This Oven Baked Greek Chicken Thighs Recipe is a super fast and easy weeknight dinner idea. A quick and flavorful marinade with Greek yogurt, lemon, garlic and herbs helps make this chicken super tender and full of flavor!
If you are looking for a quick dinner recipe, boneless, skinless chicken thighs are going to help you out. They cook so quickly, and have so much more flavor than chicken breasts! Plus they don’t dry out as easily. These Greek Chicken thighs have so much flavor packed into them, you wouldn’t believe that they only have to marinate for 15 minutes!
How to cook chicken thighs in the oven
One reason I love using boneless, skinless chicken thighs is that they cook so quickly in the oven. Depending on the size, they are usually done in 20-25 minutes. I like to use a baking sheet lined with foil for easy clean up. Roast them at 425 degrees F so they can get a little bit browned and crispy. They should have an internal temperature of 165 degrees Fahrenheit when done.
The Best Greek Chicken Marinade
I love using yogurt to marinate meat – here with lemon, garlic and herbs it takes on bright greek flavors. Using yogurt helps to make the meat tender – the lactic acid and calcium in the yogurt helps break down the proteins and collagen. It also helps with browning and carmelization.
What to serve with Greek chicken thighs
Try my Turmeric Rice as a side dish for this Greek chicken, or my easy Homemade Pita Bread! and a simple salad. I also like to serve it with a Cous Cous Salad – I’ll be sharing the recipe for that later this week!
If you like this recipe, you will also love my Easy Chicken Shawarma!
Oven Baked Greek Chicken Thighs
Ingredients
- 1.5 pounds boneless skinless chicken thighs
For The Marinade:
- ½ cup plain Greek yogurt full fat preferred
- ¼ cup olive oil
- zest of one lemon
- ⅓ cup lemon juice
- 4-5 cloves garlic pressed or minced
- 2 tablespoons dried italian seasoning I used my homemade blend, make sure yours has no added salt
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Instructions
- Whisk together ingredients for marinade. Toss chicken in marinade to fully coat. Allow to sit for at least 15 minutes, or keep in the refrigerator for longer, up to overnight.
- When ready to cook, preheat oven to 425°F.
- Line a baking sheet with foil for easy cleanup. Arrange chicken on baking sheet in a single layer.
- Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until cooked through.
Allison says
literally the best recipe ever!! everyone one in my family loved it. My daughter said I should add into my rotation of meals 🙂 I used sour cream instead of yogurt because that’s what I had and it came out perfect. So easy to make, so flavorful, restaurant quality!!!
Meghan says
So happy to hear that!
Leslie says
Thank you for this recipe, it was absolutely delicious! I used the extra marinade on sliced potatoes that I roasted, they were amazing with the chicken.
Meghan says
So happy you loved it!
Connie says
Absolutely delicious! One of the best recipes I have made.
Meghan says
So happy to hear that!
Sue says
We haven’t even eaten yet but I can tell this is going to be amazing. The marinade was so good I made extra for dipping sauce.
Meghan says
So happy to hear that!
Marilyn Courtney says
Best baked chicken I’ve ever had.
Delicious!
Meghan says
So glad you loved them!
Katie says
Super tender and delicious! Thumbs up from all our family members!
Marcia says
Haven’t cooked it yet. The chicken is still marinating. My question is what do I do with leftover marinade? Raw chicken has been soaking in it, so it obviously needs to be cooked or something!! Do I pour it in the pan with the chicken and cook it then or dump it or what? Looks good, and I’d hate to waste it. Thanks
Meghan says
Hi Marcia, I just discard it but some people cook it with the chicken.
Tina Mallory says
Cook it with the chicken and use it to serve over rice or noodles.
Jeannine says
I was excited to try this recipe given all the great reviews, but we were disappointed. I followed the recipe nearly exactly, except I substituted 2 tsp basil , 2 tsp oregano, and 1 tsp thyme for the 2 Tbsp Italian herbs. I marinated the chicken in the fridge for 5 hours (the author indicated overnight was an option). My husband and I found it incredibly over-marinated — way too much garlic (and we love garlic). I’ll use the leftovers to make chicken salad using a combo of mayo and yogurt with the hopes that the mayo/yogurt will temper the garlic. I plan on trying the recipe again, but using less garlic, a bit less herbs, and way less time in the marinade.
Andrew says
Has anyone tried this with pork tenderloin for souvlaki?
April says
Making this again! It’s so delicious and and we talk about the turmeric rice that I added with it last time! Absolutely amazing. After baking and removing chicken last time, I had extra sauce (marinade) that I could have eaten with a straw, I was thinking of making extra extra marinade warming in a sauce pan and adding gnocchi, thoughts?
Meghan says
I’m so glad you love it! Let us know if you try it with the gnocchi!
Nic says
Tasty 15 minute marinade… yeah, right. OMG!!! It was fantastic and so SO easy!! Going out to get more chicken thighs so I can make them today. Thank you for this ☺️
Ashley says
My brother-in-law made this recipe for dinner and it blew everyone away. So flavorful and so tender!
Meghan says
I’m so happy to hear that!
Cc says
This recipe lives up to its name!!!! Its seriously mouth watering 😋 i subbed the greek yogurt for sour cream because thats all i had on hand.
Meghan says
So happy you loved it!
Pamela says
Could you.use thw marinated to.cook the chicken in for.like a sauce
Meghan says
Hi, you can but I think the consistency of the sauce gets weird after cooking.
Cc says
Yes i did this too
Kathryn Richmond says
My husband and I LOVE this recipe! I tried not to over do it since I’m doing keto. But my husband had seconds. I also wrapped this, zip locked some and placed in our freezer. The only thing I wasn’t sure of is the serving portion. I wasn’t sure if 1 serving was 1 thigh or 2. So I had 1 for my first meal and another one with my meal the next day. Lol! Clear up portion for me please, because this is a keeper!!! Thanks so much!
Meghan says
I’m so glad you loved it! The serving size is just 1/4 of the recipe. So it depends on how big your chicken thighs are. If you used 4 chicken thighs it would be 1 thigh, if you used 6 chicken thighs, it would be 1 and a half thighs. Generally I find that there are 4-5 thighs per pound. The other way to figure it out is to weigh all the cooked thighs after cooking (because they will weigh less than when raw), and then divide by 4. So if you have a total of 12 ounces of cooked chicken, one serving would be 3 ounces.
Kiki says
Really tasty and so easy to make. I also made the turmeric rice to go along with the chicken and it was fantastic. I added some sliced almonds to the rice for some texture. Saving this as a go to recipe!
Meghan says
So happy to hear that!
MelG says
This was soooo good. I did cut the salt in half because of my diet restrictions and it was still super tasty. Thank you for sharing this recipe. I will definitely make it again.
Susan M says
We absolutely loved this recipe! I got the chicken in the marinade when my husband decided he wanted pizza instead (football night), so the thighs marinated overnight. They were soooo good! He doesn’t normally comment a lot on meals, but he really enjoyed this. The thighs were SO juicy, tender, and flavorful. I baked them for 25 min, then put them under the broiler for a couple more to give them a little more color. Will definitely be making these again, and again!
Sacha says
Loved this! Definitely a keeper 🙂
Grace says
This chicken is STELLAR! It was righteous the next day as well! I followed the recipe as written and I positively love it! Thank you so very much for sharing this!
Jenn Davies says
I made this tonight for my family for the first time. I was looking for something unique. It was. It was delicious, unique, juicy and I will absolutely make it again!!!
Thank you!
Meghan says
I’m happy to hear that!
Lisa says
Could I put the chicken and marinade all in a casserole dish and cook it all together?
Meghan says
Hi, I think that would be fine but the texture of the chicken might be different.
Carol says
This is a really easy and great-tasting recipe! I used non-fat greek yogurt, but after reading some of the other reviews, I decided to broil my chicken thighs. Broiled them on high for 6 minutes on each side. Turned out great!
Meghan says
So glad you love it!
Lynda says
This was so amazing!!! I used chicken tenders instead of thighs. I also sprinkled feta all over the last 10 minutes. I surged with roasted baby potatoes. I had leftovers so I used it to make a salad with cucumbers, roasted corn, avocado, shredded carrots and a light Greek dressing. The boys loved it!!!
Meghan says
That sounds wonderful, I’m so glad to hear it was a hit!
Olivia says
So flavorful! We used chicken breasts instead of thighs because that’s what we had on hand. I was surprised at how strong the flavor was! One of my new favorite marinades.
Meghan says
I’m so happy to hear that!
Geneen Benoit says
On repeat in our house. Love this!
Meghan says
I’m so glad you love it!
Amber says
This was easy and delicious. My husband and I enjoyed it very much.
Jan says
Recipe calls for full fat yogurt & that should be followed. One review said 0% yogurt works as well- not for me. My chicken thighs were swimming in water.
Joyce says
I agree about the 0% Greek Yogurt – it didn’t caramelize to a nice brown like the pictures. It’s still good and flavorful but next time I’ll use regular Greek Yogurt and see if I can get that nice browning.
Leah says
This was so good. I made six thighs and I could have easy eaten them all. Had some left over and had them on a salad the next day. I didn’t have a lemon so no zest can’t wait to try it with the zest. Thank you for such and easy quick dinner recipe.
Ashley says
I made this following the recipe, except I used non fat Greek yogurt and it was so good. This is a great recipe and ill definitely be making it again. Thank you!
Meghan says
So glad you liked it!
Rianna Dominguez says
Hello:-) What would be the correct temperature and time for bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs?
Meghan says
Hi, you can use the same temperature, they will just take longer.
Odette says
Made this last night. Much to my shock, I was you of Greek yogurt, damn the bad luck. So that is when I had to improvise. I used 1/4 cup mayo and some heavy cream to make it the consistency of yogurt. Instead of 2 tablespoons of Italian seasoning, It split half and half with oregano. Turned out amazing. Now the calorie and fat content would be higher than this noted recipe, but this was absolutely Devine. Goes to show, a little creativity SOMETIME pays off. Thanks for the recipe, will definitely be making again.
Meghan says
So glad it turned out great!
Annette says
Can I use Mayo in place of Greek yogurt?
Meghan says
Hi Annette – that will give you a different flavor and texture. Mayo can be a great marinade, but it is made of different ingredients (eggs and oil instead of milk) so I don’t know how the taste and texture would compare.
Sarah says
We’ll definitely be making this again! I think we’re big eaters in my household, so we’ll just be making it with more chicken next time—especially with how delicious it was. Mine looked a lot more creamy and yogurty than these pictures, but we actually really loved that consistency.
I was going to serve it with zucchini and couscous, but asparagus was on sale so we did that instead. It was a beautiful and delicious plate! A new favorite thigh recipe!
Meghan says
I’m so glad you loved it!
Cathy says
Was pleasantly supprised how very flavourful this was! Will make again. Service with a brown rice, broccoli and cheese side and was a nice medley of flavour!
Meghan says
So glad you loved it!
Kathy Stephens says
So delicious! I had only three chicken thighs so used the remaining as a salad dressing and ate with steamed broccoli.
Meghan says
Sounds delicious!
Mel says
Marinated for 4 hours and baked with a little extra marinade on top of each thigh, which formed a nice flavorful crust! But the bake temp in the recipe is way too high, as it exceeds the smoke point of EVOO, which is in the marinade! I baked at 375 for 30 mins on a sheet pan with about 2 mins under a low broil to finish and they turned out nice and juicy.
Meghan says
Glad you liked it Mel! I’ve never had a problem with cooking at the temp listed.
TERRY W NUSS says
We marinated for 2 hours and then put the thighs in the Emeril 360 Air Fryer for 30 minutes @ 400. Amazing…
Meghan says
So glad to hear you loved it!
s says
Every single day I ask my family what we should have for dinner, and they always shrug their shoulders. I made this recipe (almost exactly) and they loved it. Requested it to be made more often. I marinaded the chicken for an hour or so which made it very tender. I will put this one in the dinner rotation. I served it with a kale salad and steamed brown rice, but once the thighs we done I mixed the drippings with the brown rice. I even baked some lemon slices with the chicken. Mmmmm. Thank you!
Meghan says
I’m so glad you love it!
Michelle Adams says
Hi, was going to make this, but I am out of lemons. I do have lime on hand though. Do you think that will work? Should I change the seasonings? Thanks for your input.
Meghan says
Hi – I haven’t tried it with lime but it would probably be fine. Lime will give it a little bit of a different flavor but will still give it some acidity.
Samantha says
Made this tonight with Greek salad, rice & pita and the chicken was amazing! So glad I came across this recipe will definitely be making it again 🙂 thank you!!
Meghan says
SO happy you loved it!
Jana S says
Delicious marinade. I used boneless skinless breasts and non-fat Greek yogurt because it’s what we had on hand. They marinated for about 4 hours and were full of flavor. I will definitely be using this again.
Meghan says
I’m so happy to hear that Jana!
Katie says
I’ve made another greek inspired marinated chickens, but this one was amazing. I think it maybe the yogurt that helped the chicken get more lemon flavor than some of the other marinades I’ve tried. I will be trying this with greek seasoning as well, but I did make this in my air fryer using the roast function and it cooked perfectly. I made cauliflower turmeric rice to go with this and it paired well with the chicken. I’ll be making this again for sure!!
Meghan says
Wonderful! I’m so glad you loved it!
Tiffany Skye says
I am very excited to try this recipe next week!! I want to make Zucchini with it…do you think I could bake the zucchini with the chicken? Or should I do it separately?
I was thinking of coating them in some of the seasoning and putting them in the bottom of the pan, and the chicken on top.
Thank you!♡
Meghan says
Hi Tiffany – I would roast the zucchini on a separate sheet. If I were going to do this, I would toss the zucchini in olive oil, salt and pepper and whatever other seasonings you want. Then spread it our on a baking sheet so they aren’t over crowded and bake on the other rack in the oven at the same time as the chicken. If you bake it with the chicken, I’m afraid the zucchini will steam and get watery and mushy, and release too much water into the pan which would make the chicken less appetizing.
Tiffany Skye says
Thank you for the advice! I’m definitely gonna do it separately. I’ve got my chicken marinating now, it already smells Delicious!♡
Debbie says
I made this last night. It was so easy and quick to make. And the best part is, it was delicious. Next time, I will put it under the broiler at the end to brown it. It’s a keeper. Thanks for sharing.
Meghan says
So happy to hear that Debbie!
Tracy S Wise says
Delicious!!!
Easy to double this recipe too.
Meghan says
So glad you loved it!
Lisa says
Really great recipe – one I’ll definitely continue to make! I added grape tomatoes and feta cheese cubes during the last 10 minutes of baking.
Meghan says
So happy to hear that! Love those additions!
Jodi says
Absolutely delicious! It is now a regular and especially for guests. Everyone has asked for the recipe. Super quick and so full of fantastic flavors.
Meghan says
Yay! I am so happy to hear that Jodi!
Marian says
Do you have a recipe for Greek style green beans, that you can share?
Meghan says
Hi Marian – no I don’t, but that sounds great, I will add that to my list!
Tera says
What herb was used for garnish in the photo? Parsley?
Meghan says
Hi Tera – Yes, it is flat leaf Italian parsley.
Ashley Gooseberry says
So I’m trying tonight… I’m using chicken breast instead, also ima make it a one pot dish with rice…. hopefully it works out….
Meghan says
Sounds great! Let me know how it turns out!
Vanessa says
Thanks for sharing! How far ahead of time can I make it?
Meghan says
Hi Vanessa – I wouldn’t leave it in the marinade longer than 24 hours. The yogurt and lemon could start to change the texture of the chicken.
Suzanne says
This looks so good! Could I grill it instead?
Meghan says
Hi Suzanne – Yes, I think that would taste great!
Jariyatou says
I hope I’m not blaspheming when I ask if the air fryer can be used.
Meghan says
Hi there – I haven’t tried it in the air fryer but I think that would be fine.
Jennifer says
I make this for my family all the time! It’s so good! I use low fat Greek yogurt and it tastes amazing. Also, always use fresh lemon juice, not that pre packaged store bought stuff. Great for meal prepping, or just having a delicious meal with your family. Everyone here loves it, I would never even search for a better Greek chicken recipe tbh? This one is perfect
Meghan says
Hi Jennifer – thank you so much for your comment! I am so happy to hear that you love the recipe!
Ang says
Using Greek seasoning makes more sense, than using Italian seasoning. Cavenders is a good one. They also have one with no salt added. It’s a nice recipe…yum!
Meghan says
Absolutely, Greek seasoning would be great here.
Ann says
I was looking for aomething a little different and this was a huge hit! I didn’t have Greek yogurt, but regular worked pretty well– next time I’ll plan ahead! Made the turmeric rice AND pitas–my family was impressed! I also put red onion and zucchini on the pan for veg, and we sprinkled feta and sun dried tomatoes on as a garnish. Wow!
Meghan says
Yum, that sounds amazing! Thank you so much for your comment, I am so glad you and your family loved the recipes!
Corie says
If using thin chicken breasts how long would you cook for, I didnt have thighs?
Meghan says
Hi Corie, I haven’t tested this so I can’t be sure. I would start checking at 15 minutes.
nicole says
Excellent recipe. We made it as is, and the chicken was tender and flavorful. We will keeping this in the rotation!
Meghan says
So happy to hear that Nicole!
Jennifer says
Hi! Do you know if I would have to change the recipe if I used bone-in with skin chicken thighs? It looks amazing!
Meghan says
Hi Jennifer – You will need to cook them longer; I would say more like 35-45 minutes. It will depend on the size, the best bet is to use an instant read thermometer to make sure they are done.
Jayne says
Made this tonight with bone-in, skin on thighs and it took 50 minutes to cook. It was worth the wait. I am not a fan of lemon and used only about 1/4 cup of lemon juice from a bottle, and we used Greek seasoning. Added feta at the end. Very tender and tasty.
Meghan says
So glad you loved it Jayne!
Will says
Sweet!
I’ll give it a try. I prefer skin on, bone-in!
Monique says
This was so good. I didn’t change a thing.
Meghan says
So glad you loved it!
traci says
can i substitute ras el hanout for the italian seasoning mix? i know it will give it a different flavor profile, but your method seems really simple, which i love. TIA!
Meghan says
Hi Traci – I haven’t tried it but I think it would be fine! Let me know how it turns out!
Lisa Prosko says
SOOO good! and EASY!
THANK YOU!
Meghan says
Yay! So glad you loved them Lisa.
Margarita ApoNte says
Awesome my family loved it!!!!
Meghan says
Yay! SO glad to hear that Margarita!
Barrie thompson says
My oven has been acting up so I sauteed these. So yummy! Hubby gave THREE thumbs up.
Meghan says
Oh yay! So glad to heat that Barrie!
Patty says
I am trying it tonight for the first time….it looks good
Meghan says
Yay, I hope you love it Patty!
STEPHANIE says
I may or may not have had three or four (okay five) spoonsful of the marinade before I tossed in the chicken. It’s
delicious! I’ll be using that for other marinades and if I add more yogurt it will be thick enough to use as a dip. Yum! Chicken was great – I probably added a bit more lemon juice, as I was eyeballing it, but it had a wonderful citrusy balance. I also broiled it for a few minutes at the end to get more crispy brown spots.
Meghan says
Hi Stephanie – Yay, I’m so happy you loved it!
Jackie robeets says
How long can the chicken remain in the marinade?
Meghan says
Hi Jackie – I think up to 24 hours would be fine!
Andy Charkiss says
Delicious! I love these chicken thighs!
MICHELE says
I would love to know your special recipe for the Italian seasoning you use! This is definitely on the menu for this week!
Meghan says
Hi Michele – ahh, I meant to put the Italian Seasoning Recipe on the blog before I posted this, but I didn’t have a chance yet. I’ll try to get it up next week! I hope you love the chicken!
Gwen says
This recipe was brilliant! Perfect for weekday cooking – quick, easy, and most of all, delicious! Bonus: I already had all of the ingredients in my kitchen, so no need for a special trip to the grocery store. The whole family enjoyed it. We’ll add it to our regular rotation! Thank you!!
Meghan says
Hi Gwen – Yay, I am so happy you and your family loved it!