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Grilled Chicken Souvlaki

Grilled Chicken Souvlaki
Yield: 4 servings

Grilled Chicken Souvlaki

Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 5 minutes
Additional Time: 2 hours
Total Time: 2 hours 15 minutes

Punchy Greek flavors make this tender, juicy grilled chicken a guaranteed family favorite.

Ingredients

  • 1 lb. chicken breast or tenderloins
  • 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
  • juice from 1 lemon (approx. 3 Tbsp.)
  • 2 Tbsp. balsamic or red wine vinegar
  • 3 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1 tsp. kosher salt
  • 1 tsp. oregano

Instructions

  1. Cut the chicken breast into bite-sized pieces, still large enough to fit on a skewer
  2. Prepare the marinade by mixing the olive oil, vinegar, lemon juice, garlic, salt and oregano.
  3. Pour the marinade over the chicken in a plastic zip-top bag or glass dish with a cover. Refrigerate and marinate for 2-24 hours.
  4. Slide chicken pieces onto metal or wooden skewers, leaving a little bit of space between each piece for more even cooking.
  5. Cook on a preheated grill (charcoal, gas, or heated plate indoor grill) for about 5 minutes.
  6. Remove from grill and serve on skewers. Or remove from skewers and serve with fresh pita, tzatziki, and lettuce.

Notes

1. Apple cider vinegar can be used in place of balsamic or red wine vinegar.

2. Pork also works well with these flavors. You can use the same marinade to make pork souvlaki.

3. Marinate for a minimum of 2 hours for optimal flavor. Less than that and the flavors won't have soaked in very well. Longer is better.

4. A charcoal or wood fire will produce the most authentic, smoky flavor. I use a countertop grill because it's the quickest and easiest.

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Punchy Greek flavors make this tender, juicy grilled chicken a guaranteed family favorite.

I’m not Greek, and I don’t pretend to have any Greek background to qualify me to make authentic Greek cuisine. Other than the fact that I absolutely love Greek flavors! You can’t beat ’em for grilled chicken, roasted chicken, salads, etc.

I make no claims on authenticity for this chicken souvlaki. But I will make the bold claim that every single member of my family of seven loves this chicken, especially when paired with fresh pita and tzatziki.

Or you can add the tender grilled chicken chunks to a hearty salad. Top with olives, feta, and Greek dressing.

Classic Greek Marinade and Salad Dressing

The marinade for chicken souvlaki is made with the classic Greek flavors of olive oil, lemon juice, balsamic or red wine vinegar, garlic, and oregano. And, of course, salt.

This combination works really well for a salad dressing. Pour over a crispy garden salad, or use it to season my favorite Mediterranean quinoa salad.

In this recipe, marinate the chicken pieces in the dressing for at least 2 hours in the refrigerator. Up to 24 hours is ideal, with longer soaking time imparting deeper flavor into the meat.

Grilling the Souvlaki

Souvlaki is meat grilled on a skewer.

Why the skewer? If you’re grilling on a gas or charcoal grill, the skewer allows you to quickly grill small pieces of meat without them falling through the grill into the flames or coals.

You can also easily turn all those small pieces of meat with one quick motion instead of trying to turn each one individually for even cooking.

Why cook small pieces of meat? The smaller pieces soak up more of the marinade flavor. They cook faster and more evenly, with more surface area for crispy, crusty outsides, and juicy, flavorful insides.

When there’s a foot of snow out there, and I don’t want to grill outside, I use my trusty Cuisinart countertop grill.

Even if I’m not worried about the pieces of meat falling through the grate, a skewer still makes the small pieces easy to handle. Even spacing, even cooking, easy to put on and take off the grill. And it wouldn’t be souvlaki without the skewers!

Cook on high heat for 3-4 minutes. Remove from grill and serve immediately. My favorite way to eat souvlaki is with fresh pita, crispy lettuce, and tzatziki. It’s great picnic food!

Substitutions

Boneless chicken thighs are a good alternative to chicken breast tenderloins in this recipe.

Pork works just as well as chicken with the flavors of this marinade. Cooking time will be slightly longer, as it’s a denser meat.

If you don’t have a fresh lemon on hand, replace the juice of 1 lemon with 1/4 cup of bottled lemon juice.

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