Greek Chicken Marinade

Bright, herby Greek Chicken Marinade made with olive oil, lemon, garlic, and oregano for juicy, flavorful chicken on the grill or stovetop. Mix, marinate 30 minutes to a few hours, and cook—great for kabobs, salads, pitas, or bowls.

We know you are going to love this recipe. It is so simple to make but packs on a huge amount of taste and flavor. Your search for the perfect Greek marinade for chicken will end here. And the best part? The chicken stays so juicy and tender, just like our Teriyaki Marinade, which we also highly recommend.

Since our Greek Chicken Kabobs are such a hit, we decided that we need some more grilling recipes using your favorite Greek flavors. This chicken recipe is the perfect dish for a busy weeknight or slow weekend meal. It’s simple, delicious and goes well with just about any side dish. We especially love Grilled Sweet Potatoes alongside this simple chicken marinade!

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Why You’ll Love This Recipe

• Our Greek chicken marinade will transform a basic chicken breast into a flavorful protein you can add to wraps, salads, grain bowls and more!
• Using pantry staples makes this a super affordable marinade that you can make over and over again.
• Greek chicken marinade is family-friendly. Your whole family is going to love the unique flavors of this easy chicken marinade.

Ingredients For Greek Chicken Marinade

• Chicken breast – We used boneless chicken breasts, but you could also use boneless or bone-in chicken thighs. Whichever you have on hand will be great, just remember that thighs won’t take as long to cook.
• 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 fresh lemon juice helps break down the tough fibers of the chicken, plus adds a bright flavor.
• Garlic – Balances flavor in the marinade and is a popular ingredient in Greek cooking.
• Seasonings – We used a mix of oregano, basil, dill, thyme, salt and ground black pepper. This marinade calls for dried herbs, but you can use fresh. The typical rule is to use twice as much fresh as dried.

How to Make Greek Chicken Marinade

1. In a medium bowl, whisk together olive oil, lemon juice, garlic, and seasonings.
2. Toss marinade together with chicken, cover with plastic wrap and set in fridge to marinate for at least 30 minutes and up to 2 hours.
3. Remove the chicken from the marinade and discard remaining marinade. Place chicken breasts 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 Fahrenheit.
4. Remove cooked chicken from grill, tent with foil and allow to rest 5 minutes before slicing and enjoying.

This Greek chicken marinade is one to keep on the regular rotation in your house. It’s a great addition to your weekly meal prep so you have delicious chicken all week.

Did you make this? If you snap a photo, please be sure tag me on Instagram at @gimmesomegrilling or #gimmesomegrilling so I can see your grilling masterpieces!

4.63 from 8 votes

Greek Chicken Marinade Recipe

Easy Greek Chicken Marinade with olive oil, lemon, garlic, oregano, and red wine vinegar—juicy, flavorful chicken for grilling, kabobs, salads, and pitas.

Prep:5 minutes mins

Cook:15 minutes mins

Marinating Time:30 minutes mins

Total:50 minutes mins

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[adthrive-in-post-video-player video-id=”nPn20icu” upload-date=”2019-09-29T00:00:00.000Z” name=”Greek Chicken Marinade” description=”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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Equipment

• Mixing Bowl
• Whisk
• Measuring cups and spoons
• Basting brush
• Meat Thermometer

Ingredients

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

Instructions

• In a medium bowl, whisk together olive oil, lemon juice, garlic, oregano, salt, ground black pepper, basil, dill and thyme.
• 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 grill to medium high or oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
• Prepare grill by lightly oiling the grates or oiling the grill pan over stop top.
• Remove the chicken from the marinade and discard remaining marinade. Place chicken breasts 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 Fahrenheit. 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

Fridge: Store leftover Greek chicken in an airtight container for up to 3 days.

Freezer: Freeze cooked chicken on a baking sheet before wrapping individually in plastic wrap and storing in an airtight container or freezer bag. Thaw in the fridge overnight before reheating.

Reheat Greek marinated chicken breasts in the oven or even in the microwave with a dash of water or broth to keep them nice and moist.

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

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%)

© Gimme Some Grilling ®

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.

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 to enjoy this dish.

Marinate the chicken like you would if you were going to grill it. Discard the excess 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.

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

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

Storage And Reheating

Fridge: Store leftover Greek chicken in an airtight container for up to 3 days.

Freezer: Freeze cooked chicken leftovers on a baking sheet before wrapping individually in plastic wrap and storing in an airtight container or freezer bag. Thaw in the fridge overnight before reheating.

Reheat Greek marinated chicken breasts in the oven or even in the microwave with a dash of water or broth to keep them nice and moist.

How To Serve Greek Chicken

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.

Add slices of this tender chicken to an easy Greek Salad for a complete meal.

More Great Marinades

• Everyone needs a go-to Steak Marinade and we’ve got one with bold flavor you can make with pantry staples. Your family is going to absolutely love this one!
• Whether you are outside grilling or inside on the stove top Pork Chop Marinade is a delicious way to cook juicy pork chops that go along with all of your favorite side dishes.
• No matter which protein you are cooking, Teriyaki Marinade is a great way to add tons of flavor to your meal. Chicken, pork, beef – cook up whatever you like!
• Switch up your protein and go for seafood this week. Our Shrimp Marinade is super easy and quick and works great for family suppers and weekend BBQs.