Baked Lemon Chicken Souvlaki and Salad with Creamy Dressing

GUYS. Using yogurt as a marinade. And as a base for a creamy, healthy dressing instead of mayo or sour cream. Genius. I’m seriously, SERIOUSLY psyched about this discovery, and you should be too!

This meal is healthy, hearty, and bursting with Greek flavor. The chicken is marinated in a delicious, yogurt-based dressing and then baked to juicy perfection on skewers. Even better, grill these! (Ah, to have a grill and a yard… someday.)

The last time I used yogurt as a marinade for chicken was for curried chicken salad. The coolness of the yogurt paired so well with the spiciness of the curry. While this Greek chicken isn’t spicy, it is acidic from the lemon, and the yogurt does an excellent job of balancing this acidity out. In addition, the yogurt helps the chicken stay moist and juicy and makes a nice thick, flavorful coating, as well as a thick and creamy dressing for the salad.

To make this dinner extra easy, the same dressing is used for a Greek salad with feta, olives, cucumber, and red onion. You will want to eat this dressing with a spoon. Yum times a million times infinity. Squared. Next time I make this, I’m going to whip up at LEAST a double batch of dressing to have on hand for the rest of the week.

Don’t know what souvlaki is? That’s OK! It’s just meat (and sometimes vegetables) on a skewer, often served as street food in Greece. You’ve probably had it (or something like it) if you’ve ever been to a Greek festival or restaurant. And even though it sounds fancy, its one of the most simple Greek foods you can make!

Now. If you are the type of person who is looking at these pictures saying, “Please. Like I have the time/patience/energy to skewer chicken,” have no fear. You can easily bake this chicken in the usual way. You don’t even have to cut it up into small pieces! Just marinate chicken breasts or thighs in the dressing and bake in a greased baking dish for a slightly longer time. Super easy. But I warn you… it’s not as fun as skewers :-)

Normally after finishing a delicious meal like this I get a little sad when it’s over. Not today! We have leftovers of both the chicken and the salad, which is going to make an excellent sandwich in a whole wheat pita pocket tomorrow for lunch. SCORE! I’ll probably add more feta because feta is the nectar of the gods and the best cheese in the world.

Also, for a half-Greek, I don’t think I post enough about Greek recipes. Or about feta. I think it’s time to change that. What is your favorite Greek dish you’ve had? Or, your favorite use for feta (besides eating plain it by the block, which is what I like to do…)? Leave it in the comments below :-)

Next time you need a fun, healthy chicken dish, you should try this. You won’t be sorry!

Baked Lemon Chicken Souvlaki and Salad with Creamy Dressing

This baked lemon chicken souvlaki is healthy, hearty, easy to make, and bursting with Greek flavor. The chicken is marinated in a delicious, yogurt-based dressing and then baked to juicy perfection on skewers. The extra dressing is used on a traditional Greek salad.

5 from 3 votes

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Course: Chicken

Cuisine: Greek

Prep Time: 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 25 minutes minutes

Marinating time: 20 minutes minutes

Total Time: 35 minutes minutes

Servings: 4 servings

Calories: 466kcal

Author: Elizabeth Lindemann

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Equipment

• Metal Skewers
• Rimmed Baking Sheet

Ingredients

For the Dressing:

• 1 cup Greek yogurt
• juice of one lemon
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1 tablespoons dried oregano
• 1 clove garlic minced
• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

For the Rest:

• 1 lb. chicken breasts and/or thighs
• 1 head romaine lettuce chopped
• 1/2 cucumber thinly sliced
• 1/4 cup kalamata olives
• 4 oz. feta cheese crumbled (about 1/2 cup)
• 1/2 cup red onion thinly sliced
• lemon wedges optional

Instructions

• Mix dressing ingredients in a small bowl.
• Cut the chicken into two-inch pieces, if skewering. Put the chicken and 1/2 of the dressing in a gallon-sized bag or large container to marinate. Seal/cover, and place in refrigerator for at least 20 minutes prior to cooking (or overnight).
• Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
• Skewer the marinated chicken if desired and place on a large rimmed baking sheet. (Alternatively, you can place the chicken in a greased baking dish and bake without skewers.)
• Bake chicken for 25 minutes, or until cooked through.
• Meanwhile, mix the remaining salad ingredients together with the remaining dressing.
• Serve the baked chicken with the salad with extra lemon wedges if desired.

Notes

• The provided nutrition information does not include any added sodium from seasoning to taste, any optional ingredients, and it does not take brands into account. Feel free to calculate it yourself using this calculator or by adding the recipe to Yummly.

Nutrition

Calories: 466kcal | Carbohydrates: 12g | Protein: 33g | Fat: 32g | Saturated Fat: 10g | Cholesterol: 113mg | Sodium: 560mg | Potassium: 785mg | Fiber: 5g | Sugar: 6g | Vitamin A: 13991IU | Vitamin C: 11mg | Calcium: 293mg | Iron: 3mg

Nutrition Information Disclaimer

The provided nutrition information is my best estimate and reflects one serving of the recipe (total servings indicated at top of recipe card). It does not include any added sodium from seasoning to taste, any optional ingredients, and it does not take brands into account. I use an automatic API to calculate this information. Feel free to calculate it yourself using one of these tools:

Very Well Fit Nutrition Information Calculator

My Fitness Pal Recipe Nutrition Calculator

Add the recipe to Yummly

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