Our Greek chicken marinade with yogurt guarantees juicy, tender, and flavorful chicken! Use this simple Mediterranean-inspired marinade recipe for chicken breasts or chicken thighs!
I’ve used this Greek marinade so many times lately. Most often for chicken, but it works with other proteins, too! It calls on ingredients I usually have and makes incredibly flavorful chicken. Just like our lemon chicken marinade, we use fresh lemon juice, but we also add some extra ingredients like Greek yogurt, balsamic vinegar, dill, and oregano to really bump up the Mediterranean flavors. I love this chicken for chicken Caesar salad or for adding to my favorite Greek salad.
This marinade was originally designed for chicken (breasts or thighs), but it’s great for marinating pork, tofu, shrimp, and fish (shrimp and fish need much less time, though). For more marinade recipes, see our sesame ginger shrimp marinade or this incredible steak marinade.
Key Ingredients
- Yogurt: I love using plain Greek yogurt in this chicken marinade! It thickens the marinade and helps it cling to the chicken, tenderizes the meat, and keeps it incredibly juicy. Low-fat or whole-milk yogurt works best. If you have some leftovers, make my easy tzatziki sauce!
- Lemon Juice and Balsamic Vinegar: I love fresh lemon juice mixed with balsamic vinegar. They make our chicken taste great and help to tenderize it. We don’t use a lot, as too much can toughen our chicken, but just enough to really make sure our chicken tastes great.
- Garlic: Fresh garlic is a must! I use two minced cloves, but you can also finely grate them.
- Dill and Oregano: I love the combination of fresh dill (dried works, too!) and dried oregano in this marinade. They create an amazing Mediterranean flavor. If you have a Greek seasoning blend on hand, feel free to use that instead.
- Honey: A touch of honey balances the acidity of the lemon and vinegar and helps the chicken brown beautifully when cooked. I love starting my chicken in a grill pan to get those dark brown grill marks, then finishing it in the oven. Even if you simply bake the chicken, the honey will give you some lovely browning.
How to Make Our Greek Chicken Marinade
This Greek chicken marinade is super easy to make. You’ll add all the ingredients to a bowl and mix until blended. Then, add your chicken (chicken breasts or chicken thighs) and move it around the marinade until coated.
Once your marinade is ready, add your chicken and toss to coat. You can marinate the chicken for up to 8 hours, but even just one hour will make a noticeable difference in juiciness and tenderness.
When you’re ready to cook, don’t discard that marinade! If you’re grilling, baste the chicken with more marinade as you flip it. If baking, spoon the marinade over the chicken before popping it in the oven. (You can watch me do this in the video!) One thing to keep in mind is that the honey in the marinade will cause the chicken to brown quickly, so watch your heat. I like to sear the chicken in a grill pan over medium-high heat to add some color and then finish it in the oven at 375°F (190°C) for perfectly cooked, juicy chicken.
Easy Greek Chicken Marinade
- PREP
- TOTAL
Plain Greek yogurt is the secret to this Greek chicken marinade recipe! Yogurt helps the marinade coat the chicken and makes it tender and juicy. I’ve used this marinade after just one hour and been really happy, but if you can wait a few more hours, the flavors deepen even further. (I’ve even left chicken marinating overnight before, and it was still delicious!) If you go past 8 hours, the lemon juice and vinegar might start to firm up the outside of the chicken a bit (it’s still delicious, though).
You Will Need
1 teaspoon olive oil
2 teaspoons honey
1 ½ teaspoons balsamic vinegar
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 tablespoon chopped fresh dill or 1 teaspoon dried dill
½ teaspoon dried oregano
3 tablespoons plain Greek yogurt
1 teaspoon fine sea salt
½ teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
1 ½ pounds (680g) chicken breast or thighs
Directions
- Marinate the Chicken
1Combine the olive oil, honey, balsamic vinegar, garlic, lemon juice, dill, oregano, yogurt, salt, and pepper in a mixing bowl that is large enough to hold the chicken.
2Add the chicken, turning them around in the marinade so they are well coated. Marinate covered in the fridge for 1 to 8 hours.
- Cook the Chicken
1Preheat the oven to 375°F (190°C) and set aside a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
2Heat a grill pan over medium heat. Lightly oil, and then place the chicken into the pan. Cook for 2 to 3 minutes on each side until grill marks, but do not cook until cooked in the middle. Watch your heat is not too high during this step as the honey can burn.
3Transfer the chicken to the prepared baking sheet and spoon over any remaining marinade from the bowl.
4Bake until an internal thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the chicken reads 165°F, about 15 to 25 minutes, depending on how thick your chicken is. Rest for 5 minutes, slice, and serve.
Adam and Joanne's Tips
- Alternatives for cooking the chicken: You can grill, bake, or cook the chicken in a skillet or grill pan. My favorite option is to sear the outside for color and finish in the oven. Since honey is in the marinade, it will darken quite a bit so watch for burning when you sear your chicken. You can skip the grill pan and go directly to the oven. You will still get a little color. If you use an outdoor grill, use our grilled chicken recipe for tips.
- The nutrition facts provided below are estimates. We assumed chicken breasts.
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