The Greeks are mad about Chicken Souvlaki. As am I. And after you’ve tried it, you will be too!
Simple to make, loaded with classic Greek flavours: chicken marinated in lemon, garlic and dried oregano then threaded onto skewers. Served with a homemade Tzatziki, all bundled up in pita bread. Or in my case, a simple homemade flatbread that’s made without yeast!
Chicken Souvlaki
“Just make something quick and easy,” I told myself sternly. “Your To Do List is out of control at the moment. You don’t have time to blog something that will take too long.”
So I flicked through my “MUST BLOG SOON!” list to choose something that would be quick to make and picked this Chicken Souvlaki.
Got the chicken marinating, then sat down at my Mac to get on with my other tasks. But I couldn’t concentrate.
I had an itch. Not literally. Figuratively speaking. “I should make the flatbreads to go with the Chicken Souvlaki,” I thought. “It will save me a trip to the store to get pita bread.”
So I jumped up to make my Easy Soft Flatbreads – made without yeast that comes out lovely and soft so it’s perfect for using as a wrap.
I wrapped up the flatbreads to keep them warm and settled back down at my Mac. Clicked on “Create New Post” and stared at a blank screen. I couldn’t write. I had another tingling feeling of dissatisfaction. “I really should make a Greek Salad to go with this. I need more salads on my site. Plus it will look lovely and bright in the photo.”
So I jumped in the car and dashed out to get olives and feta for the Greek salad. It didn’t occur to me for a second that I had just made flatbreads to avoid going to the store.
Dashed home and chopped up the Greek Salad.
And while I was chopping up the Greek Salad, I had yet another thought. “I usually serve Lemon Rice with my Greek dishes. Wouldn’t it be nice to share that with everyone? It’s so fresh and yummy.”
Yes I did. I made Lemon Rice too.
So here you have it. This “quick Chicken Souvlaki” recipe that I intended to do has ended up being a complete Greek feast menu. *Eye roll*
This is so typical of me. I tend to get a little over-excited when I get ideas into my head.
And while it meant that my “quick little recipe” ended up evolving into a looooong cook/shoot/clean day, boy was it worth it. Because really, look at that spread. It was totally worth working late into the evening to do everything I was supposed to do during the day to be able to share this with you.
And the homeless guy at the dog park was rather appreciative too. 😉 – Nagi x
And to rehash – here’s what I made for the Greek menu
-
This chicken souvlaki recipe
-
Lemon Rice (pictured with Garlic Prawns/Shrimp)
And – more chicken on sticks!
-
Thai Chicken Satay with Peanut Sauce – also Indonesian Satay
-
Yakitori (Japanese skewers) – on my mother’s Japanese cooking website, RecipeTin Japan!
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Chicken Souvlaki with Tzatziki
Ingredients
Marinade
- 1.5 lb / 750 g chicken thigh fillets (or breast), cut into 1"/2.5cm pieces
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1/4 cup lemon juice
- 3 garlic cloves , minced
- 2 tbsp dried oregano
- 1/2 - 3/4 tsp salt
- Black pepper
To Cook / Serve
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- Flatbreads / wraps / pita bread
- Lettuce
- Tomato slices
Tzatziki
- 2 Lebanese cucumbers (to make about ½ cup grated cucumber after squeezing out juice)
- 1 1/4 cups / 300 g plain Greek yoghurt
- 2 tsp white wine vinegar (or red wine or apple cider vinegar)
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
- 1/2 garlic clove , minced
- 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil (or more if you want richer)
- 1/2 tsp salt
- Black pepper
Instructions
- Place chicken and Marinade into a bowl and set aside to marinate for at least 3 hours to overnight.
- Thread chicken onto 8 skewers.
- Heat oil in a large skillet over high heat (or BBQ). Cook skewers for 3 minutes on each side, or until cooked through.
- Serve Chicken Souvlaki with tzatziki, flatbreads (make your own!), lettuce and tomato slices.
Tzatziki
- Cut the cucumber in half lengthwise. Use a teaspoon to scrape the watery seeds out. Coarsely grate the cucumber using a box grater. Then wrap in paper towels or a tea towel and squeeze to remove excess liquid.
- Place cucumber in a bowl. Add remaining ingredients then mix to combine. Set aside for at least 20 minutes for the flavours to meld.
Recipe Notes:
Nutrition Information:
LIFE OF DOZER
Look who’s in his usual position…..
Can this be baked in the oven like your doner kebabs (smushed up against each other)? Or does it require a yogurt marinade to be able to do that? I’m looking for a hands off approach
Also there’s not many differences between this and gyros, do you think they pretty much taste the same? I did see the tzatziki on this requires vinegar, which is slightly different. Which tzatziki do you prefer?
OMG! Delicious. We added finely sliced red onion and feta to serve.
Good morning Nagi, how are you? How is Dozer.
I’d like to make the Chicken Souvlaki for my cousin. She is a mother and carer of a young woman who has disabilities.
Every year when she visits I like to cook up something special for lunch for her.
However, one of her first experience and best memories was having lamb souvlaki at a Greek Cafe.
For me to make lamb rather than chicken aside from the change of meat is there anything else I need to consider?
Hi Sonja, I’ve made this dish with both lamb and pork and didn’t change a thing – was delicious.
Going to a bbq at my brother and his family’s place this afternoon and i’ve got your souvlaki marinating since last night. I’ve made the souvlaki a number of times and it always turns out good. The tzatziki sauce is also awesome.Did i mention my entire family consists of picky eaters? ;)Can’t wait to put the souvlaki on the grill. Your recipes are amazing, as always. Thanks Nagi!
Fantastic recipe! We threw whole, marinated skinless boneless thighs without skewers onto the grill and they came out so so well! If you have time, make the tzatziki the day before. It’s delicious with just a few hours to sit, but was amazing on leftovers the next day
I agree! The tzatziki tastes good immediately but is phenomenal the next day!
It was soooo great to meet you and Dozer last Tuesday. It was a memorable experience for both Dylan and I xxx
Can I exchange the chicken with lamb?
We have a family Christmas Party coming up on the 26th November. I was staying with my cousin in Londonderry Monday and Tuesday night, she reminisced about her first experience with lamb Souvlaki, so i would like to make it with lamb rather than chicken.
We capitalised on the end of the UK heatwave/rain and had a BBQ this evening, this was perfect, so delicious! Thank you Nagi!
LOVE this reciep! Thank you!
An absolute favourite, so delicious and easy to make. My husband and family thank you Nagi for producing and sharing these fabulous recipes xxx
Hello Nagi, very very tasty tzatziki, thank you.
Optional 1/4 bunch dill, finely chopped.
Just amazing, as always. I have eaten this in a wrap with fries, inside the wrap, so served like that and it went down a treat!!!
Hi Nagi and Dozer, just another perfect recipe thank you, so easy to make really tasty, the Tzatziki was really tasty..
I made this for supper tonight and my mom was raving about it. She said that she’s so excited to come home for supper 😂. Unfortunately I couldn’t make chicken skewers because my mom pinched my skewers this morning for a craft project. So I had to just cook the chicken in a pot 😅. I also made your flatbread recipe as well. I’m fairly new at kneading so that was interesting and of course I only found my dough hook mixer attachment after supper…
I hadn’t made this in soooo long, decided to make it for dinner tonight. I found a recipe for No Cucumber Tzatziki – cucumbers and I are not friends!! – and it was a wonderful meal. Love every recipe of yours I have made.
Perfect Leslie!! You and Dozer are on the same page about cucumbers 😂 N x
Where is the flat bread recipe? As i would like to make my own flat bread
Hi Amalia, you can use this one here: https://www.recipetineats.com/easy-soft-flatbread-yeast/ N x
Hi Nagi,
We love this recipe. I was initially worried about the amount of oregano used, but it was spot on. My son will be here for his birthday in a few weeks and has requested lamb souvlaki. Can this marinade be modified to use for lamb? I really want his birthday dinner to be a homerun! Thanks! Katy
That’s so good to hear Katy, I’m so happy you enjoyed it!! You could use lamb but the cook time will be different – Lamb souvlaki needs to go on my recipe list!! N x
By marinading the chicken in lemon juice for so long, doesn’t the meat get tough as the acid starts to break down the meat?
No it doesn’t here – it makes it super tender without over tenderising (the acid is minimal here) N x
This was seriously delicious, the marinade was on point & I also made the flatbread as well. I’ll definitely be making chicken souvlaki’s again.
We made these all last summer & they were delicious. I hadn’t realized what a family favourite they’d become until my son – away for his first year at university- asked for the recipe. His roommates love it, too!
Hi Nagi,
This is amazing. I was worried about the amount of oregano for the chicken marinade, but it was spot on! Your tzatziki recipe is perfect. I’ve tried many recipes and this is hands down the absolute best. I know what I’m requesting for Mother’s Day dinner :).