each side until deeply browned. Transfer the cooked chicken to a clean cutting board and repeat with the rest of the cooking oil and second two pieces of chicken.
Let the chicken rest for five minutes, then slice and serve!

You can purchase thin-cut chicken breasts, chicken tender, or chicken thighs to avoid needing to slice or pound the breasts into thinner pieces (step 2).
Make sure to use plain flavored yogurt, nothing sweetened or with flavors added. I suggest buying regular yogurt, not Greek-style, because Greek is very thick and dry and will not coat the chicken the same way. You can get around this by thinning out the yogurt with a little water, broth, or milk, but plain, regular yogurt works best. You'll also want to make sure your yogurt has at least some fat, which is important for carrying the fat-soluble flavors in the marinade. Full-fat is best, but you can go down to 2% fat if needed.
This recipe is also awesome with boneless, skinless chicken thighs. Because chicken thighs are already fairly thin and cook quickly, you will not need to slice the thighs into thinner pieces, as I do with the chicken breasts.
Yogurt marinated chicken is also perfect for grilling! Just cook in the same manner as you would with chicken marinated in any other mixture. You'll get wonderful browning on the meat when using a grill. You can also use an indoor, countertop style grill, like a George Foreman grill.