This greek yogurt marinated chicken breast makes a delicious summer dinner made right on the grill or bring it inside and sauté it right on your stovetop. Serve this chicken with one of our absolute favorite side dishes, Spicy Pasta Salad. Or try out Grilled Artichokes or Mexican Street Corn. For dessert make Triple Berry Crisp the BEST tasting recipe!!
Greek Yogurt Chicken
Grilling season has finally arrived and have I got a recipe for you! Are you looking for an easy, but still FULL of flavor grilled chicken recipe? Then you must try this chicken. It is simple enough to make for a fast dinner, but delicious enough to make for a gathering for your next barbecue.
Of course, this chicken recipe does not need to be made outside on the grill, you can also cook it in a skillet right in your kitchen (check out the details below).
This is made with an easy marinade for chicken that comes together in the blender or even the food processor. This simple yogurt marinade only requires a few ingredients. It is essential that you use fresh herbs, garlic, lemon, and ginger, the flavor of the marinade depends on it.
For a chicken recipe to make on the stove, try this chicken fricassee.
Greek Yogurt Chicken Marinade
Let’s talk about the flavors in this cilantro lemon yogurt marinade. OMGoodness, wow! Believe me when I say that this marinade is bursting at the seams with flavor. Fresh lemon juice, cilantro, garlic, mint, and ginger all come together to create this unique flavor profile. The chicken just soaks all of these in ingredients and the yogurt tenderizes everything.
Just marinade for a few hours and these tasty chicken breasts will be ready to cook. Or you can marinade it the night before and make it the next day. This chicken cooks in less than 15 minutes, talk about a quick meal. Dinner will be ready in no time.
Here is a great sauce recipe that is also made with greek yogurt, creamy horseradish sauce.
What does Marinating Chicken in Yogurt do?
Why marinate chicken in yogurt? Who would have thought that pairing meat with yogurt was a good idea? Well it is, trust me. Yogurt does miraculous things when it hangs out with chicken (or any other meat)! I love marinating chicken in yogurt because it actually helps tenderize the meat and keep it moist during cooking. giving it an amazing texture.
What Kind of Yogurt Should I Use?
I definitely recommend using a plain, non-sweetened yogurt. You don’t want any vanilla or strawberry flavor in your chicken. I used Greek yogurt for this recipe, but you could also use just a plain yogurt. Greek yogurt is lower in moisture so it has to be added back into the marinade. We do that by adding in water and lemon juice. The yogurt I use is Fage (no this is not sponsored). I have tried a lot of Greek yogurts and this is by far my favorite brand.
What to Serve With Yogurt Marinated Chicken
This yogurt cilantro lemon chicken is one of the best grilled chicken recipes and tastes great with so many different side dishes. Top of your favorite garden salad, pasta, or rice with some chicken slices. Add it into a wrap or this Spicy Pasta Salad. Serve this grilled chicken with vegetables, Salt and Vinegar Smashed Potatoes or our favorite Roasted Asparagus with Parmesan. You could even make chicken sandwiches or chicken burgers.
Grilled Chicken Marinated in Yogurt Ingredients
You will want to use all fresh herbs in this marinade. More details about ingredient amounts are listed below in the recipe card.
- Chicken: I love making this recipe with chicken breasts. You could also use chicken thighs, but cooking time is going to be different.
- Lemon: Fresh lemon juice is needed for this marinade, not the juice in the bottle.
- Salt: I used sea salt.
- Pepper: Freshly ground pepper.
- Yogurt: Greek yogurt or just plain yogurt will work.
- Cilantro: Fresh cilantro is best.
- Mint: Fresh mint needed in this marinade.
- Ginger: Fresh ginger root.
- Garlic: Fresh garlic cloves.
- Olive Oil: Extra virgin olive oil for oiling grill.
How to Make Marinated Chicken
- Begin chicken prep. Place one chicken breast in a zip lock bag, pressing out all the air and sealing. Pound chicken to a one inch thickness using a mallet or rolling pin. Repeat with other breasts. Put chicken breasts in a medium-sized bowl or gallon sized zip bag, add in lemon juice and salt. Cover or zip closed. Let sit in the fridge for 15 minutes.
- Make the marinade. In a blender or food processor, combine yogurt, mint, cilantro, ginger, garlic, with 1/2 cup water. Blend until smooth.
- Marinate chicken. Pour the marinade into the bowl or zip lock bag of raw chicken. Cover or zip closed. Put in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours, up to 24 hours.
How to Cook Marinated Chicken
Here is how to cook chicken on the grill. The recipe card below with give more detailed instructions.
- Start grill. Preheat a gas grill to 400° or a charcoal grill to medium-high.
- Oil grill. Add olive oil to a paper towel (or grill brush) and rub on grill rack to coat.
- Grill chicken. Remove chicken from marinade. Grill, covered for 6-8 minutes. Then flip over and cook for an additional 6-8 minutes, until chicken is no longer pink. The cooking time may be a little longer or shorter based on the thickness of the chicken. If you want to keep the marinade to serve with the chicken, pour it into a small saucepan and heat to a boil. Boil for at least a minute. Serve with chicken.
- Chicken nap. Pull the chicken off the heat and let it rest on a plate for 5 minutes before cutting into it.
How to Cook Chicken in a Skillet
If the weather is bad outside, you can also make this chicken indoors instead of grilling it. Here is how to cook chicken on the stove. If done correctly this boneless, skinless chicken breast will come out juicy and tasty.
- Get it hot. Preheat a large skillet (I like to use an iron skillet) or grill pan to medium-high heat. Spray pan with a thin layer of cooking spray or olive oil. Let it heat up.
- Cook chicken. Add in the chicken, cooking for 5-6 minutes on each side until the internal temperature is at least 165°F. The cooking time may be a little longer or shorter based on the thickness of the chicken.
- Chicken nap. Pull the chicken off the heat and let it rest on a plate for 5 minutes before cutting into it.
Greek Yogurt Chicken Sauce
If you really want to add a punch of flavor to the barbecued chicken you can use the marinade as a sauce. The sauce is VERY powerful and in my opinion, you only need to add a dab on the chicken. But my daughter (ha ha, yes the condiment queen strikes again), slathers her chicken in the sauce. It’s really up to you how much you would like to add!
All you need to do is pour the marinade into a small saucepan (after pulling the chicken out and putting it on the grill). Bring the marinade up to a boil over medium-high heat. Boil for at least a minute to kill any bacteria. If you cook it for longer, you will begin to cook out the water and the sauce will become very thick.
Tips for Marinating Chicken
- Don’t marinade more than 24 hours. I do not recommend marinating this chicken for more than 24 hours, the enzymes will start to break down the chicken and it can start to get mushy.
- Clean and oil grill. It is best to grill on barbecue grates that have been cleaned and well oiled to ensure the chicken does not stick.
- Refrigerate chicken. Make sure to place marinating chicken in the refrigerator.
- Fresh herbs. Use fresh cilantro, mint, ginger, and garlic and not dried herbs.
- Plain yogurt. Make sure that you are using plain greek yogurt or regular yogurt, you don’t want any flavors or sweeteners.
Yogurt Marinated Chicken Breast Variations
- Switch up the flavor. For a different flavor switch out the lemon for lime juice.
- Different chicken parts. Use chicken thighs (or other chicken parts) instead of chicken breasts.
- Make it spicy. For a bit of spice, add in a jalapeño (or your favorite pepper) into the blender while making the marinade. You could also add dried cayenne or chipotle.
- Use marinade with different meat. You can use other meats with this marinade like beef or pork, cooking time will be different.
Frequently Asked Questions
- Do you rinse off yogurt marinade? We have been barbecuing marinated chicken for many years and have never wiped or rinsed off marinade from chicken before grilling.
- Can I use chicken thighs? Yes, you can make this recipe with chicken thighs, but cooking time is going to be a bit different.
- Can chicken be marinated in Greek yogurt? Yes, it definitely can. Since Greek yogurt is a bit drier than regular yogurt, a little moisture needs to be added back in. We do this will a little water and lemon juice.
- How long can chicken marinate in yogurt? Chicken needs to marinate at least 2 hours but no more than 24 hours in yogurt.
Storage Instructions
- How to Refrigerate Chicken: Let the chicken cool and put in a glass container or BPA-free airtight plastic container or zipper bag. It should last about 3- 4 days in the fridge.
- How to Freeze Chicken: Let the chicken cool off completely before putting into an airtight glass, BPA-free freezer-safe bag or freezer-safe plastic container. Make sure to label the with the recipe name and date. The chicken should last about 3 months in the freezer.
- How to Thaw Frozen Chicken: Thaw the frozen chicken in the refrigerator overnight, this is a very slow method and can take more than 24 hours to thaw the chicken. You could also submerge the container or bag of frozen chicken in cold water for a few hours, but the water needs to be changed every 30 minutes to keep it cold.
- How to Reheat Cold Chicken: Reheat cold chicken in the oven preheated to 325°F for 15-20 minutes until the internal temperature is 165°F. Or add enough broth or water to cover bottom of a skillet on the stove and bring to a simmer. Add in the chicken and cook until heated through.
Try these favorite barbecue recipes!
- Spicy Grilled Shrimp
- Elotes Mexicanos (Street Corn)
- Grilled Artichokes w/ the Most Amazing Aioli
- Caprese Salad Skewers
- Grilled Polish Sausage
- Grilled Cilantro Lime Chicken Thighs
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Greek Yogurt Marinated Chicken
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 pounds boneless skinless chicken breast
- 3 tablespoons lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup water
- 1/4 cup greek yogurt
- 1 cup fresh cilantro, packed tight
- 1/3 cup fresh mint, packed tight
- 1 inch piece of ginger root
- 5 garlic cloves
Instructions
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Place the chicken breasts in a zip lock bag, pressing out all the air and sealing. Pound chicken to a one inch thickness using a mallet or rolling pin. Add in lemon juice and salt to the chicken if your bag is still intact, otherwise move to a new bag or a medium bowl. Cover or zip closed. Let sit in the fridge for 15 minutes.
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In a blender or food processor, combine yogurt, mint, cilantro, ginger, garlic, with 1/2 cup water. Mix until smooth. Add in a little more water if the blender isn'f full enough.
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Pour the marinade into the bag or bowl of raw chicken. Cover or zip closed. Put in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours, up to 24 hours.
How to Grill Chicken
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Preheat a gas grill to 400° or a charcoal grill to medium-high.
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Add olive oil to a paper towel (or grill brush) and rub on grill rack to coat.
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Remove chicken from marinade. Grill, covered for 6-8 minutes. Then flip over and cook for an additional 6-8 minutes, until chicken is no longer pink. The cooking time may be a little longer or shorter based on the thickness of the chicken. If you want to keep the marinade to serve with the chicken, pour it into a small saucepan and heat to a boil. Boil for at least a minute. Serve with chicken.
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Pull the chicken off the heat and let it rest on a plate for 5 minutes before cutting into it.
How to Sauté Chicken
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Preheat a large skillet (I like to use an iron skillet) or grill pan to medium-high heat. Spray pan with a thin layer of cooking spray or olive oil. Let it heat up.
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Add in the marinated chicken, cooking for 5-7 minutes on each side until the internal temperature is at least 165°F. The cooking time may be a little longer or shorter based on the thickness of the chicken.
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Pull the chicken off the heat and let it rest on a plate for 5 minutes before cutting into it.
Recipe Notes
- Make chicken spicy by adding a jalapeño to the marinade.
- Use lime juice instead of lemon juice.
- Grilled chicken will last 3-4 days in the refrigerator in an airtight container.
* Please note that all nutrition information are just estimates. Values will vary among brands, so we encourage you to calculate these on your own for most accurate results.
Nutrition Information
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