Oven Roasted Greek Chicken
Baked chicken breasts bathed in a Greek sauce that gives them so much flavor! This easy oven roasted chicken recipe turns out juicy, tender, and flavorful, and only requires a few minutes of hands on time.
With flavors inspired by the mediterranean: Lemon, herbs, and spices. And a juicy, tender result, it is no wonder this is one of my favorite ways to serve chicken breasts; and bonus: that are baked! This oven roasted Greek chicken recipe is my go to on busy nights. I often have this greek marinade/sauce already whipped up in my fridge, so I can use it at will. And this method for roasting chicken breasts results in juicy, flavorful chicken every time. This is the ultimate 30 minute meal.
Serve with roasted broccoli or asparagus, and smashed potatoes for a complete meal.
Oven Roasted Greek Chicken, an easy way to prepare Greek chicken for friends and family. This recipe offers s a scintillating blend of flavors that elevates your basic chicken. It is one of my favorite ways to take a basic chicken breast, and add tons of flavor, while still keeping it versatile enough to be able to add it to salads, wraps, pasta, etc.
This authentic Greek roasted chicken is great any night of the week. Roasting chicken breasts in the oven is easy, and I am sharing all the tips for getting delicious, juicy, results! You will love this recipe because it provides rich flavor and is fairly hands off.
How to Make Oven Roasted Greek Chicken Breasts
Brine
This step is important because it is what takes an ordinary chicken breast and elevates not just the flavor, but the end results. By doing a quick brine, it helps the chicken turn out moist and juicy. I know we hate that word {Moist} but trust me, when it comes to a baked chicken breast, it is something you want.
- Be sure to use Kosher Salt.
- And brine at least 15 minutes, but can be up to 6 hours.
- Check to ensure your chicken is not pre-brined, as this can make everything too salty!
Sauce
The sauce that you cook this chicken in started as a marinade, and is what I use for Skillet Greek Chicken and Grilled Greek Chicken. So this is essentially the same recipe, just a different way to cook it.
In this case, because we brine the chicken, I don’t marinade it, I just pour the marinade over and bake it with it on there. But you can certainly marinade it in the sauce first if you would like.
Bake/Broil
Then we bake it. I call it roasting because it is done at a higher temperature. I find with chicken hot and fast is the best way to avoid drying it out. This is not a fatty meat, so you do not need the low and slow method. And you don’t want to dry it out.
So bake it until the internal temp reaches 165 degrees.
One trick I have learned is that I can bake it for about 13 minutes. Then turn the broiler on to finish it and get it up to 165 degrees. And this will give me a nice caramelized exterior, and juicy, tender interior.
Just be careful if you broil it at the end because if you step away or look away it can end up burned really easily.
Rest
Resting the chicken after it bakes is a great way to let the juices reabsorb, and keep that chicken tender and moist. But, you do not want it sitting on a hot pan while it does this, or it may continue to cook and get dried out. So remove it from your baking dish, and place it on a plate, covered with foil, and let it rest a few minutes.
How Long Does it Take to Roast Chicken Breasts?
15-18 minutes. But it depends.
So as you probably already know I am all about eating and preparing delicious meals, while making the prep work as simple as possible. No one wants to slave in the kitchen night after night for hours and hours at a time. We want to sit together and spend those hours eating, laughing, and hanging out as a family.
The prep is minimal and fast for oven roasted Greek chicken, making it a great meal for busy families.
How quick or how long it takes to roast a chicken depends on how big the chicken is.
Another variant of time besides size is temperature.
A good formula to follow is to begin roasting a chicken for 12-15 minutes at 450 degrees and then add time as needed based on the internal temperature reading.
If you are just cooking a 4 oz chicken breast, then expect the time to be around 15 minutes. A bigger, or thicker chicken breast will take longer.
Note: Variation in temperature will affect cooking time.
Use a thermometer
The best way to get perfectly cooked chicken is to buy an instant read meat thermometer and use it. They can be found for under $20 easily, and will mean the difference between dried out chicken, and perfectly cooked chicken.
Just stick it into the thickest part of the chicken, and let it read the temp.
Ways to Use Baked Greek Chicken
Once you have baked your chicken, and it is rested and done, the biggest question you have to ask yourself is how are you going to eat it? We love serving it with veggies and a starch as a main course, but it is also so good added to things. Here are a few ideas to get your imagination flowing:
- Gyros: Use leftovers in a pita to make a greek chicken gyros like these!
- Meal Prep Bowls: Pair this greek chicken with orzo, couscous, rice, cauliflower rice, a great greek salad, and some tzatziki for a great meal prep bowl.
- Pasta: Chunk this chicken up and add it to a Greek Pasta Salad to take a side and make it a main.
- Flatbread: Try adding it to a flatbread for a quick lunch, or a fun picnic.
- Salad: This wedge salad is a fun way to use leftover greek chicken, or to add a fun twist to your dinner plate. And this chopped salad is another excellent option.
Oven Roasted Greek Chicken is Amazing!
Now that you are confident in the methods of roasting a chicken, make my Greek oven roasted chicken. It’s such a tasty dish.
Oven Roasted Greek Chicken is a recipe you are going to want to make again and again. This oven roasted chicken’s flavor is fantastic. Serve on a night that you don’t have time for extensive prep but still want a tasty meal.
Serving Suggestions
Other Greek Inspired Favorites
- Greek Chicken Orzo Salad
- Tzatziki
- Greek Chicken Couscous Bowl
- Greek Seasoning Blend
- Easy Greek Salmon Salad
Oven Roasted Greek Chicken Breasts
Ingredients
- 4 boneless skinless chicken breasts pounded to even thickness (approx 2 lbs)
Brine
- 1 quart warm water
- 1/4 cup kosher salt
Greek Sauce
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 tablespoon minced garlic
- 1/3 cup fresh lemon juice
- 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 teaspoon dried dill
- 1/2 teaspoon dried basil
- 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1/2 teaspoon crushed rosemary
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- 1/4 teaspoon pepper
- 1 ½ teaspoons dijon mustard
Instructions
Brine
- Fill a large bowl with the warm water and kosher salt.
- Stir together until salt has dissolved in the water.
- Add the chicken breasts and let them sit in the mixture to brine for 15 minutes.
- Remove the chicken breasts from the brine, rinse them with cold water, then pat them dry with some paper towels.
Sauce
- Meanwhile, mix together all the ingredients for the Greek sauce in a small bowl, and set aside.
Bake
- Preheat oven to 450°F.
- Place the brined chicken breasts in a single layer in a large baking dish or roasting pan.
- Pour the Greek sauce over the top, spreading it about evenly to insure all of the chicken is covered. You can even flip the chicken over in it a few times to cover each side.
- Bake for 15-18 minutes, or until the chicken is cooked through(internal temperature should be 165 degrees F) and no longer pink. Use a meat thermometer for best results.
- For a caramelized exterior, turn the broiler on high for the final 3-5 minutes and broil the chicken until it is golden. Keep a close eye on it, as it can quickly go from golden to black.
- Remove the pan from the oven, transfer the chicken to a clean plate, and loosely tent the plate with aluminum foil.
- Let the chicken rest for 5-10 minutes.
- Serve and enjoy
Notes
Nutrition
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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