Made in just one skillet, this Mediterranean chicken recipe comes together in less than 30-minutes. It’s packed with my favorite flavors from childhood: garlicky seared chicken, briny olives, creamy feta, tomatoes, and parsley. Fewer dishes, less time, and more flavor—that’s what I call weeknight dinner done right!.
Weeknights can be busy so I tend to lean toward simple skillet meals like this Mediterranean chicken recipe. It’s loaded with bright, fresh flavors thanks to the tomatoes, olives, and lemon—plus, like my one-pan Chicken and Asparagus recipe, cleanup is a snap. You only need a skillet, a knife, and a cutting board to make this recipe. I like to eat it by itself, but it’s easy to make more for a big family or a crowd by adding rice or pasta to it. There is plenty of sauce to sop up so pairing this skillet chicken recipe with a piece of crusty bread or Rosemary Focaccia would also work. This recipe is great because it can be used in a lot of different ways. If you have spinach that you need to use up, add it right before serving. If you only have chicken thighs, you can use them instead of chicken breasts. They will still taste great! If you want a dairy-free chicken recipe, this Mediterranean chicken is tasty with or without the feta.
Olives are often used in Mediterranean and Middle Eastern cooking because they add a salty and sour flavor to food. Their briny flavor pairs especially well with chicken. If you’ve seen chicken with olives recipes and wanted to know what makes them taste so good, keep reading. This article will talk about what chicken olives are, which types of olives are best to use in cooking, and how to use olives in chicken recipes.
What Are Olives?
Olives are stone fruits produced by olive trees. There are hundreds of different kinds of olives, but most of them fall into three main groups.
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Green olives – Picked before ripening, these olives maintain their green color and have a bitter, grassy taste. Popular green olive varieties include Manzanilla, Picholine, and Lucque.
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Black olives – Allowed to ripen on the tree, black olives develop a deeper flavor and are less bitter than unripe green olives. Common black olive types are Kalamata, Nyon, and Thassos.
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Oil-cured olives: Like Moroccan or California-style olives, oil-cured olives grow in an oil brine instead of a water brine. They have a rich, mellow flavor.
Green and black olives both make tasty additions to chicken dishes. Oil-cured olives also work well, but their flavor is usually described as less “olive-y.”
Why Cook Chicken with Olives?
Olives’ salty and sour taste balances out and improves the mild taste of chicken. Olives also provide texture contrast in chicken recipes. They stay together while they’re cooking, so each bite has a great burst of saltiness.
Some of the most classic chicken and olive pairings include:
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Chicken cacciatore – An Italian hunter-style braise with tomatoes, wine, mushrooms, and olives
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Chicken tagine – A Moroccan stew characterized by olives, preserved lemons, and warming spices like cumin and cinnamon
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Mediterranean chicken – Seared chicken breasts or thighs topped with a sauce of olives, lemon, garlic, and herbs
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Chicken Marbella – A baked chicken dish with prunes, capers, oregano, white wine, and green olives
So olives infuse chicken with signature Mediterranean and Middle Eastern flavors. Their saltiness also enhances the other ingredients.
Best Olives to Use in Chicken Recipes
You can use most brined olives in chicken recipes, but some varieties are better suited for cooking than others. Here are top options:
Kalamata olives – The most widely available Greek black olive, Kalamatas have an earthy, wine-like flavor. Their rich taste can stand up to bold seasonings.
Castelvetrano olives – Bright green with a fresh, buttery flavor, these Sicilian olives add mild brininess without overpowering other ingredients. Their soft texture also works well in braises.
Picholine olives – A principal green olive grown in France, Picholines have a firm texture and moderate bitterness. Their grassy taste complements herbs like rosemary and thyme.
Nicoise olives – Small black olives native to France’s Cote d’Azur region. They are cured with oranges, bay leaves, and other herbs, lending a complex, robust flavor.
Manzanilla olives – One of the most popular Spanish green olives, Manzanillas are crisp, tart, and salty. They brighten dishes with their sharp taste.
I suggest buying good quality olives from the refrigerated section of your grocery store, rather than generic canned olives which lack flavor.
Tips for Cooking with Olives
Here are some tips to follow when using olives to make chicken dishes:
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Pick an olive variety – Choose an olive that will pair well with your recipe flavors. Mild Castelvetranos work for simple preparations, while pungent Kalamatas can handle assertive seasonings.
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Brine vs. oil-cured – Opt for brined olives to get the most characteristic olive taste. Oil-cures have a more muted flavor.
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Whole, pitted, or chopped – Pitted and chopped olives distribute brininess evenly. Whole olives provide nice texture contrast.
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Marinate before adding – For bolder olive taste, marinate chopped or sliced olives in olive oil, garlic, citrus zest, and spices for 1-2 hours. Then add to the dish later in cooking.
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Add near the end – To preserve the olive’s flavor and texture, wait to add olives until the last 5-10 minutes of cooking time for braises or sautés.
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Green vs. black – Use green for an acidic punch and black for deeper, earthier tastes. Mixing green and black can provide balance.
Chicken and Olive Recipe Inspiration
To highlight how olives liven up chicken, here are a few recipe ideas:
One-Skillet Mediterranean Chicken
Made with green olives, lemon, tomatoes, and oregano, this quick stove-top dish packs bright Mediterranean flavor. The briny olives cut through the richness of the chicken and broth.
Moroccan Chicken Tagine
A tagine is a North African clay pot used for braises like this one. It includes spices like cumin and cinnamon, along with honey, preserved lemons, and salty black olives for contrast.
Chicken Cacciatore
Cacciatore means “hunter-style” in Italian. For this braise, seared chicken joins tomatoes, mushrooms, red wine, herbs, and briny Kalamata olives. Serve over pasta or polenta.
Spanish Chicken with Olives and Sherry
Pan-fried chicken smothered in a savory sherry and olive sauce infused with smoked paprika. Green Spanish olives like Manzanilla would work well here.
Chicken Marbella
A baked chicken dish with green olives, prunes, capers, and aromatic oregano. The sweet and sour flavors pair nicely with the olives’ saltiness.
How to Make Mediterranean Chicken
One-skillet dinners are great because they are simple to make and clean up. Fewer dishes to do means more time with my family.
- Prep the chicken: Pat the chicken breasts dry. This helps skillet chicken get that nice golden-brown sear. Cut three small holes in the chicken breast on each side.
- To season the chicken, rub garlic on both sides of it and stuff some garlic into the holes you made. Put a lot of salt and pepper on the chicken breasts all over, along with half of the dried oregano.
- The chicken should be seared. Heat the olive oil in a large cast iron skillet over medium-high heat until it shimmers. Sear the chicken on both sides until it turns a light golden color.
- For the chicken, add the white wine and let it cook down until it’s half gone. Add the lemon juice and chicken broth. Put the last 1/2 tablespoon of oregano on top and turn the heat down to medium. Cover with a lid or tightly with foil. First cook the chicken on one side for 6 to 7 minutes. Then flip it over and cook for another 6 minutes. Keep cooking until an instant read thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the chicken reads 165°F.
- To finish the chicken and serve it, take the lid off and add the chopped onions, tomatoes, and olives on top. Put the lid back on and cook for three minutes. This will soften the vegetables and mix the flavors. Finish with the parsley and feta cheese (if using). Enjoy!.
What To Serve With Mediterranean Chicken
While this Mediterranean chicken recipe is delicious on its own, I love to serve it with a simple starch for soaking up the flavorful sauce. I’m always looking for ways to add more vegetables to meal time. If that sounds like you, try my Mediterranean Couscous Salad, my Italian Oven Roasted Vegetables, or a simple Greek Green Bean Salad.
And if you’ve saved room for dessert, finish the night off with our Italian hot chocolate. It’s so rich and luxurious that a little goes a long way.
Chicken and Olives Recipe – Chicken Breasts Braised with Olives
FAQ
What is a chicken olive?
Description. We have taken tender Chicken Breast Fillets and stuffed them with our own recipe mealie Pudding, all held together with a slice of our Dry-Cured Back Bacon. A fantastic alternative to our Beef Olives, just as tasty and quick to cook.
What is Marbella made of?
Chicken marbella is the briny, sweet, tangy baked chicken recipe from the famous Silver Palate Cookbook. This is an old recipe that was meant to feed a lot of people, but we shortened it to feed our family. Capers, prunes, white wine, brown sugar, and olives pack this recipe with flavor!.
What kind of olives are in chicken cacciatore?
Different kinds of olives can be used in chicken cacciatore, but Kalamata olives and green olives (like Castelvetrano) are often used. Some recipes also call for oil-cured olives. You can even use a mix of green and black olives.
What are the big meaty olives?
With their rich fruity flavour, meaty texture and distinctive almond shape it is easy to see why the Kalamata is considered the “queen” of all Greek olives. Our Kalamata olives are chosen for their size from the crops that grow each season, as the name suggests, so that they have a fuller bite.