Chicken Souvlaki

Greek Chicken Souvlaki is a delicious fan favorite meal! Perfectly grilled tender chicken packed with flavor from a lemon, garlic and red wine vinegar marinade.

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Chicken Souvlaki Recipe

We love grilling year round and there is nothing better than Greek chicken souvlaki! It is such a simple recipe that comes together in no time. The marinade is packed with flavor and keeps the chicken tender and moist, no need to worry about dry overcooked chicken here!

What is Chicken Souvlaki?

Greek Souvlaki is skewered meat that is grilled. There are many variations, chicken, pork, beef, lamb and more. The key to great souvlaki is the marinade which is packed with garlic, oregano, lemon juice, red wine vinegar and oil. The lemon juice and vinegar keeps the chicken moist and also tenderizes the meat.

Souvlaki can be served plated with a side salad, roasted potatoes and rice, or in a pita wrap. The pitas are stuffed with lettuce, tomato, onion, tzatziki, feta cheese and more. No matter how you serve them they are simply divine and sure to be come a recipe on repeat in your house!

What to Serve with Chicken Souvlaki

• Greek Potatoes
• Tzatziki Sauce
• Yellow Rice
• Spanakorizo (Greek Spinach Feta Rice)
• 3 Ingredient Pita Bread
• Greek Salad

What is in Chicken Souvlaki?

• Chicken - boneless skinless chicken breast or thighs can be used for this recipe. We recommend chicken breast for this recipe.
• Red Wine Vinegar - helps tenderize the meat and keep it moist.
• Oregano - if you can find Greek dried oregano in your local grocery store use that, or any variety of oregano works great.
• Garlic - everything is better with garlic!
• Lemon Juice - keeps the meat moist and helps tenderize the meat while adding a fresh pop of lemon flavor!
• Chili Flakes - optional, we like to add chili flakes in our marinade for a bit of spice.
• Parsley - adds a nice pop of color and flavor to the marinade.
• Dried Thyme - adds a beautiful flavor to the marinade.
• Oil - for the marinade (olive oil or neutral cooking oil of choice).

How to Make Chicken Souvlaki

Full Printable Recipe at Bottom of Page

1 Mix all of the marinade ingredients together in a small bowl.

2 Place chicken cubes in a Ziploc bag and pour in the marinade. Seal the bag and toss to coat evenly with the marinade, then open the bag and reseal, removing as much air as possible. Place the chicken in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour to 6 hours (Note: do not marinate overnight).

3 Thread the meat onto the skewers. Heat your BBQ to medium-high.

4 Grill over medium-high heat for about 10 minutes, turning occasionally until they are cooked through (internal temperature 165ºF).

5 Serve and enjoy! Optional serve with Greek Salad, Tzatziki, Yellow Rice, Greek Roasted Potatoes, and Pita Bread.

Tips for the Best Chicken Souvlaki

• Chicken - to ensure even cooking be sure to cut the chicken into even sized pieces. If there are some small pieces and some bigger pieces, the small pieces will be overcooked by the time the bigger pieces cook. As best you can, try to cut the chicken into even sized pieces.
• Marinade - for best results marinate the chicken for 1-6 hours. The chicken needs time to soak up all the amazing flavors of the marinade and the vinegar and lemon juice tenderizes the chicken the longer it marinates. Do not marinate the chicken overnight, the lemon and vinegar will start to cook the chicken and once grilled the chicken will have a strange rubbery texture.
• Skewers - metal skewers are great because you don't need to worry about them burning. If you are using wooden skewers, soak them in water for 30 minutes before skewering the meat. This will help prevent the skewers from burning on the grill.

FAQs Chicken Souvlaki

More BBQ Recipes!

• Armadillo Eggs
• Pork Souvlaki
• Pollo Asado
• Bruschetta Chicken
• Grilled Peach Salad

Enjoy!

- Sab