Juiciest 6 Ingredient Chicken

4.88 from 24 votes

This post may contain affiliate links. Please read our disclosure policy.

This is the juiciest 6 ingredient chicken. In Bulgaria, we are known for cooking and baking with yogurt. Plain yogurt makes for the perfect marinade and also makes so many of our baked goods incredibly delicious, fluffy, and moist. Yogurt has a very long history in our country.

Many Bulgarians claim yogurt was accidentally discovered in Bulgaria thousands of years ago when nomadic tribes roamed the land. In Bulgaria, yogurt is everywhere. You’ll find it on falafel wraps, slathered on moussaka, and lined up in supermarket refrigerators. It is a key ingredient in traditional Bulgarian dishes such as “Tarator,” a cold soup made of yogurt, water, cucumber, and dill; and “Snezhanka,” a salad consisting of yoghurt, cucumbers, garlic and dill. People sip yoghurt drinks in the streets and we dip fried zucchini slices into yogurt dips too. We love yogurt with sweet bread, in soups, stews, and so many other recipes as well.

There is a type of bacterium that can only be found in Bulgarian Yogurt. Our particular yogurt is a combination of bacteria that characterizes the thickness, acidity, taste and aroma of the yogurt and it’s more tangy. Bulgarian yogurt has a very specific way in which it is prepared using a combination of the two strains: Lactobacillus Bulgaricus and Streptococcus Thermophilus. This specific bacterium, which causes milk to naturally turn into yogurt, was known to be discovered by a Bulgarian scientist. It was named after our country so as you can see, we are very passionate about cooking with it, so I hope you love it too.

Juiciest 6 Ingredient Chicken

In Bulgaria we are known for cooking and baking with yogurt. Plain yogurt makes for the perfect marinade and also makes so many of our baked goods incredibly delicious, fluffy, and moist.
4.88 from 24 votes
Servings: 2 large servings or 4 small
Author: The Modern Nonna
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 1 hour 45 minutes

Ingredients 

  • 8 bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs, (any cut of chicken works)
  • ¼ cup olive oil
  • cup plain yogurt , (Bulgarian, Balkan-style, or Greek)
  • 2 big pinches of salt
  • pepper to taste
  • paprika to taste
  • 1 tablespoon Italian seasoning , (or dry oregano)
  • ¼ cup water , (or chicken broth)

Instructions 

  • Add the chicken to a bowl with the oil, yogurt, salt, pepper, paprika, and Italian seasoning. Massage well. Let the chicken sit and marinate in the fridge for at least 1 hour or up to overnight. (You can bake it right away but it will be so much more tender if you let it marinate.)
  • Preheat the oven to 400F. Remove from the fridge and transfer the chicken and juices to an oven-safe baking dish.
  • Push the chicken to the side with a spoon and add some water or broth and move the chicken around so that the juices are distributed evenly.
  • Bake uncovered for 45 minutes to 1 hour, depending on the size of the thighs, or until the juices run clear and a meat thermometer measures at least 165F. To crisp up the skin further you can broil the chicken on top for 1 to 2 minutes but keep a very close eye on it. Enjoy on salad, mashed potatoes, on wraps, with rice, or with any side you like.

Video

Notes

You can absolutely use any cut of chicken, such as chicken breast, but the cooking time will have to be adjusted. Less time for white meat and more time for dark meat. Breast will take anywhere from 15 to 25 minutes depending on the thickness and cut.
Feel free to use any seasonings you love and you can absolutely do this with a whole chicken as well. The longer you let it marinate, the better. 
Measure everything with your heart. You can absolutely make this in the air fryer but please check on your air fryer manual for the temperature and time. You can use any plain yogurt you like, such as Greek yogurt. Sour cream and mayo are amazing alternatives to yogurt.
If you are dairy-free you can use Vegenaise as well. 
Broil means you use the upper heating element of the oven only so that you crisp up the chicken skin.  I believe it’s called a top grill or griller in places like England and Australia. 
Love This Recipe?
Share your pictures or videos of you making my recipes by mentioning #themodernnonna on all socials ❤️

Hi! I'm Sneji. Nice to meet you!

I am more commonly known as “The Modern Nonna” on social media where I create easy home cooked meals with a modern twist. I was born and raised in Sofia, Bulgaria and learned how to cook at the best culinary school in the world – my grandma’s kitchen. I lived in Greece on the Island of Crete with my parents for a while and then moved to Toronto, Canada when I was in grade 5. I started to really cook and experiment with food 11 years ago when I was 21 years old. Everything I currently know is a reflection of some part of my life…

Keep up to date with me on social media! Follow @themodernnonna

Leave a comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recipe Rating




The maximum upload file size: 2 MB. You can upload: image, video. Links to YouTube, Facebook, Twitter and other services inserted in the comment text will be automatically embedded. Drop files here

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

34 Comments

  1. 5 stars
    Tried this recipe tonight and everyone was blown away by how juicy and flavorful the meat was! Definitely going to be a staple meat recipe at our house! Thanks Sneji!

  2. 5 stars
    Love this recipe! I have made it several times and always delish. You are my go to every Sunday morning for my meal planning! Thank you for sharing your recipes and making my weekly Sunday meal planning so easy

    1. Freezer for a few months and marinated in the fridge for maximum overnight. I re-heat mine in the oven.

  3. 5 stars
    Never mind my last comment, whole roasted 6 ingredient chicken turned out great! Wishing I could post a picture here with my rating, but you’ve just gonna take my word for it❤️