Greek Chicken Souvlaki
Chicken souvlaki is one of my favorite Greek street food items! Tender chicken soaks in a bright lemon garlic marinade, then it’s threaded on skewers and grilled until perfectly juicy and charred. Just don’t forget the tzatziki sauce for that creamy, refreshing touch!
What is Souvlaki?
Chicken souvlaki is a traditional Greek dish and the epitome of easy and delicious summertime grilling. And if you’re not sure what souvlaki means, it translates to “grilled meat on a skewer.” Pretty straightforward, eh?
Consider this recipe a more simplified version of my Greek chicken kabobs or shish kabobs. Unlike kabobs (which are grilled with vegetables), souvlakis are simply skewers of meat and are meant to be served with fresh-cut veggies or even a Greek salad. But the finishing touch is a mandatory drizzle of tzatziki sauce all over everything!
Chicken Souvlaki Recipe Ingredients
This souvlaki recipe is as simple as can be, which is why it continues to be one of my favorites for summer grilling. But for the tzatziki sauce, I’ve got a few notes below:
- Chicken: Boneless skinless chicken breasts are the best option for skewer grilling.
- Chicken Souvlaki Marinade: The marinade is the star here, which is a combination of olive oil, fresh lemon juice, garlic, oregano, parsley, salt, and pepper.
- Tzatziki Sauce: I love to make my own tzatziki sauce when I have time. But of course, you can buy your favorite brand as well. And if you’re dairy-free, I highly recommend making this vegan tzatziki. It’s easy to make and just as delicious.
Find the printable recipe with measurements in the recipe card below
How To Make Chicken Souvlaki
While I personally think chicken souvlaki is best grilled over an open fire, you can also use an indoor grill pan. So once that’s set up, grab a set of 12-inch skewers. If your skewers are smaller, that’s fine. You’ll just make more skewers than what I have listed in the recipe card below.
Marinate the chicken. Stir the marinade together in a small bowl. Then add the chicken pieces and let them marinate for at least 30 minutes. But no longer than 24 hours.
Thread the skewers. Heat the grill on medium-high heat. Then thread the marinated chicken pieces onto the skewers. About eight to nine pieces should be able to fit on a 12-inch skewer, making six skewers total.
Grill. Grill the skewers for 3 to 4 minutes on each side. They should be beautifully charred on the outside and juicy on the inside.
Ways to Serve Chicken Souvlaki
- With fresh veggies. I love to slice up cucumbers and tomatoes for an easy and refreshing side of veggies. Or you can make a quick side salad like this cucumber salad or tomato avocado salad.
- Wrap it up. This chicken souvlaki is delicious wrapped with pita bread. But if you’re gluten-free like me, you can also use butter lettuce leaves.
Storage Tips
- To store for the week: Store any leftover chicken in an airtight container in the fridge. It will keep for 3 to 5 days.
- Freeze for later: Let the chicken cool completely before storing it away in the freezer. It will keep for up to 3 months. When you’re ready to enjoy it, thaw it in the fridge the night before. Then, give it a quick reheat in the microwave! If the chicken is a little dry, spoon a bit of water on top before reheating.
More Mediterranean Recipes
If you love Mediterranean food as much as I do, this list of Mediterranean recipes will give you endless amounts of inspiration to make at home. But here are a few favorites I make often:
- Greek Sheet Pan Chicken
- Mediterranean Chickpea Salad
- Mediterranean Cod en Papillote
- Shrimp Scampi
- Avgolemono Soup
Get ready to make endless amounts of chicken souvlaki this summer! I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comment box below.
Greek Chicken Souvlaki
Ingredients
Chicken Souvlaki
- 4 boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1 ½-inch cubes
- ⅓ cup olive oil
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 teaspoons dried oregano
- 1 teaspoon dried parsley
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 1 recipe tzatziki sauce
Instructions
- Add the chicken, oil, lemon juice, garlic, oregano, parsley, salt, and pepper to a large mixing bowl. Stir together. Place the bowl in the refrigerator and marinate for at least 30 minutes.
- Heat the grill on medium-high heat. Then thread the marinated chicken pieces onto skewers (about 8 to 9 pieces per skewer makes 6 skewers).
- Cook the skewers on the grill for 3 to 4 minutes on each side.
- Served the grilled chicken souvlaki with the tzatziki sauce.
Nutrition
Recipe originally published March 2016, but updated to include new photos and information.
excellent!!
This was delicious and my whole family loved it. This is a great start to my whole 30 journey.
Happy to hear the whole family enjoyed these kabobs!
This was e new recipe on the menu tonight and I seriously scored a lot of points ;-). I combined it with the regular tzatziki which I prepared the night before along with the salad dressing for the greek salad. At the end of the day I only had to chop some veggies for the salad and bake the chicken. Easy does it and so delicious. This will be on my rotation in the future!
Glad you enjoyed this recipe Babette! If you like this one, I’d say try my Greek Chicken Kabobs as well.
This recipe was so amazingly delicious and easy to make, I made it twice this week! Love it!! Thank you!
Hi Karen- Wonderful! Happy to hear you enjoyed this recipe :)
Absolute perfection-once again
The flavor of the chicken – oh my!!!
And the sauce
Made it for a Memorial Day gathering and everyone asked for the recipe
Yay! I’m so glad you loved the grilled chicken! It’s such a great recipe for a BBQ! Thank you for the kind comment, Sandra! :)
Absolutely a delicious recipe- very easy and quick to make! Full of flavour! Definitely will be making again
Wonderful! I’m so glad you enjoyed the recipe Gemma!
Made tzatziki sauce to go with our lamb kofta stuffed pitta bread. The last time I made it I chopped the cucumber finely – missing the ‘blend it all’ together! This time I have blitz it all together and it’s cool, refreshing, just perfect accompaniment to today’s weather. Sun, sun glorious sun. Had the coconut chicken curry yesterday because it was dull and cold. Good old Britain – unpredictable weather as always!
Yes, it’s much better all smooth and blitzed together. Glad you were able to enjoy the creamy version this time! Hopefully it provided a cool balance to the sunny day. :)
Had everything on hand bar the cashews and dill. Made the tzatziki with yoghurt and tarragon along with the rest of your ingredients. Very much enjoyed our tea, tasty.
Awesome! And love the substitutions as well. It’s all about making it work for you. :)
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I’m definitely going to check out her ebook! I also have Crohn’s Disease, so I selfishly am even more interested in the ebook now.
Oh, you’ll LOVE Kristen! Her story is so inspiring and she’s seriously one of the sweetest people. :) x