Greek Chicken Marinade

Greek Chicken Marinade is a quick and easy marinade recipe that will give your chicken amazing flavor and make it so tender! The combination of classic Greek flavors like lemon, garlic, and oregano will have your taste buds bursting. This is perfect for an easy grilled dinner recipe on a busy weeknight.

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Tender, Juicy Greek Chicken!

You’re going to love the subtle taste and flavor of this delicious recipe. It’s so simple to make but packs on a huge amount of taste and flavor. And the best part? The chicken stays so juicy and tender, just like our Teriyaki Marinade!

Since my Greek Chicken Kabobs were such a hit I decided that we need some more grilling recipes using your favorite Greek flavors!

This chicken recipe is the perfect dish for a busy weeknight meal. It’s simple, delicious and goes well with just about any type of side dish. We especially love grilled sweet potatoes on the side!

Ingredients for Greek Chicken Marinade

If you’d rather skip my (very helpful, I think) tips and tricks, essential cooking info, and similar recipe ideas – and get straight to this delicious this easy recipe – simply scroll to the bottom of the page where you can find the printable recipe card.

• Chicken breast – We used boneless chicken breasts, but you could also use a boneless or bone-in chicken thigh.
• Olive oil – Helps infuse the chicken with flavor from the seasonings, plus helps the chicken not stick to grill grates while cooking.
• Lemon – The high acidity of lemon helps break down the tough fibers of the chicken, plus infuses flavor.
• Garlic – Balances flavor in the marinade and is a popular ingredient in Greek cooking.
• Herbs – We used a mix of oregano, basil, dill and thyme. This marinade calls for dried herbs, but you can use fresh. The typical rule is to use twice as much fresh as dried.
• Kosher salt – Adjust to your preference.
• Black Pepper – Freshly cracked black pepper will always give it the most flavor!

How to Make Greek Chicken Marinade

1. Mix Marinade – In a medium bowl, whisk together olive oil, lemon juice, garlic, and seasonings. Reserve ½ c. of marinade; set aside.
2. Marinade Chicken – Toss together with chicken, cover with plastic wrap and set in fridge to marinate for at least 30 minutes and up to 2 hours..
3. Grill Chicken – Remove the chicken from the marinade and discard remaining marinade. Place chicken breast on hot grill grates, cover lid and grill for 5 minutes. Flip chicken over and allow to grill for 5-7 minutes longer or the internal temperature of the thickest part of the breast reaches 165 degrees F.
4. Tent & Rest – Remove chicken from grill, tent with foil and allow to rest 5 minutes before slicing and enjoying.

How Long Should I Marinate the Chicken?

We recommend at least 30 minutes to really get the full flavor profile from the marinade. Of course, even 10 minutes it better than no time at all. We don’t recommend leaving the chicken in the marinade over 24 hours.

Can I use Frozen Chicken with this Marinade?

Yes, you can. As long as you’re thawing out the chicken in a safe manner, you can easily add frozen chicken to a marinade.

Keep in mind though that until it really starts to thaw, the marinade won’t start penetrating through to the chicken.

If you want to marinade your chicken all day because you will be gone I highly recommend using frozen chicken in the marinade, then placing in the fridge or the lemon will start to break down the chicken after 2 hours if you used thawed chicken!

Can I bake Greek Chicken?

Yes you can! If you want to skip the grill and bake this chicken instead it’s a great option.

Marinate the chicken like you would if you were going to grill it. Then discard the marinade, place the chicken in an oven safe pan and bake it at 400 degrees Fahrenheit for about 30 minutes or until the internal temperature reaches 165 degrees Fahrenheit.

Remove from the oven, let rest for five minutes and then serve!

Serving Suggestions!

You can serve anything that you want! Any type of vegetable, like easy Grilled Vegetables, would go great with this or serve it up with a nice side salad like this Grilled Caesar Salad.

Other great options are serving it with a platter of hummus, flatbread and chopped vegetables.

Serve your favorite cold pasta salad along side of this chicken.

Turn it into an easy Mediterranean salad for a complete meal!

More Delicious Marinade Recipes!

A quick marinade can make your protein have so much flavor! Here are a few of our most popular marinade recipes!

• Steak Marinade
• Pork Chop Marinade
• Teriyaki Marinade

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4.58 from 7 votes

Greek Chicken Marinade Recipe

Quick and easy marinade recipe for chicken with all your favorite Greek flavors!

Prep:5 minutes mins

Cook:15 minutes mins

Marinating Time:30 minutes mins

Total:50 minutes mins

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Ingredients

• ▢ 1 ½ pounds boneless skinless chicken breast
• ▢ ½ cup olive oil
• ▢ 1 lemon juiced
• ▢ 2 teaspoons minced garlic
• ▢ 1 Tablespoon oregano
• ▢ 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• ▢ ½ teaspoon pepper
• ▢ 1 teaspoon basil
• ▢ ½ teaspoon dill
• ▢ ¼ teaspoon thyme
• ▢ Salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

• In a medium bowl, whisk together olive oil, lemon juice, garlic, and seasonings.
• Toss chicken with mixture until thoroughly and evenly coated.
• Cover bowl with plastic wrap and let chicken marinate at least 30 minutes and up to two hours.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit or preheat grill to medium high.
• Prepare grill by lightly oiling the grates or oiling the grill pan over stop top. Set heat to medium high.
• Remove the chicken from the marinade and discard remaining marinade. Place chicken breast on hot grill grates, cover lid and grill for 5 minutes. Flip chicken over and allow to grill for 5-7 minutes longer or the internal temperature of the thickest part of the breast reaches 165 degrees F. The amount of time the chicken takes to cook will depend on the thickness of the chicken breast and size. Always check the internal temperature of the chicken.
• Remove chicken from grill, tent with foil and allow to rest for 5 minutes before slicing and serving.

Tips

Nutrition Facts are based on all the marinade being used. Some of this will be discarded.

How long should I marinate my chicken? – If you’re using a lemon marinade, don’t marinate your chicken for longer than 2 hours. This is because the lemon has an acidity to it that will break down the chicken and actually make it a tougher meat than it was before. This recipe does have lemon in it so we recommend marinating it for about 2 hours.

Can I use frozen chicken – Yes, you can. As long as you’re thawing out the chicken in a safe manner, you can easily add frozen chicken to a marinade. Keep in mind though that until it really starts to thaw, the marinade won’t start penetrating through to the chicken. If you want to marinade your chicken all day because you will be gone I highly recommend using frozen chicken in the marinade, then placing in the fridge or the lemon will start to break down the chicken after 2 hours if you used thawed chicken!

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Nutrition Information

Calories: 267kcal (13%), Carbohydrates: 3g (1%), Protein: 37g (74%), Fat: 12g (18%), Saturated Fat: 2g (13%), Cholesterol: 109mg (36%), Sodium: 780mg (34%), Potassium: 674mg (19%), Fiber: 1g (4%), Sugar: 1g (1%), Vitamin A: 72IU (1%), Vitamin C: 10mg (12%), Calcium: 37mg (4%), Iron: 1mg (6%)

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We are not dietitians and recommend you seek a nutritionist for exact nutritional information. The information in the nutrition box is calculated through a program and there is room for error. If you need an accurate count, I recommend running the ingredients through your favorite nutrition calculator.