Packed with classic flavors like lemon, garlic, and oregano, this Greek chicken marinade takes mere moments to whisk together and works its tenderizing magic in as little as 30 minutes. Pair it with any cut of chicken and bake, pan-fry, or grill as desired.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
“This is a summer regular at my house. I prefer boneless-skinless thighs and we usually use this chicken as a salad topper or stuffed into pita sandwiches with tzatziki, feta, lettuce, and lovely summer tomatoes. Just noting that this marinade would also be an excellent salad dressing!” -Alice, FoodieCrush reader
The Greek Marinade I’ve Been Using on My Chicken for YEARS
Hey, ho, whaddya know?!!! You ready for the best? Because I’m giving you the best!
It may be a bold statement to make, but unlike fake politicians, sorcerers, and that guy overseas who says he’ll double your money if you’ll just wire it to him, I’m standing behind my claim that this super easy, extremely delicious Greek chicken marinade very well could be:
- the yin to your yang.
- the butter to your nutter.
- the pop to your lock.
That’s what makes this little diddy of a recipe the best lemony, best garlicky, best Greek-y, best oregano-y chicken marinade EVER.
Enjoy!
Heidi’s Tips for Recipe Success
Never reuse marinade after it touches raw chicken. It might sound like a good idea to baste your chicken with the same marinade, but there’s a trick to keeping it healthy if you do. Boil any used Greek marinade first to destroy any harmful bacteria. Or set aside a portion of the marinade to use later before putting raw poultry into it.
Use the chicken in various recipes. Add the cooked chicken to your favorite Greek salad, use it to make a Gyro Salad, slice and serve it over creamy asparagus orzo, and more.
Use the marinade as salad dressing. Skip the chicken altogether and use the creamy Greek yogurt marinade to dress your favorite leafy greens (do NOT do this if the marinade already touched the raw chicken.)
The 5 Main Ingredients
The full recipe, with amounts, can be found in the recipe card below.
- Greek yogurt — This is a new addition to my regular Greek marinade. I added the yogurt after making my easy chicken gyros where the yogurt tenderizes the chicken for a very nice, juicy bite.
- Lemon juice + zest — The acid from the lemon also helps break down the tough fibers of the chicken as it adds a flavorful zip to each bite. Adding the zest of one lemon to the marinade amps the flavor up even that much more.
- Garlic — Because hello, garlic.
- Olive oil — Olive oil adds a bit of fat and helps create a barrier while the chicken is cooking.
- Oregano — Because dried herbs are stronger in flavor than fresh, I’ve found that dried oregano works best for this marinade, and a healthy dose of it is definitely required.
How to Make Greek Chicken Marinade
- Prep the chicken. Trim the chicken breasts of any extra tendrils or pieces of fat and pat dry before adding to the marinade.
- Mix the marinade ingredients together. Then, immerse the chicken in a shallow bowl with the yogurt marinade, or in a zippered freezer bag.
- Cook the chicken to an internal temperature of 160-165°F. You can pan-fry, grill, or bake it depending on the recipe you’re making.
- Let the chicken rest. This gives the juices time to set.
How Long Can Chicken Sit in the Marinade?
This chicken doesn’t need to sit in the marinade for very long to soak up lots of flavor! The chicken is adequately flavored in just 15 – 30minutes. Or, let it soak in all that Greek flavor for up to 3 hours.
Recipes That Use This Easy Marinade
This is a multi-purpose marinade that works for any Greek-inspired chicken recipe. I typically make Greek grilled chicken with this recipe, but here are some other favorite recipes you can make:
If you make this recipe, please let me know! Leave a ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ rating below, leave a comment to tell us what you think, and tag me on Instagram @foodiecrush.
THE BEST Greek Chicken Marinade
Ingredients
- 1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts (about 2 large breasts)
- ⅓ cup plain Greek yogurt
- ¼ cup olive oil
- 4 lemons
- 4-5 cloves garlic , pressed or minced
- 2 tablespoons dried oregano
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Instructions
- Place the chicken pieces in a freezer bag or a bowl and set aside.
- Add the Greek yogurt and olive oil to a medium size bowl. Zest one of the lemons and add to the bowl. Juice that lemon into the bowl with the zest. Slice the other three lemons and set aside. Add the minced garlic, oregano, kosher salt and black pepper to the lemon juice and zest and stir. Pour half of the marinade into the freezer bag or the bowl with the chicken pieces and reserve the other half of the marinade for basting. Marinate the chicken for 30 minutes or up to 3 hours in the refrigerator.
- When ready to grill, prepare the grill by lightly oiling the grate with vegetable oil or cooking spray and set to medium high heat.
- Grill the chicken, basting with the reserved marinade and turning often so each side browns and has light grill marks, until cooked through, about 15-20 minutes or until the chicken juices run clear. During the last 5 minutes of cooking add the 3 sliced lemons to the grill, turning once or twice. Allow the chicken to rest for 5 minutes before slicing and serve with the grilled lemons. Refrigerate leftovers for up to 3 days.
Notes
Nutrition
FAQs
Marinate your chicken for as little as 15 minutes or up to 3 hours. (If you go too long, your chicken or meat will become mealy and tough.)
Cook the chicken until it reaches 160ºF to 165ºF.
Here’s some basic cooking times to do so, but always defer to a meat thermometer to be sure:
-Bake skinless, boneless chicken breasts at 400°F for 18-22 minutes
-Grill over medium heat for 15-20 minutes
-Pan fry (depending on thickness) over medium heat for 18-22 minutes
Whether it’s vinegar, wine, lemon juice, or yogurt, the acid in any marinade helps break down the connective tissue in meats, and creates a more tender bite.
Yep! Whisk together the Greek-style marinade and store it in an airtight jar until you’re ready to use it.
What to Serve With This to Make a Meal
- Appetizers — Baba Ganoush, Spanakopita, or Tzatziki
- Salads — Greek Pasta Salad, Greek Chickpea Salad, Greek Salad With Avocado, Greek Potato Salad, or Horiatiki
- Sides — Lemon Rice, Sun-Dried Tomato Couscous, or Grilled Asparagus
More Greek Recipes You’ll Love Too
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rekha
looks yummy Heidi. What I want to know is how you get those ingredients so uniformed in size to look so pretty. Wow and u don’t get a big chunk of anything.
Ashley @ Foodie Crush
Lots of practice plating haha! Thank you!
rekha
I just made this! I added a can of sliced olives because I’m a olive lover and a half tsp granulated garlic. It is so good! I also doubled the boiled eggs because I love those too! Highly recommend this recipe!
Ashley @ Foodie Crush
Great additions! YUM!
Susanna Robison
I made this last night for our chicken and it was amazing! I doubled the recipe because I was making more than a pound of chicken. well ended up having a lot of extra marinade. So I put it on her salmon for tonight. And that was even tastier!
Ashley @ Foodie Crush
That sounds SO good on Salmon too! Thanks for sharing Susanna!
Greek Chicken
How much does this make? And how much marinade should I use for one cut up chicken?
DIANE CLINGMAN
This was INCREDIBLE! My husband, kids, and guests loved the marinade!
Donna
I absolutely love Greek food! One of my favourite things to cook at home. Will have to give this a go!
Sara Hayward
Can I bake this? Or fry?
Lynne
I grill it on. Ice days and quick pan seer in my cast iron pan on rainy days or when i just don’t feel like dealing with mosquitos it is delicious always
I add a pinch cinnamon and pinch coriander sometimes to change it up.
Pam M.
This is so delicious! I made it two weeks in a row with some grilled veggies.. Thanks for sharing!
Isabelle
How many does that feed? Can’t wait to try!
Ashley @ Foodie Crush
The marinade will go a long way :) It may not be as strong but you can add it ot as much chicken as you need.
Isabelle
Thank you!
Cee Jay Kay
I used chicken tenders and put them on skewers. I got a nice char without sacrificing moisture. I adore this recipe! I did use less lemon though. My husband and I have issues with acid reflux. The flavor was still marvelous! I served it over salad.
Katrina L Radley
We just used the one lemon- missed the instructions in the comments down here, and it was perfect imo. My husband said this is the best chicken we’ve made. We’re in our 30s and cook pretty regularly. Thanks for sharing this recipe. It’s easy and it’ll definitely be in rotation!
Jana
Thank you for this recipe! We made it in the Greek Chicken Gyro Salad and it was phenomenal. I usually can’t eat leftover chicken because it has a really weird taste to me, whether I reheat it or eat it cold, so my husband is usually stuck with all chicken leftovers. I didn’t have that issue with this chicken at all when I had some leftovers for lunch the next day. It was really easy and quick to prepare, too. I think this is our new go-to chicken recipe!!
Mindy Brown
This is by far the easiest and greatest chicken marinade. It is foolproof and delicious. I am hardly a good cook and every time I make this chicken( which is once a week) it comes out tender and flavorful. Please post more recipes using Greek yogurt. It does wonders for chicken!!
Beth
This really is the best Greek marinade recipe! I enjoyed these chicken breasts more than any other that I’ve grilled before. So juicy and flavorful. The yogurt was the perfect addition. Thank you!
Tanesha
Hello,
I absolutely love this receipt however I am wanting to know the nutritional information. Thank you
Billy
When bakeing do you leave it in all the marinade?
Katherine
So tasty — Easy and delicious grilled chicken marinade!
We were short on lemons so I didn’t grill the slices of 3 lemons. It was still really tasty! I enjoy chicken dishes that have been baked with lemon slices so will have to give this recipe another try with the slices/grilled lemon.
Cindy
I am also curious about whether it is better to bake the chicken in the marinade or take it out before baking. We absolutely love this recipe and usually grill it which is amazing, but I am taking to my parent’s place where grilling is not an option.
Thanks for sharing!!
Thank you for the 5-star rating Cindy! If you want the chicken to brown, take it out of the marinade first. But! It would probably be really good baked in the marinade too :) just not as brown.
April
I am Dairy Free – is there something else I can substitute the greek yogurt with
Tanya Kucey
Same! Wanted to reply to say that Ive just kicked out the dairy [in other similar recipes] and it was great. Did you find a solution that works for you too?
Joy Lane
Daiya Plain Greek Yogurt Alternative.
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Nancy
How long will these marinade keep? Should it be refrigerated?
Hi Nancy, the marinade will keep for quite a while when refrigerated. General rule of thumb would be 1 week, but I’ve kept if for up to a month and haven’t had any problems since there’s acid from the lemons that should kill bacteria. However, to be safe…keep it at a week.
Nick
This is a classic marinade for Greek chicken! I do something similar at home, except I don’t always use the Greek yogurt. I also find that this marinade tastes especially great when the meat is grilled.
Stefanie
I wonder if sour cream could be subbed for the greek yogurt in the marinade?
Andrea
We used Crema Mexicana And it worked great.
Alan
The chicken was very flavorful but a tad dry. It just screams for a mushroom sauce. Next time I’ll try it.
Jess
Try it with Tzatziki!
Yes! Here’s my fave Tzatziki recipe https://www.foodiecrush.com/easy-chicken-gyros-with-tzatziki-sauce/
Barbara Cameron
Thanks for your amazing receipe.
I am trying it for the first time.Thank you
sabrina
always in the market for a new chicken marinade since it’s one of my regular proteins, so love this version, have never made a Greek version, especially one that’s a butter to my nutter, etc, thank you
Jackie
What happens to the other 3 lemons? Are they grilled or put into the marinade?
Hi Jackie, thanks for catching that. The other three lemons are all juiced as well and added to the marinade. You can also grill an extra lemon to squeeze on top if you’d like. I’ve fixed the recipe, too. Thanks again for reading!
Chantal
I absolutely loved this recipe! I have made it twice and I only made one adjustment. I doubled the recipe both times, and the first time i found the lemon juice a bit too strong. The second time i made it, instead of doubling the lemons as well, I only used 7 lemons instead of 8 and it was perfect for me.
Btw, the recipe description still doesnt tell you what to do with the other 3 lemons. I read the comments to figure it out.
Great recipe! Thanks so much for sharing
Jane
The recipe is not fixed. Still says one lemon??
Tara
Thanks I was also wasn’t sure . . . prep right now can’t wait to try this recipe
beth
that’s confusing, because it says to “Slice the other three lemons and set aside” and then: “During the last 5 minutes of cooking add the 3 sliced lemons to the grill, turning once or twice:
Laura
I don’t see that the recipe has been adjusted for the amount of lemons at all? What am I missing? Guess I’ll just wing it and go with 4
Sandy
During the last 5 minutes of cooking add the 3 sliced lemons to the grill, turning once or twice. Allow the chicken to rest for 5 minutes before slicing and serve with the grilled lemons.