This Yogurt Herb Marinated Grilled Chicken is truly a magical marinade that turns plain chicken into a succulent, tender masterpiece. This marinade is perfect for both skinless, skin on, bone in, or boneless chicken. I love to grill this outdoors, but you can easily use an indoor grill and get the same result. It’s tangy and full of herb-y flavor with a touch of heat from the cayenne. It’s healthy, guilt free and guaranteed to be on your dinner rotation.
Table of contents
About the Recipe
This recipe is adapted by the Food & Wine Yogurt Marinated Grilled Chicken Recipe. I love this recipe! The flavor is spot on and it’s easy to make. And we are all about ease friends, all about it! The original recipe calls for Cilantro only, I’ve added quite a bit more herbs: Parsley, Dill and sometimes Mint. I’ve also added lemon peel, olive oil and paprika. I wanted a more defined lemon taste, which is where the peel comes in, and a little softening of the cayenne (for those who are sensitive to the heat) which is where sweet paprika comes in. Lately, we have been adopting more of a Mediterranean Diet style of eating, and this is a perfect, and delicious example of healthy eating.
Why is Greek Yogurt “the Best” marinade?
Yogurt in general, tenderizes in a slow and more even way. The result is really delectable chicken that is a truly fork tender and succulent. Aside from this, yogurt works short term as well as for long periods of time. So yogurt vs vinegar marinade? Which one wins? Yogurt marinades allow chicken to tenderize beautifully where as the more common method using citrus or vinegar base, can sometimes backfire and chicken becomes stringy and tough, especially white parts of the chicken. With yogurt, the heat starts to caramelize the dairy first, allowing for a different type of caramelization all together. The chicken marinade sticks to the chicken and the aromatics really shine and come through to flavor otherwise bland chicken. It also delivers a nice crust to the chicken.
In the end, chicken, like the tenders used in this recipe, turn out perfectly moist and with any leftovers, very easy to use for salads, wraps or sandwiches without tasting dry and flavorless.
Additonal Flavor profiles
Another benefit for marinating in yogurt is that you can create different flavor profiles easily. You can create a Greek Yogurt Chicken by adding Red wine vinegar and oregano. Conversely, you can create a Tandoori style with the change of spices. Or simply, add fresh herbs as I have done for a Mediterranean flair that may please more tastes in your household or gathering.
Who knew that Greek yogurt could tenderize chicken to this level? On top of the beautiful tenderizing effect, it’s healthy. Greek yogurt is chockfull with probiotics which are good for digestive health. Anytime you can sneak in an added benefit to the food you are eating is a win win in my book.
Making the Marinade for Yogurt Herb Marinated Grilled Chicken
So what’s in the marinade? It’s simply full fat, plain Greek yogurt, herbs, cumin, cayenne, sweet paprika, lemon juice, lemon peel, garlic, salt and pepper. Olive oil is optional in the marinade, sometimes I add at a tablespoon. Place all marinade ingredients in a bowl and combine fully. Next, use a zip type plastic bag and place the chicken inside the bag, and then carefully scoop all of the yogurt mixture on top of the chicken. Move the chicken around so that every piece is coated inside the bag. When all the pieces are coated, zip the bag and place the bag on a plate in the refrigerator and allow to marinate for the appropriate time.
Marinating times for different cuts of chicken
A question that comes up often is “How long can chicken marinate in yogurt for?” The marinating times will vary depending on the cut, but the table below gives you a real good parameter. Based on my own trial and error, these are my suggested marinating times:
- Tenders: 2-3 hours
- Breast, thin cutlets: 2-3 hours
- Breast, full size, skinless, boneless: 3 hours
- Thighs, skinless, boneless: 2-3 hours
- Thighs, skin on, bone in: 3 hours or overnight
- Legs/drumsticks with skin on: 3 hours or overnight
- Wings with skin on: 3 hours or overnight
- Breasts with skin on, bone in: 3 hours or overnight
- Whole, spatchcocked chicken: 3 hours or overnight (also note to double the marinade-if the chicken is extra large, you will need to triple the marinade.)
After the chicken has marinated fully, remove the chicken pieces from the bag and marinade. Discard any extra marinade that remains. Spray or brush the chicken with extra virgin olive oil or a neutral oil before adding the hot grill. Cook on medium-medium low (depending on how hot your grill gets) rotating often so it doesn’t burn. Chicken is cooked when internal temperature is 165° with an instant read thermometer.
Frequently asked questions
This is similar however, Greek Yogurt Chicken uses Red wine vinegar, a bit more garlic and oregano. I use a mixture of fresh herbs, but the recipe definitely has a Mediterranean flavor profile.
This marinade would be great on lamb. This marinade could also be used a very firm fish like Swordfish and shorten the time to 30 minutes to an hour.
Yes! For me cooking chicken tenders is easiest on skewers to I can keep them from falling through the grates. You can certainly make skewers with marinated chicken.
This a perfect for meal prep. Perfect for bowls, like my Mediterranean Grilled Chicken Bowls, wraps and salads. The chicken tenders or breast can be eaten cold. I would probably stick to boneless, skinless chicken for adding to your meal prep rotation.
No, regular plain yogurt works beautifully. If you do use Greek Yogurt though, use full fat, 5% and do no omit the lemon juice in my recipe as this will help in the tenderization process.
Yes, it bakes well. I would recommend using parchment paper for ease of cooking and turning the chicken midway through the baking process so you get that beautiful crusting on both sides. Suggested baking temperature is 375°F. Also, I suggest cutting the cooking time because the chicken will be tenderized and therefore cook faster. Cooking time will vary depending the type of chicken you are using.
Suggested Serving Ideas
The best sides for this Yogurt Herb Marinated Grilled Chicken are Shaved Fennel, Cucumber and Celery Salad, Butter Lettuce Green Salad, Lemon Thyme Couscous with Olives or Lemon Caper Potato Salad that you can find right here on the site! For another amazing grilled chicken recipe, try Grilled Lemon Oregano Chicken with Salmoriglio Sauce.
Enjoy my friends!
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Yogurt Herb Marinated Grilled Chicken
Equipment
- grill (outdoor or indoor)
- zip type plastic bag
- small bowl
- skewers (optional)
Ingredients
- 1.5 lbs chicken tenders
- 1/2 cup Greek yogurt, plain 5% full fat
- 1/2 cup fresh herbs Cilantro, Parsley, Dill, Mint (any combination)
- 1.5 tbsp lemon juice fresh squeezed
- 2 tbsp lemon peel chopped roughly
- 2 cloves garlic fresh, minced
- 1/2 tsp sweet paprika ground
- 1/2 tsp cayenne ground
- 1/2 tsp cumin ground
- 1 tbsp olive oil extra virgin (optional)
- salt kosher
- pepper ground
Instructions
- In a small bowl, combine Greek yogurt, fresh herbs, lemon juice, lemon peel, minced garlic, cayenne, paprika, cumin, olive oil (optional) salt and pepper. Combine well.
- In a zip type plastic bag, add the chicken pieces.
- Add all of the yogurt marinade to the chicken pieces inside the bag.
- Using tongs, move the chicken pieces around so they are all coated with the yogurt marinade mixture.
- Zip the bag and lay flat on a plate and place in refrigerator.
- Marinate from 2 hours to overnight depending on what chicken pieces you are using.
- See notes below for suggested marinating times.
- Once the chicken is fully marinated, remove chicken pieces from bag. Discard bag and remaining marinade.
- Spray or brush pieces with olive oil or neutral oil.
- Place chicken on a preheated grill. Rotate often so it doens't burn. Cook until done and instant read thermometer reads 165°.
Notes
- Tenders: 2-3 hours
- Breast, thin cutlets: 1-2 hours
- Breast, full size, skinless, boneless: 3 hours
- Thighs, skinless, boneless: 2-3 hours
- Thighs, skin on, bone in: 3 hours or overnight
- Legs/drumsticks with skin on: 3 hours or overnight
- Wings with skin on: 3 hours or overnight
- Breasts with skin on, bone in: 3 hours or overnight
- Whole, spatchcocked chicken: 3 hours or overnight
Nutrition
Nutritional information is calculated online and should be used as a guide.
All content and photographs ©Claudia’s Table and claudiastable.com
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