Greek Chicken with Lemon and Feta (Printable)

Tender chicken breasts marinated in lemon and herbs, finished with tangy feta cheese for a bright Mediterranean meal.

# What You'll Need:

→ Marinade

01 - 1 lemon, juiced and zested
02 - 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
03 - 3 garlic cloves, finely minced
04 - 1 teaspoon dried oregano
05 - 1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
06 - 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
07 - 1/4 teaspoon coarse black pepper

→ Chicken

08 - 1 pound thin-sliced chicken breast
09 - Pinch of sea salt

→ Topping and Garnish

10 - 1/4 cup crumbled feta cheese
11 - 1/4 cup fresh parsley, chopped
12 - Lemon wedges for serving

# How-To Steps:

01 - In a large mixing bowl, whisk together lemon zest, lemon juice, olive oil, minced garlic, dried oregano, smoked paprika, sea salt, and black pepper until well emulsified. Reserve 1/4 cup of the marinade in a separate container for serving.
02 - Add thin-sliced chicken breast to the bowl with the remaining marinade. Using tongs, coat the chicken thoroughly, ensuring all pieces are well covered. Cover the bowl and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
03 - Heat a nonstick skillet over medium-high heat and add a light drizzle of olive oil, allowing it to shimmer before adding the chicken.
04 - Place the marinated chicken in the hot skillet and cook for 4 to 5 minutes until golden brown on the first side without disturbing the pieces.
05 - Flip each chicken piece and continue cooking for 3 to 4 minutes until cooked through and juices run clear when pierced with a knife.
06 - Transfer the cooked chicken to a serving plate. Drizzle with the reserved marinade, then top with fresh chopped parsley and crumbled feta cheese. Serve immediately with lemon wedges.

# Top Tips:

01 -
  • It tastes like you spent an hour cooking but you were really just scrolling through your phone while it marinated.
  • The feta melts just enough on the warm chicken to create little pockets of creamy, salty heaven.
  • You can serve it with almost anything and it still feels like a complete meal.
02 -
  • Don't marinate longer than an hour or the lemon juice will start to cook the chicken and make it mealy.
  • Let the chicken sit at room temperature for 10 minutes before cooking so it sears instead of steams.
  • If your skillet isn't hot enough, the chicken will stick and tear when you try to flip it.
03 -
  • Pound the chicken breasts to an even thickness before marinating so they cook at the same rate and you don't end up with dry edges and raw middles.
  • Use a microplane to zest the lemon directly over the bowl so you catch all those fragrant oils that cling to the zest.
  • Don't crowd the skillet, cook in batches if you need to or the chicken will steam instead of sear.
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