I hope you have at least one Greek friend. With one good Greek friend you’ll know that whatever you’re cooking needs more olive oil and whatever you’re working on, well you should stop to relax by the sea. My dear friend Anastasia is my Greek friend. She also happens to give the most incredible culinary tours of Greece. I know because a few year ago we fried eggs in several inches of olive oil over a fire we built ourselves in our pajamas in a house on a cliff overlooking the actual SEA. Few things in my life have been better. Anastasia also gifted me this generous jar of homegrown Greek oregano. It’s a treasure and this dried oregano which makes an easy chicken dinner recipe extra heartwarming especially for a weeknight dinner.
Keep it easy this week friends. Keep it easy and grab a sweater.
My other favorite weeknight meal ideas: No-Chop Chicken Meatballs and One-Pot French Onion Pasta (which is also really nice with added chicken!)
This jar of dried oregano from Anastasia’s family’s backyard garden is a prized spice in my cabinet.
This easy chicken dinner recipes comes together super simply, as it should.
First, saute onions and garlic on several glugs of olive oil until softened and fragrant.
Season chicken thighs and nestle them into the onions and garlic to brown on both sides. Add canned tomatoes and chicken stock. Lots of oregano goes in and the whole pot simmers for 20 minutes.
Add lots of crumbled feta and kalamata olives (or anything briney like capers or green olives) and serve over pasta (or any starchy starch you prefer).
That’s dinner! And it’s the sort of dinner that makes me feel like my friend Anastasia is just across the table gossiping over dinner with me. I hope this brings you warmth, too! Let’s eat!
Print
Greek Oregano Braised Chicken Dinner
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 20-30 minutes
- Total Time: 5 minute
- Yield: Serves 4
Description
An easy weeknight dinner with chicken thighs, canned tomatoes, Greek oregano, kalamata olives, and feta cheese.
Ingredients
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 pounds boneless skinless chicken thighs season with salt and pepper
- 1 large yellow onion, coarsely diced (about 1 1/4 cups)
- 3 cloves garlic, peeled smashed and coarsely chopped
- 1 cup chicken stock
- 1 (28-ounce) can whole or crushed tomatoes
- Salt and pepper to taste
- Kalamata olives, sliced in half
- Feta cheese
- Greek oregano
- Rice or pasta or whatever starch you might like on the side
Instructions
- In a large deep skillet heat olive oil over medium-high heat. Season chicken pieces on both sides with salt and pepper. Add chicken pieces and let brown, undisturbed for 5 minutes. Flip and cook for 3 minutes more. Some chicken pieces may not be cooked through and that’s ok. Place chicken on a plate to the side.
- Reduce heat to medium, add onions. Cook until translucent and just beginning to brown, about 4 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute more. Try not to allow the garlic to burn.
- Add the chicken stock and scrape any bits off the bottom of the pan. Add the canned tomatoes, using a large spoon to break the whole tomatoes into bit-sized bits. Add a sprinkle of salt, pepper and Greek oregano. Nestle the chicken pieces into the simmering tomatoes and pour in any juices that have accumulated on the plate. Cover, reduce heat to low and simmer for 20 minutes or until the chicken pieces are cooked through.
- Once the chicken is cooked through, remove from heat and sprinkle generously with olives, feta, and oregano. Give it a taste and season with more salt and pepper or a splash of red wine vinegar as you’d like. Serve over a starch.
Debra
This time I am baking the chicken with small tomatoes and a block of feta, add small can of tomato sauce, to mash mix at end. Add the olives at end, over some nice Italian short pasta. Our new fav dish. Thanks.
★★★★★
Cyndi
Love this recipe! My husband asked me to please put it in the keeper file! I used italian seasoning as I didn’t have oregano and used a squeeze of fresh lemon instead of vinegar. Delicious!
★★★★★
Timothy Woods
Hello!
Just wanted to let you know that my wife and I tried this recipe the other night. It so happens that my inlaws were there too. They like the recipe so much that they ask for the leftovers to go!
Anyways, thanks a lot for sharing this. Excited to send the next recipe here to my wife.
Have a great day!
★★★★★
Jill H.
Excellent recipe. This came out great and was easy to put together. Had leftovers for lunch and everyone at work was oogling my lunch! LOL Thanks Joy
★★★★★
samantha campanini
Looks really good!!
Ellie
Hahahaha! Totally true! As a born-and-raised Greek living in Madrid, I can vouch for more olive oil in all recipes! Everyone here thinks I’m overly exaggerated when cooking with olive oil, but IMHO nothing beats the flavour of EVOO in so many dishes. :-):-)
Thank you for this great recipe, brought back so many memories from home! Keep cooking on and relaxing by the sea! :-)
Leslie
This sounds AMAZING! Any idea if / where someone could buy such beautiful oregano?
Becky Kelly
This looks like a good recipe using an instant pot. Any suggestions?
Scott
What about using bone in chicken thighs? Would you cook them longer?
Adrianna
Scott, I used bone in thighs and just added to the cook time. 8 mins each side and then simmered for 30 minutes on low.
★★★★★