Chicken Souvlaki
intro
Tender, herb-marinated grilled chicken skewers with bright zesty flavor, a classic Greek street food perfect for casual outdoor meals.
Ingredients
Steps
Prep chicken and marinade
Trim any excess white fat from 680g boneless, skinless chicken thighs, then cut the meat into uniform 2.5cm (1-inch) cubes and set aside. In a large 2L glass mixing bowl, whisk together 80ml extra-virgin olive oil, 60ml fresh lemon juice, 12g minced garlic, 3g dried oregano, 9g kosher salt, 1g black pepper, and 1g sweet paprika until the mixture is fully emulsified.
Marinate chicken pieces
Add the cubed chicken to the marinade bowl, toss with a silicone spoon to coat every piece of chicken completely in the herb mixture. Cover the bowl tightly with plastic wrap, then refrigerate for 1 hour (4 hours maximum) — marinating longer than 4 hours will cause the lemon acid to break down chicken fibers, resulting in a mushy, unpleasant texture.
Assemble skewers, preheat grill
While the chicken finishes marinating, submerge 8 wooden 20cm (8-inch) skewers in cold tap water for 10 minutes to prevent them from burning during grilling. Thread marinated chicken, cubed red onion, and cubed red bell pepper onto the soaked skewers, alternating ingredients and leaving a 3mm (1/8-inch) gap between pieces to allow even heat flow. Preheat an outdoor gas or charcoal grill to medium-high heat (200°C / 400°F), then scrub and lightly oil the grill grates to prevent sticking.
Grill skewers to safe temp
Arrange the assembled skewers in a single layer on the preheated grill grates, leaving 2cm (1 inch) of space between each skewer. Cook undisturbed for 5-6 minutes on the first side, until dark golden grill marks form and chicken releases easily from the grates without sticking. Use long metal tongs to flip each skewer, then cook for another 5-6 minutes on the second side, until chicken reaches an internal temperature of 74°C (165°F) measured at the thickest part with an instant-read thermometer, and vegetables have light charred edges.
Rest skewers and serve
Transfer the cooked skewers from the grill to a clean ceramic serving platter, then tent the platter loosely with a sheet of aluminum foil. Let the skewers rest for 3 minutes to allow meat juices to redistribute, which prevents juice runoff when biting into the chicken. Serve warm with 120g tzatziki on the side for dipping, plus extra lemon wedges if desired.
Tips
2.Avoid overcrowding the grill grates; leave 2cm (1 inch) of space between each skewer to ensure proper air circulation and even charring, rather than steaming the chicken.
3.If you do not have an outdoor grill, cook the skewers on a cast-iron grill pan over medium-high stovetop heat using the same timing, and turn on your range hood to vent cooking smoke.
OMG this souvlaki is a total game changer! I made it for my family dinner last night and my picky 7 year old asked for seconds, which never happens. The marinade is so bright and herby, didn’t dry out the chicken at all on the grill. 10/10 will be making this for our next neighborhood potluck too!
SO good. I was skeptical an “authentic” recipe would be this easy, but it came together with stuff I already had in my pantry. Marinated for the full hour like the recipe said and the chicken was so juicy, even my buddy who swears he hates Greek food ate three skewers. Will add to my regular summer cookout rotation.
This is perfect for my weekly meal prep! I cubed the chicken Sunday morning, let it marinate while I ran errands, grilled it up and portioned it out with quinoa and roasted veggies for the whole work week. Only mistake I made was not making a double batch — it was so tasty I ate half of it straight off the grill before I even packed my lunches, oops.
Made this last night on my stovetop cast iron grill pan since I don’t have an outdoor grill and HOLY COW it was still so good! Got those perfect char marks, the chicken was juicy, my roommate said it tasted exactly like the souvlaki we got on our trip to Athens last summer. Quick question though — does the marinade freeze well? I want to prep a bunch of bags of raw chicken + marinade to pull out on busy weeknights.
Easy peasy, even for a guy who usually burns everything on the grill. Followed the recipe exactly, cooked the skewers over medium heat for the time listed, no burnt edges, no raw middle. Served it with homemade tzatziki and pita and my girlfriend said it’s the best thing I’ve ever made. Winning.
Brought these skewers to my office potluck yesterday and they were the first empty platter on the table! People were blowing up my work chat asking for the recipe before I even left the break room. I added a little extra fresh oregano because I grow it on my windowsill and it was chef’s kiss. Only downside is I didn’t sneak a couple extra for my own lunch today, major regret.
Okay, the flavor of this souvlaki was 10/10 but I had a major mishap: half my chicken stuck straight to the grill grates! I lost like a whole skewer worth of chicken stuck to the metal, which was so sad. Did I mess up a step? I want to nail it next time because the bits I did get to eat were incredible.
Made these for my son’s soccer team cookout after the game this weekend and the kids went crazy for them! I skipped the wooden skewers and just did grilled chicken strips to make it easier for little hands to hold, served with pita triangles and cucumber slices. So many parents asked for the recipe, I lost count. SO good!
Macros are chef’s kiss for a high protein meal. 30g of protein per serving, super flavorful, doesn’t feel like boring “diet food” at all. I’ve made it three weeks in a row now and I’m not sick of it yet. 5 stars no notes.
Made this last night with boneless skinless chicken thighs instead of breast because that’s what I had in my fridge, and holy cow it was even juicier than I imagined! I served it with dairy-free tzatziki since I’m lactose intolerant and didn’t miss the dairy at all. Quick question — has anyone thrown veggies on the skewers with the chicken, like bell peppers and red onion? I want to make it a one-and-done meal next time.
I’ll be real, I almost skipped this recipe because I thought an hour marination time was too long for a weeknight dinner, but I decided to plan ahead and it was SO worth it. It came together so fast once the marination was done, total cook time on the grill was like 10 minutes? We ate by 6:30, no stress, no takeout needed. New go-to weeknight meal.
I’m Greek and I’ve been making my yia yia’s souvlaki recipe for 20 years, so I’m super picky about what counts as “authentic.” Tried this recipe on a whim when I forgot my own recipe card at a cookout and wow, it’s spot on. The lemon-oregano ratio is exactly right, no weird extra ingredients that don’t belong. Great job.
Wait, I accidentally used apple cider vinegar instead of red wine vinegar for the marinade because I grabbed the wrong bottle out of the pantry. Is it still going to taste good? I already dumped it on the chicken and it’s marinating in the fridge right now, panicking a little because I’m making this for date night in an hour 😭
Made these for our family picnic at the lake last weekend and they held up perfectly! I grilled them the night before, packed them in a cooler, and we ate them cold with pita and hummus and they were still so flavorful. Way better than boring old sandwiches for a day out. Even the seagulls were trying to steal a bite lmao
Wanted to love this, but I felt like the marinade was a little lacking in flavor for me? I marinated it for the full hour, used all the ingredients the recipe called for, but it just didn’t pop like I thought it would. Am I missing something?
Made this in my dorm’s communal kitchen with my roommates and it was so easy even we couldn’t mess it up! We didn’t have skewers so we just grilled whole chicken breasts and sliced them up, put them in pita with veggies and tzatziki. Best dorm meal we’ve made all semester, way better than dining hall food. 10/10
Loved the flavor of the chicken but my wooden skewers caught on fire on the grill! I ended up with charred wood bits all over my chicken, which was kind of a bummer. Definitely still ate it though, because the chicken was too good to waste. Any tips for next time?
Adding this to my Fourth of July cookout menu this year! I usually stick to classic burgers and hot dogs, but I wanted to add something a little lighter that still feels like perfect summer food. This looks ideal, and since it’s so easy I won’t be stuck slaving over the grill while everyone else is hanging out by the pool.