Hangry in Maine

Let’s get one thing straight: chicken does not have to be boring. I know it’s the main protein everyone tells you to eat when you’re trying to “eat healthy”, but nine times out of ten, it ends up dry, sad, and flavorless; basically the punishment of the meal prep world. If you’ve ever choked down a rubbery, beige chicken breast on a Tuesday and questioned your life choices, this recipe, and blog series, is for you!

Welcome to recipe 1 of my Not Your Basic Meal Prep recipe series, where we rescue your meal prep from boredom and give them some damn personality.

We’re kicking things off with a recipe that makes chicken tender, juicy, and straight up craveable: Greek Yogurt Marinaded Chicken. The yogurt keeps the chicken ridiculously moist (thanks, science), while lemon, garlic, and herbs slap it awake with real flavor. It’s fresh, zesty, tangy, and works with literally everything; grain bowls, wraps, salads, sandwiches, quesadillas, pasta, etc.

Bonus: it can even double as a tangy dipping sauce if you’re feeling extra saucy, just make a little extra!

Why Greek Yogurt?

• It’s high in protein (so you don’t end up living on coffee and good vibes).
• The lactic acid (science things) helps to tenderize the chicken, so it’s juicy and not “chew until your jaw hurts” chicken.
• It holds onto spices and herbs like a champ; it does the heavy lifting, while you take the credit.

Ingredients

• 3/4 cup plain Greek yogurt (whole milk if you want max flavor, but 0% milk fat is ok too!)
• 3-4 cloves garlic, minced (you can use more or less, honestly, garlic is measured with your heart, not by clove)
• zest of 1 large lemon
• 2.5 tsp Greek seasoning (I love the one from SKORDO)
• 1/2 tsp of black pepper
• 2.5 tsp of lemon white balsamic vinegar (or regular lemon juice, I like the sweet tang from the lemon balsamic, but I know it’s not an ingredient that everyone has in their pantry)
• Optional: 1 TBSP honey or hot honey (not necessary, but adds a nice balance to the tangy yogurt and savory herbs)
• Optional: Some sort of heat, harissa paste, a pinch of chili flake, a squirt of sriracha…whatever you have on hand if you want to add little a drama

Instructions

1. Whisk all of the ingredients together in a big bowl, preferably one that has a lid, until combined and smooth.
2. Toss in your chicken; breasts, thighs, drumsticks, tenders, diced cubes…whatever you like. Make sure every piece of chicken is coated in the marinade.
   • Taste it before adding your chicken–everyone has different taste buds, if it needs more acid, add more lemon. If you want more garlic, toss that in. Whatever the case, this is the time to adjust it to YOUR taste.
     • Also, this is time to set any aside if you want to save some for a sauce or dip–once you add raw chicken to it, you can longer save any marinade for a side of sauce, as it has now been contaminated with raw chicken juices.
3. Cover and marinate in the fridge for at least 4 hours up to overnight. Pro tip: Throw this together the night before or early the morning before, so you’re chicken will be ready to go!
4. Cook it however you want–grill it, roast it, or pan sear it. Just don’t boil it, that should be a crime. I prefer to grill it with this marinade, you get a really nice char/crust from the grill and the inside of the chicken is so juicy and flavorful.
5. Eat it straight up, slice it up for salads or grain bowls, or store it for the perfect meal prepped protein for delicious meals for the entire week!

How to Use It (aka how not to be bored by Wednesday)

The best part about this chicken is how versatile it is. It is so flavorful, but the flavors mesh well with so many things. I make a big batch of this on Sundays and the mix and match with other pre-prepped ingredients all week to make tasty, healthy and non-repetitive meals for lunch & dinner.

• Served warm with roasted veggies and garlic couscous
• In a Greek grain bowl with some greens, olives, cucumbers, hummus, feta, pickled onions, roasted chickpeas, and tzatziki
• Chop some up and add it to some pasta, toss with pesto and sauteed veggies for an easy dinner (cook half a box of pasta and have in your fridge prepped for the week, you can warm it up for a hot pasta dish or leave it cold and toss with veggies and your extra sauce for a delicious, protein-packed pasta salad)
• Make some rice and beans, add a sprinkle of shredded cheese (everyone has a cheese drawer and a random half jar of salsa) and make a burrito bowl with your prepped veggies
• One of my favorites and easiest go tos is to grab a Caesar salad kit, mix it up, toss in some chicken and either have a nice grilled chicken Caesar salad or dump it in a wrap and take it with me on the go.
• Diced it up and add it to some chickpeas, diced celery, red onion, and used some extra marinade to make a very light and flavorful chicken salad.
• Eat it cold with your bare hands straight from the fridge like a feral chihuahua–hey, at least you’re eating something and getting your protein in.

What’s Up Next in the Series

• Protein Mains
  • Jammy Roasted Garlic & Caramelized Onion Focaccia (because bread can be meal prep; sandwich base, pizza base, soup side, or a snack straight from the pan)
  • Shawarma Spiced Chickpeas (cheap, easy, crunchy, toss on anything protein flavor bombs)
  • Chimichurri Steak Bites (because sometimes you want steak without feeling like you’re auditioning for a Texas Roadhouse)
  • Spinach Artichoke Turkey Meatballs (aka, turkey meatballs that don’t suck–these are moist and flavorful, and do not have the texture of a stress ball)
  • Sourdough English Muffins (this recipe is already posted, but I love meal prepping these. Perfect for breakfast sandwiches, breakfast pizza or regular pizza bases, mini garlic breads, bread pudding, croutons, toasted with some peanut butter, etc.)
• Sauces & Bases (because condiments are the main character)
  • Green Goddess-ish Sauce (herby, tangy, slather it on everything vibes)
  • Preserved Lemon Relish (refreshing, flavorful, and the perfect pop of brightness)
  • Sriracha honey butter (perfect for veggies, proteins, toasts…basically life)
  • Harissa Tzatziki (because tzatziki is easy af to make, and this harissa once adds the perfect pop of creamy heat)
  • Miso Maple Dressing (fall in a bottle; the perfect dressing for salads, grain bowls, salmon, or eating straight from the spoon when no one is watching)
  • Hummus (savory and sweet flavors!)
• Breakfasts (grab & go so you don’t spiral at 7am)
  • Protein Muffins (that don’t taste like cardboard)
  • Egg Bites 2.0 (loaded with protein and fiber, but you would never know it!)
  • Masala Chai Spiced Overnight Oats
  • Raspberry Cheesecake Protein Pancake Bites
  • Sweet Potato Breakfast Burritos
• Fun Extras
  • Pickled Red Onions (because meal prep needs a little drama sometimes)
  • Sheet Pan Halloumi & Veggies (because cheese deserves main character energy)
  • Marinated Feta Blocks (meal prep, but also giftable, snackable, and boujee af)
  • Greek Yogurt Bark (sometimes you need a treat that’s sweeter than you)
  • Almond Butter Brownie Bites (healthy-ish, but still with chocolate, because some hanger cannot be satisfied without a little chocolate)

Final Thoughts

This marinade is proof that “meal prep chicken” doesn’t have to be a boring, flavorless, repetitive, life sentence. It’s juicy, tangu, versatile, and keeps your fridge stocked with something healthy and interesting that you will actually want to eat all week.

Consider this the first recipe in the Not Your Basic Meal Prep series–because if we’re going to take the time out of weekend to prep, it better be worth it. You can look forward to proteins, sauces, breakfasts, and flavor packed extras; all things that you can mix and match so meal prep doesn’t get boring and the food doesn’t remind you of prison.