This Feta Chicken recipe was one of our first blog posts on Garnish with Lemon - and it's still one of the most popular to date. Come see why so many people love this quick and easy weeknight dinner!
Quick and easy Feta Chicken recipe
Chicken served with a creamy feta cheese sauce has long been a crowd-pleaser at my house. It's not super fancy food, and it's not complicated to make, but it's always a hit.
There are only so many ways you can excite people about chicken, but this Feta Chicken recipe is one of them! That flavorful, tangy feta cheese sauce steals the show here - with good reason.
Have some dinner guests you want to impress, but don't have the time to spend hours prepping a complicated dinner menu? No worries, I have you covered with this easy recipe everyone will love, and the best part is, no one will know it actually took no time at all.
This easy chicken recipe will give you weekend date night quality flavors, and only require weeknight busy schedule time and effort. It's really a win-win situation all around!
How to make Chicken with Feta Cheese Sauce
I love a good homemade cheese sauce, especially when it's a recipe that takes less than 10 minutes to make. You can have the whole recipe, chicken and all completed and on the table in under 30 minutes, and here's how!
How to prepare the chicken
The chicken in this recipe can be grilled or cooked on the stove. Since we eat this Chicken Feta recipe all year round, we usually grill the chicken in the summer months and cook it on the stovetop in the winter.
The instructions for cooking the chicken remain the same regardless of how you cook it:
-
- Heat skillet or grill over medium-high heat.
- Lightly coat chicken breasts with olive oil. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.
- Add chicken to the pan or grill when hot. Cook on each side until cooked through.
- Remove from heat and keep warm.
Tips For Making Feta Cheese Sauce
Never made a feta cheese sauce before? Here are a couple of tips to get your sauce to look as thick and smooth as this one:
- If using a block of feta cheese, grate it as finely as possible. If using pre-crumbled feta cheese, try to break up the cheese into as small of pieces as possible. (There are always huge chunks in my feta whenever I buy it pre-crumbled). The finer the grate of the cheese, the easier your feta cheese will "melt".
- Stir in your cheese a few handfuls at a time to ensure a smoother and more even incorporation into the sauce.
- I like to use a "gravy" whisk when making any sort of sauce. Not familiar? It's basically a flat whisk that allows me to get into the edges of the pan better than a traditional balloon whisk.
Can you melt feta cheese?
Not exactly. Feta cheese will not fully melt like a mozzarella or other softer cheese. This has to do with the varying moisture content in the different cheeses but I'm not going to get all scientific on you.
Know there will be a few bits visible in your sauce and that's totally fine and doesn't impact the flavor at all.
Can you make this feta cheese sauce ahead of time?
Yes, you can make the sauce ahead of time if you're in a time crunch. Simply reheat when ready to serve. It also never fails to add new life to any assortment of leftovers, so feel free to use it on other things, too.
What Should I Serve With This Easy Chicken Recipe?
The recipe world is your oyster when it comes to what to serve with this chicken with feta cheese sauce recipe. I honestly can't think of anything that would be wrong to pair with this combo. Serve it with potatoes, vegetables, salad, pasta, or anything else you can think of.
What's fun about this one is that with the right sides this can turn into a meal fit for a sophisticated dinner party, or a casual weeknight meal the whole family will enjoy.
My family's favorite way to eat this dish is with couscous or rice to soak up the savory sauce. Add a veggie of choice, like Oven Roasted Asparagus With Brown Butter, and voila, dinner is served!
Another great serving option is to make enough for the whole week and use it for lunch meal prep. Just grab a few airtight containers and fill with the chicken and feta sauce, veggie of your choice, and white or brown rice and you have a perfectly portioned and ready-to-go lunch for the rest of the week.
Yes, you guys love this Feta Chicken Recipe, but we've noticed that you also have a few other favorites. Don't miss three more of our most popular posts on Garnish with Lemon!
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There are so many scrumptious chicken recipes out there! Check out some of our favorites!
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See all of our main dish recipes here!
This post was originally publised on Jan 1., 2016 and update don March 30, 2020
Feta Chicken Recipe
Need some chicken recipe inspiration? This Chicken with Feta Cheese Sauce is one of our family's favorite weeknight meals. The rich feta cheese sauce takes boring chicken to a tasty new level.
Ingredients
- 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
- Olive oil
- Salt
- Pepper
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 4 teaspoons all-purpose flour
- 1 (12-ounce) can evaporated milk
- 2-3 tablespoons fresh chives, chopped
- 1 cup feta cheese
Instructions
- Heat skillet over medium-high heat. Lightly coat chicken breasts with olive oil. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Add chicken to pan when hot. Cook 4-5 minutes per side or until cooked through. Remove from heat and keep warm.
- Meanwhile, melt butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Add flour and whisk constantly for one minute. Gradually add milk, whisking constantly. Stir in chives and reduce heat to medium-low. Simmer 5-7 minutes or until thick, stirring occasionally. Add cheese by the handful and stir until cheese is melted.
- Spoon sauce over chicken and garnish with additional fresh chives, if desired.
Notes
You may have extra sauce, depending on how saucy you like your chicken.
Recipe adapted from Cooking Light Magazine.
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Nutrition Information:
Yield:
4Serving Size:
1 chicken breastAmount Per Serving: Calories: 374Total Fat: 19gSaturated Fat: 9gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 8gCholesterol: 145mgSodium: 610mgCarbohydrates: 5gFiber: 0gSugar: 2gProtein: 44g
This post was originally publised on Jan 1., 2016 and update don March 30, 2020
Made this for my family. 3 out of 4 kids liked it so that is a win in my book!! I did not have evaporated milk so used regular milk, but the sauce was still delicious. Now if I could get them to eat the vegetables with the chicken! Thanks for sharing. Will definitely make again.
Will be trying this soon. Sounds great !!
Hope you enjoy it!
Cooked this the other night and it was a tremendous hit. Thanks.
Hooray! It's so fun to find something that everyone agrees on.
this was yummy although I put my own spin on I added basil rather than chives and served it over pasta. kinda a cheesy alfredo.
Fun twist! It is definitely a recipe that you can adapt to your own taste. So glad you enjoyed it. Thanks for sharing!
Delicious! I love this recipe... I've made it several times!
Hi Sabrina, so glad you like it! It's a crowd-pleaser at our house, too.
It says 1cup of feta. Is that cubed or grated?
I usually purchase feta that is already crumbled, and that's what I used for this recipe. Enjoy!
I spotted this recipe on Pinterest recently. I made it for dinner recently and used tomato basil feta and it was so yummy!!!
Hi Lynn, That sounds like a fun twist!
Is there anything that could be a substitute for the milk?
Hi Abby, I've never made it without the evaporated milk, but I did a quick Google search and found several ideas for evaporated milk substitutions. Try that and let me know how it turns out!
I made mine with. Vanilla almond milk because that's all I had in my house and it turned out good I just hit the add extra herbs and some salt to it
Made this last night and it was yummy. My husband came home at lunch today just so he can have the left over. That's how much he really loved it 😉 My kids asked me to make this again today LOL! Thanks Anna for sharing this yummy recipe.
You know you have a winner when they ask for more. I'm thrilled everyone enjoyed it. Thanks for coming back and letting us know!
Can you use a different cheese than Feta, we are not a fan of this cheese. Thanks, Jan
Hi Jan, I have never substituted another cheese, so I can't say for sure how using something else will change the flavor of the dish. That said, the first thing that comes to mind is a queso fresco. It's crumbly like feta but has a mild flavor. Let me know how it turns out!
Used this as a base, added garlic, onion, tomato, rosemary to the save as it simmered. OMG, then kabobs and flatbread with a pesto sauce and ALL ate every bit of it, even the six year load asked for seconds!!!!
Oh, WOW, that sounds amazing! Can't wait to try that variation, Jim. Thanks for sharing!
This sauce sounds AMAZING!
It's super tasty, Colleen. Hope you try it!
This was so good we both had seconds! The sauce will not be too good of a leftover so eat it all tonight!
I'm thrilled you enjoyed it, Julie. Thanks for stopping back to leave your thoughts!
I could just dive right into that cheese sauce! This dish looks positively amaaazing!
I love feta cheese plus the ease of this recipe makes it perfect for a weeknight. I am sure it would bring a big smile to my daughter's face too
Oh, this looks dangerously good - it is sure to become a hit at our house as well!
I hope so, Renee!
I made this last week and it was great! Hope you don't mind, I'm making a post about it on my blog (under Extras, then Recipes)
Made this because I had some leftover steak, and I served it over egg noodles. For such a simple recipe it was amazingly good. I didn't have chive, but used some dehydrated onion with an extra splash of milk to make sure they didn't take all the moisture. Thank you so much! I will definitely make this again!
So glad you were able to adapt the recipe to work with your leftovers. Thanks for reporting back on your success, Lindsay!
Hello I have a question I only have a 5oz can of milk willmthat be ok
Hi Rachel, you really do need the full amount of milk for this recipe. I've read about how you can reduce regular milk on the stove to a certain point as a substitute for evaporated milk, but I've never tried it myself. If you're feeling adventuresome, give it a try and see how it goes. And stop back to let us know!
Yay! This sounds so delicious!! I should try this very soon.
This sauce should do wonders with broccoli, beets or chard as well - don't boil these veggies, but use the pan you baked the chicken in to stir fry or char or grill them. If you don't like feta, try any mature cheddar. I even like it with blue cheeses and garlic.
Great ideas, Alice. Thanks for sharing!
I made this tonight and we absolutely loved it! I added fresh oregano & it imparted an amazing flavor throughout the sauce. Super easy recipe that is now on one of my pinterest boards. Thanks.
Hi Lisa, So glad you enjoyed it! Thanks for stopping back to let us know!
I can't wait to make this! I love feta cheese on anything.
So pleased to come across your recipe for Feta Cheese Sauce. Definitely will prepare and enjoy this! Believe it would be lovely on grilled Salmon.
Hi Linda, we enjoy the sauce in a variety of ways, too. Hope you enjoy it!
Oh my goodness, this recipe is AMAZING! We grilled several chicken breasts that had olive oil, salt, pepper, cayenne, and smoked paprika sprinkled on them. The feta cheese sauce was so delicious smothered over the top of the chicken breast. I felt like I was eating a meal from a fancy restaurant... Couldn't believe how easy it was to prepare. This recipe is a keeper!
That sounds so good, Melissa! I'm thrilled that you enjoyed the recipe. Thanks for stopping back to let us know!
The feta cheese in this dish can be replaced by another substitute of it such as cheddar cheese, can't it? Since the feta is high in saturated fat so i want to use something instead.
Hi Lita, I've never subbed in another cheese so I can't say for sure, but please stop back and let us know how it works for you!
Can you use heavy whipping cream instead?
Hi Whitley, I've never substituted heavy cream for the evaporated milk in this recipe. Would love to hear how it turns out for you. Please stop back and share your experience!
I made this today and couldn't get the sauce to be smooth. The feta just wouldn't melt. I added s little at a time like you said. Kinda bumned!
Hi Jessa, hope it still tasted great!
Looked through all the recipes. Got some feta cheese in a Greek salad and don't like it. Came online to see if I could find a way to melt it down or fry it to change the taste a bit. Didn't want to waste it. I mainly don't like how dry it is. Melting it into a white sauce sounds like it would work-no dry chunks and the strong taste mellowed out a little by the rest of the white sauce. I'll give it a try and let you know. Don't have evaporated milk so will use heavy cream. (On a Keto diet)