Greek Chicken Souvlaki
Fire up the grill and transport yourself to the mediterranean with Greek Chicken Souvlaki! These kabobs are juicy and flavorful with make ahead options for dinnertime success. They cook up in just 15 minutes!
**This post was originally published in June 2014. The text and photos have been updated to include step by step instructions.
It’s summertime, which means my grill is going into overdrive. I’m constantly making grilled vegetables, bbq chicken, burgers and this Greek Chicken Souvlaki.
It really doesn’t get much better than a taste of the mediterranean on a warm summer evening, does it?
Meals like this make me wish that summer lasted forever.
Why you’ll love this recipe:
- It’s juicy, delicious and bursting with the mediterranean flavors of garlic, lemon and oregano.
- This chicken souvlaki recipe only takes 5 simple ingredients. It’s the easiest chicken marinade ever!
- It cooks up in about 15 minutes.
- Make ahead options make it perfect for a weeknight family meal or entertaining.
Recipe ingredients
Ingredient notes
- Fresh ingredients will provide the most flavor in this recipe. I highly recommend using fresh lemon, garlic and oregano to make the flavors shine.
- Oregano. If you don’t have fresh oregano on hand, substitute it with 1 tablespoon of dried.
How to make this recipe
Greek chicken kabobs are incredibly easy to make and only require about 15 minutes of prep.
- Slice boneless skinless chicken breast.
- Cut the chicken breast into 1″ chunks.
- Place the cubed chicken in a baking dish and season with salt and pepper, to taste. Add the olive oil, garlic, lemon and oregano and toss well to coat. Cover with plastic wrap and marinate for a minimum of 2 hours or overnight.
- Preheat the grill to medium high. Skewer the chicken onto metal or wooden skewers (if wooden, soak in water for 30 minutes prior). Reduce grill heat to medium. Grill chicken for 12-15 minutes, turning on all sides until grill marks form or until internal temperature reaches 165 degrees.
FAQs
What is souvlaki vs. gyro?
A gyro is a Greek style sandwich that consists of pita bread filled with gyro meat, onion, tomato and tzatziki sauce.
Gyro meat is similar to shawarma as it’s cooked on a vertical rotisserie and shaved off, while souvlaki is meat grilled on a skewer.
How do you eat souvlaki?
It may be eaten warm, straight off of the skewer, or removed and serve over rice, with salad or in pita bread topped with tzatziki.
How long should I marinate my chicken?
The key to tender, flavorful chicken breast is marinating it as long as possible. Cut the chicken into chunks before marinating for maximum flavor and toss well in the marinade.
For best results, marinate the chicken for a minimum of 2 hours or overnight.
PRO TIP: Toss the cubed chicken with the marinade and freeze until you’re ready to use it. The chicken will marinate as it defrosts!
What is souvlaki seasoning made of?
It’s simply garlic, lemon and oregano.
Serving suggestions
Greek chicken kabobs may be served a number of way as follows:
- Greek tzatziki is a must!
- Greek chicken gyros by Recipe Tin Eats
- With rice or crispy smashed potatoes
- Alongside salads such as Greek chopped salad or Horiatiki
Recipe notes
- Pro tip: Toss the cubed chicken with the marinade and freeze until you’re ready to use it. The chicken will marinate as it defrosts!
- Chicken souvlaki is easily scaled to feed a crowd and the skewers may be assembled up to a day in advance.
- About 1-2 hours before cooking time, remove the chicken from the refrigerator and skewer onto the wooden or metal skewers and let stand at room temperature. The chicken will cook more evenly when it’s grilled at room temperature.
- The chicken may be substituted with beef, lamb or pork! Cooking times will vary depending on which protein you choose.
More Greek recipes you’ll love:
- Avgolemono soup
- Greek orzo pasta salad
- Greek panzanella
- Lamb gyros by Spend with Pennies
If you make this recipe, I’d love to hear from you! Leave a comment below and rate it, or snap a photo and tag me @flavorthemoments on Instagram!
Greek Chicken Souvlaki
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 lbs. boneless skinless chicken breast cut into 1" chunks
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
- 1 lemon juiced (2-3 tablespoons)
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 2 cloves garlic minced (or 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder)
- 1 teaspoons dried oregano
Equipment
Instructions
- Season the chicken with salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste and place in a medium bowl or large zip top bag.
- Add the lemon juice, olive oil, garlic and oregano, then toss the chicken in the marinade until well coated. Marinate for a minimum of 2 hours or overnight.
- About 1-2 hours before cooking time, remove the chicken from the refrigerator and skewer onto the wooden or metal skewers and let stand at room temperature. The chicken will cook more evenly when it's grilled at room temperature.
- Preheat the grill to medium high heat. Reduce the heat to medium and grill the chicken for about 3 minutes on each side or until grill marks form. Remove from heat and serve with lemon wedges. Enjoy!
Nutrition
Nutrition is estimated using a food database and is only intended to be used as a guideline for informational purposes.
36 Comments on “Greek Chicken Souvlaki”
Thanks for the recipe, Marcie. I love to do kabobs on the grill….any time of the year, if it is raining or snowing I do them inside on the grill. 🙂
I really need to make kebabs more often — they’re so easy and also make a fun way to get more veggies in. Thanks, Pat! 🙂
Although I spent over a decade living in Greece, Marcie, it’s still great to have a reminder to make homemade souvlaki more often … especially a yummy-looking marinated one like this. I love the idea of pulling the meat and veggies off the skewers and stuffing them in pitta pockets with tsatziki. I think pretty much anyone would enjoy this meal!
Souvlaki is one of my favorite Greek dishes, and I don’t make it at home half as often as I should. I need to go Greek more often! haha Thanks, Helen, and have a lovely day. 🙂
These are so pretty and I’m sure equally as delicious! I love making skewers/kabobs in the summer…
Thank you, Ashley! Kebabs are definitely one of the best meals in the summer! 🙂
Oh so pretty Marcie! For some reason we haven’t had skewers yet this summer. Thanks for the inspiration!
Thank you, Melanie! These are the first this summer, and they won’t be the last. 🙂 When everybody likes something, I tend to go a little overboard. haha Have a great day! 🙂
I’m loving all of your Greek recipes! These skewers look delicious, especially with the marinade. Perfect summer BBQ food!
I’m glad you’re liking these Greek dishes, Gayle! I could certainly eat like this every day. 🙂
We are having these skewers and that fabulous tzatkiki posted tonight! I can’t wait, they look fantastic!
Thank you so much, and I hope you enjoy them, Annie! 🙂
Again another recipe I must try! Loving the Greek theme- delicious flavours. I love souvlaki- I usually keep the recipe traditional by using lamb, but chicken sounds just as delicious!
I’m glad you’ve enjoyed the Greek inspired meals, Jessica! I love lamb souvlaki as well, and I will have to make that soon…I’m really craving it now that you mentioned it. 🙂
I love all the colors in these skewers Marcie! I can only imagine how yummy these are – can’t wait to give them a try!
Thank you, Trish! 🙂
I’ve been loving all these greek recipes you’ve been posting! I don’t make kabobs enough – it’s been so long! These sound so good – and I agree, the colors are awesome! Pretty foods are the best!
I’m glad you’ve liked the Greek recipes — I could really eat like this all the time. 🙂 I do need to make kabobs more often as they’re especially perfect for grilling in the summer. Have a great day, Ashley! 🙂
These will make a nice change for our next BBQ as we always opt for ribs or asian style flavors.
I hope you enjoy them, and thanks for stopping by! 🙂
We don’t have too many Greek restaurants near me, so I definitely need to make Greek food more often! Thank you for stopping by, Danae, and I appreciate the pin! 🙂
Kabobs are festive to me, too. The colors do that for me. I didn’t grow up eating them either really, so I’m making up for it in adulthood! Have a nice day, Carol! 🙂
These look so fresh and delicious. Pinned!
Thank you, Jill! 🙂
You’re so sweet, Mary Frances — thank you! I really don’t want to stop making mediterranean food either, and I have a few other ideas swirling around in my head. haha Thank you for the pin, and have a great day, my friend! 🙂
I’m loving all of the greek recipes you’ve been sharing Marcie and would definitely love to see more 🙂 These skewers look incredible! Love the pretty colors and you can just see that they are bursting with so much flavor – pinning 🙂
I’m glad you like them, Kelly, and I’m sure there will be more! I’m definitely loving eating mediterranean-style. 🙂 The kids were all over these, too, and that’s a definitely bonus!
Thank you, Jessica! It was just what I needed on a warm, summer evening. 🙂
Hey Marcie. I saw these on the BBQ pinterest board and I was planning on making these Saturday night. Now I have a great recipe to use!
That’s great, Peter — I hope you enjoy them, and have a terrific 4th of July! 🙂
These look so deliciously perfect. I wish I could dig right in! Pinned and stumbled 🙂
Thank you, Andi, and thanks for sharing! Hope you’re having a great weekend! 🙂
These look delish — and pretty!
Thank you! 🙂
I have made this recipe various times now. My family loves it!! Thank you for the recipe. Easy and chicken comes out delicious!!
I’m so happy to hear that you enjoy one of our favorite recipes! Thank you for the feedback. 🙂