Chicken Souvlaki
He finally got me!
There’s only so much a girl can take, you know…
Mike, my good friend over at The Iron You is probably the king of kebabs. He keeps making all kinds and they all look absolutely MOUTH WATERING! Every single time he posts a new kebab recipe, I’m like OMG, I have GOT to make that one.
But then I never do…
For some reason, I’m not really one to make kebabs. I prefer to grill the whole chicken breast, or other piece of meat, with no other form of ceremony… *maybe* I’ll give it a little bit of pounding action from time to time, just to make it flatter and help it cook faster, but that’s about it.
I think it’s the whole “hand-dirtying” and skewer soaking thing that puts me off…
However, when I saw Mike’s Chicken Souvlaki, I just couldn’t resist. I surrendered to his kebab-making convincing superpowers.
Plus, believe it or not, I don’t think I’d ever tried making genuine souvlaki at home before. I’d always enjoyed them from a styrofoam box, aka takeout.
It was about time I remedied that.
And you know what? They’re so stupid easy to make and so crazy good, I think I’ll be eating nothing but souvlaki all summer!
Basically all you need to do is make a quick marinade by mixing some olive oil, lemon juice, garlic, vinegar and some seasonings.
You then pour that over the chicken, mix well and leave that to marinate in the fridge for a few hours, or better yet, overnight.
Then comes the part that I don’t care much for… You need to skewer your meat onto those skewers.
First, you MUST remember to soak your skewers preferably at least 30 minutes before you are ready to start building the kebabs. Me being me, I always manage to forget… and my skewers they always burn on me!
Then you need to get your hands dirty and thread the pieces of meat onto the PRE-SOAKED skewers. GAH! I hate that. But hey. It doesn’t last that long, and it’s for a good cause. So I’d say it’s very well worth it in the end. And hands, well, they are highly and easily washable, after all.
Pile your finished kebabs onto a plate, fire up the grill and grill those babies nice and good until they get all deliciously golden and showcase beautiful char marks on all sides, which shouldn’t take much longer than 10 minutes.
You then want to serve your souvlakis with a side of green salad or my favorite, grilled vegetables.
Ah, and of course, tzatziki sauce. No Chicken Souvlaki would be complete without a good Tzatziki, right?
Where’s a good recipe for that? Don’t worry you guys, I’ve got you covered… and I promise I won’t be keeping you long…
One Tzatziki Sauce Recipe coming right up!
Chicken Souvlaki
Ingredients
- 2 lb skinless chicken breasts, cut into bite size chunks
- 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 2 tbsp lemon juice
- 2 tbsp white wine vinegar
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 tbsp dried oregano
- 1 tsp Himalayan salt
- 1 tsp freshly ground black pepper
Instructions
- Add olive oil, lemon juice, white wine vinegar, minced garlic, dried oregano, salt and pepper to a small mixing bowl or measuring cup; whisk until well incorporated.
- Place chunks of chicken in a bowl and pour marinade over them. Mix to coat really well, cover and place in the refrigerator to marinate for a couple of hours, or better yet, overnight.
- Place skewers to soak in cold water for about 30 minutes before you start building your kebabs.
- Preheat outdoor grill (or grill pan) to medium-high heat.
- Remove chicken from the marinade and skewer onto bamboo sticks. Discard unused marinade.
- Grill the kebabs, turning them a few times, until chicken is cooked through, is nicely browned and has nice grill marks and is no longer pink in the center, about 10-12 minutes total.
- Serve with tzatziki sauce.
Notes
Nutrition
If you’ve tried this recipe, please take a minute to rate the recipe and let me know how things went for you in the comments below. It’s always such a pleasure to hear from you!
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41 Comments on “Chicken Souvlaki”
I loooove souvlaki! It always brings me straight back to summer souvlaki on the beach in Greece. Food can do that to me…. 🙂 And this looks fab. I do also seriously don’t like the skewering part, especially when it comes to marinated meat. So messy! But worth it…
Summer souvlaki on the beach in Greece? Oh my! Yes please, I would definitely have some of that! 🙂
Now you suddenly made me want to be in Greece. Wish I could teleport myself right now!
Wear plastic gloves then throw them away! Easy fix, well worth it!
Oh, yes, the good ol’ kebabs 🙂 It’s one of our go-to summer meals, quick, easy fresh – nothing more, nothing less and like you say: soo good!! I am happy that you joined this community of kebab/souvlaki lovers and just wanted to tell you how gorgeous your photos are! It’s currently breakfast time here but I wouldn’t complain about some of your Chicken Souvlaki 😉 Great job!
Why thank you very much, Sabrina. Coming from a great photographer such as yourself, I take that as a huge compliment! And thanks for dropping by, I really appreciate the visit. Now off to take a little tour of your site myself! 🙂
This recipe looks delicious! And so simple to make. I love easy, especially in the summer. It sounds like you hate skewering with bamboo as much as I do. Last summer I invested in Fire Wire Flexible Grilling Skewers and they make a HUGE difference! Now if I could just get my husband to stop volunteering me to make fruit skewers for every summer picnic we go to, I’d never have to use the bamboo ones again!
These things look pretty neat, indeed! Thanks for the tip, I’ll have to investigate and see if I can get them locally!
As for the fruit skewers, my oh my don’t I feel for you. They’re THE WORST!!!! I think if my husband (if a husband I had) did that to me, it would be a serious cause for divorce! :p
Haha! Other than the constant requests for fruit skewers all summer, he’s a keeper. 🙂
I got my Fire Wire at Williams Sonoma, but I have also seen it on Amazon, and even in some grocery stores.
These look amazing, how I love souvlaki, going to give these a try for sure, Thanks.
I like to use surgical gloves for messy food prep like meat loaf and chicken. Love your recipe!
I would be totally incapable of wearing gloves to cook, unless I had a very serious cut that justified it. I NEED to feel that contact with my food. So yeah… I hate having my hands dirty, but I hate to have something standing between me and my sense of touch even more. Argh. I guess I have to stick with bare, dirty hands! Thanks for the tip, though. It’s appreciated! 🙂
Your chicken souvlaki is marinating 😉 – off for a run with my doggie and then it’s grill time (while watching the Habs) sounds like a pretty perfect evening, no? Can you guess what I love most about this recipe Sonia? 🙂
It would’ve been the perfect evening if we hadn’t lost that game in such a miserable way… Hope the kebabs were good, at least! 😉
And what is it that you love most about this recipe, Kelly?
Ah, but victory is so much sweeter when it is hard earned 😉 you don’t want it to look too easy for the Habs now do you? Your brochettes were a *huge* hit!! In fact my (occasionally) surly teenager declared that they were not only “good” but “really, really, good” that’s big as you might recall for age 16 :). My husband also loved them and… I double batched the recipe so we can to do it all over again tonight – yay! happy mommy dance. What do I love most (what, no guesses? you’re no fun ;o) — the SIMPLICITY darling!!! xxx merci.
Yeah, you’re right I guess. But it’s never fun to lose either, especially not that way! Man that was an ugly goal! But hey, we’ll get our revenge tonight!
That said, thank you so much for your amazing feedback. I’m so glad to hear that the kebabs were such a hit. My turn to do a happy dance! And since they are so simple and easy to make (apart from the skewering / finger dirtying thing) you can make them all the time! 😀
making it again today 🙂 came back to double check ingredients (so sad about Price…my heart goes out to the rookie goaltender; not an easy spot to be in).
Yeah… poor thing looks so nervous, he’s a total wreck in front of that Net. Looks like our high hopes have pretty much just gone down the drain… so sad indeed! 🙁
Thank you so much for this simple and DELICIOUS recipe! It was tender, juicy and GONE! That’s right, gone! The entire family ate it- two 4-year olds and my “not chicken again” husband. Thank you for helping me feed my family a healthy and yummy dinner.
Aw, but thank YOU so much for the amazing feedback, Theresa. 4 year old AND “not chicken again” husband, you say? Wow! That is music to my ears. You ROCK! 😀
I let these marinate overnight and cooked them up yesterday, along with the Tzatziki VERY GOOD! This is going to made throughout the summer for sure! I can’t wait to try your next yummy recipe! I am so thankful I found this site!
That’s awesome, Debbie. Thanks a bunch for the great feedback! I’m real happy you found this site too and hope you’ll try many more of my recipes and will end up liking all of them just as much as you did this one! 🙂
Made this last night along with coconut jamine rice and it was DIVINE!!!! Marinated for about 6 hours and it came so tender and delicious. Many thanks!!!
Glad to hear the kebabs were a hit, Rose, and many thanks to you for taking the time to let me know. I greatly appreciate that! 😀
Wow! This is incredible! I don’t have a grill so I cut the chicken into larger pieces, marinated it, and baked it, with it’s marinade, and covered with foil. Sprinkled paprika on top first for a little color. It was tender and juicy. I served it with your yummy tzatziki sauce and saved the baked marinade/juices for gravy with another meal. Will certainly fix this again. Thanks!!!
Awesome! I’m real happy to hear, Lyn, and thank you so much for taking the time to leave such great feedback. You totally rule! 🙂
I only have one thing to say. Getting your hands dirty in the kitchen is a big part of cooking, be it touching veggies,meat, fruit. If you cant handle the work required then get out of the kitchen and go eat your mc dee’s.
I’ve stumbled into your blog not too long ago, and the main reason why I would regularly visit your site is because of the wonderful photos that you always attach to each and every post! Not only that, but you really took healthy eating to a whole new level! Most (or maybe all) of your recipes feature foods that look oh-so decadent but without the heart-clogging ingredients that’s often found in various recipes. I’m really thankful for the time, love and effort that you put into your blog! I’ll look forward to the future recipes to come!
Anyhow, this is the first recipe that I tried and BOY, WAS IT DA BOMB. Yes, you heard it right! D-A B-O-M-B!!! I didn’t have a griller with me, as I live in a condo, but I managed to give the chicken kebabs a grilled effect from a skillet pan. The chicken came out with nice golden-brown spots, and upon eating them, each bite was nothing but tender and juicy goodness! My father even said that it’s better than a certain teppanyaki restaurant in a hotel. Hearing this from my dad pleased me so much. I’m very sure I’ll follow this recipe again once I get my hands on a bunch of chicken breasts! Good thing it only requires little prep time so it’s a total winner recipe for me!!! 😀
I’m planning to try out your Paleo Orange Sesame Chicken next! I can’t wait to report you my family’s feedback! 😀
Wow, Sara, I don’t know what to say! Thank you so much for taking the time to write this beautiful testimony and give me such amazing feedback. I am sincerely touched. You are a real gem my dear. Thank you, thank you, thank you! 😀
p.s. I hope you like the Orange Sesame Chicken just as much! 🙂
Thank you so much!!! This recipe is a keeper for sure! I pretty much had everything for these already in the fridge and pantry(minus the sauce), talk about cheap! That definitely makes my wallet happy! We made these last night (I marinated the meat in the early am and hubby finished them on the grill), so easy! They disappeared so fast I couldn’t believe it! Our kids 18 mos, 8, & 10 loved them too!! Next time I will need to make more for sure! And there will be a next time!! Thanks again for the AWESOME, healthy and budget friendly recipe!! Delicioso!
Oh yay!!!! Thank YOU so much Priscilla for the amazing feedback. So very happy to hear that the recipe was a hit with every single member of your family, EVEN the little ones. That’s music to my ear, for sure! 😀
Thank you, thank you! You totally rock!
I’ve been using a grill basket. The kind that closes tight so you can put all your meat and veggies in and flip them all at the same time. No burnt skewers, no rolling and no time consuming task of threading them onto individual skewers.
https://www.amazon.com/E-TECHING-Portable-Stainless-Barbecue-Grilling/dp/B06XH19ZVN/ref=zg_bs_tab_pd_bsnr_1?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=2D82WE5ME7MX37E4M5AR
Winner, Winner, Greek Chicken Dinner! Made this Sunday night and it was delicious. I used whole boneless, skinless chicken breast cooked them on the grill. I made veggie Kabobs (zuchini, mushroom’s, red & green bell peppers, and white onions) with the marinade and they were delicious. It was my first time attempting Greek food and I am so glad I found this recipe. Thank you for posting. It was so good we decided to make it again for Monday night dinner.
YAY!!! That’s awesome, Monique! It always makes me so happy when people are that excited about my recipes: it’s just like cooking a good meal for your friends and seeing the smile on their faces. Thanks a bunch for putting a smile on mine today! 🙂
I feel you on touching the meat, beef is especially greasy and hard to wash off! I buy latex free gloves and use those, then toss them when done! 🙂
This is my absolute favorite recipe. I make it all year round
Awesome! Real happy to hear, and thanks for taking the time to let me know! 🙂
I agree with you
very tasty, easy and good on your pocket, love it thanks!
Absolutely delicious! I ate them on naan with tzatziki and they were perfect.
I’ve made this a handful of times and it’s so yummy!