This mediterranean chicken platter is packed with delicious Greek flavors. It includes marinated chicken, tzatziki sauce, and a bed of jasmine fennel rice. It’s the perfect size for a family or a few days worth of meal prep. Add a few pieces of pita bread and your favorite toppings and you’ve got yourself a well-rounded meal!
This mediterranean chicken platter never disappoints every time we make it! The chicken is marinated in a variety of dried herbs, white wine, and lemon that give it that classic Greek flavor. The tzatziki sauce is pretty straight forward using Greek yogurt, cucumbers, garlic and lemon juice.
And we can’t forget about the jasmine fennel rice. It’s made with fennel seeds, safflower oil, dried oregano and tarragon. All of which is cooked in vegetable broth. We could honestly just eat the rice by itself, it’s so good!
This recipe does not fall short when it comes to flavor. And while it may seem like a lot of work, it’s way more simple than you might think. Whether you’re cooking for your family or prepping meals for the week, this dish never fails to satisfy.
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Ingredients
Don’t be deterred by the amount of ingredients in this recipe. A good chunk of them go into the marinade, plus we’re making two side dishes to go with the chicken. Trust the process and don’t skimp on flavor – it’s worth it!
- Chicken Breasts: This recipe calls for 2 large chicken breasts.
- Dried Herbs and Seasonings: You’ll need onion powder, dried oregano, thyme, parsley, fennel seeds, and tarragon.
- Garlic: 3 cloves minced or pressed garlic for the chicken plus 1 small clove for the tzatziki.
- White Wine: This adds flavor and acid to the marinade.
- Olive Oil: You’ll need ¼ cup (60 ml).
- Lemon Juice + Zest: You’ll need zest and fresh lemon juice for the marinade, plus a bit of juice for the tzatziki sauce.
- Yellow Onion: 1 large medium onion cut into slivers.
- Red Bell Pepper: 1 whole, diced pepper.
- Rice: We use jasmine rice, but other long grain rices like basmati are fine too.
- Vegetable Broth: 2 cups (500 ml) for the rice.
- Safflower Oil: You can substitute it with sunflower oil. These oils have light flavors that don’t overpower the herbs in the rice.
- Plain Greek Yogurt: We use full-fat Greek yogurt for the base of the tzatziki.
- Cucumber: You can use an English cucumber or a regular slicing cucumber.
- Dill: 1 tbsp packed fresh dill.
- White Pepper: ½ tsp for the sauce.
- Salt + Pepper
How Long to Marinate Chicken
Once you’ve added the marinade, place the chicken in the fridge for at least 1 hour or overnight for best results. The acid from the white wine and lemon juice help to tenderize the meat while the other ingredients soak into the surface, making it nice and flavorful.
We wouldn’t recommend marinating for more than 24 hours because contrary to popular belief, marinating meat too long can actually break down the muscle fibers too much, causing it to turn mushy rather than tender. However, since these are smaller pieces of meat, it’s best to keep it under 12 hours.
FAQ
If you don’t have safflower oil, you can use sunflower oil instead. Safflower oil gives the rice a light, earthy flavor while sunflower oil gives it a light, buttery taste. Unlike extra-virgin olive oil, sunflower and safflower oil are very mild and yield a completely different flavor that we think work best for the fennel rice in this recipe. If you absolutely can’t find these two, you can use a light tasting olive oil. The goal here is not to overpower the other flavors in the rice.
Yes! Cut the vegetables into large chunks rather than diced or slivered. Then pack the chicken, onions, and bell peppers tightly onto wooden or metal skewers then cook them in a large skillet or on the grill. If you’re using wooden skewers, soak them in a bowl of water for 20-30 minutes before sliding on the chicken and vegetables. The extra moisture prevents the wood from scorching and falling apart when cooking the meat.
Yes. Place the chicken chunks onto skewers and preheat the grill to medium-high heat. Cook until golden brown, turning them occasionally onto each side. This should take about 13-15 minutes.
Store everything in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days. We recommend storing the tzatziki sauce separately from the chicken and rice. That way you don’t accidentally heat it up when you’re ready to eat it. If you want to make wraps, put the chicken and vegetables inside some pita bread and wrap it in foil. Keep it in the fridge until you’re ready to serve it.
Optional Toppings and Sides
This mediterranean chicken platter is a great base recipe with lots of room for add-ons. Feel free to customize it any way you want by adding some toppings and sides. Here are a few of our favorites:
- Leafy Greens: Arugula, Romaine, Kale
- Red Onions
- Tomato Cucumber Salad
- Feta Cheese
- Kalamata Olives
- Hummus
- Harissa
- Pita Bread
More Dinner Recipes You’ll Love
If you like mediterranean-inspired meals, try our Mediterranean Goat Cheese Sandwich.
📖 Recipe
Mediterranean Chicken Platter with Rice and Tzatziki
Ingredients
For the Chicken:
- 2 large chicken breasts boneless, skinless
- ½ tsp onion powder
- ¾ tsp fine sea salt
- ¼ tsp ground black pepper
- 1 tbsp dried oregano
- 1 ¼ tsp dried thyme
- 2 tsp dried parsley
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 3 tbsp dry white wine
- ¼ cup (60 ml) extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 tsp lemon zest packed (use 1 tbsp if you want more a noticeable lemon flavor)
- 1 tbsp fresh lemon juice
Vegetables:
- 1 medium yellow onion
- 1 red bell pepper
Jasmine Fennel Rice:
- 2 tbsp safflower oil
- 2 cups (500 ml) vegetable broth
- 1 cup (200 g) jasmine rice
- 1 tsp dried oregano
- ¼ tsp fennel seeds
- ¼ tsp dried tarragon
- ¼ tsp fine sea salt
Tzatziki Sauce:
- 1 cup (240 g) plain full-fat Greek yogurt
- ½ medium cucumber grated and drained of liquid
- 1 tbsp fresh lemon juice
- ½ tsp white pepper
- 1 small glove garlic grated
- fine sea salt to taste
Instructions
For the Chicken and Vegetables:
- Cut the chicken breasts into 1-inch (2.5 cm) chunks and place them in a Ziploc bag. Add the rest of the marinade ingredients to the bag and seal it, removing as much air as you can. Mix the seasonings around to fully coat the chicken and place in the fridge for at least 1 hour or overnight for best results. This is a good time to make the rice.
- When the chicken is almost done marinating, cut the onion into slivers and dice the bell pepper. Set aside.
- Preheat a large skillet on medium-high heat. Remove the marinated chicken from the fridge and add the entire contents of the bag into the skillet. Turn the heat down just a tad if necessary and cook for 10 minutes, turning the chicken halfway through. Remove the chicken from the pan and place on a plate.
- With the skillet on medium-high heat, add the onion and peppers, cooking until the onions are translucent and the peppers have softened a bit (about 8 minutes). Toss occasionally to make sure the veggies cook evenly.
- Add the chicken back to the skillet with the vegetables and toss for another 2-3 minutes until the chicken is cooked through.
Jasmine Fennel Rice:
- Preheat a medium pot over medium-high heat and add the safflower oil.
- Add the rice to the pot, tossing until it’s evenly coated with the oil. Cook for 3-5 minutes until the rice is opaque, tossing occasionally.
- Add the vegetable broth and seasonings and bring to a boil.
- Cover the pot with a tightly fitted lid and reduce the heat to the lowest setting.
- Cook for 20 minutes then turn the flame off. Fluff up the rice and throughly mix the seasonings around using a wooden spoon or a fork. Serve warm.*
Tzatziki Sauce:
- Add all the ingredients to a medium bowl, mixing until combined.
- Serve cold.
Notes
- Rice: To keep the rice warm while you’re making the chicken, leave it covered once it has cooked. If it’s a bit cold, turn the heat back on to low and cover for a few minutes until it has warmed back up.
- To cut back on time, prepare the rice and tzatziki sauce while the chicken is marinating. Keep the tzatziki sauce in the fridge until you’re ready to serve it.
- Add some pita bread and toppings of your choice to bulk up your meal.
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