Marinading your chicken in Greek yogurt will rock your world. The lemon, garlic, and dried herbs work with the yogurt to give you juicy, golden brown, and flavourful grilled chicken every freakin' time🌟
Have you ever tried a Greek yogurt marinade and ended up with watery, pale chicken?
Because it can happen to the best of us (raising my hand over here too🙋♀️)
But I finally cracked the code on using Greek yogurt for chicken.
And it's actually one of the best ways to make chicken juicy AND tender — but you gotta do it the right way (see tips below).
This is the simple marinade I use on repeat for meal prep.
It’s thick enough to actually coat the chicken (so the flavour sticks), easy to throw together, and gives you juicy chicken that works for everything from quick dinners to chopped salads that won’t go soggy by Wednesday.
This was inspired by Skillet-Seared Chicken Breasts with Lemony Greek Yogurt Sauce (more chicken and yogurt recipes!) and goes well with Roasted Broccoli and Potatoes (one pan)
🙋♀️How to make Greek yogurt marinaded chicken
Slice the chicken breasts in half lengthwise ("butterfly") so they’re thinner.
Sprinkle chicken breasts all over with Kosher salt.
Mix up Greek yogurt, minced garlic, Kosher salt, and dried oregano in a small bowl.
Grate in some of the rind from the lemon and then cut the lemon in half and squeeze in all the juice. Stir again.
Place chicken breasts in large Ziplock bag. Pour marinade over. Seal the bag.
Turn a few times to coat the chicken. Place in the fridge to marinate for 6 hours or overnight.
🛠️Common Mistakes when marinading chicken with yogurt (and how to fix)
1. The chicken turns out watery instead of golden
This usually happens when there’s too much marinade left on the chicken when you go to cook it.
The fix? Lightly shake off excess marinade before cooking so it can brown properly.
2. The yogurt looks curdled or separated
This can happen with very high heat or low-fat yogurt.
The fix? Use plain Greek yogurt (not thin, regular yogurt) and avoid cooking on extremely high heat.
3. The flavour is bland / very meh.
Yogurt needs enough salt and seasoning to pack a punch of yum.
Fix it: Don’t skip the salt — and add garlic, lemon, or other spices for extra flavour.
4. The chicken is mushy
Yep, you can marinate too long.
The fix: Stick to about 30 minutes to 8 hours for the best texture.
5. The marinade slides right off
Regular yogurt is too thin.
Fix it: Use thick Greek yogurt so it actually coats the chicken.
🥡Make it a Meal Prep
After cooking the chicken, put it in meal prep containers with perfectly cooked basmati rice and lightly steamed green beans. Or make an super easy quinoa salad and use that with the chicken in containers for an easy lunch prep.
Marinading Time Tip
I said it before but I'm saying it again: marinate the chicken for 4-8 hours OR up to 24 hours maximum. Because yogurt and lemon juice are such great tenderizers, the enzymes in the yogurt and lemon juice start to break down the meat. I've found if I marinade past the 24 hour mark, it changes the texture of the chicken breast, leaning towards mushy and no one wants mushy chicken breast. Marinating about 8-12 hours seems to be the sweet spot.
~April
📖 Recipe
Greek Yogurt Chicken Marinade
Ingredients
- 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts 8oz each, about 1.5 lbs total
- 1 cup Greek yogurt 2%
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- ¼ teaspoon Kosher salt
- 2 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 lemon for juice plus some rind
Instructions
- Slice the chicken breasts in half lengthwise ("butterfly") so they’re thinner.
- Sprinkle each chicken breast with some Kosher salt.
- Mix up the Greek yogurt, minced garlic, salt and oregano in a small bowl.
- Grate in some of the rind from the lemon and then cut the lemon in half and squeeze in all the juice. Stir again.
- Place chicken breasts in large ziplock bag and pour marinade over. Seal the bag and turn to coat.
- Marinade for 6 hours or overnight in the fridge.
- When ready to cook the chicken, take the chicken out of the bag. Discard the leftover marinade.
- BBQ or grill the chicken breasts on medium heat for approximately 10 minutes per side, turning once until the internal temperature is 165 degrees F on an instant read thermometer. Serve warm.
Notes
- 4-6 hours minimum
- 8-12 hours seems perfect
- 24 hours maximum (overnight)
- BBQ'd chicken is good for up to 3 days in the fridge. Discard any unused marinade.
- You can make this marinade up to 1 day ahead if needed. Store it in a jar with a tight fitting lid in the fridge.
- Serve with my bangin' corn and black bean salsa and chips or these one pan roasted potatoes and broccoli.
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