Name: Greek Marinated Chicken
Prep time: 5 min
Cook time: 30 min
Total time: 35 min
Ingredients: 1 5.3 ounce tub of plain Greek Yogurt, ((I use Chobani)); 2 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil ((if you have a flavored olive oil, use it!)); 6 cloves fresh garlic, (minced); ½ Tablespoon dried oregano; 1 lemon, ((juice and zest)); ½ teaspoon salt; ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper; ¼ cup fresh chopped parsley; 4 lbs boneless and skinless chicken thighs and drumsticks

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This Greek marinated chicken is hands down the most flavorful and juiciest chicken dish I've ever tasted! A mediterranean cuisine with flavors like oregano, garlic, parsley and lemon, this dish is a family favorite! The secret to this grilled chicken is in the marinade! Only 5 minutes to prep!

Greek Marinated Chicken in a white bowl, lemon zest on top.

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Video: How To Make Greek Marinated Chicken
ℹ️ Why This Recipe Works
🛒 Ingredients You'll Need
📋 Step-by-Step Recipe Instructions
Marinating Chicken
Oven Grill Chicken
💭 Expert Tips and FAQs
🍽️ Other Foods You Can Grill
Greek Marinated Chicken

Hands down people...HANDS DOWN the most delicious chicken recipe I've made. This Greek marinated chicken is so flavorful. So juicy. It's full of protein. Even the marinade is full of protein!

This is one of my absolute favorite grilled chicken thigh recipes. That's a big statement because I have some amazing chicken recipes, like my Lemon Garlic Chicken with White Cream Sauce and these Air Fryer Chicken Thighs.

Video: How To Make Greek Marinated Chicken

Here's a step-by-step video above on how to make this recipe.

ℹ️ Why This Recipe Works

1. Easy Prep: We all need a little easy in our life and this recipe is hands down super easy to both prepare and make. It only takes 5 minutes to whip up the marinade.

2. Greek Marinade: The secret to this chicken is in the marinade. It's zesty and made with a Greek yogurt base which provides a creamy coating to the meat. This marinade is also super healthy.

3. Chicken: While I enjoy this marinade for thighs, it can be used on drumsticks or breasts.

🛒 Ingredients You'll Need

The marinade reminds me a lot of souvlaki marinade which typically consists of fresh garlic, oregano, rosemary, and sweet paprika. The liquid foundation contains a high quality extra virgin olive oil, lemon juice, and a dry white wine.

This Greek chicken marinade is thick and has a base made with plain Greek yogurt. I add fresh squeezed lemon juice so that it can help break down the raw meat by allowing the oil and herbs to penetrate the meat giving it intense flavor and moisture.

Fresh parsley is an underutilized ingredient and I use it in this marinade because it has a fresh and mildly peppery flavor. If you have a flavored extra virgin olive oil, use it in this Greek marinade. It will add more flavor.

Chicken, lemon, greek yogurt, salt, pepper, oregano and parsley on a table.

📋 Step-by-Step Recipe Instructions

Start by mincing the garlic cloves and finely chopping the fresh parsley. From there, place the garlic, plain Greek yogurt, lemon juice, lemon zest, salt, pepper, chopped parsley, dried oregano, and extra virgin olive oil into a big mixing bowl. Using a spatula, mix until well combined.

Greek Marinade containing garlic, greek yogurt, lemon juice, lemon zest, salt, parsley, oregano, garlic, olive and salt in a white bowl.

Next, place each piece of meat in a large gallon Ziplock bag. Pour the Greek marinade into the bag so that it covers the pieces of chicken.

Just look at that marinade! Thick and full of amazing flavor! Make sure you get ALL the marinade into the baggie by scraping the bowl with a spatula.

Greek marinade being poured into a Ziplock baggie of chicken.

From there, seal the bag and move the pieces around so that each piece is well covered with the marinade. Place the Ziplock baggie onto a plate and place it into the refrigerator and let it marinate for 6-24 hours.

Greek marinated chicken marinating in a Ziplock baggie sitting on a white marble table, red and white gingham napkin on table.

Remove each piece from the Ziplock bag after it has had enough time to marinate. Place each piece of Greek yogurt marinated chicken on a large plate. Now it's time to go start the grill! Light it up and let it get hot, around 400°F. Cooking chicken on the grill is easy and convenient.

Greek marinated chicken sitting on a white plate, red and white gingham napkin on table.

Once the grill is good and hot, place each piece of chicken directly on the grill racks. Sear on one side for 3-5 minutes before flipping it over.

4 pieces of Greek marinated chicken on the grill.

When you flip the meat over, you'll see those gorgeous grill marks on each piece. FLAVOR I tell you...FULL of amazing flavor!

4 pieces of Greek marinated chicken rilling on the grill, grill marks on chicken.

Contrary to popular belief, chicken breasts, thighs, and drumsticks are considered cooked all the way through when the internal temperature reaches 165°F. I don't recommend always relying just on time. Time is just a gauge. Use a digital meat thermometer to ensure the chicken is done before removing it from the grill.

Once done, remove each piece from the grill and it is immediately ready to serve. This is the best grilled chicken. Look at this yumminess! Is your mouth watering yet...because it should be!

8 pieces of grilled chicken thighs and legs in a brown bowl sitting on a red and white napkin, topped with lemon zest.

Marinating Chicken

For best results flavor wise with this Greek Marinated Chicken recipe, you will want to marinate the meat for at least 6 hours, if not overnight. Start by combining all the ingredients into a gallon size Ziplock bag. Next, add the pieces to the marinade. I let that bag sit in the refrigerator overnight. If you don't have that kind of time, I recommend letting the meat marinate for at least 6 hour.

Oven Grill Chicken

Did you know you can grill chicken in the oven? If you don't have access to an outdoor grill, you can easily oven grill the chicken by using the broiler in your oven. Chicken drumsticks and thighs take about 40 to 50 minutes to oven grill. Breasts take around 25-30 minutes. You can also oven bake this Greek chicken recipe in the oven on 350°F for 30 minutes or until the internal temperature reaches 165°F in the thickest part of the meat.

💭 Expert Tips and FAQs

Make this Greek marinated chicken recipe with breasts, thighs, and drumsticks. I find using either boneless skinless thighs, bone-in thighs, and drumsticks to be the best because the dark meat provides so much flavor. The dark meat has more fat than the breast so when I'm wanting "melt in your mouth" texture, I go for the dark meat.
When grilling chicken drumsticks, it's recommended to grill the chicken for 8-12 minutes on each side. When chicken legs are done, the meat will start to slightly pull back from the bone.
I always top my grilled Greek chicken with fresh lemon zest. It helps intensify the flavor in every bite and let me tell you, every bite is FULL of garlic and just the right amount of lemon flavor. It's just beyond delicious!

Lemon zest sitting on a white marble table, lemon in background.

I'm a big believer of using a flavored olive oil when cooking. Any kind of flavored olive oil is great for this recipe. I've used a lemon based olive oil, rosemary based olive oil and garlic based olive oil. The flavor in the olive oil really makes the flavor "pop" when it's going through the marination process. It makes the flavor that much more intense.

Want those grill marks and char? Turn up the fire toward the end and turn over once. Just don't let your chicken burn or overcook. To get those char marks, it's all in your grilling technique.

🍽️ Other Foods You Can Grill

My BBQ Grilled Chicken Wings are grilled to perfection and covered in my sweet and smoky homemade BBQ sauce. If you love a good steak then make sure you check out my 10 Garlic Clove Marinated Grilled Filet. Marinated in fresh garlic and rosemary, grilling filet mignon has never been so easy…or tasty!

Since the grill is already hot, why not grill some side dishes? Topped with fresh lime juice and crumbled Cotija cheese, this Grilled Corn with Cotija Cheese recipe is slightly charred and full of flavor. It’s easy to make and is the perfect side dish for any backyard cookout! And you can also grill green beans! Grilled Green Beans are the easiest, most delicious side dish for any BBQ!

Now...let's get to grilling!! Happy eats, friends!

Greek Marinated Chicken

This Greek Marinated Chicken is EASY and hands down the most flavorful and juiciest chicken recipe I've ever tasted! Only 5 minutes to prep! Full of Greek flavors like oregano, garlic, parsley and lemon, this dish screams flavor! The secret to this chicken dish is in the marinade!

4.93 from 53 votes

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Course: dinner

Cuisine: Greek

Prep Time: 5 minutes

Cook Time: 30 minutes

Total Time: 35 minutes

Servings: people

Calories: 309kcal

Author: Amanda Mason

Ingredients

▢ 1 5.3 ounce tub of plain Greek Yogurt, (I use Chobani)
▢ 2 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil (if you have a flavored olive oil, use it!)
▢ 6 cloves fresh garlic, minced
▢ ½ Tablespoon dried oregano
▢ 1 lemon, (juice and zest)
▢ ½ teaspoon salt
▢ ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
▢ ¼ cup fresh chopped parsley
▢ 4 lbs boneless and skinless chicken thighs and drumsticks

Instructions

To make the marinade, combine the yogurt, olive oil, minced garlic, oregano, lemon juice, parsley, salt ,and pepper in a bowl. Stir well.
Use a cheese grater or zester to scrape a thin layer of lemon zest from half the lemon. Add lemon zest to the bowl of marinade ingredients.
Grab a gallon sized Ziplock bag and add the chicken pieces and marinade to the bag. Move each piece around to ensure all are well coated.
Refrigerate the the meat in the marinade for at least 6 hours. Expert Tip: I like to marinate it overnight. The longer the marinade, the more flavorful!
After marinating, you can choose to grill the chicken on an outdoor grill,oven grill, or bake it in the oven.
If you bake it in the oven, preheat oven to 350°F and bake for the breasts for about 30 minutes or until the internal temperature reaches 165°F.
If you choose to grill, do so for 25-30 minutes or until the juices run clear and the internal temperature reaches 165°F.
Top with fresh grated lemon zest and serve immediately.

Video

Notes

Make this Greek marinated chicken recipe with breasts, thighs, and drumsticks. I find using either boneless skinless thighs, bone-in thighs, and drumsticks to be the best because the dark meat provides so much flavor. The dark meat has more fat than the breast so when I'm wanting "melt in your mouth" texture, I go for the dark meat.
When grilling drumsticks, it's recommended to grill the meat for 8-12 minutes on each side. When the legs are done, the meat will start to slightly pull back from the bone.
I always top this dish with fresh lemon zest. It helps intensify the flavor in every bite and let me tell you, every bite is FULL of garlic and just the right amount of lemon flavor. It's just beyond delicious!
I'm a big believer is using a flavored olive oil when cooking. Any kind of flavored olive oil is great for this recipe. I've used a lemon based olive oil, rosemary based olive oil and garlic based olive oil. The flavor in the olive oil really makes the flavor "pop" when it's going through the marination process. It makes the flavor that much more intense.
Want those grill marks and char? Turn up the fire toward the end and turn over once. Just don't let the chicken burn or overcook. To get those char marks, it's all in your grilling technique.

Nutrition

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Update Notes: This post was originally published on July 18, 2017, but was republished with an updated step-by-step instructions, pictures and tips in February 2021.

Recipe source: inspired by Budget Bytes