Greek Style Chicken Marinade – perfect for grilling!
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This Greek style chicken marinade is made with pantry staples and is so flavorful. Don’t grill plain chicken ever again!.
Recipe Overview
Why you’ll love it: This is one of my favorite marinades. The chicken always turns out so tender, juicy, and flavorful.
How long it takes: 5 minutes to make the marinade; 30 minutes to 8 hours to marinate the chicken
Equipment you’ll need: bowl, grill
Servings: makes enough marinade for up to 3 pounds of chicken
Tomorrow my parents arrive to spend a couple days with us. I’m always so excited to see them. My mom and I usually do a lot of cooking together. Grilled chicken is definitely on the menu because that means Ben will man the grill and we can concoct something to go with it.
Ben and I might take advantage of their offer to babysit and snag a date night, or we might just hang out and enjoy the beautiful weather. There was even a mention of my parents helping us do some landscaping work but I’m not sure I want to spend the day doing manual labor. Perhaps a manicure would be more appropriate?
We’ll probably do the landscaping. Being an adult is so boring. We have some old, ugly bushes in our front yard that look dated and sad. I want to do smaller, more manicured shrubs. Look, I’m getting that manicure after all! Ha.
Reasons To Love Greek chicken marinade
- It uses pantry staples. This grilled chicken marinade is one of my favorites because I always have the ingredient I need in my pantry and refrigerator: red wine vinegar, olive oil, oregano, garlic powder, salt and pepper, and plain Greek yogurt (any type of unflavored yogurt will work).
- Yogurt tenderizes the chicken. I often use yogurt in my marinades because it makes the chicken extra tender and juicy. Calcium and lactic acid work together to gently tenderize the chicken. It’s a must-have in my marinade for my chicken tawook and it works great in this recipe as well.
- The marinade adds great flavor. This marinade never disappoints. The oregano, garlic, oregano, and red wine vinegar combination is so flavorful. Look for the same combination in my favorite Greek chopped salad and Greek pasta salad, both of which are great sides to go along with the chicken.
- The chicken can be grilled or baked, or use your air fryer to cook it. The recipe card has instructions for all three cooking methods.
Make Ahead Ideas
Because this yogurt-based marinade is gentle, the chicken can marinate in it overnight. Many marinades are too acidic to leave on the chicken for extended amounts of time because they end up toughening the chicken instead of tenderizing it.
Storage & Reheating Tips
If you happen to have leftover chicken, lucky you! It’s wonderful the next day, too. Slice it up and make a sandwich or add it to a salad or bowl.
Refrigerate: Cover or wrap the chicken and keep refrigerated for up to 3 days.
Freeze: The cooked chicken can be frozen, securely wrapped, for up to 2 months. Defrost in the refrigerator.
Reheat: Gently reheat the chicken in the microwave. I like to slice it first so it heats up evenly. Don’t overheat it because that makes it dry and tough. And by the way, it’s really good cold, too.
More Ideas for Boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts
Chicken doesn’t have to be boring! Take a look at my list of 27 Boneless Skinless Chicken Breast Recipes for inspiration.
Did you make this? Be sure to leave a review below and tag me @rachelcooksblog on Facebook, Instagram, or Pinterest!
Ingredients
- ¼ cup red wine vinegar
- ¼ cup olive oil
- ½ cup plain Greek yogurt (regular plain yogurt is fine, too)
- ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 2 tablespoons dried oregano
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder, more to taste (see note)
- 1.5 pounds boneless skinless chicken breasts (or up to 3 pounds)
Instructions
- Mix all ingredients together in a bowl or a zip-top bag. Add chicken and marinate in the refrigerator for at least an hour or up to overnight. If you're using a bag, put the bag in a bowl in case of leakage.
- Remove chicken from marinade, wiping off excess with your hands. Discard marinade.
- To Grill: Grill chicken over medium heat for 15 to 20 minutes, flipping once, until cooked through. Cooking time will vary depending on thickness of meat and exact grill temperature. Let rest 5 minutes before serving..
- To Bake: Preheat oven to 400°F. Place chicken in greased baking dish. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes. Baking time depends on thickness of chicken pieces.
- To Air Fry: Preheat the air fryer at 375°F for five minutes. Arrange the chicken in a single layer and cook for 10 minutes. Flip, and continue to cook for 6 to 8 minutes or until chicken is done. Let rest 5 minutes before serving.
Notes
- Feel free to use fresh garlic. I usually use garlic powder because it yields just enough flavor without the punch that fresh garlic gives.
- If chicken breasts are very large, cut them in half before marinating. This makes enough marinade for up to 3 pounds of chicken.
- Nutrition information is misleading because it includes the marinade ingredients, most of which is discarded.
Nutrition Information
This website provides approximate nutrition information for convenience and as a courtesy only. Nutrition data is gathered primarily from the USDA Food Composition Database, whenever available, or otherwise other online calculators.
Kate says
So good! I doubled the recipe and marinated 8 chicken breasts. I grilled 2 for myself on the first night and they were really good and i was thrilled with the marinade. I cooked the remainder the next night for my husband and kids and they were so much better than the first batch!!! Allowing the herbs and flavors to combine overnight really upped this recipe to a 5-star! Everyone loved it.
Rachel Gurk says
I always double too! Love having leftovers. So glad you all liked it! Thanks for taking the time to come back and leave a comment!
Bonnie says
This is my go-to marinade! Love it, and I always have everything I need to make it on hand.
Nancy Fish says
I recently found this recipe and want to pin it but can’t seem to. I keep getting links back to it from other recipes on your site but nowhere is a “pin” icon to be found. Please help me out with this. Nancy
Rachel Gurk says
There are pin buttons on the upper left hand corner of each image if you hover over them, and there are also sharing buttons at the bottom of each post. Are you viewing on mobile or on a desktop computer?
Danial Eguchi says
I cook my chicken skin side up on the cooler side until it’s around 120°F or so, then flip it over to the hotter side with the skin down and continue cooking until the skin is fully crisp and rendered and the meat hits that 150°F sweet spot. You know that movie about the nerdy kid who nobody notices at school until the day she does up her hair, puts on a dress, takes off her glasses, and becomes the prettiest girl at the prom?
Cheri C. says
So I’m way behind on my blog reading and just got to this one. I have to say, as a parent at your husband’s school, we really appreciate how invested you both are in coming to events. I was surprised to see you there on your birthday, but it also showed me how much my child and the others in the school really mean to him. I hope you were able to enjoy some of the goodies that were out as a little birthday treat that day. Thank you for always being so supportive of our kids.
Rachel Gurk says
Thank you for taking the time to comment, Cheri! It’s not an easy job, but Ben really does care immensely about the success of all the kids in the school and the support of parents like you really helps him a lot. I’ve enjoyed getting to know many families in the community so far and I look forward to many more years there. And yes, I definitely enjoyed a few goodies. :)
Deborah @ The Harvest Kitchen says
This chicken looks amazing…..will definitely make this!! And happy belated birthday to you!!
Rachel Gurk says
Thank you!
Liz @ The Lemon Bowl says
I hope you had a fabulous birthday my friend! xo
Ashley @ Fit Mitten Kitchen says
Oh I love that you used yogurt as part of your marinade! This sounds way too easy! Pinning for sure.
Hope you have a lovely Birthday!!
denise says
Happy Birthday!
Makes me wish we had a grill.
Katalina @ Peas and Peonies says
Must be so tasty, using this on our next grilled party! Your chicken turned out so perfect!
Jamie | The Kitchenarium says
Happy Birthday!! This chicken marinade is PERFECT! Packed full of wonderful flavor.
Patty K says
Happy birthday, Rachel! I hope you enjoy your time with your parents :)
Sues says
Happy birthday!!! I love your naked chicken grilling advice :)
KalynsKitchen says
Happy birthday! Looks good, and thanks for the shout-out. I am in love with Greek flavors.
Lauren says
Happy Birthday!! I think it is mandatory to eat cake today ;)
Ugh one year I agreed to do some landscaping on my birthday and I am still annoyed about it. Maybe put it off til tomorrow?
This marinade sounds great! Love all the ingredients :)