This simple chicken marinade infuses the classic Greek flavors of lemon, garlic and oregano plus marinating chicken in yogurt for a more tender bite.
The Best Greek Chicken Marinade
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 in Nigeria 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 ying to your yang.
- the butter to your nutter.
- the pop to your lock.
That’s what make this little diddy of a recipe the best lemony, best garlicky, best Greek-y oregano-ish chicken marinade for chicken in yogurt to create the yummiest tender bite you just might ever eat.
Greek Chicken Marinade Ingredients
Technically, this Greek chicken marinade is only 5 ingredients, if you don’t count the salt and pepper.
- 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 on the grill. However, you’ll still want prepare your grill with additional oil and rotate your skewers so the chicken doesn’t become too charred or burn.
- 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 Chicken Marinade Greek Style
Flavoring and tenderizing chicken in a marinade is a no-brainer, but there are a few tricks to doing it right.
This chicken marinade works equally well with skin-on or skinless chicken. Trim the chicken breasts of any extra tendrills 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 marinade, or in a zippered freezer bag.
This chicken doesn’t take long at all to marinade! The chicken is adequately flavored in just 15 minutes. Or, let it soak in all that Greek flavor for up to three hours. I don’t marinate the chicken longer than the 3 hour mark so the chicken doesn’t becoming mealy.
Make this for grilled chicken breasts, or use half of this marinade for the breasts and reserve the other half for Greek chicken kebab skewers if that fits your fancy too. Doubling up duty as a dressing for salads too, this greek marinade is my favorite go-to recipe for anything and everything chicken.
1. Never, ever, ever reuse marinade used on raw poultry or meat unless you boil it first.
It might sound like a good idea to baste your chicken or meat with the same marinade, but there’s a trick to keeping it healthy if you do. Boil any used marinade first to destroy any harmful bacteria. Or set aside a portion of the marinade to use later before putting raw meat and poultry into it.
2. Use acid in your marinade to tenderize the meat.
Whether it’s vinegar, wine, or a citrus juice like lemon or lime juice, acid helps break down the connective tissue in meats, and creates a more tender bite.
3. Choose a complimentary oil for more flavor in your marinade.
Depending on the flavor profile of your marinade, choose an oil that compliments it and boosts the flavor even more, like:
- Olive oil for Greek, Italian, or Mediterranean-style dishes
- Sesame oil for Asian-style dishes
- Canola or vegetable oil for Mexican or American-style dishes to keep things neutral
4. The best tenderizer—What does marinating chicken in yogurt do?
The real secret to tenderizing any cut of meat or chicken is adding yogurt or buttermilk to the mix.
Marinating proteins in ingredients with an edge of acid like yogurt and buttermilk has been done in many types of ethnic cooking for centuries. More mild than some other raw enzyme acids from ingredients like pineapple or papaya, yogurt and buttermilk are a perfect tenderizer for chicken because they won’t make the protein mushy.
How Long Should You Marinate Chicken
Marinate your chicken for as little as 15 minutes, 3 hours, or overnight. If you go too long, your chicken or meat will turn to mush.
How Long Do you Cook Marinated Chicken
Cook the chicken to an internal temperature of 160-165°F, and allow to rest for the juices to set. 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.
What to Serve With Greek Chicken to Make a Meal
Do you have a favorite side to serve with Greek chicken? Leave your recipe idea in the comments below, or here are a few to think about making too.
- Greek Pasta Salad with Artichoke Hearts and Cucumbers
- Easy Lemon Rice Recipe
- Greek Chickpea Salad
- Baba Ganoush
- Greek Salad With Avocado
If you make this recipe, please let me know! Leave a 
rating on this recipe below and leave a comment, take a photo and tag me on Instagram with #foodiecrusheats.
30 Healthy Easy Chicken Recipes | 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.
Nutrition
More Greek Recipes You’ll Love Too
- Easy Greek Chicken Kebabs
- Greek Turkey Burgers with Tzatziki Sauce
- Greek Salad with Avocado
- Easy Chicken Gyros with Tzatziki Sauce
- Pork Souvlaki with Lemon Rice
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BEST MARINADE ever!!!
OMG ! Game changer! Just served last night for a dinner party and everyone RAVED about it. Thanks so much for sharing!!
I’m glad you enjoyed it!
Delish!! Will be in my rotation! Love it!!!!
I make this all the time and everyone always loves it. Thanks for the easy marinade idea!
I’m glad you all enjoyed it!
I’ve made this several times. It’s delicious and easy. I make extra marinade to use with left over chicken for pita pocket sandwiches.
I’m glad you enjoyed it!
can you marinate this longer?
You can marinate the chicken longer, but the acid could break the chicken down and make it mealy.
Delicious! I use one lemon in the marinade. It’s plenty. We substituted dairy free yogurt and it worked great. Making it again tonight!
The way the recipe is written is a little complicated for me. Since everything goes in the marinade, it would be simpler not to worry about which goes in first. Just combine all. Unless there’s a reason I don’t know about?
5 stars in flavor, for sure! Especially if it’s grilled!
Excellent marinade!!! Thank you. Big hit with the whole family. Made it as directed but didn’t need the extra roasted lemons. The marinade was lemony enough and I was the only one who added an extra squeeze from the roasted slice. 1 roasted, 1/8” thick slice per person as a garnish is enough for me.
Happy you enjoyed Elaine!
Absolutely delish!!
Simple but so good. New go to chicken recipe.
This recipe is wonderful! The marinade made the chicken so tender, flavorful and juicy on the grill. I made this recipe and your Greek Salad recipe last night and served it with homemade focaccia bread topped with cherry tomatoes from my garden (which was also used in the salad. The only thing I left out was grilling the lemons at the end, due to time. The whole meal was a delicious Mediterranean treat. I will definitely make this again. Thank you!
Absolutely the best Greek chicken I have ever had…..Restaurant quality! I have made this recipe at least two dozen times now and everyone loves it. The only thing I changed is I use Greek seasoning instead of oregano
Can I bake this in the oven if I do not have access to a grill?
Yes, you can absolutely bake in the oven. See my post for the best baked chicken here for cooking instructions.
This was SO good. But SOS please help me figure out how to make this marinade into a cream sauce because the flavors are bomb.
Hey Emily, add yogurt to make it creamy. However, don’t use the marinade after steeping in the chicken. You’ll want to set some aside first.
Delicious! I used boneless skinless thighs and didn’t add quite as much lemon as the recipe called for because I only had two large lemons. But it was so delicious. I chopped up the chicken and we put into warm pita bread with tzaziki, tomatoes, lettuce and a little feta cheese.
So glad you liked it Alice, and thanks for the 5 star rating!
Awesomeness!
Finally! I found a recipe that turned out great even if I did mess up/substitute a few things. I will definitely be making this regularly!
I substituted sour cream for the yogurt because I didn’t have any. I squeezed all the lemons (I love my SMEG juicer) and then realized later I was supposed to only squeeze one and slice the other three for topping…soooo…I decided “oh well, I guess I’ll make fresh lemonade too,” but needed more juice to make the simple syrup but didn’t have enough lemons…so I sliced only one of the remaining lemons grabbed an orange for other slices (1 lemon and 1 orange sliced for the grilling part) juiced some of the orange to my lemonade mixture. I zested both the lemon and orange for the marinade, added about 1/2 cup of lemon juice for the marinade and made lemonade (simple syrup recipe) with the remaining juice. Chicken marinated for about 20 min which ended up being plenty and grilled the chicken on the Weber charcoal grill. Next time I will set aside less basting marinade because they came out wetter than I would prefer (I like my chicken on the dry(er) side, but still delicious! I will make this again and try to follow the recipe closer next time. I will still use the sour cream since I never have greek yogurt, but always can use sour cream in the house.
So glad it worked for you Dana. Subbing in with what you have is the joy of cooking. Glad it worked well. Thanks for the 5-star rating!
This was delicious! And easy to whip up with mostly pantry items. My picky 6 year old ate every bit of the chicken. My husband asked for this recipe to go in heavy rotation!
Thank you for the 5-star rating Cat! SO glad your picky eaters liked it too.
This was perfect on the grill. Our lemons were extra juicy so I ended up adding an extra half cup of greek yogurt to thicken it up. My only other adjustment was I replaced oregano with Penzys greek seasoning due to my personal preference. This is a keeper!
Greek yogurt really made a difference. The chicken had a nice slightly tangy flavor, and it was very tender and juicy after being cooked on the grill.
I think so too!
Tried making it twice and both times (once with low fat and once with full fat yogurt) it curdled! What am I doing wrong?
Try whipping the ingredients first and then adding them slowly to the yogurt