Made in just one skillet, this Mediterranean chicken recipe comes together in less than 30-minutes. It’s packed with my favorite flavors from childhood: garlicky seared chicken, briny olives, creamy feta, tomatoes, and parsley. Fewer dishes, less time, and more flavor—that’s what I call weeknight dinner done right!
Weeknights can be busy so I tend to lean toward simple skillet meals like this Mediterranean chicken recipe.
It’s loaded with bright, fresh flavors thanks to the tomatoes, olives, and lemon—plus, like my one-pan Chicken and Asparagus recipe, cleanup is a snap. One skillet, a knife and a cutting board and you’re done!
I usually serve this recipe as it is, but it’s easy to stretch to serve a larger family or a crowd, by serving it over pasta or rice. There is plenty of sauce to sop up so pairing this skillet chicken recipe with a piece of crusty bread or Rosemary Focaccia would also work.
The best part? This recipe is so versatile! If you have spinach to use up, toss it in there just before serving. Have chicken thighs on hand instead of chicken breast? They’ll taste great! Wanting a dairy free chicken recipe? This Mediterranean chicken is flavorful and delicious with or without the feta.
Table of Contents
What You’ll Need to Make Mediterranean Chicken
You probably have everything you need to make this skillet chicken recipe in your fridge or pantry.
- Boneless, skinless chicken breasts: I call for boneless, skinless chicken breasts because they’re so quick and easy to cook, but if you prefer the richness of bone in, skin on chicken breasts or even chicken thighs just give yourself some extra time. If you’re cooking with the skin on, make sure to start by rendering the skin in the hot pan until it’s crispy (about 7 minutes), then flip and brown the second side.
- Extra Virgin Olive Oil: A smooth, peppery olive oil–like our Private Reserve EVOO from Kyparissia, Greece–really draws out and elevates the flavor of this garlicky chicken. It’s so good I sometimes drizzle a little on top just before serving!
- Flavor Makers: A combination of dried oregano and alliums like garlic and onion create the foundation of this dish. Salt just enhances the flavor of the other ingredients and pepper adds a little earthy warmth.
- Lemon juice: Acids like lemon juice or vinegar brighten the recipe and cut through any fat from the olive oil.
- Tomatoes: I used fresh tomatoes, but if tomatoes aren’t in season feel free to use 1 (15 oz) can of chopped tomatoes.
- Green olives: I love the punchiness of green olives for this recipe, but kalamata olives will also work. I love Castelvetrano olive so much I even turn them into Olive Salad, but if you don’t like olives, leave them out and substitute them with capers, or paper thin slices of fresh or preserved lemon.
- White wine: Look for a dry white wine—it adds a nice acidity to balance the richness of the chicken. A good rule of thumb for cooking wine is to avoid wines aged in oak, like some chardonnays, as they tend to give a bitter flavor. If you don’t cook with alcohol you can use extra chicken stock instead.
- Chicken stock: If you have homemade chicken stock go ahead and use it in this recipe to amp up the chicken flavor, but store bought will also work.
- Crumbled feta cheese: I love a creamy feta preserved in brine if you can get your hands on it (I just crumble the feta with my hands as I’m finishing the dish).
- Fresh parsley: I sprinkle it on at the end to add a pop of color and a light, fresh, herbal taste to the recipe.
How to Make Mediterranean Chicken
The best part about one-skillet dinners is how easy they are to make and how easy they are to clean up. Fewer dishes to do means more time with my family.
- Prep the chicken: Pat the chicken breasts dry. This helps skillet chicken get that nice golden-brown sear. Make three shallow slits on each side of the chicken breast.
- Season the chicken: Rub the garlic on both sides of the chicken, pushing some garlic into the slits you made. Season the chicken breasts all over with a heavy pinch of salt and pepper and 1/2 of the dried oregano.
- Sear the chicken: In a large cast iron skillet, heat the olive oil on medium-high until it shimmers. Add the chicken and sear on both sides, until you have a light golden color.
- Braise the chicken: Add the white wine and let reduce by half. Add the lemon juice and chicken broth. Sprinkle the remaining 1/2 tablespoon of oregano on top and reduce the heat to medium. Cover with a lid or tightly with foil. Cook for 6 to 7 minutes on one side, then turn the chicken over and cook for another 6 minutes and cook until the thickest part of the chicken measures 165°F with an instant read thermometer.
- Finish the chicken and serve: Uncover and top with the chopped onions, tomatoes and olives. Cover again and cook for 3 minutes to soften the vegetables and bring all the flavors together. Finish with the parsley and feta cheese (if using). Enjoy!
What To Serve With Mediterranean Chicken
While this Mediterranean chicken recipe is delicious on its own, I love to serve it with a simple starch for soaking up the flavorful sauce.
I’m always looking for ways to add more vegetables to meal time. If that’s the case for you too then try my Mediterranean Couscous Salad, Italian Oven Roasted Vegetables or a simple Greek Green Bean Salad.
And if you’ve saved room for dessert, finish the night off with our Italian hot chocolate. It’s so rich and luxurious that a little goes a long way.
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Mediterranean Chicken Recipe
Ingredients
- 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
- 2 tablespoons minced garlic or garlic paste
- Kosher salt
- Black pepper
- 1 tablespoon dried oregano, divided
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 1/2 cup dry white wine
- 1 large lemon, juiced
- 1/2 cup chicken broth
- 1 medium red onion, finely chopped
- 4 small tomatoes, diced, about 1 1/2 cups
- 1/4 cup sliced green olives
- Handful of fresh parsley, stems removed, leaves chopped
- Crumbled feta cheese (optional)
Instructions
- Prep the chicken: Pat the chicken breasts dry. Make three shallow slits on each side of the chicken breast.
- Season the chicken: Rub the garlic on both sides of the chicken, pushing some garlic into the slits you made. Season the chicken breasts on both sides with salt, pepper and 1/2 of the dried oregano.
- Sear the chicken: In a large cast iron skillet, heat the olive oil on medium-high. Sear the chicken on both sides, then add the white wine and reduce by half.
- Braise the chicken: Add the lemon juice and chicken broth. Sprinkle the remaining 1/2 tablespoon of oregano on top and turn the heat to medium. Cover with a lid or tightly with foil. Cook for about 5 to 6 minutes on one side, then turn the chicken over and cook for 5 to 6 additional minutes, or until the internal temperature of the chicken reaches 165°F.
- Finish the chicken and serve: Uncover and top with chopped onions, tomatoes and olives. Cover again and cook for 3 minutes. Finish with the parsley and feta cheese (if using). Enjoy!
Video
Notes
- Pro-Tip: If you're working with larger and thicker boneless chicken breasts, you might be okay using only two breasts and splitting them into cutlets. To do so, place the chicken breast flat on a cutting board. Place one hand on top to hold the breast. Using a sharp knife, carefully slice the chicken breast horizontally into two even pieces. It helps if you do this close to the edge of the cutting board.
- Change it up: This is one skillet chicken breast recipe that you can certainly tweak to your liking. Add a handful of spinach, switch out the olives for capers, throw in some extra herbs—really make this dish your own!
- Visit our shop to browse quality Mediterranean ingredients including olive oils, honey, jams and spices.
Nutrition
*This post has recently been updated with new information for readers’ benefit.
Just made this! Delicious!
So glad!
Just cooked it and it’s so amazingly delicious!! This will be ones of my favorites. Thanks for the great recipe. 🙂
I’m so glad you enjoyed it!
Just cooked this dish for my family of six and everyone loved it!
I’m so glad to hear it, Kate! Thank you
My family loved it
So glad to hear it, Dawn!
Great recipe! My chicken was cooked early, so I took it out and kept warm while I reduced the liquid and added the toppings. Definitely a keeper!
Awesome, Lynn! thanks for sharing!
Absolutely DELISH !!!! My family loved it . Thank you for this great recipe. I have to admit I substituted chicken thighs for the chicken breast because my kids are a bit finicky. Still turned out great.
Excellent, so far everything I’ve tried is superior. I’m new to the Mediterranean diet, would it be possible to show how to convert your recipes in half. I live alone most of the recipes are too large for me
I am just starting the Mediterranean diet. Could you tell me the calories in this dish? Thanks!
Hi Cathy! Welcome. Glad to have you here! The nutrition information is added at the bottom of the recipe. There are 135 Calories per serving. Enjoy!
This is the best recipe we have tried in ages! My husband and I have been looking for some new, healthy staples to add to our weekly routine. We came across this recipe about a month ago and have made variations of it at least twice a week since then (subbing shallots for onions, trying different herb combinations, adding artichokes or capers, etc.). Lately we have been cooking orzo right in the our pot for easy cleanup and add broccoli, cauliflower, or spinach. Delicious!
Sadie, thank you so much! So glad to hear it. And I love all the variations you’ve shared. Such good ideas.
This was incredible, easy, healthy & packed with flavor. This will now be my new dinner party recipe!
Awesome!!! Thanks, Angela!
I am wondering if anyone has adapted this to be used in a slow cooker?
Just made in about 20 minutes! This is a great, easily adaptable recipe. I didn’t have wine so I used stock and a splash of apple cider vinegar, reduced by half then then added more stock. I had black olives on hand so I used those, and no fresh parsley so I threw some arugala on instead! I added my onions a step early so they would cook into the sauce. The finished product was bright and hearty and completely guilt free. Thank you so much!
Great, Cristina! Thank you for sharing!
Delicious! The chicken was juicy and the flavours well balanced ( I used black olives though). I look forward to cooking this again. Thanks for all the delicious recipes!
This was easy to pull together and so full of flavor. ‘ Making it again for my bookclub this week!
Yay! So glad to hear it!
this recipe was excellent. I did not use olives.
Great Athea! Thank you so much for sharing!
Absolutely delicious! Easy enough for a week night but tasty enough for company. Have recently been told to try and follow a Mediterranean style of eating for my high cholesterol and high blood pressure. This is my first recipe from your blog – now I want to try them all!
Shannon
Shannon, that’s wonderful to hear! Thank you for giving this recipe a try! I hope you’ll try others soon!
I am making this again tonight! Made it Saturday and my husband said it’s a keeper! Tonight I’m adding capers and spinach instead of green olives. We served over whole wheat pasta. Delicious!
Dawne, so glad to hear it! Thank you for sharing!!