Yogurt Herb Marinated Grilled Chicken

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.

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.

Making the Marinade for Yogurt Herb Marinated Grilled Chicken

One of things I love about the use of this recipe is the use of yogurt. 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.

This grilled chicken is truly delicious as the yogurt marinade sticks to the chicken and the aromatics really shine and come through to flavor otherwise bland chicken. I should add that I use this marinade on white meat chicken; I find this is the most difficult to deliver flavor and moisture. This marinade ticks all the boxes.

However, this is also a perfect marinade for all types of chicken: skin on, bone in chicken and the fat from the skin adds depth of flavor that is superb. For ease and meal prep, I choose chicken tenders. These are very convenient and chicken tenders are versatile for meal prep salads and bowls. This is where this recipe also fits the bill and the tenders are still excellent after grilling!

So what’s in the marinade? It’s simply full fat 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

The marinating times will vary depending on the cut. These are 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.

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

Ana | Claudia’s Table

This Yogurt Herb Marinated Grilled Chicken is truly a magical marinade that turns plain chicken into a succulent, tender masterpiece

5 from 2 votes

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 10 mins

Cook Time 20 mins

Marinating time 3 hrs

Course Barbeque, Dinner, Lunch, meal prep

Cuisine Mediterranean

Servings 4

Calories 239 kcal

Equipment

• grill (outdoor or indoor)
• zip type plastic bag
• small bowl
• skewers (optional)

Ingredients

  

1x2x3x

• 1.5 lbs chicken tenders
• 1/2 cup Greek yogurt 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

Suggested marinating times:

• 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

Calorie count is based on using chicken tenders. 

Nutrition

Serving: 6ozCalories: 239kcal

Keyword greek yogurt marinade, grilled chicken recipe, healthy marinade, Mediterranean Diet

All content and photographs ©Claudia’s Table and claudiastable.com

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