Greek Marinade Chicken Souvlaki

Looking for an easy grilled chicken recipe? Look no further than this Chicken Souvlaki! These Greek chicken kabobs come together quickly and are perfectly moist every time.

Easy Greek Chicken Souvlaki

Pull up your britches and put on your thickest black eye liner and red lipstick because My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2 is coming to theaters March 25 and we’ve got Greek Chicken Souvlaki to celebrate! Now before we get all excited about the movie, you must hear two things.

1. The key to good chicken souvlaki skewers is to put peppers and onions at each end and stack the chicken close together so the meat stays juicy.
2. The greatest discovery ever is that grilling the lemons is pretty much the absolute best thing ever and makes them a little sweet and smokey. It. Is. Amazing.

I grew up on Cheesy Ground Beef and Rice Casserole and Jello Cake so I’m pretty sure if you had said Chicken Souvlaki to me I not only would have been confused, but there’s also no way in heck I would have tried it. I was a chicken with food. You already know that. I’ve said it 1. 56892 Billion times. But I’ve changed my ways thanks to Cade and his encouragement and I adore all kinds of food. Unless it’s that Persian place we tried a few weekends ago that gave me food poisoning…

But the point is, we’ve partnered up with Universal Pictures for a crazy fun post as part of a “My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2 Family Dinner Series”!! Eeeeek!!! I love that any time I post a “Bundt” on instagram or facebook you all are so quick to chime in with the “It’s not a cake, it’s a bundt” quotes. You know me so well…

Since we knew we were doing this post we’ve been quoting it even more. This is one is being said pretty much all the time. It’s getting ridiculous but I’m smiling to myself even as I type this because I know its not going to end any time soon.

Which is fine because I can keep making Greek food. We served these Greek chicken kabobs with Greek salad and Greek potatoes, which were AMAZING!!

Well we absolutely loved the first movie and it totally made me wish I had some Greek in me because they seem to have so much fun and I looooove their thick love for family. Traditions are so important.

What is Souvlaki?

Souvlaki is a popular Greek fast food. It is small pieces of meat and sometimes vegetables grilled on a skewer. It is usually eaten straight off the skewer while still hot.

What’s Needed for Greek Chicken Kabobs?

The star of this recipe is really the Greek chicken marinade. Without it, your Greek souvlaki wouldn’t have much flavor! Here’s what you’ll need to make the souvlaki marinade and kabobs:

• Chicken breasts
• Olive oil
• Garlic
• Red wine vinegar
• Granulated sugar
• Fresh oregano and parsley
• Kosher salt and pepper
• Bell peppers
• Red onion
• Lemons (you’ll need juice, zest, and lemon halves)

How to Make Chicken Souvlaki

This chicken souvlaki recipe couldn’t be simpler to make! Here are the basic steps:

1. Whisk together the Greek marinade. Reserve 1/4 cup for later.
2. Place the diced chicken in the marinade and set in fridge for 30 minutes.
3. Once the chicken has marinated, thread onto skewers along with the veggies.
4. Grill until done (see recipe card for tips on how to do so).
5. Serve with homemade tzatziki sauce (see recipe card below for instructions).

Can Souvlaki Be Cooked in the Oven?

While Souvlaki is best when grilled, it can be prepared in an oven. Preheat broiler, and place the rack about 5-6 inches from the top of the oven.

Can I Make Souvlaki With Another Type of Meat?

Yes! Souvlaki can also be made with pork or lamb. However, we’ve only tested this Greek souvlaki recipe with chicken, so I can’t say for certain whether this marinade will work for other types of meat.

Tips for Making Greek Chicken Souvlaki

If using wooden skewers, you should soak them in water for 15 to 20 minutes before threading on the chicken and veggies. This way, the skewers won’t burn on the grill.

We used onion and bell peppers on our Greek chicken kabobs, but feel free to use any veggies you’d like!

Note that you MUST throw out the Greek chicken marinade once you’ve used it. It’s not safe to eat since it had raw chicken in it.

More Grilled Chicken Recipes:

• Apple Chicken Burgers
• Grilled Huli Huli Chicken
• Grilled BBQ Chicken
• Grilled Honey Lemon Chicken
• Oregano Grilled Chicken
• Grilled Hawaiian Chicken
• Grilled Chicken Wings
• Grilled Sweet and Sour Chicken
• ALL OF OUR GRILLING RECIPES!

Greek Chicken Souvlaki

4.74 from 15 votes

Greek Chicken Souvlaki

By Sweet Basil

Prep15 minutes mins

Cook15 minutes mins

Total1 hour hr

Servings4 -6 servings

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Looking for an easy grilled chicken recipe? Look no further than this Chicken Souvlaki! These Greek chicken kabobs come together quickly and are perfectly moist every time. 

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Ingredients 

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For the Marinade:

• ▢ 2 Lemons, zested and juiced (you need roughly 1/4 cup juice)
• ▢ 1/3 Cup Olive Oil
• ▢ 3 Cloves Garlic, minced
• ▢ 1 teaspoon White or Red Wine Vinegar
• ▢ 1 teaspoon Granulated Sugar
• ▢ 2 Tablespoons Fresh Oregano, roughly chopped
• ▢ 1 Tablespoon Fresh Parsley, minced
• ▢ 2 teaspoons Sea Salt , (or Kosher Salt)
• ▢ Freshly Ground Pepper

For the Kabobs:

• ▢ 4 Boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts, cut in 2-inch pieces
• ▢ 1 Red Bell Pepper, chopped in 1-2 inch pieces
• ▢ 1 Green Bell Pepper, chopped in 1-2 inch pieces
• ▢ 1/2 Red Onion, cubed
• ▢ 1 Lemon, halved and rubbed with olive oil on the flesh side.

For the Tzatziki Sauce:

• ▢ 1 English Cucumber, peeled slightly (peel, skip a section, peel, skip etc)
• ▢ 3 Cloves Garlic, minced
• ▢ 2 Cups Plain Greek Yogurt
• ▢ 1 teaspoon Lemon Zest
• ▢ 3 Tablespoons Lemon Juice
• ▢ 1/2 teaspoon Fresh Dill, chopped
• ▢ 1/4 teaspoon Fresh Mint, finely chopped
• ▢ Pinch Salt

US Customary - Metric

Instructions 

Make the Souvlaki:

• In a glass measuring cup, add the marinade ingredients and whisk to combine.
  1/3 Cup Olive Oil, 3 Cloves Garlic, 1 teaspoon White or Red Wine Vinegar, 1 teaspoon Granulated Sugar, 2 Tablespoons Fresh Oregano, 1 Tablespoon Fresh Parsley, 2 teaspoons Sea Salt , Freshly Ground Pepper, 2 Lemons
• Remove 1/4 Cup as a reserve for after the chicken is cooked.
• Add the remaining marinade in a ziploc bag, add the chicken and seal shut.
  4 Boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts
• Allow the chicken to marinate for 30 minutes in the fridge.
• Turn the grill to high heat and allow to heat during the marinating process.
• Thread bell pepper and onion on the skewers, followed by chicken and then topping off with more pepper and onion. *SEE NOTE.*
  1 Red Bell Pepper, 1 Green Bell Pepper, 1/2 Red Onion
• Turn off all but two burners and place the skewers on the grill as well as the lemon halves.
  1 Lemon
• Turn the heat to medium.
• Grill the meat, turning often, until grill marks appear.
• Move to the warm but not hot side of the grill to finish cooking, about 15 minutes start to finish or until meat is cooked through.
• Remove the meat to a platter and tent (not wrap) with foil for 5 minutes to allow juices to redistribute.
• Drizzle with the reserved marinade and a squeeze of the grilled lemons and serve with tzatziki and pitas.

Make the Tzatziki Sauce:

• Slice the ends off of the cucumber, slice in half lengthwise.
  1 English Cucumber
• Using a spoon, slide the spoon down the inside of the cucumber to remove the seeds.
• Finely chop the cucumber and place in two paper towels.
• Wrap the towels and squeeze out the moisture as much as possible.
• In a bowl, whisk together the cucumber and remaining ingredients into a tzatziki sauce.
  3 Cloves Garlic, 2 Cups Plain Greek Yogurt, 1 teaspoon Lemon Zest, 3 Tablespoons Lemon Juice, 1/2 teaspoon Fresh Dill, 1/4 teaspoon Fresh Mint, Pinch Salt
• Store in fridge until serving.

Recipe Notes

• We heat all burners but turn off all but one to cook. I learned this with regular chicken breasts on America's Test Kitchen and have found it works well with kabobs to prevent dry meat.
• *We've found that peppers and onions help the bottom and top piece of meat from drying out as well since they are protected by the veggies. This is our own experience and has not been tested 6 billion times like ATK would do, but it's a habit so we continue.

Grilled chicken will keep for 3-4 days in the refrigerator

Nutrition

Serving: 1g, Calories: 423kcal, Carbohydrates: 24g, Protein: 37g, Fat: 22g, Saturated Fat: 3g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 3g, Monounsaturated Fat: 14g, Trans Fat: 1g, Cholesterol: 77mg, Sodium: 1338mg, Potassium: 985mg, Fiber: 5g, Sugar: 11g, Vitamin A: 1306IU, Vitamin C: 117mg, Calcium: 210mg, Iron: 3mg

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

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This post is in partnership with Universal Pictures.