This recipe for Greek chicken souvlaki is skewers of tender chicken breast marinated in lemon, garlic and herbs, then grilled to perfection and served with a creamy yogurt sauce.
These chicken souvlaki kabobs are a taste of the Mediterranean right in your own kitchen. You can grill or broil these Greek chicken skewers for a simple yet healthy meal. Souvlaki is one of my favorite way to enjoy grilled meat on a skewer along with grilled shrimp skewers, Hawaiian chicken kabobs and shish kabobs.
One of my ongoing challenges as a mom and as a cook is coming up with dinner recipes that all three of my children will eat. I’ve learned through trial and error that if I skewer meat on a stick, the fun factor alone makes it much more likely that the girls will be willing to try it. This chicken souvlaki was no exception – everyone happily devoured their “chicken on a stick.”
You can enjoy this souvlaki with homemade hummus, tzatziki sauce or make a whole Mediterranean mezze platter!
Chicken Souvlaki Ingredients
When you make this chicken souvlaki you will need for the skewers boneless, skinless chicken breast, lemon juice, olive oil, dried oregano, salt, black pepper and garlic cloves. For the yogurt sauce you will need plain Greek yogurt, sour cream, cucumber and fresh parsley or dill. To make cucumber tomato relish you will need cucumber, tomato, lemon juice, olive oil, parsley, salt and pepper.
How Do You Make Chicken Souvlaki?
To make this chicken souvlaki recipe start by cutting boneless, skinless chicken breasts into chunks. Next make a marinade in a large bowl by whisking together minced garlic, lemon juice, olive oil, oregano, water, salt and pepper. Place the chicken in the marinade and let it soak up the flavor between 10 minutes and 1 hour. Thread the marinated chicken on skewers and place the skewers on a hot grill. Cook the chicken until done.
For the yogurt sauce, simply mix together plain Greek yogurt, sour cream, minced cucumber, parsley, salt and pepper in a bowl. To make the relish place minced cucumber and minced tomato in a bowl and stir in lemon juice, olive oil, salt and pepper. Enjoy the hot chicken skewers with the yogurt sauce and relish!
Tips For The Perfect Chicken Souvlaki
- If you have difficulty cutting your chicken, you can place it in a freezer for 20-30 minutes to firm up the chicken.
- It’s important to only marinate the chicken for a short period of time, less than an hour is ideal. If the chicken sits too long in the marinade the acid from the lemon juice could make it tough.
- You can use wooden skewers or metal skewers for this recipe. If you use wooden skewers you can soak them in water for 20 minutes to keep them from burning.
- While I like cooking chicken souvlaki on a grill, you can cook it on a grill pan or even on a sheet pan under a broiler in an oven.
- There are two types of dried oregano typically sold at the store, Mexican oregano and Mediterranean oregano. You want the Mediterranean oregano for this dish.
Quick Tip
Cut your chicken with a sharp knife into 1 inch square chunks. You want similar sized pieces of chicken so they cook in the same amount of time.
Recipe FAQs
Chicken souvlaki is a Greek dish that’s made with marinated and grilled chicken and sometimes vegetables. People thread souvlaki onto skewers and grill or broil them. People often served it with pita bread and Mediterranean sauces.
People season souvlaki with lemon, olive oil, garlic, dried oregano, salt and pepper. Sometimes souvlaki seasoning can include other herbs and spices like parsley and paprika.
Gyros and souvlaki are both popular meat dishes, typically served with pita bread. The main difference between the two is that gyros are made with ground meat, and souvlaki is made with chunks of chicken, pork, or beef.
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Flavor Variations
While this chicken souvlaki is delicious, you can change up the recipe to suit your own taste.
- Meat: Feel free to use chicken thigh meat, beef or lamb for this recipe.
- Veggies: You can make these skewers with some veggies like cherry tomatoes, red onions, zucchini or bell peppers.
- Spicy: For a spicier chicken, try adding a little hot sauce or red pepper flakes to your marinade.
I pair my Greek chicken souvlaki and sauces with hummus, marinated olives and flatbread for a Mediterranean dinner that the whole family will love. In fact, I ended up making this twice in one week because it was such a hit. I can’t argue with that kind of success!
More Greek Inspired Dishes
Chicken Souvlaki Video
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Chicken Souvlaki
Ingredients
For the chicken skewers:
- 1 pound boneless skinless chicken breast cut into 1 inch chunks
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- 2 garlic cloves minced
For the yogurt sauce:
- 1 cup plain Greek yogurt
- 1/2 cup sour cream (or an additional 1/2 cup of greek yogurt if you prefer)
- salt and pepper to taste
- 1/2 cup minced cucumber (I prefer the small persian cucumbers)
- 1/4 cup minced fresh parsley or dill
For the tomato cucumber relish:
- 3/4 cup minced cucumber
- 3/4 cup minced seeded tomato
- 2 teaspoons lemon juice
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 2 tablespoons minced parsley
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- For the chicken skewers: Combine the lemon juice, olive oil, oregano, salt, pepper and garlic, along with 1 tablespoon of water, in a bowl.
- Add the chicken pieces and toss to coat. Marinate for at least 10 minutes or up to 1 hour.
- Heat a grill or grill pan over medium or preheat the broiler.
- Remove the chicken from the marinade and thread the chicken pieces onto 4 skewers.
- If grilling, place the chicken on the grill and cook for 5 minutes on each side or until chicken is cooked through.
- For broiling, broil for 8-10 minutes or until chicken is cooked through.
- While the chicken is cooking make the sauces.
- For the yogurt sauce: Mix together the Greek yogurt, sour cream, cucumber and parsley. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
- Refrigerate until ready for use, or for up to 1 day.
- For the relish: Combine the tomato, cucumber and parsley in a bowl. Stir in the lemon juice and olive oil.
- Season to taste with salt and pepper. Refrigerate until ready for use, or for up to 1 day.
- Serve the chicken skewers with the yogurt sauce and cucumber relish, as well as flatbread, hummus and olives if desired.
Notes
- Cut your chicken with a sharp knife into 1 inch square chunks. You want similar sized pieces of chicken so they cook in the same amount of time.
- It’s important to only marinate the chicken for a short period of time, less than an hour is ideal. If the chicken sits too long in the marinade the acid from the lemon juice could make it tough.
- While I like cooking chicken souvlaki on a grill, you can cook it on a grill pan or even on a sheet pan under a broiler in an oven.
This was such a party favorite. Everyone really enjoyed all the flavors and it was just so good!
We make this quite a bit! We love it & the yogurt sauce is so yummy!!
I’m always looking for new and tasty ways to serve chicken. This is the perfect recipe to mix things up. It is flavorful and has great texture with the sauce and cucumber relish.
Hello, our family loves this recipe. My question is can you marinate the chicken longer than 1 hour or it’s not recommended?
Yes it’s fine to go longer than an hour, up to 8 hours will work!
Oh my goodness! This is THE BEST chicken! We now have this in rotation at least 2-3 times per month. It by far beats any Greek chicken we’ve had at a restaurant!
I’ve made this recipe Pat least 100 times. It’s my kids’ favorite and I even made it for Christmas dinner for my in-laws one year. So easy and delicious! Thank you!
Everything was delicious. The chicken skewers were juicy and tender. The sauce was perfect with the chicken. I think it’s as good, if not better, than what we get from our neighborhood Greek restaurant.
Such an amazing recipe! Came out like restaurant food! Loved it.
I have tried many souvlaki recipes but THIS one is the best. My fussy kids actually enjoyed it which is amazing. Thank you so much 🙂
Can this be marinated overnight?
Yes that’s fine!
My picky kids LOVE this chicken! Even my husband, who hates lemon flavor (weirdo! #amiright), loved it! PLUS, the chicken and relish are keto friendly (for me)! We’ve had this once a week since finding it. Thank you!
We love this recipe. Easy, quick and delicious!
This is as good as restaurant food. My kids love to eat things on sticks!
I made this recipe and it was fantastic. Super yummy. Made the tomato cucumber garnish but swapped out the parsley with freshly chopped mint leaves and added a little of minced red onion. It was insanely delicious. Perfect in every way and super easy. Highly recommend this recipe. Thank you