Isn’t it amazing that you can make this Mediterranean chicken for dinner in around 20 minutes, using one pan and ingredients you probably already have at home? I think it is. This easy chicken recipe is perfect for anyone who loves the Mediterranean diet, Mediterranean food and of course the best food in the world: garlic! This healthy Mediterranean diet recipe blends Greek and Italian flavors and just goes so well with some bread and salad. Seriously, live a little…Then again, who am I to judge? I did the keto diet a while ago and know how hard it is, I got you! If you want to keep things low carb, gluten-free or paleo – you’ll find the options below.
Made this again with grilled eggplant in Jan 2020 and these are the updated pictures!
Her highness – hungry me came up with this chicken dinner skillet, when, well she was on the verge of hangry or hinsane (hungry + insane, get it? Don’t care? Alright). I hadn’t eaten anything non-snack all day, because, well, toddler motherhood + ambitions.
Btw. I changed the name of this blog because some totally weird and creepy things would come up when I googled the previous one…I don’t even wanna say it, I don’t want any association with that crap. Leave me alone.
Her Highness, Hungry Me, definitely describes what this blog is about: hungry for food, fun, and random stuff like productivity, organization and fitness! Mostly for food. Now that we got it out of the way, let’s see how this healthy chicken recipe is made in 20 minutes using one pan.
Mediterranean Chicken Dinner Ingredients
Chicken. I know chicken breast is a favorite for most healthy chicken recipes out there, but I used boneless skinless chicken thighs as I find the taste better. But chicken breast will do as well if that’s what you have.
Vegetables. The main vegetable in this recipe is the eggplant. Aubergine. The good old garden egg. Now that I’m writing this I’m not sure whether eggplant is a vegetable or a fruit…Googling…Aaaand apparently: it’s a fruit. Use a small one or 1/2 of a normal one – around 1 1/2 cups. We’ll also throw in some scallions plus a carrot and broccoli for the provitamin A.
Tomato. Tomato I know is a fruit and we’ll use two forms of it: fresh and as a tomato paste! The fresh is to add that sweetness and flavor that only fresh tomatoes can bring and the paste is to thicken the recipe.
Feta Cheese And Olives. Use good cheese and choose pitted Kalamata olives for this dish. You can also use another type of cheese like Mozzarella or Parmesan.
Garlic. 2 mashed garlic cloves make this dish complete.
Dried Or Fresh Basil. Fresh basil would’ve definitely been my choice, but I didn’t have any and dried basil did a great job here.
How To Make This Mediterranean Chicken For Dinner In 20 Minutes
To make this Mediterranean skillet in 20 minutes you’ll have to multitask a little bit here and there. I know multitasking won’t make you smarter, but it will make you more efficient in the kitchen.
The first thing we do is: chop the eggplant (thinner pieces) and the chicken in bite-sized pieces. We’re not doing a whole chicken breast in a skillet thing. We wanna be more efficient and use just one pan for the vegetables and the chicken, so we have less dishes to do. Sautee the chicken and the eggplant for a few minutes with olive oil.
While the chicken is cooking – chop the tomato. Then, once the chicken is almost done, add the tomato and let everything cook for a few minutes, covered with a lid.
In the meantime, chop the carrot, broccoli and scallions, peel and mash the garlic.
Stir in the tomato paste, add the broccoli, carrot, scallions and basil and cook until that broccoli is almost done.
Crumble the feta cheese, add the garlic, olives and some more olive oil. Let the cheese melt a bit and turn the heat off.
Congrats, you’ve just made yourself a healthy chicken dinner that is not chicken with broccoli! OMG, I just realize it actually kinda is. There’s chicken and there’s broccoli. Well. I guess chicken with broccoli is not the end of the world.
What To Serve With Mediterranean Chicken?
This chicken dish is very delicious and complete on its own, but you can serve it with these to make it even better:
- a good bread (oh, yeah!) – you can also toast it if you want it
- rice or quinoa
- this tomato, cucumber and avocado salad or another salad of your choice
- some tzatziki would do really good here as well
I personally served my dinner with 2 slices of ciabatta and some salad.
Low Carb, Paleo & Dairy-Free Options
This Mediterranean recipe is gluten-free and nut-free (if you don’t eat it with bread of course), but you can also make it fit a low carb and paleo lifestyle.
Low Carb / Keto. To make this recipe low carb and keto you simply need to leave out the carrot. You don’t need a substitute.
Paleo And Dairy-Free. There’s a pretty easy paleo and dairy-free option for this Mediterranean chicken. It’s to not add cheese! Everything else in this recipe is paleo-friendly and dairy-free.
Mediterranean Chicken Dinner {20 Minutes}
Make this Mediterranean chicken for a quick weeknight dinner in around 20 minutes, using one pan and ingredients you probably already have at home! This easy chicken recipe is perfect for anyone who loves the Mediterranean diet, Mediterranean food as it is a blend of Greek and Italian flavors. You can serve this healthy chicken dinner with bread and salad but if you want to keep things low carb, gluten-free or paleo, check out the options in this post.
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cup eggplant, chopped
- 8 oz boneless, skinless chicken thighs*
- 2 medium-sized tomatoes, chopped
- 1 tsp tomato paste
- 1 carrot
- 1/2 cup broccoli florets, chopped
- 1/2 cup olives, whole
- 2 garlic cloves
- 2 scallions
- 2 Tbsp olive oil
- 1/2 cup feta cheese, crumbled
- 1 tsp basil, dry or a handful of fresh
- 1/2 tsp coriander
- 1/2 tsp crushed red pepper (optional)
Instructions
- Slice the chicken in bite-sized pieces and sautee in a medium-sized skillet with the eggplant at medium-high with the olive oil for 4-5 minutes.
- Add the fresh tomatoes, cover with a lid and cook for around 3 more minutes.
- Stir in the tomato paste and add a Tbsp or two of water if needed.
- Reduce the heat to medium and stir in the broccoli, carrots, scallions, basil (if using dry), coriander and crushed pepper (optional). Add another Tbsp of olive oil and cook for 3-4 minutes or until broccoli is ready, stirring as needed.
- Add the feta cheese, olives, garlic, and fresh basil (if using the fresh version). Stir together, cook for a minute until the feta cheese melts a little bit. Then turn the heat off.
- Add salt and pepper to taste and serve like this or with some bread and this tomato, cucumber, and avocado salad. Enjoy!
Notes
*you can also use chicken breast instead of chicken thighs
Nutrition Information:
Yield:
3Serving Size:
1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 352Total Fat: 23gSaturated Fat: 7gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 15gCholesterol: 114mgSodium: 556mgCarbohydrates: 15gFiber: 5gSugar: 6gProtein: 24g
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Originally published on May 9th, 2019.
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