Easy Green Goddess Chicken Recipe 2 Ways

Chicken thighs with green goddess marinade!

Creamy, extra herby green goddess dressing is perfect to dip your veggies, drizzle over your salad or lettuce wraps, or to finish the perfect salmon dinner bowl. But it’s truly one of the more versatile condiments, and one of its best uses is in a marinade! Toss your chicken in my green goddess sauce—made with herbs, nutty tahini or Greek yogurt, garlic, and citrus—and allow it a few hours in the fridge to marinate. You’ll end up with exceptionally tender, flavor-packed chicken. And whether you choose to cook the chicken in a skillet or on a grill, it takes about 8 to 10 minutes to do! Add salad or your favorite vegetable (I like this lemony broccoli) for a side and call it dinner. Or, slice up the chicken and toss it onto a cold noodle salad.

Green goddess marinade

My green goddess dressing takes just 5 minutes and a few ingredients to make! You’ll need three kinds of fresh herbs (I use Italian parsley, cilantro, and dill), a green onion, garlic, Greek yogurt or tahini paste (if you want a little nuttiness), lemon juice, water, and an optional touch of red pepper flakes, for a subtle heat. Simply blend the herbs together with the rest of the ingredients and voila, you have your green goddess marinade and extra sauce for serving, too!

Use boneless chicken thighs or breasts!

Boneless skinless chicken thighs are my favorite for this recipe. They are juicy, tender, and so easy to cook. Even if you accidentally overcook them, you will still end up with moist chicken. You can either eyeball the doneness (look for the juices to run clear) or use a meat thermometer to help you. Chicken has an internal temperature of 165 degrees F when fully cooked. Not a fan of chicken thighs? You can also use boneless skinless chicken breasts in this easy chicken recipe. For even cooking and to make sure the chicken breasts don’t dry up, I like to butterfly them and slice them into thinner cutlets that are approximately the same thickness all the way through. And I usually take the chicken breasts off the grill when their internal temperature reaches about 155 degrees F. Then, I let them rest, tented with foil, until their internal temp continues to rise to 165 degrees F. This gives me juicy chicken breasts every time.

Key tip for best flavor

Whether you’re working with boneless thighs or chicken breasts, do this one thing to make sure you maximize the flavor. Before you dunk the chicken in the marinade, cut some slits into both sides of the chicken pieces. These slits will allow the marinade to penetrate the meat better, giving you more intense flavor throughout!

How to make green goddess chicken

Make the herby 5-minute green goddess dressing. I used ½ cup tahini in my recipe, but you can also use an equal amount of Greek yogurt instead. Marinate the chicken. Pat dry 6 to 8 boneless skinless chicken thighs. With a small, sharp knife, make a few slits on both sides of each piece of chicken. Then season both sides with kosher salt and black pepper. Transfer the chicken to a large bowl and pour ½ to ¾ cup of the marinade over. My recipe for green goddess sauce yields about 1 ½ cups, so you will have quite a bit leftover for serving. Keep this extra sauce refrigerated.Toss the chicken in the herby marinade with a pair of large tongs so that all the pieces are coated in the sauce. Cover and refrigerate for 2 hours up to overnight. If you are short on time, even just half an hour of marinating time will make a difference to the flavor of your chicken. Stovetop option. Heat 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil over medium-high heat in a large skillet until shimmering. Grab each thigh with tongs and give them a little shake over the bowl to get rid of excess marinade. Place the thighs into the skillet in a single layer and cook one side for about 5 minutes. Once a crispy crust forms, turn the thighs and cook for another 3 to 5 minutes, until the chicken is fully cooked. Grill option. If you’d rather grill the green goddess chicken, heat your grill to medium-high. After oiling the grates, arrange the chicken thighs in a single layer over direct heat and cook one side for 5 minutes. Then, turn and cook for another 3 to 5 minutes, until the chicken is nicely charred and cooked through.Serve. Place the chicken thighs on a serving platter and spoon some of the extra green goddess sauce on top. Serve and enjoy.

Make ahead tips

Green goddess sauce keeps well in the refrigerator in a tightly closed Mason jar for up to 5 days, so feel free to make it a couple of days in advance! You can also marinate the chicken thighs a night ahead, so all you have to do when you’re ready is cook them!

Serve it with

There is no shortage of sides and salads to go with these delicious green goddess chicken thighs. Try them with potato salad or pasta salad. I like chopping up the green goddess chicken and tossing it onto a cold noodle salad with tahini dressing. Or serve with roasted vegetables or something green like Brussels sprouts or asparagus. For a delicious and satisfying dinner bowl, simply add these chicken thighs with some bulgur wheat and Mediterranean bean salad to a bowl.