Give your chicken a major flavor boost with this Greek Chicken Marinade! With olive oil, lemon and fresh herbs, it adds so much brightness to your otherwise plain chicken.
It’s so easy to make, and works great with any cut of chicken. The end result will be tender, succulent meat that you’ll want to make again and again…
Marinades are such a great way to enhance the flavors of your food. Some of our favorites are our Jamaican Jerk Marinade, Cuban Mojo Marinade and Carne Asada Marinade.
This Greek Chicken Marinade is right up there with the best of them. It’s light and summery, with plenty of fresh herbs (though you can use dried in a pinch).
Whether you’re grilling, baking, or cooking in a skillet, this will be your new favorite chicken marinade.
Ingredients for Greek Chicken Marinade
- Olive oil – This is essential to a marinade, as it helps fat soluble flavors (in this case herbs) infuse into the meat. It also helps keep the meat moist.
- Lemons – We are using both the juice and some zest.
- Garlic – It wouldn’t be very Greek without it.
- Fresh herbs – Oregano, parsley, thyme and rosemary. If lacking any fresh herbs, substitute 1 teaspoon of dried for every 1 tablespoon of fresh.
- Salt – In addition to adding flavor, salt helps with tenderizing the meat.
- Pepper
How to Make Greek Chicken Marinade
Did we mention it was easy? Simply chop your garlic and herbs, zest one lemon and juice both of them, then mix all of the ingredients together. That’s it!
How to Use Greek Chicken Marinade
The best way to marinate chicken is to place it, along with the marinade, in a ziploc bag. Squeeze out as much air as you can before zipping it closed. Store in the refrigerator while marinating.
If marinating a large amount of chicken (this recipe is good for about 2 pounds), you can place the chicken and marinade in a large bowl or baking dish. Cover with cling wrap, then refrigerate.
What Cut of Chicken to Use with this Marinade
Greek chicken marinade works well with all cuts of chicken, boneless or bone in.
If using whole pieces, our first choice would be thighs. They are naturally more tender and juicy, and are more forgiving. Although they are safe to eat at 165°F, we prefer them at 185-190°F.
Chicken breast, on the other hand, should only be cooked to 165°F. Otherwise it becomes dry and tough.
If you are cooking breast, we recommend cutting it into bite sized pieces and cooking it on skewers, like our Greek Chicken Souvlaki.
How Long to Marinate Chicken
We recommend at least 30 minutes. If you’re in a hurry, it will add nice flavors to your chicken.
For best results, both in terms of flavor and tenderness, marinate it overnight. You will be amazed how tasty your chicken is.
Important: Never reuse marinade that has been used on raw meat without first boiling it for several minutes. We prefer to discard it and make new marinade each time.
So there you go friends, one simple and easy way to make your otherwise boring chicken shine. Give it a try for a delicious Greek night.
Grill it, bake it, sear it… the choice is yours. Just don’t forget the pita bread and Tzatziki!
Greek Chicken Marinade, on our Gypsy Plate… enjoy!
Check out these other amazing Greek Recipes!
Keftedes Meatballs
Shrimp Saganaki
Avgolemono Soup
Fasolada Soup
Tyrokafteri Dip
Soutzoukakia
Moussaka
Greek Chicken Marinade
Give your chicken a major flavor boost with this Greek Chicken Marinade! With olive oil, lemon and fresh herbs, it adds so much brightness to your otherwise plain chicken.
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup olive oil
- 2 lemons, juiced + zest of one of them
- 6 garlic cloves, finely chopped
- 1 Tbsp fresh oregano, chopped
- 1 Tbsp fresh parsley, chopped
- 1 Tbsp fresh thyme, chopped
- 1 Tbsp fresh rosemary, chopped
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp pepper
Instructions
- Mix all ingredients in a bowl.
- Marinate chicken at least 30 minutes, or overnight.
Notes
- This recipe is good for about 2 pounds of chicken.
- If lacking fresh herbs, substitute 1 teaspoon of dried for every 1 tablespoon of fresh.
- Discard marinade after use.
Welcome to GypsyPlate! I'm Alpana, former wordwide tour manager and professional caterer, now full time blogger. I love exploring cuisines from around the world, and my recipes have been featured on sites such as MSN, Parade, Brit + Co, CNET and AOL. You can explore my entire collection of sortable recipes in my Recipe Index or learn more about me here.
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