Mediterranean chicken recipe that gets its bright, briny flavor from fresh lemon, kalamata olives, and salty feta, all simmered right in the pan with the chicken. I sear it first for a deep golden crust, then let the oven do the rest, so you get a hands off finish and only one pan to wash. It’s ready in 35 minutes, and the lemon at the end is what pulls the whole dish together.
What Years of Making This Recipe Taught Me
I’ve been making versions of this Mediterranean chicken for years, and it’s one of the recipes readers write in about the most, which tells me a lot about what people actually want on a Tuesday night. Something with real flavor that doesn’t take babysitting.
For a long time I kept this recipe simple, just tomatoes, olives, and feta. But after making it again and again, I kept feeling like it was missing the brightness that Mediterranean cooking is known for. So I retested it with fresh lemon juice and a bit of zest stirred in before the chicken goes in the oven, and it made a real difference. That’s the version I’m sharing now.
This is my go to for a weeknight when I want dinner to feel a little more special without any extra effort. Pierre asks for it with a side of my Fluffy Quinoa because it soaks up all the lemony tomato sauce. When I want something even faster, I lean on my Instant Pot Mediterranean Chicken Recipe, which has the same flavors with almost no hands on time.
All ingredients and their amounts are listed in the recipe card at the bottom of this post.
Chicken Breasts: I use boneless, skinless chicken breasts here because they cook quickly and stay juicy with this hands off oven finish. Boneless skinless thighs work too if you prefer more richness. I just pull them a few minutes earlier since they’re thinner. I recommend free range or organic when you can, the quality really shows in a dish this simple.
Fresh Lemon: This is the ingredient I added after retesting this recipe. I stir the zest into the tomatoes before the chicken goes in the oven, then save the juice to squeeze over everything right before serving.
Pro Tip: Hold back the lemon juice until the very end. I tried adding it all during the braise once and it turned slightly bitter after 20 minutes in the oven. Bottled lemon juice will not give you the same brightness here, so fresh really matters.
Diced Tomatoes: I like a good quality canned diced tomato with its juices, since it becomes the base of the sauce. My favorite is San Marzano. They cost a bit more but have a natural sweetness that balances the briny olives and feta. If your can doesn’t have much liquid, add a splash of chicken broth so the chicken doesn’t dry out in the oven.
Feta Cheese: I use block feta and crumble it myself rather than the pre crumbled kind. It’s creamier and holds its texture better. This goes on at the very end so it stays soft instead of melting into the sauce.
Preheat your oven to 400°F and use an oven safe skillet, cast iron works best since it goes from stovetop to oven without a problem.
1. Season the chicken. Pat the chicken breasts dry, then toss with olive oil, onion powder, coriander, paprika, crushed red pepper, half the lemon zest, salt, and pepper. Patting the chicken dry first matters, any surface moisture will steam instead of sear, and you’ll lose the golden crust that gives this dish depth.
2. Sear the chicken. Heat the skillet over medium high until it’s properly hot, then sear the chicken 2 to 3 minutes per side until deep golden brown. It won’t be cooked through yet, and that’s fine, it finishes in the oven. The browned bits left behind become the base of the sauce, which is what separates a flavorful Mediterranean chicken from a bland one.
3. Build the sauce. Add the onion to the same skillet and cook 3 to 5 minutes until soft, then add the garlic and cook 30 seconds until fragrant. Pour in the diced tomatoes with their juices and the remaining lemon zest, scraping up the browned bits from the bottom of the pan as you stir. Leaving those bits behind instead of scraping them up is one of the most common reasons a skillet sauce tastes flat.
4. Bake. Nestle the chicken back into the skillet with the sauce and transfer it to the oven. Bake about 20 minutes, or until the chicken reaches 165°F internally. I always check with a meat thermometer at the thickest part rather than going by time alone, since chicken breast thickness varies a lot, and that’s the difference between juicy and dry.
5. Finish and serve. Remove the skillet from the oven, squeeze the fresh lemon juice over everything, then top with the olives, feta, and chopped parsley. The lemon juice goes on at the end, not during baking, so it stays bright instead of cooking off.
Olivia's Recipe Tips
1. Let the chicken rest for a few minutes before serving. Pulling it straight from the oven to the plate lets the juices run onto the pan instead of staying in the meat, so I give it about five minutes.
2. Save a few lemon wedges for the table. Some people like even more brightness than what’s already stirred into the sauce, so I set extra wedges out for anyone who wants it.
3. Double the sauce if you’re serving this over rice or quinoa. The tomato and lemon sauce is the best part, and a single batch barely coats the chicken once it’s ladled over a full plate of grain.
Mediterranean Chicken Recipe
Video
Ingredients
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- ½ teaspoon coriander
- ½ teaspoon paprika
- crushed red pepper flakes to taste
- Salt and black pepper to taste
- 2 tablespoons ghee or olive oil
- 1 lemon, zested and juiced (zest divided, juice reserved)
- 1 cup yellow onion chopped
- 2 lb boneless skinless chicken breasts
- 2 garlic cloves sliced
- 1 ½ cups diced tomatoes with the juice I like to use this one
- ¼ cup black olives sliced
- 2 tablespoons feta cheese
Instructions
- Pre-heat oven to 400ºF. Pat chicken dry. In a large bowl, toss with olive oil, onion powder, coriander, paprika, crushed red pepper, half the lemon zest, salt, and pepper.
- Heat an oven safe skillet over medium high heat. Sear chicken 2 to 3 minutes per side until golden brown. Remove and set aside.
- Add onion to the skillet and cook 3 to 5 minutes until softened. Add garlic and cook 30 seconds. Add diced tomatoes with juice and the remaining lemon zest, stirring and scraping up any browned bits.
- Nestle chicken back into the skillet. Bake about 20 minutes, or until chicken reaches 165°F internally.
- Remove from oven, squeeze the fresh lemon juice over the top, then finish with olives, feta, and parsley.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Did You Make This?
Follow @primaverakitchen on Instagram, snap a photo, and tag it #primaverakitchen. We’d love to see your recreation.
Have you tried to make this in an instapot?
Yes you can make it in an Instant Pot. I have this recipe here to help you how to make it in a Instant Pot.
I’m planning on making this recipe tonight for my family. In the ingredients list you only mention Onion Powder – no onions. But in the Directions you say to add onions and sauté after browning the chicken. I prefer Vidalia or sweet onions in this type of dish, would you add a whole onion or half for this recipe? I will send a comment/review once I’ve made it!
Sorry about that. I just adjusted the recipe to clear further confusion. Thanks for pointing it out!
You state onions in the cooking process, but it is not listed under ingredients!
I just adjusted the recipe to clear further confusion. Thanks for pointing it out!
My son and husband thought this was the best chicken dish I’ve ever made. I used the big can of whole tomatoes (Cento brand) of the type you recommend. I used quite a bit more Feta cheese than two tbsp. It was quick and very good. On my “make again” list for sure!
Happy to read this amazing review. Thank you 😉
One of the best recipes I’ve found online. Thanks! We serve it on Jasmati brown rice. To die for!
Awesome! Your comment made my day 😉
My family loved it! The chicken was very moist and tender. 10/10
Isn’t it great when chicken is very moist and tender? Happy to know that you loved this recipe 😉
Can you cook this on the stovetop instead of finishing in the oven?
yes but cook at medium heat and the chicken will be ready when it gets at 165F temperature.
Has anyone tried this without the onions and garlic, or know of a good substitute? I’m allergic to onions and raw garlic 🙁 but the rest of the recipe sounds delicious!
You can replace onions for green onions. And you definitely can skip the garlic. It’ll be good anyway!
This is on my menu this week. Has anyone tried using kalamara olives, green olives along with the black olives? Olive lover I make a Greek pizza with the combination along with spinach, Feta cheese, pesto and Mozz. cheese. Great flavor.
I will definitely make this again.
I cut each breast in three pieces, which I think gave more flavor to each piece. I also added mushrooms.
A huge hit in my house. I think it would be great served over pasta, planning to try it.
Thank you
Love that you added mushrooms in there. Sounds delicious!
What a fab recipe!!! I made this sans tomatoes and put it on a salad. Holy moly so good. Will definitely have to make it with the tomatoes as well. 🙂
Awesome!
This dish was fulfilled to the max. Omg I love it soooo much . I can eat this dish all week. I didn’t use the can of tomatoes but I use real tomatoes . I didn’t use coriander because I didn’t have any so I just use Parsley. But all in all, great dish
That’s amazing. Happy to hear that and thanks for stopping by 😉
What’s funny to me is – I am Greek so recipes like the one you posted make me happy. Not only are your recipes ‘clean’ and tasty, they encourage the cook to make it their own!
Its summer gardening season so in my house you would use a whole cutup chicken (minus the skin), fresh tomatoes, some zucchini, squash or even some eggplant.
Having this recipe in one’s weekly ‘arsenal’ can be magic; esp good because the dish as we make it can be served cold or hot. available like you have written allow the cook to go wild !!
Yasou, Olivia – I am a new fan,
Thank you so much for this beautiful comment, Thalia. You’re such a sweet and kind reader. I appreciate all your support.
This was my first recipe to make from the website. It was DELICIOUS and so easy. It even pleased my picky hubby. So many other “mediterranean” chicken dishes end up tasting like italian chicken. I think the coriander was really good in it. Alterations: I used 2 very large chicken breast and I doubled the spices but left out the salt. I had enough to cover the chicken and then I sprinkled the rest in my tomatoes. For my tomatoes I used Cento San Marzano peeled tomatoes (that’s all I had). I cut them up and measured them and some of the sauce from the can until I got 1 and 1/2 cups as the recipe suggested. Also, my iron skillets get really hot so my chicken took half the recommend time in the oven. This is a keeper. Hubby has heart issues so this was so low in sodium that it will be in our rotation. They came out so juicy. If your chicken was dry, I can assure you it’s bc you cooked it too long.
Holy crow! This is an amazing chicken dish! We tried this tonight and it was really fabulous. It smelled sooo good as it was cooking. It tasted even better. Thank you for this recipe.
So happy to hear that 😉
When you put the tomatoes in do you have to let a boil for a bit or does it go straight in the oven?
The tomatoes go straight in the oven.
Made this in a cast iron skillet on our propane barbecue when our power was out for 6 days after a hurricane. Had to alter the recipe a little but luckily we always have olives, feta and canned tomatoes, and cooked rice in our freezer for quick meals. It was fantastic and truly a nice treat for not having the luxury of power.
So happy to hear that my recipe was a treat for you specially in such a dificult moment. I appreciate it a lot. Thanks for leaving your comment.