Greek Recipes
Chicken Souvlaki

Prep
10 minutes
Cook
15 minutes
Yield
4 -6 skewers
This delicious Chicken Souvlaki recipe is easy-to-make and makes a great summer meal. As a Greek souvlaki is a staple in my house and I think you're going to love this recipe.
It only seemed fitting to have my first official chicken recipe on my blog to be a Greek-inspired dish. These Chicken Souvlaki are a go-to for an easy dinner. They’re so simple to put together, they are delicious on the BBQ, and the leftovers go great in a wrap or salad for lunch the day after.
These Chicken Souvlaki skewers are infused with vibrant Greek flavors that I know and love. They’re marinades in lemon juice, oregano, garlic, and olive oil that tenderizes the meat and adds a zesty punch of flavor. You’ll get why us Greeks are so obsessed with our souvlaki.
❤️ Why You’ll Love Chicken Souvlaki
- Flavorful: The flavors in this marinade are seriously so good and delicious. What I love about a Greek chicken marinade is the freshness that comes from the lemon, combined with the savory garlic, and earthy olive oil. It truly all mixes together to make the best flavor.
- Versatile: Grill these up and eat them on their own, serve them in a pita, or on a Greek salad. These Chicken Souvlaki skewers are the perfect go-to for an easy summer meal. BBQ some up at the beginning of the week to have them on hand to use in a variety of ways.
- Kid-Friendly: What I love about skewers is that they please everyone, even the picky eaters. You can get your kids involved in making these skewers and even skewer some veggies on them for a pop of colour.

🍲 Ingredients
Chicken – If you’ve been following me for a while, you’ll know that I was vegan for a very long time, however, over the years I have come out of my vegan shell and incorporated more protein into my diet. Not only is it an easy and versatile source of protein, but it also has a lot of great vitamins and minerals, is great for building muscle, promoting heart health, and so much more.
Greek Yogurt – Using Greek yogurt in marinades is a great way to make your recipe have another boost of protein, and also be creamy and delicious. I often use Greek yogurt as a substitute for mayo and sour cream in recipes too.
👩🍳 How to Make Chicken Souvlaki
- Make the marinade by whisking together salt, pepper, minced garlic, dried oregano, lemon juice, mustard, greek yogurt and olive oil. Add the chicken cubes and let sit in the bowl at room temp for 30 minutes. Alternatively, cover and marinate in the fridge for 60 minutes.
- When the chicken is marinated, thread the chicken onto the skewers and heat the grill to medium-high heat, about 400F.
- Oil the grill well and when heated, place the skewers on the grill and cook, turning occasionally, for about 10-15 minutes or until cooked through (internal temperature reached 165F) and well browned.
- Remove from the grill and let rest for 5 minutes before serving. See notes for serving suggestions.

🗒 Tips and Tricks
- Reheat: Reheat leftovers by placing your souvlaki onto the grill on medium-low heat until heated through.
- Marinating: Marinades with lemon are delicious but when you leave them for too long on your meat, it’ll break down the proteins too much, making the meat tough and rubbery so do not leave this marinade for more than a couple of hours.
- Veggies: Add veggies onto your skewers or separately on their own skewers. BBQ them up as well and you’ll have delicious chicken and veggies to serve for dinner.
- Skewers: To avoid your skewers burning on the BBQ, soak them in water for 15 minutes before skewering them.
🗒 Substitutions
- Chicken Breast: You can substitute your chicken breasts for chicken thighs. You can also use this marinade on any cut of chicken in other recipes as well. For example, chicken wings or drumsticks.
- Greek Yogurt: You can sub Greek yogurt in this recipe for sour cream but I love the extra protein boost that Greek yogurt provides.
- Oregano: Swap the oregano for your favorite seasonings like parsley, or basil.
- Skewers: You don’t have to skewer this Chicken Souvlaki, you can use the marinade and just pan fry or bake your chicken.
🗒 Best served with
👝 How to Store Leftovers
Store leftovers in the fridge in an airtight container for up to 3-days.
🤔 Common Questions
The key to this simple marinade is garlic, oregano, and mustard. The combination of olive oil and lemon makes it so good.
Chicken breasts are marinated with a simple marinade with garlic and lemon.
Marinated meat on a skewer that you can find on its own or also on wraps with things like hummus, tomatoes, olives, feta, etc.
Traditionally you’ll find Chicken Souvlaki served on a warm pita with your favorite toppings like olives, feta, tomato, and cucumber, and a good slathering of tzatziki. You can also find it served with rice and homemade Greek Salad.

Chicken Souvlaki
Your Greek mommy that is. 😍 Step into my kitchen to learn how to make yummy Greek food. 🍽️💃
Ingredients
- 1-1/2 lb chicken breasts, cut into 1 inch cubes (about 2 large)
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp pepper
- 2 garlic cloves minced
- 1 tbsp dried oregano
- juice of half a lemon
- 2 tbsp mustard
- 1/2 cup plain greek yogurt
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- garnish with lemon slices and fresh oregano
Instructions
- Make the marinade by whisking together salt, pepper, minced garlic, dried oregano, lemon juice, mustard, greek yogurt and olive oil. Add the chicken cubes and let sit in the bowl at room temp for 30 minutes. Alternatively, cover and marinate in the fridge for 60 minutes.
- When the chicken is marinated, thread the chicken onto the skewers and heat the grill to medium-high heat, about 400F.
- Oil the grill well and when heated, place the skewers on the grill and cook, turning occasionally, for about 10-15 minutes or until cooked through (internal temperature reached 165F) and well browned.
- Remove from the grill and let rest for 5 minutes before serving. See notes for serving suggestions.
Video
Notes
- You can enjoy this souvlaki with pita bread, our Easy Authentic Tzatziki Recipe, sliced tomato, cucumbers and olives.
- Serve with some of our favourite Greek sides: Simple Homemade Greek Salad, Greek Lentil Salad or Greek Potato Salad
I made this a few weeks ago. absolutely loved it, including my so and husband. I am making it again tonight in the hob and oven. Can’t wait to taste the wonderful flavors again 😋
you are so sweet, thank you so much! by the way I LOVE the spelling of your name!
thank you 😊
Absolutely love this recipe! This is on rotation once a week at our house! My son asks for it as his favorite meal. We also bought the pan!
So happy to have found Maria and her page!
You are the best, thank you so much hun!
I never knew yogurt was involved in chicken souvalaki!!! what a fantastic marinade. thank you so much, husband wants it again tomorrow!! It was absolutely delicious. I served with cypriot grain salad, superb combination!
thank you so much for the love hunnie!!!
Love this recipe, making it a regular go to. Amazing with the tzatziki sauce! I use the left over marinade to keep basting the chicken while grilling and it’s so perfectly moist. Thank you for sharing this delicious recipe!
I am so happy you are loving this recipe hun!
Maria. C’mon. This marinade? Fuhgeduhboutit. I had the chicken marinating over night and fired them on the grill for my 15 year old for his lunch. I felt very YiaYia when I made this for him. Wrapped in a pita with lurve. He then ate two chicken breasts for breakfast (there were four, now I have one, it’s hiding so I can eat it).
hahahah I love this os much! Thank you so much Trev for the love!!
fantastic, flavors were delicious. my go to recipe for chicken in fact i will make up a batch to freeze and have on hand. thank you so much
You are so welcome, thank you Rita!!
Hi Maria! Can’t wait to make this. Can we make it on the stove or in the oven if we don’t have access to a barbeque? If so, what settings would you recommend so the chicken is still moist and comes out the same as when grilled?
Thank you!
that’s a good question! It won’t be as charred! I know I would use the stove TBH! And get cook grill or sear marks first then cook in the oven at 375 till 165F internal temp is reached!
This has been my go to when I want to make chicken lately. I did it in the air fryer and the chicken turns out so juicy and flavorful!
This makes me so happy, thank you!!
We love this recipe!! Ever since we went to Greece for our honeymoon we have been looking for the perfect suvlaki recipe and yours is it!! We grill the chicken and I have it with fresh homemade pots bread! Thank you! 🙂
Thank you so much for the love!!!
We love your recipe it tastes so fresh with plenty of flavours going on ,we have this along side your tzatziki recipe
thank you so much!!!!!
Another recipe for the win! This chicken is easy to prepare and uses a lot of the same ingredients used in the other Greek dishes by Maria I made. The Greek yogurt really adds a special touch with this souvlaki recipe!
that makes me so happy, thank you so much for the love!