Chicken Souvlaki is packed with a tangy flavor from garlic and lemon marinade. Serve skewers with a creamy 6-ingredient Tzatziki Sauce.
Amazing Chicken Souvlaki Kebabs make a flavorful and delicious Weeknight Dinner Recipe. Serve them up with refreshing side dishes like Cucumber Tomato Salad, Roasted Vegetables, or Greek Pasta Salad for an amazing Summer cookout meal.
Greek Chicken Souvlaki is classic Greek street food made with flavorful chunks of chicken grilled on skewers. Enjoy the meat on its own or tossed into other tasty foods like sandwiches, or salads. The bites of chicken would taste amazing mixed into a Greek Salad recipe for a simple and flavorful lunch.
You can also use this recipe to make your own chicken gyros. Serve the Greek chicken with shredded lettuce, cherry tomatoes, and red onion wrapped in warm pita bread. Top the meat off with creamy Tzatziki Sauce (recipe below) to finish off the dish. It’s an authentic Greek dish that you can make easily for yourself.
TZATZIKI SAUCE
For your own homemade sauce recipe, you only need a handful of ingredients and a couple of minutes. Whisk in a handful of ingredients with plain yogurt for a creamy sauce that you can serve over gyros or with the Greek Chicken Skewers.
Ingredients:
- 2 cups plain whole-milk Greek yogurt
- 1 cucumber, peeled, de-seeded, and grated
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- ¼ teaspoon Kosher salt
Recipe:
- Mix all ingredients together and refrigerate while the chicken is marinating
MORE GREEK RECIPES
One Pot Greek Chicken and Rice
Greek Chicken and Rice Soup (Avgolemono)
Greek Pastitsio Bake
Greek Lemon Potatoes
COOKING TIPS
- Prep chicken: Start by slicing the boneless, skinless chicken thighs into 1″ chicken cubes. Then transfer the chicken pieces to a large covered container or zip lock bag with enough space for the liquid marinade.
- Marinade: Add the olive oil, fresh lemon juice, lemon zest, garlic, oregano, and salt to a large bowl, and whisk the marinade ingredients together. Pour the lemon marinade over the thigh meat so that it’s coated well. Seal the container, and put the chicken fridge for at least 2 hours.
- Skewer: While the chicken is marinating, add the wooden skewers to a water bath. Remove chicken from marinade and thread chicken onto skewers. You want 5-6 pieces of chicken on each skewer.
- Cooking time: Turn your outdoor grill onto medium heat a few minutes in advance. Then add the chicken to the grill. They should be finished after 8-10 minutes of cooking on each side. To make sure they’re done, check that the internal temperature is 165 degrees.
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VARIATIONS
- Grilled vegetable kebabs: You can cook up some vegetables on the skewers along with the chicken. Red onion, bell peppers, cucumber, tomato, or squash would all taste amazing with Greek Chicken Souvlaki.
- Seasonings: You can experiment with the flavor of your chicken by adding different seasonings to the lemon marinade. Onion powder, black pepper, basil, garlic powder, dried parsley, rosemary, or dill could all be added to the liquid marinade and soak into the flavorful chicken.
- Meat: You can use other cuts of meat with this recipe like boneless, skinless chicken breast instead of chicken thighs. Keep in mind that chicken breasts will cook more quickly than chicken thighs. You could also use pork in the recipe since pork meat would also taste great with the marinade. Pork meat is safe to eat once it reaches 145 degrees.
MORE CHICKEN RECIPES
Chicken Francese
Coca-Cola Chicken
Beer Braised Chicken Thighs
Oven Baked Rotisserie Chicken Breasts
HOW TO STORE
- Serve: Don’t leave homemade Chicken Souvlaki at room temperature for more than 2 hours.
- Store: You can put the chicken in an airtight container to keep in the fridge for 3-4 days.
- Freeze: It’s also a wonderfully freezer-friendly meal. You can put the chicken in a sealable freezer bag or another airtight container to store in the freezer for up to 3 months.
Ingredients
Chicken Souvlaki
- 5 chicken thighs , boneless and skinless
- 1/3 cup olive oil
- 1 lemon , juiced, and zested
- 3 cloves garlic , minced
- 2 teaspoons dried oregano
- 1 teaspoon Kosher salt
Tzatziki Sauce
- 2 cups plain whole-milk Greek yogurt
- 1 cucumber , peeled, de-seeded, and grated
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1/4 teaspoon Kosher salt
Instructions
Chicken Souvlaki
- Cut the chicken thighs (or breasts if desired) into 1″ chunks.
- Place into a large covered container or large ziplock bag.
- In a medium bowl whisk together the olive oil, lemon juice, lemon zest, garlic, oregano, and salt.
- Pour over the chicken, coat well, and refrigerate for at least 2 hours.
- Add chicken skewers to a bowl or tray of water while the chicken is in the fridge.
- Remove skewers from the water when you take the chicken out of the refrigerator.
- Add 5-6 pieces of chicken to each skewer.
- Add to a hot grill on medium-high heat and cook for 8-10 minutes on each side, until chicken is cooked through.
Tzatziki Sauce
- Mix all ingredients together and refrigerate while the chicken is marinating.
Equipment
- 8 wooden skewers
Nutrition
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