This Greek Chicken Marinade is an easy and delicious marinade for pan fried, baked or grilled chicken. You probably have everything on hand already - perfect for no-fuss, healthy meals!
1poundchicken partsI used boneless, skinless chicken breast (see notes)
Instructions
Make marinade: Whisk together all marinade ingredients in medium measuring jug.
Prep chicken: Place chicken in a large ziploc bag (4-6 quart). Leave bag open, then use a meat mallet or rolling pin to carefully pound chicken to ½ inch - ¾ inch thickness. (Note: If you're not using a zip-top bag for marinating, place chicken between two pieces of plastic wrap; see notes for other container choices for marinating.)
Marinate chicken: Pour marinade over chicken. Remove most air from bag, then zip closed. Gently massage marinade into chicken for 30-60 seconds.
Rest: Place bag in fridge for at least 30 minutes, and up to 2 days.
Cook: Once ready, remove bag with chicken from refrigerator and let sit on counter for 20 minutes. Remove chicken from bag right before cooking, discarding both the bag and any leftover marinade.Cook chicken on the grill, in the oven or on the stove until internal temperature registers 165°F at the thickest part (see notes for detailed instructions).
Notes
Cooking instructions
Once ready, remove bag with chicken from refrigerator and let sit on counter for 20 minutes. Remove the chicken from the bag right before cooking, discarding the bag and any leftover marinade.Grill: Heat your grill to high heat. Lightly oil grates. Grill chicken 2-4 minutes per side, covered, until juices run clear and internal temperature reaches 165°F. Remove from grill.Stove: Heat a skillet over medium-high heat and cook the chicken around 5-8 minutes per side, until browned and cooked all the way through.Oven: Place the chicken in a shallow baking dish. Top each chicken breast with a pat of butter, or with a teaspoon of olive oil. Heat the oven to 400°F, then bake about 18-20 minutes.For best results, always rest the chicken 5 minutes before serving.However you cook your chicken, make sure your chicken reaches an internal temperature of 165°F at its thickest part.
Recipe tips
Make chicken tender: Marinating chicken helps to keep it juicy while cooking. If you put acid in the marinade (like vinegar!) it helps tenderize.The pounding also does a lot of tenderizing (probably the most, actually), so I highly recommend to stick to this step.Containers for marinating:
a classic zip-loc bag
a shallow baking dish
a large soup bowl
a small-ish glass or plastic freezer container with a lid
I only use zip-loc bags if I’m freezing the chicken in the marinade, which is exactly what I did with the bag in the photo for this post below!Otherwise I almost always use a shallow baking dish. I cover it with a plate or a second baking dish, because I try to stay away from single-use plastic as much as I can.Marinating time: Overnight works really well for easy meal prep, but 30 minutes are OK if you're short on time. Actually, if you work in a clean way, the USDA food safety rules say you can marinate chicken in the fridge for up to 2 days.However long you marinate the chicken, it's not safe to re-use a marinade that’s been in touch with raw meat or poultry. Always discard used marinade and make a fresh batch the next time you want to marinate something.
Freezer tips
This recipe freezes well. Label with the name and use-by date, then freeze immediately.I prefer using a ziploc bag for this, but I know some people freeze chicken in marinade in glass containers and it works well; you may need to double the marinade to make sure the chicken is fully covered.You can freeze the chicken in the marinade for up to 3 months. Defrost in the fridge overnight, then use as directed in the recipe.