Chicken Souvlaki Recipe (Two Ways To Cook It)
Chicken Souvlaki is juicy and tender grilled Greek marinated chicken skewers usually served on a warm pita bread with red onions, tomatoes, and tzatziki sauce.
Featured Comment
“
Fabulous! My new favourite! Marinated for about 4 hours, was perfect. Texture of chicken was great! ~Rita”
Quick Overview
Chicken souvlaki is one of the most popular street foods in Greece. “Souvlaki” literally means meat-on-the-stick, but it represents the chicken (or other meats) grilled on skewers and served on warm pita bread with veggies and tzatziki sauce.
- Put simply, it’s Greek marinated chicken that’s grilled on a stick – everyone loves grilled meat on a stick!
- Greek marinade makes this dish! It features bold ingredients like fresh dill weed and parsley, white wine vinegar, and garlic, and more
- Grilling the chicken also infused it with amazing smoky flavor, which only enhances the marinade.
- While you can eat it right off of the skewer, it’s traditional (and delicious) to serve it on a warm pita bread with fresh tomatoes, red onions, and as much tzatziki sauce as your heart desires.
- It’s also a great addition to the traditional Greek meze. Meze is a word that refers to a Greek appetizer platter that usually includes things like veggies, pita bread, dips, spreads, cheeses, dolmas, keftedes (meatballs), and more.
Lyuba’s Tips For Making Chicken Souvlaki
- Great make ahead dish: Since you need to give the chicken 2-12 hours to marinate, it’s a nice recipe to make ahead.
- Make sure to marinate the chicken laying down flat, in the refrigerator, and place the on the plate or in a rimmed baking dish. This will help catch any leaks if it happens and laying the bag flat helps the chicken to stay evenly covered in marinade.
- Use metal skewers and if you’re using wooden skewers, remember to soak them in water for 45 minutes prior to grilling.
- Don’t pack the chicken too tight onto the skewer! This will ensure even cooking on all the pieces.
- Remember to create two temperature zones if grilling. You need to give the meat plenty of time to cook through and may need to utilize the cooler side that is not over direct heat.
What To Serve with Chicken Souvlaki?
Chicken souvlaki itself usually refers to Greek marinated chicken that’s grilled on skewers and served on warm pita with some onions, tomatoes, and Tzatziki Sauce.
If you are looking for some sides to serve it it, try some potatoes (like roasted or fried), simple Greek Salad, Mediterranean Orzo Salad, Greek Tortellini Salad, a side of Rice Pilaf, or Cauliflower Rice.
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Chicken Souvlaki Recipe
Chicken Souvlaki is juicy and tender grilled Greek marinated chicken skewers usually served on a warm pita bread with red onions, tomatoes, and tzatziki sauce.
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Servings: 6
Calories: 551kcal
Equipment
- wood or metal skewets soaked, if using wood
Ingredients
- 2 lbs chicken breasts about 4
Chicken Souvlaki Marinade:
- 1/2 cup canola or olive oil
- 3 tbsp white wine vinegar
- 2 lemons – juice only 3 is lemons are not very juicy
- 6 garlic cloves smashed
- 3 tbsp fresh minced dill weed**
- 3 tbsp fresh minced parsley**
- 2 tsp dried oregano
- 1 – 1.5 tsp coarse salt more or less to taste
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
To Serve:
- 6-8 Greek pita bread* warmed
- 2 tomatoes sliced
- 1/2 red onion sliced thin
- 1/2 cup tzatziki sauce more or less
Instructions
Marinate the chicken (about 2 hours):
- Combine all of the ingredients for the marinade in a bowl and whisk well. Taste to see if you have enough salt. (Make sure to taste before you add the chicken!)
- Cut the chicken into about 1-inch cubes and add into a large zip-top bag (or a glass food storage container for marinating). Add the marinade and mix well to make sure all the chicken is coated well.
- Let the chicken marinate for at least 2 hours or overnight. (Don't exceed 12 hours of marinating time.)
To cook the chicken on the grill:
- For the best results, cook the chicken kebabs on the grill.
- If you will be using wooden skewers, make sure to soak them in water first for about 45 minutes.
- Prepare the grill and preheat it to medium-high heat. (As always, it's best to have two temperature zones on the grill so if you need to move the chicken over to the cooler side, you can.)
- Skewer the chicken into the soaked skewers, fitting 4-5 pieces onto each skewer.
- Grill the chicken kebabs for about 4-5 minutes per side, turning them a quarter of the way. (Total time will be about 16-20 minutes, depending on the thickness of the chicken pieces.)
- While chicken is cooking, lightly brush pita bread with olive oil and place them onto the grill to heat through. Slice the vegetables and place them onto a serving dish.
- To serve chicken souvlaki, top each warm pita bread with some grilled chicken, sliced onions, tomatoes, and tzatziki sauce.
Cook the chicken in the pan:
- You can easily cook the chicken souvlaki skewers in the preheated skillet on the stove-top. Use a skillet that fits the chicken skewers well. Make sure to add some oil to the skillet and preheat it.
- Place the chicken skewers in the pan in one even layer and don’t let them overlap. Cook the chicken over medium to medium-low heat, turning it a quarter of the way every 3-4 minutes, once one side is nicely golden-brown.
- Cook just until the chicken is cooked through. You can use a meat thermometer to check internal temperature or cut into the biggest piece.
Notes
- *Gluten Free Notes: to make this chicken souvlaki gluten free, serve it on a different bread or on gluten free pita bread.
- **Using dried herbs: you can definitely use dried herbs in the marinade, just use half the amount that the recipe calls for.
- Storing: store any leftover chicken in an air-tight food storage container, in the refrigerator, for 3-4 days.
Nutrition
Calories: 551kcal | Carbohydrates: 40g | Protein: 39g | Fat: 26g | Saturated Fat: 3g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 6g | Monounsaturated Fat: 13g | Trans Fat: 0.1g | Cholesterol: 100mg | Sodium: 1549mg | Potassium: 825mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 3g | Vitamin A: 657IU | Vitamin C: 31mg | Calcium: 119mg | Iron: 2mg
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More Greek Recipes To Try
Originally published on Will Cook For Smiles in July 2022.
Categories:
Backyard BBQ Recipes, Chicken Dinner Recipes, Dinner Recipes, Gluten Free Recipes, Healthy Dinner Ideas, Mediterranean Recipes,All images and text ©Lyubov Brooke for ©Will Cook For Smiles. Please do not use my images without prior permission. If using my posts in collections and features, please link back to this post for the recipe.
Disclaimer: Nutrition information shown is not guaranteed to be 100% accurate as most ingredients and brands have variations.
I absolutely love this! It’s on rotation in my house. I add feta to the cucumber and tomatoes in the pita with the chicken… Sooo tasty! Thank you!❤️😋
That sounds amazing, feta is such a perfect addition! I’m so glad it’s become a regular in your rotation. Thanks so much for sharing your version and the love!
One of the tastier souvlaki recipes I’ve tried, will be making again!
That’s awesome to hear! Souvlaki is all about those bold, fresh flavors—glad this one hit the spot. So glad you want to make it again!
Fabulous! My new favourite! Marinated for about 4 hours, was perfect. Texture of chicken was great!
I am so glad you liked it, Rita!
I’d love to make this for a dinner I’m putting together next week with friends! Can I bake the chicken in the oven instead of grilling it/putting it on kabobs? 🙂
It would be better if you cooked it in a pan on the stovetop. If you scroll up to the Recipes Q &A I go over exactly how to do it. I hope you enjoy it!
Made this for visiting grandchildren and their parents. The kids wanted burgers, but then tried this chicken and switched! Everyone loved it!
Am making again tomorrow!
Make this all the time – don’t use the skewers so all sides get browned. Leftovers are just as good cold
I am glad you liked it, Mike!