This easy baked chicken with feta will take minutes to prepare with just 5 simple ingredients, but it will taste like it took you hours! Simply pile tangy feta cheese onto thin chicken breasts, drizzle with bright lemon juice and olive oil, scatter over dried oregano and bake.

Your dinner will be on the table in under 30 minutes!

Why you’ll love it

• Ridiculously easy but bursting with flavor with just 5 ingredients (plus salt and pepper!). Grab chicken breasts, a lemon and feta from the store, and dried oregano and olive oil from the pantry. It’s a perfect easy weeknight dinner!

• Juicy and tender texture. The feta, lemon and oil keeps the meat moist while baking. As a bonus, the melty feta cheese crisps on top slightly, creating a fine and very tasty ‘crust’.

• A crowd pleaser. With the easy cheesy feta topping and lemony flavor, there’s a good chance this could become a family favorite.

• Budget friendly. With an easy side dish or two, this baked feta chicken can easily serve 4 with just 2 large chicken breasts.

• Tasty leftovers. Use in sandwiches or salads for a delicious lunch the next day!

Ingredients

Chicken breasts: I find the chicken breasts at my local supermarket are usually quite large. So for this recipe I slice them in half across the width to cut down on the cooking time and keep them juicy and tender.

If on the other hand the chicken breasts you buy are quite small, you can use them in the recipe as is. Just pound them to an even thickness between two sheets of plastic wrap (to no more than 2cm thick) with a rolling pin or mallet.

Feta cheese: I usually try to buy an authentic Greek brand or Greek style feta cheese. Alternatively, there are the slightly creamier, softer types such as Danish or French feta which can also work well.

Olive oil: You’ll want to drizzle a little bit more olive oil than seems necessary all over the dish before baking the feta chicken! It adds flavor, moisture and creates a light ‘sauce’ together with the lemon juice and cheese.

I like to use extra virgin olive oil for the best flavor.

Lemon juice: Since lemon is a key flavor in the dish, I squeeze the juice of a whole lemon over the chicken. A small to medium lemon is perfect.

Dried oregano: Oregano goes well with the lemony feta Greek vibe of this recipe. However, feel free to substitute with a different dried Mediterranean herb such as basil or thyme.

No oregano in the pantry? See my list of easy oregano substitutes.

Salt and pepper: Seasoning the chicken generously on both sides before adding the breasts to your baking dish makes a big difference to the overall flavor.

How to make baked chicken with feta

First, pre-heat the oven to 410F/210C. Slice two large chicken breasts in half across the width. Be careful of your fingers!

Place the chicken breast halves in a large baking dish in a single layer. Season generously with salt and pepper.

Pile crumbled feta cheese onto each breast. I usually crumble as I go. And don’t be shy! You want plenty on top of each piece of meat.

Now scatter over the oregano, and drizzle over the lemon juice and olive oil.

Bake for around 15 to 20 minutes, or until the internal temperature has reached 165F/74C. Decorate with lemon wedges if you like.

Serving ideas

You could serve this lemony feta baked chicken in so many ways! But since it’s super easy to make, I suggest keeping any side dishes simple, too.

• My ‘usual’ way of serving this dish is with either 10-minute sautéed frozen broccoli, 5-minute frozen sauteed spinach, or 10-minute sauteed frozen green beans, and some simple cubed roasted potatoes (just cut potatoes into small 1 to 2cm cubes, toss with olive oil and roast at 390F/200C until tender and browned).

• An alternative veggie side is these delicious and easy Mediterranean vegetables, which can be in the oven at the same time as the chicken. Prefer something orange on the plate? Try this sautéed butternut squash instead (also works with pumpkin or sweet potato!).

• Alternatively, why not serve with french fries and a simple salad such as maroulosalata AKA Greek lettuce salad?

• Cooked rice or orzo pasta could be another simple side dish option. Keep them plain with the baked chicken and feta served on top with some of the lovely juices. Alternatively, how about this orzo pesto salad?

Top tip: Leftovers are absolutely delicious made into a fancy toastie/grilled cheese sandwich for lunch (or dinner – why not?).

Variations

While I love to keep this dish a 5-ingredient recipe, here are a few ways to vary it slightly.

• Cram a little finely chopped fresh spinach or arugula (rocket) onto the chicken, underneath the feta.

• Add a few chopped sun-dried tomatoes with the feta.

• Try with different dried herbs, such as basil, rosemary, thyme, or a Mediterranean herb blend.

• For a little crunch, add some chopped nuts such as walnuts, pistachios or pine nuts to the dish.

• Add fast-cooking vegetables to the dish such as cubed zucchini, cherry tomatoes, red onions or peppers.

• Scatter over some pitted Kalamata olives or capers (or both) towards the end of the cooking time.

• Add crushed or sliced garlic to the dish for extra depth of flavor. Alternatively, scatter over a little garlic powder.

• Add some marinated artichoke hearts to the dish.

• For a hint of spice, sprinkle over a pinch of cayenne pepper, red pepper flakes, or a finely chopped red chilli.

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