Description
Ready to take your chicken dinner to a whole new level of delicious? The secret to tender, succulent, flavor packed chicken is in this yogurt chicken marinade. Made with whole milk yogurt, citrus, and extra virgin olive oil, with loads of Mediterranean flavors from garlic, spices, and fresh herbs.
Ingredients
Scale
For Marinade
- 1 ½ cup Stonyfield Organic Whole Milk Yogurt
- Juice of 2 lemons
- Zest of 1 lemon
- ¼ cup Extra virgin olive oil (I used Private Reserve Greek olive oil)
- 10 to 12 garlic cloves, minced
- 2 tsp Dry Oregano
- 2 tsp Dry mint
- 1 tsp Cumin
- 1 tsp Coriander
- 1 tsp Paprika
- ½ tsp Nutmeg
- Kosher salt and black pepper
- Large handful fresh parsley, chopped
For Chicken
- 1 1/2 lb boneless chicken breast cutlets (see notes)
Instructions
- Prepare the yogurt marinade. Place yogurt, lemon juice, lemon zest and extra virgin olive oil in a mixing bowl or large measuring cup like this one. Add garlic, dried oregano and mint, cumin, coriander, paprika, and nutmeg. Season with kosher salt and black pepper to taste (a large pinch to your liking). Finally, add in fresh chopped parsley.
- Give everything a good whisk or mix until the marinade is well combined.
- Marinate the chicken. Place chicken pieces in large (gallon size) zip-top bag. Pour the marinade on top. Zip the bag shut. Massage the bag so that the chicken is well-coated with the marinade. Place the bag on a baking sheet so that the chicken sits flat in a single layer in the bag. Refrigerate for 2 hours or overnight (if you don’t have the time, even 30 minutes will make a difference.)
- When ready, remove chicken from the bag, and before you cook it, give it just a bit of a shake to remove excess marinade. You have several options for cooking. In this recipe, I pan-seared the chicken (but you can grill or bake as well.)
- Pan-cooked chicken cutlets: Heat 2 to 3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil in a non-stick skillet over medium-high until shimmering but not smoking. Add chicken tenders to the pan (make sure to shake off any excess marinade before adding chicken to the pan.) Cook on one side undisturbed for 5 minutes until browned. Using a pair of tongs, turn chicken over and cook on other side for another 5 minutes or until chicken is done.
- For grilled chicken breast cutlets: Heat an outdoor grill to medium-high and be sure to oil the grates very well. Grill chicken for 5 minutes on one side, then turn over and cook another 3 to 5 minutes or until chicken is fully done (internal temperature should register 165 degrees F.)
- For baked chicken breast cutlets: Heat oven to 400 degrees F. Brush a baking dish with some extra virgin olive oil (make sure there is enough oil so the chicken does not stick.) Arrange chicken in one single layer (do not crowd.) Cover the baking dish tightly with foil and bake for 10 minutes covered, then uncover and bake another 8 to 10 minutes or so. Watch carefully. This can take less or more time depending on the thickness of your chicken breast cutlets. Remove from heat. Let chicken breasts rest (cover with foil or another pan) for 5 minutes or so.
Notes
- Watch the video just above this recipe to see how I make my yogurt marinated chicken
- Cook's Tip #1: This marinade will work for 1 1/2 to 2 lb chicken pieces of your choice, I used chicken breast here, but bone-in chicken will work as well. Cooking instructions above are meant for chicken breast cutlets, however.
- Cook’s Tip #2: if you have the time, do allow chicken to marinate in the fridge for a few hours or overnight. The lactic acid and calcium in the yogurt will gently break down protein in the meat to help tenderize it, while the minced garlic, spices and fresh herbs work to infuse the chicken with so much flavor.
- Prepare-Ahead Instructions: You can make the actual yogurt marinade 2 nights in advance. Keep the marinade refrigerated, preferably, in a tight-lid glass container until ready to use. You can use it to marinade chicken for a few hours or overnight.
- Nutrition information is based on yogurt marinate only. It will change depending on what cut of chicken you add. If you add 1 1/2 lb boneless, skinless chicken, it will be 257 calories per serving (6 servings)
- Visit our Online Shop for our olive oils and all natural and organic spice collections.
- Prep Time: 10 mins
- Cook Time: 10 mins
- Category: Entree
- Method: Mixed
- Cuisine: Mediterranean