Greek Chicken Thighs Recipe

Love bold Mediterranean flavor? Well, you’re going to obsess over my ultra-flavorful Greek Chicken Thighs recipe! We take the JUCIEST cut of chicken, the thighs, and soak them in a super-flavorful mix of yogurt, garlic, lemon, oregano and more. Mmmm!

But don’t worry, I won’t have you in the kitchen all day. Get this. Your new favorite chicken recipe is less than 10 ingredients and cooks in less than 30 minutes.

Grilled Greek chicken thighs on a plate with lemon and parsley, highlighting their golden, charred texture.

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These chicken thighs are great for all seasons. Throw them on the grill in the summer and serve with your favorite salad. And when it’s starts to get cold, roast them in the oven with potatoes. Pan frying with a bit of olive oil is also a year-round option.

But one cannot survive on meat alone, serve these Greek chicken thighs with roasted sweet potatoes or roasted yellow potatoes and broccoli for a complete meal.

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Grilled Greek chicken thighs with char marks on a plate with lemon and parsley. Text overlay: Greek Chicken Thighs.

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Why You’ll Love This Recipe…
Ingredients
How to Make Greek Chicken Thighs
Top Tips
Storage
FAQs
Greek Chicken Thighs Recipe

Why You’ll Love This Recipe…

Our Greek Chicken Thighs are absolutely bursting with Mediterranean flavor. You have tang from the yogurt and lemon, and deep garlicky flavor, and herbs. It’s definitely a meal you’ll keep on your menu.
During a busy week of work, kids, and, uh, life…the last thing you want to do is play a guessing game. So that’s why I make meals like this, because it’s basically foolproof. You don’t have to be a trained chef to pull this one off.
It’s really…really hard to mess up chicken thighs. They are the star of so many dishes because they stay juicy whether you grill, roast, bake, or even air fry them.
These thighs are a meal prep superstar. Here’s how you do it. Double or triple the batch, freeze in dinner sized portions, thaw overnight, and reheat.

Ingredients

Chicken Thighs – we chose boneless chicken thighs because they are juicy and flavorful.
Greek Yogurt – tenderizes the chicken while adding a tangy flavor.
Lemon – the acid in lemon tenderizes the chicken and adds a bright citrusy flavor to the dish.
Garlic – adds a bold, slightly spicy kick to the dish.
Olive Oil – olive helps keep the chicken juicy and helps the marinade cling to the chicken.
Oregano – this is the secret to that classic Mediterranean flavor. It’s got that slightly minty, woody flavor.
Paprika – adds a light smokiness and vibrant red hue to the dish.
Cumin – adds a warm, almost nutty flavor.
Salt – kosher salt is the way to go.
Pepper – use freshly cracked black pepper.

See the recipe card for quantities.

How to Make Greek Chicken Thighs

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Step-by-step collage of making Greek chicken thighs, from ingredients and marinating to grilling the finished dish.

Add the yogurt, lemon juice, minced garlic, olive oil, oregano, paprika, cumin, salt, and pepper to a large ziplock bag. Mix until thoroughly combined.

Plastic bag filled with yogurt, spices, and olive oil, showing the marinade ingredients for Greek chicken thighs.

Add the chicken to the marinade and put it in the fridge for at least 1 hour or no more than 8 hours.

Marinated Greek chicken thighs sealed in a plastic bag, evenly coated with a creamy, spiced yogurt mixture.

Preheat your grill pan to medium heat. Make sure to oil the grill pan well, so the chicken doesn’t stick.

Put the chicken on the grill and cook for about 7 minutes on one side. Flip it and cook for another 6-7 minutes, or until the inside temperature is 165 degrees.

Marinated Greek chicken thighs placed on a grill pan, ready to be cooked and charred to perfection.

Perfectly grilled Greek chicken thighs with dark char marks, sizzling on a black grill pan.

Serve on top of rice with your favorite toppings. Enjoy!

Top Tips

Don’t get me wrong, marinating for a few hours works, but for best results, try and marinate your chicken overnight. The flavor is worth planning in advance.

Whether baking, grilling, or cooking in a pan, don’t overcrowd. Doing so will cause the chicken to steam which will make it soft. Instead, we want it to be crispy on the outside.

Storage

If your going to eat the leftovers in a few days, you can store them in an airtight food storage container (we LOVE snapware) or zipper bag.

But if you are making a large batch for meal prep, do the following:

Allow them to cool completely.
Then, separate them into the amount you need for meals.
Label a freezer bag with the date and name of the recipe.
Store in the freezer for up to 3 months.

FAQs

Do I have to marinate the chicken overnight?

No, you don’t have to (although I highly recommend doing so) because my marinade is so flavorful that even a 30 minute soak will give you good flavor.

Can I use chicken breasts instead of thighs?

Even though I haven’t tested this recipe with chicken breasts, I’m sure you could use them instead of thighs. You will need to adjust the cooking time though or cook to temp using a food thermometer.