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If you’re looking for a simple, flavor-packed weeknight dinner, this Greek Baked Chicken Breast is it. Marinated in a lemon-herb dressing and baked until juicy and tender, it’s topped with crumbled feta cheese, Kalamata olives, and sweet cherry tomatoes. You get all the best Mediterranean flavors in one dish. It’s low-carb dish and on the table in about 30 minutes.
These Greek baked chicken breasts are topped with melted crumbles feta, red onion, sliced Kalamata olives, and juicy grape tomatoes that add just the right touch of acidity. It’s a Mediterranean chicken breast dish that’s as simple to make and packed with flavor.
Prep everything the night before, let the chicken soak in the Greek chicken marinade, and it’s ready to pop in the oven when you are. It will be on the table in just 25 to 30 minutes. This dish also works well for those who like to meal prep.
Also try my Greek Chicken Bowl, which is another easy Mediterranean chicken favorite you’ll love.
I love this Baked Chicken Breast with Feta Cheese
I make this dish for my kids all the time and they love it with plain spaghetti. This dish uses an authentic Greek chicken marinade made with lemon, oregano, garlic, and olive oil. It’s a dish that can be made in advance.
The chicken will come out tender and juicy. The longer you marinate, the more that lemon herb chicken flavor comes through. You’ll never have a dry chicken breast again.
Ingredients for Greek Baked Chicken Breast
- Chicken breast: Boneless and skinless. For best results, use evenly sized breasts so they cook at the same rate. Thin-sliced breasts also work and cut the cook time down to around 20 minutes.
- Lemon: You need both the juice and zest. The zest is what gives the marinade its bold, bright flavor so don’t skip it.
- Olive oil:The base of the marinade. Extra virgin olive oil works best here for authentic Mediterranean flavor.
- Kalamata olives: These have a richer flavor than regular black olives and make a big difference in the final dish.
- Feta cheese: Use block feta and crumble it yourself for the best texture and flavor. Pre-crumbled works in a pinch.
- Fresh herbs: Parsley, basil, or oregano all work. Fresh is preferred but dried herbs can be substituted using 1 tsp for every 1 tbsp fresh.
Recipe Overview
How to Make Greek Baked Chicken Breast (Step by Step)
Preheat the oven to 350F.
Make the Marinade: In a small bowl whisk the oil, lemon juice, zest, seasonings, and basil or herbs of choice.
Season the chicken: Season the chicken with salt and pepper on both sides and place in a medium oven-safe dish.
Marinade the chicken: Pour over the prepared Greek-style dressing. If time allows, you can marinate the chicken for 1 hour, or overnight, keeping it in the oven dish. (Just before roasting, allow it to sit for 30 minutes over the counter to get to room temp!)
Baked the chicken breasts: Bake for 25-35 minutes. Depending on the thickness of the chicken breast.
Resting time: Once the chicken is done (an internal thermometer inserted into each reads 165F), remove it from the oven. Allow it to sit for 5 minutes, then chop it into large chunks and place it back into the dish.
Assemble and serve: Top with tomatoes, olives, onions, and feta. Serve immediately.
Common Questions
Yes. If you do not want to use chicken breasts, you can use boneless and skinless chicken thighs instead. The nutritional value will vary.
Bake at 375°F for 25 to 30 minutes, or until an internal thermometer reads 165°F. Everything else in the recipe stays the same.
Uncovered. Covering it traps steam and prevents the chicken from browning properly. If there’s excess liquid toward the end, switch to broil for 4–5 minutes to dry it up.
Yes! Once the chicken hits 165°F, broil for 4 to 5 minutes. It adds color and helps reduce any excess liquid in the pan. Keep a close eye on it.
What to Serve With Greek Chicken
- For a low-carb option, try a Plain Greek salad, roasted zucchini, or sauteed green beans.
- If you’re not watching carbs, try it Lebanese rice, garlic roasted potatoes, warm pita bread, or garlic naan all work great.
Storage Recommendations
- Refrigerator: Store leftovers in an airtight container up to 4 days.
- Freezer: Freeze the chicken (without the toppings) up to 3 months.
- Reheating: Cover with foil and bake at 325°F for 15 minutes or microwave in 60-second intervals until heated through.
More Chicken Recipes
- Air fryer chicken breast
- Honey Garlic Chicken Breast
- Baked Teriyaki Chicken Breast
- Honey Garlic Chicken Meal Prep
- Fajita Stuffed Chicken Breast
- Baked BBQ Chicken Breast
- Balsamic Chicken Breast
Thanks for stopping by and trying one of my recipes. If you enjoyed it, please leave a rating and share your thoughts in the comments. It really helps, and I love hearing from you
Greek Baked Chicken Breast with Feta
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 1 medium lemon, juiced
- zest of 1 medium lemon
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 2 tablespoons minced fresh basil, parsley, or oregano
- 2 Pounds chicken breast, boneless and skinless
- kosher salt and pepper, to taste
- 1 cup chopped grape or cherry tomatoes
- 1/2 cup sliced Kalamata olives
- 1/2 cup crumbled Feta cheese
- 1 small red onion, chopped
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350F and Prepare the veggies.
- In a small bowl whisk the 1/4 cup olive oil, 1 medium lemon juice, zest of 1 medium lemon, seasonings (1 teaspoon dried oregano and 1 teaspoon garlic powder, and 2 tablespoons minced fresh basil or herbs of choice.
- Season the 2 Pounds chicken breast with kosher salt and pepper on both sides and place in a medium oven-safe dish.
- Pour over the prepared greek-style dressing over the chicken. If time allows, you can marinate the chicken for 1 hour, or overnight, keeping it in the oven dish. (Just before baking, allow it to sit for 30 minutes over the counter to get to room temp!)
- Bake for 25-35 minutes
- Once the chicken is done (an internal thermometer inserted into each reads 165F), remove it from the oven. Allow it to sit for 5 minutes, then chop into large chunks and place back into the dish.
- Top with 1 cup chopped grape or cherry tomatoes, 1/2 cup sliced Kalamata olives, 1 small red onion, and 1/2 cup crumbled Feta cheese.
- Serve immediately.
Notes
- Marinate the chicken overnight for the best flavor.
- Allow refrigerated chicken to sit at room temperature for 30 minutes before baking.
- Bake uncovered for best results.
- Broil for 4 to 5 minutes at the end if you want more color or to reduce excess liquid.
- Use thin-sliced chicken breasts to reduce cook time to around 20 minutes.
- Swap chicken breasts for boneless skinless thighs. You would need to bake at 375°F for 25 to 30 minutes.
- Skip the feta to reduce calories and fat.
- Dried herbs work in place of fresh. You can use 1 tsp dried for every 1 tbsp fresh.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Very flavorful! It took about 30 minutes for what I considered fairly thin breasts, but I did start checking around 15 minutes just to avoid overcooking. The only thing I wasn’t crazy about was the basil – though very tasty, it just didn’t seem like Greek chicken to me and I would use more oregano instead of that next time. My Greek husband and MIL voted for more garlic and more oregano – and no more basil in anything Greek I make
Yummy. I used Greek seasoning without salt (Amazon) Kalamata olives in brine and olive oil (TJ’s) and added marinated artichoke hearts (TJ’s). Served with cucumber salad.
Delicious! I used only 1 Tbls of olive oil and approx 1/4 chicken broth (instead of oil) to make it healthier and less fat. I also used 2 cloves of pressed garlic on top. A weird phenomenon happened that has never happened to me before (& I’ve been cooking for decades!) Due to the citrus of the lemon, the garlic turned blue! I searched it and it is safe to eat. So if you don’t want blue garlic bits on top of your chicken, omit the fresh garlic or use garlic powder instead. I also used very thin breasts, and the meal was done in 15 minutes at 350. I will definitely make this again. SOOOO EASY!!!
This marinade is delicious! I made two changes to the recipe – (1) I used a whole container of tomatoes, not just one cup (we love tomatoes and one cup was just not enough for four people), and (2) I baked the veggies with the chicken. Served it over rice. Will be using leftover chicken to make chicken bowls.
Excellent recipe – thank you!
Nice recipe but 15-17 minutes is NOT correct. Chicken was 100% raw and I had to put back in for an additional 20 minutes.
I had the same result. I am hoping it’s a typo. We are 25 minutes in and the chicken is still not cooked through.
It depends on the thickness of the chicken breast and your oven. I updated the time but it is best to check with a thermometer until the chicken is cooked to 165 degrees.
Love it
I never made traditional Greek oregano chicken before so I consulted my Greek friend whose mother made this all the time and the one thing her mother did which made all the difference in making this dish was to brine the chicken first, which is what I did. She also eschewed the idea of using breasts. She used a whole chicken or parts like the thigh and drumstick due to its richer flavor and higher moisture content which makes it a much better choice than breasts. I’m not fond of breasts myself. The fat difference is negligible and the fat from thighs is part of a healthy diet. So I switched the breasts out to bone-in-skin on chicken thighs, which you cannot go wrong with. Needless to say, I did not chop them into chunks and served whole. I also increased the amount from a serving of 4 to 8 servings. I also used fresh lemon slices and fresh garlic. I baked them for 30 minutes, then topped with tomatoes, olives, onions, and baked for an additional 15-20 minutes. Plated, then added the feta to each serving. My Greek friend said it was keeper and tasted like her mother’s although her mother was much more minimalist and didn’t include tomatoes, olives and onions in it. Thanks for sharing. It’s going into my file folder as a repeat dinner. Mmmmm…..good!
The 2 tbs of fresh herbs that are listed. Should they be whole or chopped? Thanks
You figured it out! haha. Sounds good
I totally agree with you. I cooked some breast and some thighs. Everyone loved the Thighs the best. It did take much longer to cook than the recipe called for. about 45 minutues would be right. My family loved it! I served with a greek salad, and greek potatoes and tzatziki sauce. I didn’t put the tomatoes and olives on it because I have picky eaters.
Although it was very good, the cooking instructions for 15-17 minutes are wrong. It was more like 45 minutes.
Next time I will sautee the onions first or cook them with the chicken.
Took the chicken out early and added the last ingredients (also added chopped garlic) to cook with the chicken for the last 10 minutes (cooked the whole breast so took about 40 minutes).
Really liked the lemon juice in the marinade
Nice. Glad you loved it
Didn’t cook the chicken well even when I used convection 350F. I think this is better cooked at 400. Stops so much water from accumulating as well. I had the dish marinating on the counter for half an hour before I put it in the oven, so it started at room temp.
What do you recommend using as a side dish?
roasted potatoes, mash potatoes, or cauliflower rice? I have a ton of side dish recipes you can check out.
RENA,
this was super easy, healthy and delicious!! Family loves it!!
Hi there! Thanks so much friend.
I’m about to try this delicious looking recipe but I have a question: the tomatoes onions olives are just chopped, nothing else is done to them before I place them on the hot chicken? So all raw and cold?
Yes.
The herbs give such an amazing flavor to this dish. Just fab.
Thank you so much!