Greek Chicken

This Greek chicken recipe is an easy Mediterranean-style dinner with big flavor! Bake the chicken with tomatoes, lemon, and feta.

Here’s a recipe that’s a total winner every night of the week: Greek chicken! We’re suckers for impressive-looking one pan meals, and this Mediterranean-style meal has charisma in spades. Bake the chicken with tomatoes, olives, garlic, lemon, and feta cheese, and it comes out with beautiful bold flavors. It’s easy to put together and works for quick weeknight dinners or for parties, making it one of those healthy dinners that’s got everything to offer.

Ingredients for Greek chicken

This Greek chicken recipe is inspired by the Mediterranean flavors of Greece, using lemon, garlic, oregano, and olives to make a satisfying dish. (If you’re looking for something authentically Greek, try this Chicken Souvlaki.) It’s a baked chicken recipe where you place the chicken on top of tomatoes and olives and bake until juicy and tender. In fact, it’s inspired by our Baked Fish recipe that uses the same concept!

This method for baked chicken results in juicy, seasoned meat and the tomatoes, lemons and olives provide a tangy, garlicky counterpoint that you can eat alongside it. We could eat this every day of the week! Here’s what you’ll need:

• Protein: Boneless skinless chicken cutlets or breasts
• Spices: Oregano, salt, and pepper
• Pantry: Castelvetrano or Kalamata olives, olive oil
• Dairy: Feta cheese
• Fresh ingredients: Cherry tomatoes, lemon, garlic, parsley (for garnish)
• Equipment: Baking dish

Castelvetrano olives vs Kalamata

Castelvetrano olives are a green olive variety grown in Sicily with a signature rich, buttery flavor and crisp texture. They have a mild and fruity flavor, making them suitable for people who shy away from very strong and briny varieties. Unlike other olives, they’re not cured: they’re washed in lye and water for a few weeks until the bitter flavor is removed.

This is our favorite type of olive and it works perfectly in this Greek chicken recipe! You can also use Kalamata olives, but they’re much stronger and saltier. We prefer the buttery, rich flavor of Castelvetrano olives if you can find them.

How to butterfly chicken

Like many of our chicken recipes, this Greek chicken recipe uses butterflied chicken breasts. Chicken breasts are often very thick, making them tricky to cook evenly. Slicing the chicken breast in half horizontally makes thinner pieces that cook more evenly, are easier to eat, and are better seasoned. You can buy a chicken breast already butterflied (marked as butterflied or “cutlets”). Or, you can butterfly chicken breasts at home by doing the following:

• Place your hand over the top of the chicken breast.
• Use a sharp knife to carefully slice the breast horizontally, leaving the edge intact so it can open up like a book (or butterfly!).
• Unfold the chicken breast like a book, then for cutlets, cut along the fold to separate the two halves (each half is a cutlet). To make evenly thick chicken, you can cover the chicken with plastic wrap and lightly pound the chicken with a mallet or heavy pan to make it even (we did not do that for this recipe).

Buy organic chicken if possible

For this Greek chicken recipe, try to buy organic chicken if possible. Organic is the highest quality meat that was raised sustainably. It is also free of chemicals and additives so it’s the healthiest option for eating: and, it tastes better! Per the USDA, organic chicken must be raised in living conditions that accommodate their natural behavior, be fed 100% organic feed and forage, and not be given antibiotics or hormones.

Side dishes for Greek chicken

This Greek chicken recipe is the perfect weeknight dinner idea or impressive recipe for parties. Add just a few simple side dishes to make it into a hearty meal, like rice, orzo or a simple salad. Here are a few side dish ideas for Greek chicken:

More chicken recipes

Love chicken dinners? Here are a few tasty chicken recipes you’ll love:

This Greek chicken recipe is…

Gluten-free. For dairy-free, omit the feta and add a few pinches more salt.

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