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Yogurt marinated chicken is infused with warm flavor and turns out oh-so-tender and juicy, thanks to the tangy yogurt marinade. Finished with a luscious yogurt sauce, this is one of the easiest, most delicious yogurt chicken dishes ever, earning a five-star rating on the blog!
There are all kinds of ways to achieve flavorful, tender chicken, and I rotate through options like my lemon chicken and chicken shawarma. However, this yogurt marinated chicken is the one I come back to again and again.
For a short time in the life of this blog, this recipe somehow fell off visibility. I received a near-frantic email from one of my favorite cousins, wondering where is that recipe? Her family was clamoring for it, their favorite of the chicken she makes. I myself went into a panic wondering where it went, somewhere deep in techno-ville. We both breathed a sigh of relief when the lost goodness was found again!
Why so special, this chicken? Ohhhh the tenderness…ohhhhh the flavor…ohhhh the simple ingredients and EASE in the oven if it isn’t grilling season. The secret to the incredible taste and texture is all in the Greek yogurt marinade. Similar to my shish tawook recipe, the lactic acid in the yogurt tenderizes the chicken and helps keep it nice and juicy.
For outdoor cooking, this marinade is also a great option for grilled chicken. Cook it over medium-high heat on clean, well-oiled grill grates to take the flavor to a whole new level. Try it out, and breathe your own sigh of relief at having this recipe on your A-list.
Ingredients and Notes
Please be sure to scroll down to the recipe card for the complete ingredient list and instructions!
- Fresh Lemon Juice: Freshly squeezed, from about 2 lemons, this adds bright flavor and acidity to further tenderize the chicken. Other citrus juice, such as lime juice, is also delicious.
- Extra Virgin Olive Oil: Use any level of acidity or flavor. My favorite, of course, is Lebanese extra virgin olive oil
- Yogurt (any fat percentage): Regular plain yogurt or plain whole-milk yogurt is the best type of yogurt for the base of this yogurt-marinated chicken recipe. Plain Greek yogurt, labneh, or sour cream also work fine here, though they’re slightly thicker.
- Garlic: A few cloves of fresh garlic, grated or minced, infuse the marinade with the pungent, savory flavor that is a signature of Lebanese cuisine.
- Seasoning Blend: Kosher salt, sumac (a zesty red spice that tastes bright like citrus. Get great sumac in my shop!), cinnamon, and red pepper flakes.
- Plain Chicken: I prefer boneless, skinless chicken thighs, finding they have better flavor and stay juicier than breasts. However, you can use boneless, skinless chicken breast if you prefer a leaner yogurt-marinated chicken breast option. Just make sure to adjust the cooking time as needed.
- Red Onion, peeled and cut in wedges: Roasted with the chicken, this becomes sweet and caramelized, adding flavor and nutrients to the dish.
- Flat-Leaf Parsley: Sprinkled over the finished dish, this adds a bright peppery taste that balances some of the richness of the fats.
- Yogurt Sauce (for finishing): I combine yogurt, salt, and cayenne pepper for a tangy finishing sauce with a touch of heat.
How to Make Yogurt Marinated Chicken
Because this chicken is all about the marinade, it comes together in a few simple steps. While chicken kebabs are a fun way to make this same chicken, especially on the grill, that step can be skipped and the chicken baked without metal skewers or wooden skewers.
- Marinate the chicken. In the same large bowl you will marinate the chicken, whisk all of the marinade ingredients. Then, add the chicken thighs, tossing to combine and coat them completely. Cover the bowl with a lid or plastic wrap, and marinate the chicken pieces for one hour or up to one day in the refrigerator.
- Prep the oven. Get the oven very hot at 500°F, first positioning a rack in the upper third of the oven. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or aluminum foil.
- Add the onion. Just before baking, toss the red onion with the chicken in the marinade, then place chicken and onion in a single layer on the sheet pan, discarding the marinade because it has had raw chicken in it and is no longer safe to eat.
- Bake the chicken. Roast for 30 minutes, turning the chicken halfway through cooking, and bake until the chicken is nicely crisped around the edges and golden brown. You’ll know it’s fully cooked when it reaches an internal temperature of 165°F when measured with an instant-read thermometer. Broil for a few minutes to get the chicken caramelized, if needed.
- Prepare the yogurt sauce. Make an easy sauce by whisking yogurt, salt, and cayenne pepper in a small bowl to have at the ready when the chicken is done.
- Serve. Let the yogurt-marinated chicken thighs rest at room temperature for at least 5 minutes to allow the juices to redistribute. Then, slice the baked chicken thighs into 1/2-inch strips on a cutting board. Serve immediately with the sauce drizzled on top.
What to Serve with Yogurt Marinated Chicken
Rice bowls with Lebanese vermicelli rice or wild rice pilaf are a natural pairing for yogurt-marinated chicken. Serve the chicken slices on a bed of rice on a large platter or on individual plates.
It’s also excellent with a fattoush salad, Greek salad, or tabbouleh salad, adding extra protein for a filling meal. Some pita bread (make homemade pita bread!), pink pickled turnips, and olives round out this meal beautifully. Don’t forget to finish with a drizzle of the yogurt sauce and fresh parsley, and enjoy warm!
Storage
Great for meal prep, leftover yogurt-marinated chicken will keep fresh in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3-4 days. Make the marinated chicken ahead up to one day in the refrigerator. You can technically freeze cooked chicken for up to 3 months, but I don’t recommend it. Once thawed, it won’t have the same taste or texture.
To serve, enjoy the chicken cold. Or, warm it in the microwave, air fryer, or in a frying pan over medium heat on the stove.
Yogurt Marinated Chicken
Equipment
- 1 Medium Bowl
- 1 Grill
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice (from 2 lemons)
- 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 1/2 cup yogurt (any fat percentage)
- 6 cloves garlic, peeled and halved
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 2 teaspoons sumac
- 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 2 pounds skinless, boneless chicken thighs
- 1 large red onion, peeled and cut in wedges
- 2 tablespoons coarsely chopped flat leaf parsley
For the sauce:
- 1 cup whole-milk yogurt, chilled
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- Pinch cayenne pepper (to taste)
Instructions
- In a medium bowl, combine the lemon juice, olive oil, yogurt, garlic, salt, sumac, cinnamon, and red pepper flakes. Add the chicken, cover, and marinate for at least one hour and not more than one day.
- Heat the oven to 500°F with a rack positioned in the upper third of the oven. Line a sheet pan with parchment or non-stick foil.
- Toss the red onion with the chicken in the marinade, then place the chicken and onion evenly on the sheet pan, discarding the marinade. Roast for about 30 minutes, flipping the chicken halfway through cooking, until the chicken is nicely crisped around the edges and golden brown. Broil for a few minutes to get the chicken caramelized, if needed.
- Immediately slice the chicken (I like 1/4-inch strips). Lay them over a platter of rice, if using.
- Make a quick yogurt sauce by whisking the yogurt with cayenne and salt. Adjust seasonings to taste. Drizzle the sauce over the chicken, and sprinkle with parsley. Serve the chicken hot, with the roasted onions.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Amazing, my boys called it “next level”, can’t get a better compliment then that!
Bless your boys!!!! Thanks Roberta!
I started this yesterday afternoon with deboning/skinning the chicken thighs and then making the marinade and so forth. This morning I fired up the oven early and began.
This recipe smells absolutely terrific right out of the marinade and also while baking.
WOW!
Still about 10 minutes left in the oven but obviously this is going to be a special meal indeed.
I whisked up the yogurt sauce (even had some mint to add) and have made a pan of long grain brown rice too. I can’t wait!
Thanks for the great recipe.
Charlie, mmmmm I can just smell the aroma!! Thank you, hope you enjoyed this as much as we do. Sounds like it so far!!
Hi Maureen, once again a wonderful recipe. I’m having the family over this weekend for Orthodox Easter. I’ve made the kibbe bil sanieh and warak which are in the freezer. I love this recipe for the chicken, but I also want to use chicken breast as well as we have a lot of family that likes the white meat. Any tweaks or recommendations on the recipe? I figured if I cut the breast in pieces the timing should work?
Thanks
Sharon
Sharon this shawarma is on the table regularly here, we love it so much! Your Orthodox Easter menu sounds SO good, beautiful. You are a major cook! For chicken breast shawarma, pull back on the heat and the cook time so it doesn’t dry out. Use a thermometer to pull it off at 165°F.
Maureen,
So glad I chanced upon this recipe, sounds delicious and I want to try it. I have a question about the cinnamon powder. Should I use the regular cinnamon powder we get in the States? Or ground up Cassia Bark as cinnamon that is used in South Asia?
Thank you.
I use regular cinnamon powder, standard issue from the grocery store!
Winner winner chicken dinner! This is a great recipe! At the last minute, before I put the chicken on the pan I realized I didn’t have enough rice so I cut up some potatoes, tossed them in the marinate and layed it all on the pan as instructed. Everything just roasted fabulously.
That is wonderful–the potatoes sound so good with this because they would soak up the flavor so well, and roast so well too! Thank you Susan!
Everyone loved this. The yogurt sauce is great. I used a 40 oz. bag of frozen chicken thighs from Trader Joes. Just put the marinade right into the bag in the morning, put in the fridge and cooked that evening. Delicious! And the red onions are perfection.
This is so great, thank you!
Hey,
Thank you for shawarma recipe, I really really like the way you explained it, Me and my family like shawarma when we ate it in asian restaurant so i’m going to try this one in upcoming weekend where we set together once in a week so this will be amazing can you please tell me if i use persian saffron in it ? this will be perfect or not give me some suggestion
Thanks
Debra
This is my FAVORITE chicken dish. Thank you for sharing it! It’s been a big hit with my family too and is definitely a great intro to your recipes 🙂
I’m so happy to hear that April! It really is so delicious and healthy!
I was looking for a great shawarma recipe and I found your blog. It is explained nicely. I’m going to cook it on this weekend.
I’ve also combined your recipe with Sam Sifton’s as I like both sumac and cumin and it came out great. I used both: chicken breasts and chicken thighs respectively and we liked the latter much better. The thighs came out jucier and more flavorful.
Ah yes, the thighs are the best! Thank you Inna!
Made this for dinner tonight with leftovers for lunch tmw. Big hit with the family! So yummy thanks for sharing it!!
Fantastic Lara, thank you!
Hi Maureen, I am long time your reader and first time writer 🙂
Just HAVE to let you know that this shawarma recipe is fantastic, first time we tried it I made it every day for a week 🙂 I also use this marinade for Chicken Tawook using breast and grilling.
One question I have for you however, when I back the tights at 500 for the first 15 minutes – lots of juices comes out, that in my opinion prevents the crispiness. chicken almost boiling in the juices. To work around I drain all the juices after approximately 10-14 minutes, and then I will get the crispiness. Do you have any better suggestions ? Thanks
Hi Masha–thanks so much. Delicious chicken! I like your idea with the juices. Mine evaporated in large measure by 30 minutes in, but it’s smart to pour it off if there is too much, to ensure crispiness.
Hi Maureen, my babysitter made this for my family last week and it was wonderful. I brought leftovers in to work throughout the week. I had seen Sam Sifton’s recipe, and had sumac in my spice drawer, and here you have it – what a perfect adaptation! Will definitely go into my weekly recipe rotation. Thank you!
Just fantastic!
Hi Maureen – I had not heard of Shawarma until last week when I had a fabulous Shawarma plate at a small deli just south of Seattle. I immediately came home and started searching for recipes and found your blog. I tried it out tonight and it was wonderful! I like your blog very much so I will be back to explore more. Thanks so much!
Great article Maureen. I have been able to perfect the shawarma with my spit. The fat melting down the meat gives it a flavor that even roasting or a cast iron skillet can’t beat. But not everyone is crazy as me and buys a spit!
Your marinade looks great! Can’t wait to use for the next shawarma party.
If there ever is a signing or gig in Denver we will have to make together! All the best – Matt
Oh Matt, your shawarma sounds deeeeelectable! You’re my hero!
These look mouth-wateringly delicious! x
This recipe was to die for!! Everything about it was wonderful! The chicken was almost like it was charred on a spit. The red onion was fabulous. My mouth is watering now, even though we ate this hours ago. I posted it on Facebook for others to try it. I’ll make this for company, it was that good!
Wonderful, thank you!
My parents lived in Saudi Arabia while I was growing up and when I was there during summer or Christmas vacations I always looked forward to the weekends. Almost every Thursday we’d go into town and dinner would be shwarmas (three for me, please) from our favorite stand downtown — eaten in the car, still parked on the street, so we could go get more if we needed too. Can’t wait to try your recipe.
This looks so amazing. I know what I’m making tomorrow!
This is very different from the recipe I use for my shawarma dishes, I definitely try yours 🙂
I made this as soon as I read the post. It was lovely and I have a very happy family this evening. Thank you!
would the world come to an end if i made your delicious sounding recipe with chicken breast? i do not eat legs.
Hi Nancy! The breast meat will be more delicate to handle in getting the char-like edges. I would try cutting it into strips and broiling it swiftly rather than roasting the whole breast. Or, you could roast the breast, then cut into thin slices and saute over high heat briefly to get some of that caramelization. Let me know how it goes!
The secret in any Shawarma recipe, be it beef, chicken, or lamb meat, is the spices you use to marinate the meat with. I have tried many store-bought brands of Shawarma Baharat. None of them pleased my appetite.
A friend of our family who recently visited her family in Lebanon, brought me back half a kilo of authentic Lebanese Shawarma Baharat. It made a huge difference in taste.
Bite the bullet and order authentic Lebanese Shawarma Baharat. You will not regret it.!.!.!
I definitely think you need to do some “research” in California for olive brining. Perhaps in Santa Barbara??? 🙂
I can’t wait to try your chicken recipe shawarma,
Maureen, Congratulations on your stunning booking. Some of my favorite childhood moments were spent around my Grandmother’s table, and your recipes bring those moments — savory on all levels — back to life. Thank you.
It’s great to get a recipe that calls for dark chicken meat. It is so much cheaper than breasts. It was on special a while back for 38 cents/pound so I filled the freezer. Yes I’m cheap and proud of it.
BTW, if you ever get a promotional gig in Kansas City let me know ahead and I’ll try to get off work and drive you around.
Maureen….it was so much fun to meet you…see you cook and listen to your beautiful stories of growing g up in a large lebanese community……continued success with you cookbook..your tour and who knows next??????? The food network in the UP??????? If you ever return to Cook’s of crocus hill in St. Paul I will be there…loved it….Bernadette
Wonderful! Thank you so much!
I can’t wait to try this Maureen! Yogurt sauce sounds lovely, but can anyone tell me how to make the very garlicky sauce that is sometimes served alongside at restaurants?
Hi Alicia! You can make classic Lebanese garlic sauce, or toum, from my book as well as a slightly different version here!