Mediterranean Chicken: Spicy Chicken with Creamy Cucumber Salad

Introduction

Elevate your dinner routine with Mediterranean Chicken: Spicy Chicken with Creamy Cucumber Salad. This dish delivers bold, zesty flavors inspired by the Mediterranean coast—a vibrant, juicy chicken fillet layered with spices and paired alongside a cooling, velvety cucumber salad. It’s nutritious, comes together quickly, and brings a restaurant-quality meal right to your kitchen, making it perfect for busy weeknights or when you need a crowd-pleasing, healthy option.

Why This Mediterranean Chicken Recipe Is a Winner

The fiery spices on the chicken perfectly complement the creamy, refreshing cucumber salad, creating a well-balanced meal. Each bite is an irresistible blend of tender, spicy protein and lightly tangy, herby crunch. This recipe stands out for its healthful ingredients, simplicity, and flexibility; swap in your favorite herbs or adjust the spice to suit any palate—perfect for families and gatherings alike.

Mixing the Perfect Mediterranean Spices for Chicken

To achieve that signature Mediterranean flavor, blend smoked paprika, ground cumin, crushed red pepper, garlic powder, and a bright squeeze of lemon. Marinate the chicken to lock in juiciness and infuse every bite with aromatic warmth. A touch of olive oil ensures a golden, crispy finish whether you grill, bake, or pan-sear the chicken.

Making the Creamy Cucumber Salad

The salad provides a refreshing counterpart to the spiced chicken. Slice fresh cucumbers thin and toss with thick Greek yogurt, lemon juice, minced garlic, and chopped dill. The result is a cooling, creamy salad that complements the warmth of the chicken and offers a burst of brightness.

Serving Suggestions: Making a Standout Mediterranean Chicken Meal

For a full, satisfying meal, serve the spicy chicken and cucumber salad with warm pita or lavash, a side of lemony rice, or a handful of olives for an extra Mediterranean touch. Garnish with fresh parsley or mint for added aroma. This dish also works beautifully in meal prep—just pack chicken and salad separately to keep everything fresh until ready to serve.

Nutritional Information and Serving Size

This recipe yields four generous servings. Each portion comes in at approximately 375 calories, providing lean protein, beneficial fats, and refreshing veggies—making it a wholesome, balanced choice for lunch or dinner.

Mediterranean Chicken with Creamy Cucumber Salad (Recap)

This spicy chicken and creamy cucumber salad combination shines for its balance, simplicity, and refreshing flavors. It’s quick to prepare, adaptable for weekly meals, and sure to be a hit at any table.

💡Meal Planning Tip: Save this recipe to automatically generate an organized shopping list—sorted by store section and optimized for fast grocery trips. Perfect for stress-free meal planning and ingredient tracking!

Instructions

1. Preheat oven or grill to 400°F (or medium-high heat for grilling).
2. In a large bowl, mix olive oil, smoked paprika, cumin, garlic powder, crushed red pepper, oregano, salt, and lemon juice. Add chicken breasts and toss to coat well. Let marinate for 10-15 minutes.
3. Place chicken on a lined baking sheet or grill. Cook for 18-22 minutes, flipping once, until the chicken is cooked through and reaches an internal temperature of 165°F. Let rest a few minutes before slicing.
4. While the chicken cooks, prepare the cucumber salad: In a mixing bowl, combine cucumber slices, Greek yogurt, lemon juice, minced garlic, dill, salt, and pepper. Stir until the cucumbers are evenly coated. Adjust seasoning to taste.
5. Serve sliced spicy chicken alongside a generous scoop of creamy cucumber salad. Garnish with fresh mint, dill, or your favorite salad add-ins as desired.

Weekly Meal Planning

This Mediterranean Chicken recipe is ideal for weekly meal prep. Save and schedule this recipe in your meal plan to automatically generate a smart shopping list and organize all needed ingredients for the week.

Planning Benefits:

– Automatically calculates total ingredient quantities for all your planned recipes
– Organizes every grocery trip by store section and food category for rapid shopping
– Cuts out duplicate purchases—no more wasted ingredients in the fridge!
– Makes prepping healthy, balanced meals throughout the week effortless

Pro tip: If you’re prepping multiple Mediterranean-style meals, schedule them together to see which ingredients overlap—saving you time, money, and trips to the store.

Cook and Prep Times

Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes
Total Time: 40 minutes