Grilled Lemon Yogurt Chicken

Wallaceclan - harissa is a North African chili paste. If you don't have it, you could make a paste with 1 t. sriracha or chili garlic sauce, 1 clove of crushed garlic, 1/2 t ground cumin , 1/2 t. ground coriander and 1/2 t. salt. This makes a very moist and flavorful chicken. I marinated for about 6 hours and it was perfect.

Thank you Chef John. I followed your recipe exactly, except that I used chicken breasts instead of a whole chicken (not a fan of bones), and my husband said that this was the best chicken ever. We eat a lot of different chicken breast recipes, so that says a lot.

Such a nice change from other grilled chicken and so healthy. You can do this marinade with any type of chicken (ie: boneless, skinless breasts or thighs). I didn't even marinate it for more than 1 1/2 hours and it was still delicious! The yogurt harissa (hot sauce) mixture is great with the chicken. I served this chicken with coleslaw.

Outstanding. Greeks and Indians famous for using natural live yogurt for moisture and tenderization. Good flavors though I'd add onion. Sidebar: My Mother would use yogurt instead of buttermilk (We made our own yogurt) sometimes to marinate her chicken for frying Southern (OK, Southern Armenian) style. Worked like a charm. Another great one, Chef!

Excellent. I did how ever(not by choice, planned to make it according to recipe but my plans changed) so it marinaded for 30 hours and turned out amazing. Very moist and flavorful. Did not make the sauce to eat with it. It wasn't necessary. Thanks for a keeper.

Marinaded for only 2 hours (was short on time). Did not pat dry the sauce off (why waste it?). No grill available, so I baked for 40 mins and then broiled on each side until crispy brown and well done. Served with cole slaw and was awesome!

VERY GOOD!! I also used chicken breasts. The meat was tender, moist, and flavorful. I have had trouble in the past with dry grilled chicken - not anymore! Thank you Chef John for our new grilled chicken recipe!

this is very good! i kept the recipe the same except using chicken breast and adding some extra rosemary, which goes so well with lemon and chicken. i also chose not to make the dipping sauce.. doesn't really need it. very fresh tasting and light. i will make this again.

This was tasty, but it wasn't like... WOW, flavor! I think if i tweak it a bit, though, it will be a great recipe. It was super moist though!

I love this recipe! I had to make a bit of revisions, though as I was a bit limited with my ingredients. I didn't have plain Greek yogurt so I used light sour cream instead. I used French Thyme instead of Herbs de Provence bec I didn't have it either. Plus, I used about 3 lbs of chicken tenders, boneless and skinless. (My kids don't like chicken skin and bones.) I didn't have a grill so I just baked it in the oven at 350 degrees for 35 minutes. It was moist, tender, and very delicious flavor!

The best grilled chicken I have ever had. My very picky hubby (he seriously only likes about 10 foods total!) even liked it. I had to hide the chicken while it marinated so that he wouldn't see it and refuse to try it. I didn't have herbes de Provence so I used dried rosemary. I didn't make the sauce, so I can't review it, but the marinade is fantastic! Next time I will oil the grill more, it stuck some. And I will not use a whole cut up chicken, but instead a uniform package of thighs or breasts, so that it all cooks at the same rate.

Did not like dipping sauce

Fabulous recipe from Chef John. Thanks for making dinner choices easier. Rosemary

This was absolutely delicious. Very moist and tasty. We will definitely make again soon!

Very flavorful. Used on bone in breasts and then grilled

This chicken was absolutely delicious. I had some hot sauce that I used for the dipping at the end. It was very good and will surely make this dish again

This was delicious! I used chicken breasts, marinated them overnight, and cooked them in a skillet on the stove (we don't have a grill). They turned out so moist and had such great flavor! We enjoyed them with the dipping sauce as well. Thanks for a great recipe! :)

This was very good. I used boneless skinless chicken breasts and made kabobs. Did not make the dipping sauce. The chicken was very moist and had great flavor. It did not brown up like the photo because it was skinless so not too pretty but definitely delish. Thanks.

It was good. The sauce was good too. Didn't have harissa so used another's suggestion and mixed 1/2 tsp sriracha, 1 clove of minced garlic, 1/4 tsp ground cumin, 1/2 tsp ground coriander, and 1/4 tsp salt as the harissa to add with the yogurt and lemon juice; I didn't add more salt. It wasn't something I'm dying to make again. I did bake it at 350 degrees for about 35 minutes, so may be better on the grill.

This recipe is so easy, and AMAZINGLY DELICIOUS! I've made it twice in the past few days... by popular demand!

we thought this was very moist and flavorful.. i did deviate from the recipe a bit as i started marinating this in the morning for dinner then changed my mind a couple of nights in a row.. so this basically sat in the marinade for 48+ hours.. i used Herbs de Provence from this site for the seasoning (minus the lavender in it) and upped it to 1.5 tsp.. i only had boneless skinless thighs (1.5 lbs).. we cooked this on a conventional george foreman.. but it required a lot of attention to not burn it.. regular grilling would be the way to go.. lastly, we didn't bother with the yogurt/harissa sauce.. it was delicious as is.. ty for the recipe

Love it, love it! I could hear my husband making those "um" sounds, and he is quite particular. This chicken doesn't need any sauce at all. It is great by itself.

I made this a second time to see if I got the same results as the first time. The answer was yes. The chicken comes out moist and tender, however the flavor seems a little off. I'm not sure how to get a handle on it. Maybe try a different brand of Greek yogurt? I would say that it's better cold. *Update 6/14/15* Did not give up on this recipe. My off flavor was due to the fact I was using Smoked Spanish Style Paprika. Much better with Hungarian Style Paprika!

This is really good. The sauce, while very simple, really makes the chicken. We didn't pat the marinade off the chicken, just threw it on the grill and basted the chicken with the marinade.

Chef John ~ After reading your lovely and eloquent description, I simply had to prepare your Grilled Lemon Yogurt Chicken (using full-fat Greek Yogurt). We recently purchased A Big Green Egg 'kamado type' ceramic Barbeque-Cooker. My husband is the barbequer and he grilled it to perfection... moist and aromatic! Your grilled chicken recipe is delightful. We thank you.

Super marinade! I always marinate my birds in freezer bags (zip kind) as I can mix a think marinade like this by squishy squishy... also makes it far cleaner and easier to coat the pieces..

This is my go to grilled chicken recipe since I first found it a couple of years ago. In fact, I made it last night. I have made it so many times, I have the recipe memorized... It is wonderful with skin on chicken because it gets so crispy and brown, but I also use it with skin off.

This recipe is fantastic! Such a bright, fresh flavor, and beautifully moist and tender. I used bone-in chicken thighs. Couldn't find my herbes de province and the local store didn't carry it, so I made my own version: a pinch each of rosemary, tarragon, thyme, mint and (fresh out of lavendar flowers) dried rose petals. I also substituted sriracha for the harissa. I served it with Orzo/spinach/feta/cucumber salad to rave reviews. Garnished with the sliced lemon rounds as pictured and a sprig of rosemary - very pretty.

This recipe is Oh so yummy! Highly recommended.

I made this tonight and it was delicious! Great flavor! I did not have the herbs de Provence so I substituted Italian seasoning and I grated the garlic cloves. I will make this again and again!

Very moist chicken! We opted to skip the dipping sauce though. Would definitely make again.

We loved this! The only modifications that we made were: --We did not rub the marinade off of the chicken before grilling. This may have contributed a bit to the skin sticking to the grill, but we wanted to keep as much flavor as we could. --I used a curry paste in the sauce, as my supermarket didn't have harissa. It was delicious! I'd make this on its own, as a dip with pita. We'll definitely be making this again!

Family really enjoyed the dipping sauce with it

Really enjoyed the flavor.

Excellent AND easy!

Great recipe for a hot summer day! I added more harissa as I wanted the spice but I wasn't happy with how the color turned out... pink! Wasn't appetizing looking but it was a delicious dish. I'm making this again this weekend for guests. I won't add the extra harissa this time. Especially important - the herbes de provence MAKE this dish. Don't leave it out.

What an excellent way to grill chicken. SO MOIST. I also used boneless breasts. Great taste

I made it for hubby and I, only did two bone in breasts, so I kept about three tablespoons of sauce to the side, added a little honey, sriracha and a little cumin. Delicious sauce for dipping.

Very good. I did not have Greek yogurt, so I used plain low fat to marinate chicken. It was absolutely perfect. But for sauce plain yogurt was too sour, so next time I will buy Greek type.

What an excellent chicken recipe! I did not change anything, other than doubling the marinade and removing the breast portion and drumsticks from the chicken. Hubby likes the sauce with small, diced cucmber. He does not normally like chicken dishes, and he has requested this a few times now. Harissa paste can be purchased on Amazon if you are unable to find it locally.

So delicious! I used boneless, skinless chicken breasts and they turned out juicy and tender. A new favourite for my family.

I bought the Herbes de Provence and harissa on line and prepared myself for something really different and wonderful tasting. The chicken was bland with very little flavor or pizzaz, the sauce was just disgusting ... maybe I don't like greek yogurt. I'm glad to have harissa in my spice collection though, it has a nice flavor.

Excellent even on pork chops. I ended up having to change it up a little. Used Mrs Dash tomato, basil, garlic - a heaping teaspoon and garlic and onion powder - stuck it in the oven and walla. Didn't use the 2nd part of the recipe and still it was great. I can only imagine what the original recipe tastes like. I'm glad I found this recipe I'm sure I'll be using it again. Thank you? ????

I made exactly as the recipe called for and it was awesome!! Wonderful summer chicken recipe for the grill!

This chicken was great! The only thing I changed was that I didn't pat the chicken dry after taking it out of the marinade and I'm glad I didn't! Grilling it with the marinade still on the meat resulted in a great flavor. I would highly recommend this!

First, the yogurt grilled chicken could stand alone, but if you didn't like the harissa sauce you didn't add enough. My brother-in-law from Tunisia introduced us to harissa and this lemon yogurt dip was fabulous. I added garlic and triple the harissa. The entire family devoured it and demanded I make more to smear our bread in. Don't shortcut the marinating...I slathered each piece of chicken and set them in a pie plate for a few hours. This one is a must make again!

This is delicious! I used one reviewer's suggestion for a harissa substitute, and the sauce was excellent too. It's nice to have a different chicken recipe with some zing and a sauce on the side!

This chicken was super moist and juicy even though I only had time to marinate it for an hour and a half. The seasoning is pretty subtle so you could reuse the leftovers in a variety of dishes. I took this to a tailgate and received rave reviews.

Too easy to taste this good... But it does.

Not fair really, because I was short of time yesterday and marinated for only one hour. No sauce. It was bland. Microwaved the other half today and added the sauce, awesome! Thank you, Chef John. Only change I made was using red hot sauce instead of harissa because with 2 feet of snow out there, no way I'm going to town unless I have to!

Probably my fault, because the reviews are so great, and my experience was not. Made the recipe by the directions, without the side sauce. Still, overwhelmed by seasoning. I used chicken breasts, and patted them dry, but did not rub off the marinade. Is that the mistake? It was sooooo juicy and tender, which is the 2 star.

Delicious!! I thought the flavors were excellent, not too strong but plenty of flavor and my husband and 4 year old twins loved it too! Will definitely be in the dinner time rotation! Going to make a greek inspired chicken salad with the leftovers!!

I made this pretty much "as written" - which I never do. My tweaks were: A 7 oz. container of lower fat Greek Yogurt - 3 lbs. of boneless, skinless chicken thighs and I added a Tablespoon of Granulated Onion. I marinated it all day in a giant Tupperware that I would flip every other hour. I did not remove the marinade at grill time and just sprayed our BBQ with some Pam for Grilling. DELISH! I did not make the dipping sauce - didn't need it. Served this with a cucumber and heirloom tomato salad and green beans. Healthy and delicious. There is a reason I follow Chef John on AR. Will definitely make this again! Something different to do with chicken! Yea!

EXCELLENT! The whole family loved it and my Albanian wife said it reminded her of something her family would have cooked back home. I was the only one who seemed to use the Harrissa Yogart sauce, but most others felt it was unnecessary as chicken was so good without it. I marinated for about three days and omitted wiping the marinade off chicken before grilling. Will definitely have this one again.

I made this one at my Mom and Dad's house. They were skeptical at first with the marinade but it came out great.The Video was really helpful...

Used thin cut chicken breasts. Didn't have harissa so used tobasco instead. I was very hesitant with this recipe but I'm glad I tried it because it's very good. What sold me was the dipping sauce. It gets to be a little much after a while but if you dip lightly, it should be fine. My hubs enjoyed it (and he's not a fan of greek yogurt), rated it a 4 but I would rate it a 4.5. If you despise the taste of plain greek yogurt, then you may not like this. I used up a yogurt brand that I'm not fond of because it was sitting in my fridge, but I still enjoyed it.

Excellent recipe. I am not one for planning ahead (marinating for 2 hours) but this one is worth it!

Real nice flavour, I agree with the other reviewers that the sauce is nice but not that necessary to the dish. I would certainly make this again.

Excellent. I made the dipping sauce with chilli powder instead because I didn't have the hot pepper spread and it still came out very good. Will def make again. Very moist.

Great recipe, chicken is nice and tender, not dry at all. I love the yoghurt flavor, lemon and garlic. Just delicious.

very nice and easy. even my 9 yo loved it. we'll be having this again

made it exactly to the recipe, very tasty

Absolutely wonderful! The sauce has a bit of a kick but it tastes great!

Followed the recipe to the letter with the exception of using boneless chicken breasts. Marinated the chicken for about 5 hours, and the chicken was moist and infused with bright lemon-y flavor. I did add extra hot sauce to the yogurt that topped the chicken (personal taste preference).

I loved this recipe.

By far my favorite chicken recipe on this site!

Absolutely wonderful! The sauce has a bit of a kick but it tastes great!

This was OK...it seemed it would be more compatable with fish though. The chicken came out moist. and it was ok tasting, but not memorable. Will not be making again. I didn't make the sauce because I have no idea what harissa is.

I thought this was very tasty. I used chicken thighs, since they tend to have more flavor, and they were very juicy and tender. I did not make the dipping sauce and we didnt miss it. Very good!

Add Italian seasoning instead of herbs de Provence

Chicken and sauce are both great. A keeper.

Tender, moist and delicious! Very flavorful for marinating just under 3 hours. The flavor is throughout the chicken, not just on the surface. Paired it with a new quinoa recipe. Made for a fantastic meal, will definitely make again. Even thinking of marinating a whole chicken and roasting it........

Chef John is the best! Love his recipes and videos. I marinated boneless chicken pieces till the next evening. Dinner plans changed. It is April 6, but winter has made a comeback in Rhode Island. So I used the oven. 375' degrees, about 20 minutes. I used a rack on foil lined baking sheet. Flipped pieces once. Perfect. Marinade made them very moist and full of flavor, absolutely delicious. Mixed yogurt, mayonnaise and hot sauce for dipping. Not too bad! I will definitely make this again and again.

Wow! Excellent chicken and easy! It is a keeper! Made a bunch for a group and they all loved it! Thanks!

Best chicken breasts ever!

The chicken is excellent, succulent, the sauce is amazing. My entire family loved this. This will become a staple recipe in my home.

My family didn't like this recipe..I was disappointed because it sounded so good. I think it was the paprika...I don't know just didn't enjoy it as other's did. Might make again without paprika.

This really is moist and delicious as well as excellent the next day.

It was fantastic!!! Just added 2 tbs brown sugar.

A good Yogurt Chicken recipe, needs some tweeking. Its a good starting point, I would make it again, but needs something, I just don't know what else, although It was very moist.

What a hit this was! Really delicious and followed receipe exactly with exception of harissa (could not find) so substituted tobasco instead. This will be one of my standard go-to's!

Tender and delish!!!!!!

This a favorite in our house. I do not pat off the excess marinade, as another said "why waste it and all the flavor" . I just happened to make a fresh batch of herbes de Provence and will be making this wonderful chicken for dinner tonight. Thanks Chef John for a fantastic recipe.

Delicious. I placed the chicken in a 9X13 dish and poured the sauce over it. Baked at 350 for 40 minutes.

I don't actually know where to start. I would give this a no star review but seeing all of the other reviews so favorable I fear I must have done something wrong...but I know not what. First of all the marinade was a paste. When I took the chicken out of the zip lock bag there was no 'pat dry'. I had to scrape the paste off of the chicken with my hands. Finally I gave up and washed it off. The chicken grilled fine per instructions but was very bland tasting to me...if that. I really would rather say nothing at all than say something bad but I just don't understand this recipe.

Made it a couple of times already, love it. I use skinless chicken breast that I flattened with a mallet, this way it cooks evenly. This is a really good recipe!!!!

I have eaten A LOT of grilled chicken, and this was among the best. Served at a dinner party and everyone raved. I used boneless, skinless breasts instead of a whole chicken. And, I didn't pat dry the marinade, but just placed on the grill fully covered in the marinade. Also, the marinade itself tastes great, so before I coated the chicken, I set aside and chilled some of the marinade and used it as a sauce/condiment. Placed a dollop on the plate for dipping.

Delicious-I will be making this again. I did not make the sauce with harissa as I had none-but I will try it next time. I did use boneless skinless chicken breasts and they came out very tender, not dry at all

Made exactly as directed, and it was SO good on the grill. Can't wait to make this one again.

I am hard to impress with chicken preparations, as it's just not my favorite meat. This was an excellent recipe, and I will make again!

Pretty bland.

This was delicious. Great recipe. I used legs and thighs.

it was easy and good and the yogurt is a healthier option instead of using sour cream

I really liked the flavor of this, especially with the yogurt sauce. The chicken was mild enough for my kids to eat it without the sauce, but the sauce added the “kick” I loved. I will definitely make this again. I used boneless skinless breasts because it was what I had on hand, but I will try the bone-in next time.

Easy recipe and everyone loved it. Leftovers made great burritos.

The flavor was good but it was visually unappetizing. I will not make this again.

I served this at a ladies luncheon and it was a huge success. The only difference is that I cut the chicken breasts into strips and skewered them. So tender and flavorful. Huge Success!

This is an excellent recipe made just as instructions are written. We enjoyed this thoroughly. The dipping sauce is fantastic. For a weeknight meal or for entertaining, this is really scrumptious! Thank you.

I enjoyed this recipe. I made it as directed with the exception of the herbes de provence, since I didn't have any. Instead, I added a little rosemary, oregano, and basil, which was all I had that seems to be ingredients in the herbes de provence. I also used a cast iron grill pan on the stove since I don't have an outdoor grill. As some others have said they left the marinade on the chicken and it turned out well, I decided to try it. The chicken browned up nicely and had great grill marks. Some have remarked that the chicken was bland, but I found it incredibly flavorful, probably because of the marinate being left on. It wasn't dripping with the marinade, but there was a good coating left on the chicken. It was so tender, I didn't need a knife. I used chicken tenderloins. I didn't make the dipping sauce because I didn't have enough yogurt and I didn't think it would need it with the marinade left on the chicken. But, I can say I've had a similar sauce in another dish (Moroccan Chicken) and it was very tasty. I'm sure it would have been tasty here too. I served the chicken with a side of couscous seasoned with a little lemon zest, lemon juice, salt, and pepper. The leftover zest I had and juice of the other half of the lemon I had not used in the marinade were enough.***To those unfamiliar with Harissa, you can buy it at any store. It's made from different peppers. My Meijer carries it in a powder form with all of the other spices and in a jar as a sauce