Grilled Greek Chicken Breast: Fly away to a Greek island with this authentic Greek chicken recipe. Sunny lemon, earthy olive oil, and the spices and herbs of the Aegean combine in a quick and easy marinade. Fresh and sophisticated, this is the best Greek chicken recipe for a healthy dinner that’s ready in next to no time.
If anybody knows how to manage hot-day cooking, it’s the Greeks. You want something light and fresh and full of flavor, but you don’t want to heat up the kitchen. Enter Grilled Greek Chicken Breast! You can put meat in the Greek chicken marinade in the morning or the day before, then cook it in a few minutes…outside. String some vegetables on a skewer or toss a salad, and you have a summer supper that can’t be beat.
Is it healthy to eat grilled chicken?
Chicken is a powerhouse meat, full of protein and low in saturated fat. The key is to avoid eating the skin, where most of the fat hangs out. Of course, the fat provides most of the flavor and juices, but you don’t have to live with dry skinless chicken if you want to eat light. The key? Marinade! it’ll give your grilled chicken tons of flavor and juice so that you can more easily do without the skin.
How do you make grilled chicken?
Chicken is a delicate meat that dries out quickly. Marinade is key to moist, flavorful grilled chicken, which is why you’ll see so many grilled chicken recipes that rely on it. The more time chicken spends in marinade, the more flavor it gets. Chicken absorbs marinade’s flavors more quickly than other meats do, so even a half hour helps. But if life happens, your meat is just fine to sit in this Greek chicken marinade a couple of days, so hello flexibility!
What do you use to season grilled chicken?
Sure, you can salt and pepper chicken and call it good. (Tip: If you use dry seasonings, rather than marinade, keep the skin on your chicken when you cook it for more moisture.) But why would you, when there’s a world of flavor in your kitchen cupboards? Greek chicken marinade is built out of all the sunny flavors I love—lemon, olive oil, basil, oregano, thyme, rosemary, and garlic. But chicken is neutral enough to let you play with flavors you love. Start with an oil, add an acid, and season!
How long does it take to cook chicken on the grill?
Yes, marinade helps protect chicken from dryness, but there’s still a narrow window between rare (no dinner) and overdone (bad dinner). Follow these steps to grill an average chicken breast:
- Get your grill to medium heat. Preheat if it’s a gas grill. For a charcoal grill, you’re at medium heat when you can hold your hand five inches above the grate for 4-6 seconds.
- Oil the grate to keep chicken from sticking.
- Cover the grill and cook chicken 5-7 minutes, then turn the chicken with tongs and repeat.
- Chicken breasts are done at 165 degrees.
Touch the chicken to feel how dense it is. If you cook it often, you’ll learn to recognize what “done” feels like without having to make multiple pricks with the thermometer.
Does the idea of having marinated meat ready to cook seem like the best possible weeknight idea in the world? Try these easy, delicious recipes for weekdays where you’ll know dinner is ready to cook as soon as you get home:
- https://www.eazypeazymealz.com/lemon-chicken-with-cilantro-brown-rice/
- https://www.eazypeazymealz.com/sweet-balsamic-and-garlic-chicken-kabobs/
- https://www.eazypeazymealz.com/tacos-al-pastor/
- https://www.eazypeazymealz.com/honey-balsamic-marinade-beef-kabobs/
Grilled Greek Chicken
Ingredients
- 1 batch Greek Chicken Marinade
- 2 Lbs Chicken breast
- Lemon slices for garnish
Instructions
- Using the flat side of a meat mallet, pound the thickest parts of chicken to even thickness.
- In a small mixing bowl whisk together the Greek Chicken Marinade.
- Let chicken marinate for 2 hours, and up to 24 hours.
- Remove chicken for marinade, pat dry with a paper towel.
- Meanwhile, grease and preheat the grill to medium heat, 375-450°F.
- Grill chicken undisturbed for 5-7 minutes per side, until an inserted thermometer reads 165 degrees F.
- Remove chicken from grill and let rest 5 minutes before slicing.
- Sprinkle with lemon juice if desired
Our recipe card software calculates these nutrition facts based on averages for the above ingredients, different brands, and quality of produce/meats may have different nutritional information, always calculate your own based on the specific products you use in order to achieve accurate macros for this recipe.
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