If you love Mediterranean food, this Mediterranean chicken with olives recipe is a must try! You’ll be blown away by the flavors of this easy Mediterranean chicken with olives recipe and will want to make it over and over. I can’t get enough of it!
This Mediterranean chicken with olives recipe only uses a few ingredients but is bursting with flavor. The olives and garlic add a nice complexity to the chicken and I highly recommend you try it!
Mediterranean Chicken
- Level: Easy
- Total: 35 min
- Active: 35 min
- Yield: 3 servings
Ingredients
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2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
Pinch of cayenne
2 tablespoons California extra-virgin olive oil
3 large chicken breast cutlets, pounded or thinly sliced
Juice of half a lemon, plus four slices of lemon
2 large cloves garlic, sliced
1/3 cup sliced kalamata olives, pitted
1/3 cup green olives (we use some marinated in herbs de Provence), pitted
3 tablespoons fresh Italian parsley, chopped
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
Fresh pepper, to taste
2 teaspoons butter Add to Shopping List
Directions
- Combine the flour and cayenne in a shallow bowl. Heat the olive oil in a medium skillet on medium flame until hot.
- Dredge the chicken in the flour mixture, shaking off any excess flour. Place the chicken in the hot skillet and cook until lightly golden, about 3 minutes.
- Turn the chicken over, add the lemon juice, lemon slices, garlic, olives, 1 1/2 tablespoons of the parsley, and the salt and pepper. Cook for 8 to 10 minutes, shaking the pan occasionally and stirring the olive mixture gently to avoid burning the garlic.
- Add the butter to the pan, shaking to combine the sauce.
- Place the chicken breasts on a serving plate, then pour the olive mixture over the top. Garnish with the remaining 1 1/2 tablespoons of the fresh parsley.
mediterranean olive chicken
Healthy marinated roast chicken recipe with Mediterranean marinade – green olives, lime, honey, garlic, oregano, red pepper flakes.
This recipe started with a container of leftover ripe green olives in the fridge. The thought of marinating those salty olives with chicken sounded enticing. I began throwing together all kinds of complimentary flavors– lime juice for a mild tartness, honey for sweetness, garlic and oregano, plus red pepper flakes for a kick. The result is my Mediterranean Olive Chicken– now a favorite recipe on my site, which is cooked in home kitchens all around the world. Who knew those leftover green olives would lead to something so popular and enduring?
I grew up eating a lot of chicken and a lot of fish. My mom and stepdad stuck to a heart-healthy diet, which meant that we rarely ate red meat. I used to complain about this when I was 6 or 7 years old… in fact, I had a little saying, which I liked to proclaim in sing-song fashion:
Chicken or fish, chicken or fish, all we ever eat is chicken or fish.
My mother, bless her heart, refrained from scolding me. She’d just smile, hand me my plate, and cheerfully announce that I was on dish duty. I quickly learned that I’d better stop complaining and eat up, or I’d be stuck doing dishes until I went to college.
Looking back, I find it funny that I was bummed about the lack of red meat in my childhood diet. Nowadays, I don’t eat much meat at all– in fact, I would say we’re about 80% vegetarian. We eat Mediterranean-style most of the time, which means we enjoy lots of veggies, fruits, whole grains and olive oil, and very little red meat. We prefer vegetarian entrees, but when we do choose to eat meat, it’s usually chicken or fish… more often chicken.
Because of our Mediterranean inclinations, I’m always coming up with new and creative ways to prepare chicken. I developed this recipe back in 2013 to use up those leftover olives in the refrigerator. After marinating and roasting, the chicken turned out just lovely… aromatic, herby, juicy and full of flavor. The marinade created delectable olive-laden pan drippings, so I skimmed the fat, added white wine, and whipped up a delicious sauce. It would make a great weeknight recipe, and it’s even special enough for a holiday meal. Try it and let me know what you think!
mediterranean olive chicken
Healthy marinated roast chicken recipe with Mediterranean marinade – green olives, lime, honey, garlic, oregano, red pepper flakes.
COURSE: MAIN COURSE
KOSHER KEY: MEAT
SERVINGS: 8 SERVINGS
PREP TIME: 2 HOURS
COOK TIME: 1 HOUR
TOTAL TIME: 3 HOURS
INGREDIENTS
- 3/4 cup chopped ripe green olives
- 1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 2 tbsp fresh lime juice
- 1 tbsp crushed garlic
- 2 tsp honey
- 1/2 tsp lime zest
- 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes (if sensitive to spice, omit)
- 1/2 tsp dried oregano
- Salt and pepper
- 4-5 lbs chicken pieces, bone in, skin on (I like using chicken thighs)
- 1/4 cup dry white wine
- 2 tsp cornstarch or potato starch (use potato starch for Passover)
NOTES
You will also need: 9×13 baking dish, plastic wrap, foil
INSTRUCTIONS
- In a mixing bowl, whisk together the chopped olives, olive oil, lime juice, garlic, honey, lime zest, red pepper flakes and oregano. Season the marinade with salt and pepper to taste.
- Sprinkle the chicken pieces lightly with salt and pepper. Place chicken pieces in a 9×13 ceramic or glass baking dish. Brush the pieces evenly with olive marinade, using all of the marinade to coat.Cover the baking dish with plastic wrap and place it in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours, up to overnight (overnight is best).
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Remove the plastic wrap and cover the baking dish with parchment or foil. If using foil, pierce a few vents with a sharp knife around the outer edges. If using parchment, simply cover the dish loosely.
- Place the covered dish in the oven. Let the chicken bake for 60 minutes, then remove the parchment or foil and cook for an additional 15-30 minutes, basting periodically, until well cooked and tender. At the end of cooking, you may broil it for a minute or two to brown the skin– watch carefully to make sure it doesn’t burn!Transfer chicken pieces to a platter. Carefully tip the baking dish so that the pan drippings and juices gather in one corner. Use a spoon to skim off the clear liquid fat, separating it from the solid drippings. Discard the fat.
- Pour the remaining drippings into a small saucepan along with ¼ cup of white wine. Heat the sauce slowly over medium.While sauce is heating, whisk together 1 tbsp cornstarch or 2 tsp potato starch and 2 tbsp water till smooth. Pour the starchy liquid into the saucepan and whisk until combined. Heat the sauce until bubbling and thickened.
- Serve the chicken topped with warm sauce. Note: this recipe is kosher for Passover if you use potato starch and Passover-approved products with a kosher hechsher.
One-Pan Mediterranean Braised Chicken with Olives
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 55 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour
Servings:4
Fall in love with Mediterranean flavors with this easy and delicious one pan, one hour, braised chicken with creamy potatoes, roasted olives, and lemon!
Ingredients
- ▢4 in bone- skin-on chicken thighs
- ▢salt and pepper to taste
- ▢1 1/2 Tbsp olive oil
- ▢5 cloves garlic smashed
- ▢1 large yellow or white onion sliced
- ▢4-5 inch yukon gold or red-skinned potatoes scrubbed clean and cut into 1 pieces
- ▢1 lemon sliced thinly
- ▢2 Tbsp fresh oregano minced (can substitute 2 tsp dried oregano)
- ▢1/2 cup Mezzetta green olives with pimento (some sliced some whole)
- ▢1/2 cup Mezzetta pitted Kalamata olives (some sliced some whole)
- ▢1 Tbsp all purpose flour
- ▢1/3 cup white wine one third, I use Chardonnay
- ▢1 1/3 cup chicken stock one and one third
- ▢1 sprig of fresh rosemary whole
- ▢1 lemon zested
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Pat chicken thighs dry with a paper towel and season liberally with salt and pepper.
- Heat olive oil in a large oven-safe skillet over MED-HIGH heat. Once oil is rippling, add the chicken thighs, skin side down and cook for 5 minutes, or until golden brown and seared.
- Turn chicken over and cook on the other side for another 4-5 minutes.
- Remove chicken to a plate to rest.
- Add onion to the pan and saute for 1-2 minutes.
- Add potatoes, smashed garlic cloves, olives, and minced oregano and stir to combine. Cook, stirring occasionally, for 4-5 minutes.
- Sprinkle flour over vegetables and stir. Add wine and allow most of the liquid to cook off (just a few minutes).
- Pour in chicken stock and stir. Nestle the chicken thighs into the pan and tuck the lemon slices in among the chicken and vegetables. Toss in the rosemary sprig.
- Cover pan with lid (or foil), and bake for 40 minutes, until potatoes are tender and chicken is cooked through. Remove rosemary stem.
- The remaining juices should have thickened into a makeshift gravy you can spoon over the top of the chicken when serving.
- Garnish with lemon zest and additional oregano or fresh parsley if desired.
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Chef Tips
** Mezzetta olives are the ones I use for this recipe, as they are quality ingredients.