Published July 12, 2015. Updated January 22, 2020
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Greek Lemon Chicken – bursting with fresh lemon flavor and is so easy to make! Chicken breasts are soaked in a bright, garlicky herb marinade and grilled to lightly charred perfection. A recipe the whole everyone will love!
Grilled Greek Lemon Chicken
One of my all-time favorite chicken recipes is this marinated Greek Lemon Chicken. It’s so flavorful and I love that it’s healthy. And when you grill it, you just add that much more flavor.
This recipe is so easy and it’s perfect for a weeknight meal. You end with perfectly tender Greek grilled chicken, a vibrant lemon flavor and perfect pairing of herb flavors to enhance the lemon.
It’s likely going to be one of those recipes you’ll turn to time and time again. I’m already making them again today for company!
The other great thing about this chicken recipe is that even kids love it!
Healthy, check. Flavorful, check. Easy to make, check. A recipe everyone can agree on, check! Sounds like a winner right?
Greek Lemon Chicken Ingredients
For the Greek chicken marinade and grilled chicken, you’ll need:
- Olive oil
- Lemon zest and juice
- Garlic
- Dried herbs (oregano, basil, thyme, rosemary)
- Salt and pepper
- Chicken breasts
- Fresh parsley, for serving
How to Make Greek Lemon Chicken
- Whisk together lemon chicken marinade ingredients and pour over chicken breasts in large zip-top bag.
- Let the chicken marinate in the fridge for 2 to 5 hours.
- Grill chicken on preheated grill until cooked through (about 4 minutes on either side).
- Garish with chopped parsley and serve.
Can I Use Chicken Thighs for This Recipe?
You can use any cut of chicken you’d like in this recipe, although you’ll have to adjust the grill time depending on the size and cut of the chicken.
Can Greek Chicken Marinate Overnight?
I don’t recommend letting this chicken marinate for more than 5 hours. If the chicken sits in the acidic marinade for too long, it’ll toughen up and become chewy when grilled.
Tips for the Best Greek Lemon Chicken
- Just be sure to preheat your grill so you get a nice sear on the chicken breast. Plus, it will help keep the chicken from drying out.
- Another thing to prevent dry chicken is always use a instant read thermometer to check the internal temperature of the chicken breasts. If you get much past 165 degrees F, you end up with dry chicken.
- If possible, flip the bag of marinating chicken over halfway through to redistribute the marinade.
- Pound the thicker parts of the chicken breasts with a mallet to ensure the meat cooks evenly on the grill.
- Let the grilled Greek lemon chicken rest for 5 minutes before serving it. This gives the juices time to redistribute throughout the meat.
More Grilled Chicken Recipes You’ll Love:
- Grilled Chicken and Avocado Street Tacos
- Grilled Moroccan Chicken
- Sticky Honey Orange Grilled Chicken
- Grilled Chicken with Honey Mustard Glaze
- Hoisin Glazed Grilled Chicken
16 Quick & Easy 30 Minute Recipes! (plus weekly recipe updates)
Grilled Greek Lemon Chicken
ThisGrilled Greek Lemon Chickenis bursting with fresh lemon flavor and is so easy to make! Chicken breasts are soaked in a bright, garlicky herb marinade and grilled to perfection. A recipe the whole family will love!
Servings: 4
Prep15 minutes minutes
Cook10 minutes minutes
Marinating2 hours hours
Ready in: 2 hours hours 25 minutes minutes
Ingredients
- 4 (6 oz) boneless skinless chicken breast halves*
- 1/3 cup olive oil , plus more for brushing grill
- 1 Tbsp lemon zest
- 1/3 cup fresh lemon juice
- 4 cloves garlic , minced (1 1/2 Tbsp)
- 2 tsp dried oregano
- 1/2 tsp dried basil
- 1/2 tsp dried thyme
- 1/2 tsp dried rosemary , crushed
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper
- Chopped fresh parsley , for serving
Instructions
Using the flat side of a meat mallet, pound thicker parts of chicken to even thickness.
In a small mixing bowl, whisk together olive oil, lemon zest, lemon juice, garlic, oregano, basil, thyme, rosemary and season with salt and pepper (about 1 tsp salt 1/2 tsp pepper).
Place chicken in a gallon size resealable bag, pour in olive oil mixture. Seal bag while pressing air out. Rub marinade over chicken. Transfer to refrigerator and allow to marinate 2 - 5 hours (rotate bag and move chicken around halfway through if possible).
Preheat grill over medium-high heat (to about 425 - 450 degrees F).
Brush grill grates lightly with olive oil. Place chicken on grill, close lid, and grill about 4 minutes per side, or until chicken registers 160 - 165 degrees F in center of chicken on an instant read thermometer.
Let chicken rest 5 minutes, garnish with fresh parsley then serve immediately.
Notes
- *You can also use boneless skinless thighs here as well, just add additional grilling time.
- Recipe source: Cooking Classy
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: Greek
Keyword: greek chicken, lemon chicken
Author: Jaclyn
