Best Greek Chicken Marinade

My best Greek chicken marinade is easy to make with olive oil, fresh lemon juice, garlic and Greek herbs.  Mix the marinade in a ziplock bag and marinate chicken for 30 minutes to 6 hours.  Greek chicken is grilled to perfection and comes out very tender and juicy.  It is great served with a traditional Greek Salad or as an accompaniment to my Greek Cheese Tortellini Salad or Greek Salad Skewers.  There is nothing like the bright and delicious flavors from the Mediterranean!

Ingredients needed to make the Best Greek Chicken Marinade:

• 1/4 cup olive oil (good quality)
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 large lemon, juiced
• 1 tsp dried oregano
• 1/2 tsp dried rosemary
• 1/2 tsp dried thyme
• 1 tsp onion salt (try Trader Joes onion salt blend)
• 1 tsp dried parsley
• 1/4 tsp ground pepper
• 6 small boneless, skinless chicken breasts (you can cut 3 large breasts in half) or use 6 boneless, skinless chicken thighs.  You can also use a combination of breasts and thighs.  Make sure the chicken pieces  are roughly the same size so they marinate and cook evenly.

How to make the Best Greek Chicken Marinade:

• Place olive oil, minced garlic, lemon juice, oregano, rosemary, thyme, onion salt, parsley and pepper in a large Ziplock bag and mix together.
• Add chicken into the bag and seal it.  Massage marinade and chicken together to coat all the chicken pieces well.
• Marinate for at least 30 minutes at room temperature or if you want to marinate it longer place the bag in the refrigerator.  Chicken breasts should be marinated for at least 30 minutes but not more than 2 hours.   The marinade will start to break down the meat and make it tough.  Chicken thighs can be marinated for 30 minutes to 8 hours.  Smaller pieces of meat take less time to marinate and thicker pieces take longer.
• If you want to make chicken skewers, cut the chicken into cubes at this point and place on wooden skewers.

• Place chicken pieces on your grill pan or outdoor grill.  You may need to brush some oil on the pan or grill first.  I use a Cuisinart electric grill pan which is non-stick and easy to clean like this one.  It is reversible with a grill side and a flat side.
• Cook the chicken for 5-6 minutes per side or until the inside temperature reaches 160 degrees using a digital thermometer.  Check chicken after turning so that it doesn’t overcook.  If you are cooking chicken skewers you may need less time for the chicken to cook depending on size of the chicken cubes.  Insert a meat thermometer to check the inside temperature which should be 160 degrees.
• Remove the chicken and let it rest for 5-10 minutes to let the juices settle.
• You can slice the chicken or leave the breasts or thighs whole.

Other Mediterranean style recipes to make:

Greek Chicken Salad

Greek Salad Skewers

Favorite Spaghetti and Meatballs

Italian Stuffed Peppers

Spinach Lasagna Roll-ups

Best Greek Chicken Marinade

LeAnn

My best Greek chicken marinade is easy to make with olive oil, fresh lemon juice, garlic and Greek herbs. Tender and moist chicken with wonderful flavors from the Mediterranean.

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 40 minutes mins

Cook Time 10 minutes mins

Course Main Course

Cuisine Greek

Servings 6

Calories 243 kcal

Equipment

• 1 Digital Thermometer
• Grill pan
• Juicer

Ingredients

  

• 1/4 cup olive oil (good quality)
• 3 cloves minced garlic
• 1 large lemon, juiced
• 1 tsp dried oregano
• 1/2 tsp dried rosemary
• 1/2 tsp dried thyme
• 1 tsp onion salt (try Trader Joes onion salt blend)
• 1 tsp dried parsley
• 1/4 tsp ground pepper
• 6 small boneless, skinless chicken breasts (you can cut 3 large breasts in half) or use 6 boneless, skinless chicken thighs.  You can also use a combination of breasts and thighs.  Use chicken pieces that are roughly the same size so they marinate and cook evenly.

Instructions

 

• Place olive oil, minced garlic, lemon juice, oregano, rosemary, thyme, onion salt, parsley and pepper in a large Ziplock bag and mix together.
• Add chicken into the bag and seal it.  Massage marinade and chicken together to coat all the chicken pieces well.
• Marinate for at least 30 minutes at room temperature or if you want to marinate it longer place the bag in the refrigerator.  Chicken breasts should be marinated for at least 30 minutes but not more than 2 hours.   The marinade will start to break down the meat and make it tough.  Chicken thighs can be marinated for 30 minutes to 8 hours.  Smaller pieces of meat take less time to marinate and thicker pieces take longer.If you want to make chicken skewers, cut the chicken into cubes at this point and place on wooden skewers.
• Place chicken pieces on your grill pan or outdoor grill.  You may need to brush some oil on the pan or grill first.  I use a Cuisinart electric grill pan which is non-stick and easy to clean like this one.  It is reversible with a grill side and a flat side.
• Cook the chicken for 5-6 minutes per side or until the inside temperature reaches 160 degrees using a digital thermometer.  Check chicken after turning so that it doesn't overcook.  If you are cooking chicken skewers you may need less time for the chicken to cook depending on size of the chicken cubes.  Check with the meat thermometer until inside temperature reaches 160 degrees.
• Remove the chicken and let it rest for 5-10 minutes to let the juices settle. Chicken can be sliced or served whole.

Keyword Best Greek Chicken Marinade, Greek Chicken Marinade, Greek Chicken, Marinated Greek Chicken