Balsamic, lemon, and garlic, oh my! This Mediterranean chicken marinade keeps your chicken breast succulently juicy while infusing more flavor than you can imagine. Toss all your ingredients in a baggie, light the grill, and your Mediterranean chicken dinner will be ready in no time!
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Ingredients + Swaps
This Mediterranean chicken marinade calls for balsamic vinegar, lemon juice, olive oil, and spices. Here’s what to know before tossing everything together:
- Liquids: a simple combination of balsamic vinegar, lemon juice, and olive oil helps to tenderize the meat as well as add loads of flavor.
- The herbs: Oregano, red pepper flakes, onion powder, and garlic are the perfect combination for this Mediterranean marinade for chicken.
- The chicken: This Mediterranean marinade recipe calls for chicken breast. I prefer to use thinner chicken breasts, so the marinade can infuse more flavor. Plus, thinner chicken is easier to cook to temp.
Ingredient Swaps
This simple chicken marinade can be modified based on the ingredients you have on hand, including:
- Thighs vs. breast: You can use this Mediterranean chicken marinade on either! Although we typically use chicken breast when marinating, chicken thighs don’t need as much tenderizing.
- Fresh vs. dried herbs: We’ll use a combination below. That said, if you’re in a pinch, you can use garlic powder instead of fresh garlic. Or, if you happen to have fresh oregano, feel free to sub that in as well.
How Long Should You Marinate Chicken?
How long you marinate chicken depends on how much time you have, how much flavor you want, and the ingredients in the marinade. This chicken Mediterranean will soak up some flavor in as little as 15 minutes, but if you have the time, I strongly suggest allowing it to marinate for a few hours in the fridge.
Since our Meditteranean marinade has lemon juice, it’s best to remove the chicken after 2-3 hours, otherwise the lemon will start to break down the chicken and make it rubbery/tough.
How To Cook Marinated Chicken
This marinated chicken can be cooking on the grill, in the oven, or over the stove–you decide. Psst–Our fave cooking method?? On the grill.
My strongest recommendation is to use a meat thermometer. Chicken breast gets tough when overcooked, so check the internal temp at the thickest part early and often. Chicken breast ranges in thickness, so it’s easier and significantly more accurate to base cooking times on the internal temp (goal is above 165 F) than to follow exact cook times.
- To bake: Preheat oven to 450 F. Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment and place chicken on top. Bake for 15-18 minutes.
- To grill: Preheat grill to medium high heat, clean and grease the grates. Grill on each side for 6-8 minutes.
- To pan sear: Add a bit of oil to your pan and heat to medium. Place the chicken breast in the oil once shimmering. Sear until golden on one side, about 5-8 minutes. Flip and reduce heat to medium low. Place a lid on top and continue to cook until cooked through.
Pro Tip: Freeze Raw Chicken in Marinade.
Yes, you can absolutely freeze this Mediterranean chicken marinade. I like to make the marinade in bulk and freeze the chicken in the marinade, so it can marinate as it defrosts.
What Goes With Mediterranean Chicken?
Serve this Mediterranean chicken marinade with your favorite Mediterranean sides. Mine include…
- Greens, such as tabbouleh, cauliflower tabbouleh, or a Greek chicken salad. Or take it in an Italian direction with kale caesar or pizza salad.
- Dips like labneh, hummus, cauliflower hummus, or baba ganoush.
- Light salads or veggies, think arugula salad, kale salad, or even my cauliflower salad.
- Grains, such as rice, couscous, or bulgur.
More Mediterranean Recipes
- Mediterranean Meatballs
- Oven Baked Chicken Kabobs
- Za’atar Chicken
- Mediterranean Sea Bass
- Chicken Kofta
Mediterranean Chicken Marinade
Print Recipe Pin RecipeIngredients
- 2 Tablespoons Lemon Juice
- 1 Tablespoon Balsamic Vinegar
- 3 Tablespoons Olive Oil
- 4 Garlic Cloves minced
- 1 Teaspoon Oregano dried
- 1/2 Teaspoon Red Pepper Flakes
- 1/2 Teaspoon Onion Powder
- 1/2 Teaspoon Kosher Salt
- 1/2 Teaspoon Pepper
- 2 Pounds Chicken Breast boneless + skinless
Instructions
- Add all ingredients to a large resealable bag, seal, and toss to combine. Place bag in the fridge for 2-3 hours.
- Heat grill to medium-high heat. Clean and grease grates.
- Add chicken and cook on each side for 5-7 minutes, or until it flips easily without sticking to the grates — you'll know the chicken is done once the internal temp has reached 165 F. Place cooked chicken on a plate and loosely tent for 10 minutes before slicing. Enjoy!
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Lindsey’s Tips
- Marinade length. The longer this marinates, the more flavorful your chicken will be!
- Cooking Method. Cook this chicken in the oven or on the stove instead of grilling. Follow the marinade instructions above, and cook accordingly.
- Resting Chicken: Don’t skip this step! Cutting into your chicken right after pulling it off the grill will release the juices and make it dry.
- Nutritional information is based on 1/2 lb of marinated chicken:
Great recipe! will definitely keep this, Thank you so much!
Hello Jane!I’m so glad you enjoyed!?
Loved this marinade. I used red wine vinegar since I didn’t have balsamic and I skipped the red pepper flakes. I used two large chicken breast cut into four and let them sit overnight and cooked on my George Foreman grill. They came out great!
Sounds really great, Sandy! I hope you enjoyed this as much as I do! 😄
Great marinade! It has become one of my go-to’s for chicken and pork. Both meats stay juicy, they are tender, and the flavor is outstanding. Seriously, if you’re on the fence, just try it. 👍👍
Hi Sy! Fantastic!! I love to hear that this dish turned out well for you and appreciate you making it😁
I am obsessed with this chicken!! I have never written a review for a food recipe before but this chicken is just sooo good that I had to let it be known. My fiancé and I have eaten this chicken at least 5 times already as a protein to our salad. It’s the most perfect, juicy chicken breast. And it also keeps really well in the fridge if there’s leftovers. Seriously can’t get enough of this chicken.
Hi Cecilia! Amazing!! I appreciate you giving this recipe a try and sharing your review, so glad to hear it was a winner! 🤩
Wow, this marinade is amazing! I used it on chicken breasts and grilled them for dinner. The flavors were so bright and delicious. Definitely making this again!
Hi Emily, I’m so glad to hear that this recipe turned out well for you, thanks for making it and your feedback!😁
So delicious, tender and juicy! This will be my go to marinade this summer!
Yay Angie! SO happy it’s a keeper for you!