Greek Chicken With Cucumber-Feta Salad
Published December 13, 2022
- Total Time
- 30 minutes
- Rating
- Comments
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Ingredients
1 ½ cups plain Greek yogurt
3 garlic cloves, finely grated
Kosher salt (Diamond Crystal)
Black pepper
1 teaspoon dried oregano or mint
2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs, patted dry
1 ½ pounds cucumbers (preferably Japanese, Persian or mini, seedless cucumbers)
1 pound ripe tomatoes
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, plus more as needed
4 ounces feta, crumbled (about ¾ cup)
½ cup Kalamata olives, pitted and halved
Preparation
- Step 1
In a large bowl, stir together the yogurt and garlic; season to taste with salt and pepper. Transfer ½ cup of the yogurt to a medium bowl and reserve for Step 5.
- Step 2
Coat the chicken: To the large bowl, add the oregano and stir to combine. Season the chicken all over with 1 ½ teaspoons salt and a few grinds of pepper. Add the chicken to the large bowl and turn to coat; set aside.
- Step 3
Start the salad: Smash the cucumbers with the side of your knife until craggy and split. Rip into ½- to 1-inch pieces and transfer to a colander placed in the sink. Slice or chop the tomatoes into bite-size pieces. Add to the cucumbers along with 1 ½ teaspoons salt. (It may seem like a lot of salt, but most will drain away.) Toss to combine and leave to drain.
- Step 4
In a large nonstick or well-seasoned cast-iron skillet, heat the olive oil over medium. Scrape excess marinade off the chicken, then cook the chicken in batches, adding oil to the pan if necessary, until it’s well browned and releases from the pan, 5 to 7 minutes. Flip and cook until cooked through, another 5 to 7 minutes. Transfer to plates to rest. (For grilling info, see Tip.)
- Step 5
To the medium bowl of yogurt, add the feta and mash with a fork until a chunky paste forms. Shake the cucumbers and tomatoes to get rid of any excess moisture. Add to the feta yogurt along with the olives and stir until coated. The balance is dependent on your produce and feta, so season to taste with salt and pepper until flavors are vivid. Eat alongside the chicken.
To grill the chicken: Heat a grill to medium and clean and grease the grates. Grill the chicken over direct heat until it's well browned and releases from the grates, 5 to 7 minutes. Flip and cook until cooked through, another 5 to 7 minutes. (For a gas grill, close the lid between flips.)
Private Notes
Comments
What is the benefit of “ripping” the cukes into small pieces as opposed to chopping them into same?
baked the chicken on a sheet pan at 400
Made this tonight. 18yo kid who’s battling an eating disorder said “mommy, you should make this again” and had a second helping. He’s obsessed with “clean eating” and this met his standards enough for him to eat something that he didn’t control the preparation of. Thanks for making tonight’s dinner a success, NYT.
This recipe was delicious! One note, though: the leftovers lost all their garlicy punch after just a day due to the breakdown of the allicin. Next time I might add a squeeze of lemon or another grate of garlic before eating the leftovers to boost the flavor.
We made this, but instead of making the yogurt cuke salad, I used Mark Bittman's five star Greek-Style Watermelon Salad. That stuff is amazing! The chicken was very flavorful...just don't let the chicken sit in the yogurt marinade too long or it will turn the chicken mushy!
Delicious! I used sweet little cherub tomatoes and did not "rip" the cukes, but otherwise, followed the recipe.

