Greek Roasted Chicken Breasts
When in doubt, olive oil, garlic, oregano, and lemon will never steer you wrong.
Serving Size: 4
Oregano, lemon, garlic, glugs of olive oil…these are just a few of the ingredients that make Greek food so appealing. They match up really well with all sorts of other hero ingredients, from potatoes to chicken to seafood.
Boneless chicken breasts with the skin left on have a few really good things going for them. One, the skin keeps the chicken moist as it cooks. Two, the skin crisps up in the hot oven, and I know of few chicken-liking people who don’t covet the crispy skin. Three, the absence of the bone allows the chicken to cook more quickly than bone-in chicken.
Boneless skin-on chicken breasts are not so easy to find pre-packaged in the supermarket, but you can ask the butcher to cut the bones out for you. You can of course do it yourself with a steady hand and a very sharp knife, but feel no shame if this isn’t within your comfort zone. And if you want to use bone-in chicken breasts, just add another 15 to 20 minutes of cooking time.
The chicken gets bathed in a Greek marinade and then roasted all by itself in the oven, while you putter around making a salad, and trying to get someone else to set the table. I served them up one night with some simply cooked millet and a very lightly dressed arugula salad.
If you’re feeling theme-y, you’ll be very happy to pair this with a Greek salad, like this one or this one or this one. Maybe keep to the motif with some simple cooked orzo, and you are good to go.
And double or triple the recipe as you like – just make sure the chicken breasts aren’t touching, and then you can put a while bunch on a rimmed baking sheet. If you have a lot of chicken, you will probably want to add 5 to 10 extra minutes of cooking time. Also, make sure you aren’t cooking anything else, like maybe roasting vegetables, on a rack above the chicken – this might interfere with that fabulous crisping of the skin.
You could serve these with some wedges of lemon in case people want one last hit of fresh, tart citrus.
Greek Roasted Chicken Breasts
Greek Roasted Chicken Breasts
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 1 teaspoon minced garlic
- 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
- 2 teaspoons red wine vinegar
- 2 teaspoons dried oregano
- 2 teaspoons kosher or coarse salt
- 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 4 boneless skin-on chicken breasts (6 to 8 ounces each)
- lemon wedges to serve
1. In a large bowl, container or sturdy zipper top bag, combine the olive oil, garlic, lemon juice, vinegar, oregano, salt and pepper. Stir to combine thoroughly, add the chicken, turn to coat well, the cover or seal and refrigerate for 12 to 24 hours (or even up to 2 days!).
2. Preheat the oven to 450°F. Line a rimmed baking sheet with aluminum foil and spray with nonstick cooking spray. Remove the chicken from the marinade and place on the baking sheet skin side up. Roast for about 25 minutes until cooked though. Serve hot, warm or cold.
