souvlaki_marinade

Chicken Souvlaki recipe (Skewers) with Pita Bread

Make your own homemade chicken skewers with fluffy pita bread and creamy tzatziki sauce with this easy to follow Greek chicken souvlaki ( skewers / suvlaki / suflaki ) recipe!

Souvlaki is one of the most popular street foods in Greece and for good reason. It’s stuffed with well cooked and seasoned meat, garnished with a cooling tzatziki sauce, wrapped in a delicious crispy pita and best of all? It tastes like heaven! Souvlaki stands for “meat-on-a-skewer”, however the majority of Greeks and especially those from Athens call any type of pita wrapped meat a souvlaki, specifying the type of meat and method of roasting separately. For example Souvlaki with chicken Gyros or Souvlaki with pork Skewers etc.

Greek chicken souvlaki recipe – Preparing the marinade

The most important step in making the perfect, traditional Greek chicken souvlaki is nothing else but the marinade! For this traditional chicken souvlaki recipe, the chicken is first marinated to soak up all the wonderful Mediterranean flavours and then grilled to high temperature, to get all crunchy, nicely coloured and juicy. Select some good quality chicken breasts and season with a selection of Greek spices like oregano, coat with extra virgin olive oil and lemon juice and flavour with garlic. Marinading your chicken souvlaki in the fridge for at least half an hour will allow the aromas to infuse the souvlaki and give it the desired flavours.

Chicken Souvlaki recipe – Serve your Chicken souvlaki (skewers) the traditional Greek way

The best way to serve your traditional Greek chicken souvlaki is nothing other than with some delicious traditional Greek pita. Finding the original Greek pita can be quite challenging as most supermarkets stock only the arabian style ones but you can most likely find them at your local Greek deli or amazon (here and here). However as we all know, nothing compares to home-made, so you can also make your own homemade pita bread with this super easy recipe. Of course tzatziki is the preferred sauce to garnish your chicken souvlaki and we have included one below as well as here. Don’t forget to season with some salt and paprika, sweet or spicy if you like an extra kick. Most Greeks enjoy their traditional Greek chicken souvlaki with some potato chips so feel free to try adding some as well. Oh and you can always read this in Greek if you fancy Λαχταριστό Σουβλάκι κοτόπουλο Συνταγή.

Chicken Souvlaki recipe – How to video

We love this recipe so much that we made a short video showing you how to make it to perfection. Check it out below and don’t forget to subscribe to our YouTube channel for more delicious quick recipes here: https://www.youtube.com/mygreekdish

Τzatziki sauce recipe – How to video

I can think of nothing better to go with this delicious souvlaki than a cooling, delicious Tzatziki (yoghurt and garlic dip), so here is my short video on how to make it to perfection! (Full recipe here)

For the chicken souvlaki

• 4 boneless chicken breasts (approx. 1 kg/35 ounces)
• 4 tbsps olive oil
• juice of 1 lemon
• 1 clove of garlic, minced
• 2 tbsp dried oregano
• salt and freshly ground pepper

For the tzatziki sauce

• 1 cucumber
• 2 cloves of garlic, minced
• 1/4 of a cup extra virgin olive oil
• 500g of strained yogurt (18 ounces)
• 1-2 tbsps of red wine vinegar
• a pinch of salt

• 8 pita breads
• olive oil
• 1-2 tsps dried oregano
• 1 tomato sliced
• 1 red onion sliced
• fried potatoes (optional)
• romaine (cos) lettuce (optional)
• salt and freshly ground pepper
• 8-9 wooden skewers

Instructions

1. To prepare this chicken souvlaki recipe, start by preparing the marinade. Cut the chicken breasts into 2 cm pieces and place them in a large bowl, along with all the marinade ingredients. Use your hands to mix really well, cover with plastic wrap and put in the fridge for 30-60 minutes.
2. In the meantime prepare the tzatziki sauce for the chicken souvlaki. Pour in a blender the olive oil and grated garlic and blend until combined. Remove the skin and the seeds of the cucumber and grate it into a large bowl. Season with salt and pepper and leave aside for 10 minutes. Wrap the grated cucumber in a towel and squeeze, in order to get rid of the excess water. In a bowl, add the cucumber, the blended garlic and oil, the yogurt, 1-2 tbsps of red wine vinegar, a pinch of salt and blend, until the ingredients are combined. Store the tzatziki sauce in the fridge and always serve cold.
3. To assemble the chicken souvlaki (skewers), cut the wooden skewers to fit your griddle pan and soak them in water. (This will prevent them from burning.) Thread the chicken pieces, comfortably, on the skewers.
4. Preheat a grill or griddle pan on a high heat. Cook the chicken souvlaki (skewers) for about 8 to 10 minutes, turning occasionally, until nicely coloured on all sides and cooked through. Alternatively you call grill them for about 20 minutes.
5. While your chicken souvlaki is cooking, prepare the pita breads. Preheat the oven to 250C. Use a cooking brush to oil the pita breads on both sides and season with salt and oregano. Place a large oven tray (upside down) at the bottom of the oven and place the pita breads on top of the tray. Bake for 2 minutes. (Alternatively you can use a griddle pan or a grill.)
6. To serve the chicken souvlaki (skewers), slice 2 red onions and place on a platter; top with the chicken souvlaki (skewers), drizzle with some extra virgin olive oil and a good squeeze of lemon juice. Serve while still warm with some pita breads and tzatziki sauce. You can also serve the chicken souvlaki (skewers) wrapped, like a sandwich. Spread some tzatziki sauce on the pita breads and top it with the chicken souvlaki (skewers), sliced onions, tomatoes and fried potatoes and wrap. Enjoy!

Recipe image gallery:

Share This:

Leave a Facebook comment

19 Comments

i can add lemon in the tzatziki.this recipe is great i have try it with baasamic glaze.but without pita.

I’m so very happy to have “found” this site. So many of the food’s i love and other’s to try! 🙂

ah thank you Karen! Hope you find many dishes that you love! And don’t forget to spread the word around to your friends and family – its what keeps me going 🙂

Γεια Ηλί, ποτέ δεν έχω δοκιμάσει Σουβλάκι Πίτα πριν και κάνω σύντομα. Σας ευχαριστώ Eli τόσο πολύ για τη σύστασή σας.

Ω, και θα μπορούσε να σας παρακαλώ στείλτε μου από την ακόλουθη διεύθυνση ηλεκτρονικού ταχυδρομείου DMeuross123@gmail.com. Ακριβώς έτσι μπορώ να επικοινωνήσουμε μαζί σας όταν χρειάζομαι

κάποια βοήθεια σε ορισμένα ελληνικά πιάτα αν αυτό είναι εντάξει μαζί σας. Ευχαριστώ

πολύ και πάλι. Η αγάπη Διάκονος.

Just made chicken souvlaki,Greek lemon roast potatoes and homemade pittas ! It was wonderful ! Thank you ! I’m back in a Greek taverna !

Looks and sounds delicious! Your photo and its’ source have been featured on the World Food Guide website: http://worldfood.guide/photo/souvlaki_1083/

Just come across this website, makes me very happy. Since leaving England, it’s just too expensive to consider a holiday to the Greek Islands which does NOT make me happy. Hopefully these recipies will help to transport me back there – at least my taste buds anyway!

For sure it will! Hope you find many dishes that you love and bring back fond memories! And if you need any help drop me a note using the contact form and I’ll come back to you!

Wow these look soo good. Bet they taste amazing. Thanks for sharing this recipe.

One word for these.: Yummy. Already a favourite in our house

Delicious! I haven’t done chicken souvlaki before… and this was delicious. Perfect marinade.

Love this recipe! Thank you (: im on a masdive weight loss journey and use this recipe (slightly altered) to brighten up our boring weekly meals. I lighten calories and fat by not squeezing out the cucumber and omitting the oil in the tzatziki. Also i halved the oil in the marinade and i use turkey instead of chicken. But thats just because i prefer turkey (:

I use your tzatziki all the time. Its my go to salad dressing and veggie dip. Im addicted!

Thank you, again.

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Serves: 4 (8-9 skewers)

Time: 40 minutes

Difficulty: Beginner

SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER

STAY IN TOUCH WITH US!

SEASONAL SPECIALS

NIBBLES, MEZE & SMALL DISHES

BROWSE OUR RECIPE COLLECTIONS

BROWSE BY COURSE

OUR MOST POPULAR RECIPES

BROWSE BY INGREDIENT

USEFUL LINKS

Find us on:

Copyright © 2017 My Greek Dish. All Rights Reserved.

Pork Souvlaki Marinade Recipe: How to Make Souvlaki From Scratch

Thank you for supporting this site with purchases made through links in this post.

This pork souvlaki marinade recipe will help you prepare a perfectly seasoned and tender souvlaki.

Eating souvlaki was one of those things that I enjoyed back home at our city’s summer festival each year. Not only was it my mom’s favorite booth, but it always seemed to be one of the most popular food booths. It’s not surprising at all, of course, because it was delicious.

Now that I live in a different country, it has been a long time since I’ve been able to visit the Festival of the Arts and eat that wonderful souvlaki. I haven’t forgotten the extraordinary combination of flavors, though.

Fast forwarding to a couple of years ago when I first started living in Spain, we went to visit one of my aunts who lives in the province of Seville, and she served us some delicious grilled pork chops that completely reminded me of the souvlaki I had always loved eating growing up. It made me realize that making my own delicious souvlaki wasn’t out of my reach, and I asked her how she had made her pork chops to get an idea for how to make my own.

She happily told me that her marinade was just a combination of olive oil, lemon, garlic, oregano and thyme.

I was amazed by how flavorful something so simple could really be!

It turns out that the secret to making good souvlaki is having a good pork souvlaki marinade recipe. Being able to cook it over a grill only makes it better!

Want to learn how?

Here’s the pork souvlaki marinade recipe that I’ve developed and have been using, based on the ingredients in my aunt’s pork chop marinade.

Pork Souvlaki Marinade Recipe

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 1 lemon juiced
• 4 cloves garlic
• 2 Tbsp. oregano
• 1 Tbsp. thyme
• salt to taste
• 800 g pork I used pork shoulder

Instructions

Recipe Notes

Once you have your souvlaki ready, you’re ready to serve it with pitas and/or rice. Since I’ve been having issues with wheat, I made myself some grain free pitas to serve with the souvlaki. I wish I had thought to place them on the grill before serving them. That would have made them even better!

Want to make your own grain free pitas?

I’ll share my recipe with you soon. I promise!! 🙂

Other than that, souvlaki is also good served with tzsatziki sauce (or just use greek yogurt like I usually do), cucumbers, and other grilled veggies. You can see in my pictures that I love grilling up padron peppers to accompany these sorts of Mediterranean meals.

This post is also available in Español.

Would pork tenderloin work in this recipe?

Pork tenderloin should work well in the recipe. The marinade should help tenderize the tenderloins, which I think is important because they have less fat than a pork shoulder, which is what I usually use.

I personally like a cut with more fat in it, but I think a tenderloin would turn out well for a leaner version.

I live in Grand Rapids and love the recipe. You recreated it very well!

Well, I have to admit I’m a bit jealous. I haven’t been back to Grand Rapids in awhile. We made it back to the US this year, but my mom went down to Disney World to see us there because we wanted to bring my son there before he outgrows it. (Not that you can really ever outgrow Disney.) 😉

I still have other family there that I’d love to see, though.

Say “Hi” to the city for me. Hopefully I’ll be over there again soon.

I have to admit that I use Kraft’s salad dressing as my pork or chicken marinade. The sun-dried tomato & oregano or feta & oregano are all delicious.

Thanks for your comment.

Living here in Spain, those sorts of dressings aren’t readily available, but even if they were, I have gotten in the habit of making salad dressings (and pretty much everything, for that matter) myself. Not only do I find that they taste better, but it helps me avoid any unwanted ingredients in the commercial brands.

This marinade recipe is very quick and easy, so it should be an alternative that anybody can make in a matter of minutes.

Goodness, sounds so simple and delish!

This is one of my favorites!

I love sweet potato and sausage, too. I think I´m going to head over and check that out! 😉

Have a great weekend.

These sound amazing and I love your olive oil bottle 🙂

This looks great. I’ll try it soon because I have some pork to use.

This is awesome! I have never done much with pork shoulder. This looks doable and so delicious. Great photos!

This sounds delicious! My husband would love this. Lovely flavor combos.

Oh my goodness Tracy this looks so delicious!! I’m totally gonna try this marinade and yes please to the grain free pita recipe. In the meantime I’ll just make your flaxseed paleo tortillas.. 😉

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Follow Me!

I love making my own natural products like soaps and lotions and my own pantry items like yogurt and salad dressings.

Why do I do it? Sometimes to save money, sometimes because it's healthier, but I always love having control of the ingredients!​ My goal is to show you how to make those things too, and why you'd want to! I also am here to try to help you out when you need it!

Pork Souvlaki

Nutrition Facts

For 1 main-course serving

Categories

Ingredients

Preparation

1. In a glass dish or a large sealable plastic bag, combine the oil, lemon juice, garlic and spices. Add the pork and coat thoroughly with the marinade. Cover the dish or seal the bag. Refrigerate for 12 to 24 hours.

1. In a bowl, combine all the ingredients. Season with salt and pepper.
2. Preheat the grill, setting burners to high. Oil the grate.
3. Thread the meat onto the skewers. Season with salt and pepper. Grill the skewers for about 2 minutes on each side, or until the meat is medium rare.
4. Transfer the skewers to a platter or wooden board. Serve immediately, along with the sauce.

Tamara G.

Fantastic and very easy! I used chicken instead of pork so cooking time had to be adjusted. Definitely one to try! Even my super picky 15 yr old ate the meat :)

Rate this recipe

Login to rate this recipe and write a review.

No-Stick Grilling

Homemade maple taffy

Melon - Île Perrot

Tips to decorate a cake like a professional

The Difference Between Baking Powder and Baking Soda

Draw straight lines with royal icing

Broccoli, Beef and Tofu Stir-Fry

Making Chocolate Houses

Master Scone Dough By Hand

Thermos-Cooked Red Lentil Soup

You would also like

Saltine Cracker Pork Tonkatsu Bowls

• Preparation time: 35 min
• Total: 1 h 5 min

Honey-Spiced Ham

• Preparation time: 30 min
• Total: 3 h 50 min

Peanut-Free Pork Satay Skewers

• Preparation time: 25 min
• Total: 35 min

SPECIAL FEATURE

Gather 'round the holiday table, surrounded by good company and wonderful food.

SHOP OUR ONLINE STORE

Shop all your favourite RICARDO and Art of the Table products!

CANADA 150

WE ARE THE BEST

Follow Ricardo as he meets entrepreneurs who are shaping our culinary heritage.

SPECIAL FEATURE

COOKING FOR DIABETICS

Healthy diabetes-friendly recipes that you can cook without the worry!

ON THE APP STORE

Be sure to download the iPad edition of RICARDO magazine now!

Quick access

ABOUT RICARDO

Newsletter

Subscribe to Ricardo's FREE newsletters to receive handpicked seasonal recipes, menu ideas, cooking tips and more.

Current issue

FOLLOW RICARDO

Stay in touch with ricardocuisine.com

© 2017 Ricardo Media Inc. All rights reserved

Healthy Pick

Recipes with the "Healthy Pick" stamp have been evaluated by a registered dietitian member of the Ordre professionnel des diététistes du Québec.

Specify email address and password linked to your ricardocuisine.com account

Not a member yet ?

Connect using your Facebook profile.

Information will not be posted to Facebook without your permission.

Greek Marinade for Grilled Chicken

It was day 2 for the kid’s Kilometre Club prior to school and the weather was miserable. The temperature was right at the freezing point and it was windy with a mix of light snow and rain. There was a big turnout and all the kids were great troopers as they kept on running. My three were happy with their performance and I was a proud dad. It is nice to know that the rest of the week is supposed to have much nicer weather.

Grilling chicken is a classic summertime tradition for us and I am always on the lookout for a new marinade or spice rub for chicken.

Here are a few other marinades and rubs that work really well with chicken:

• Jerk Marinade – this marinade has that authentic jerk flavour!
• Teriyaki Sauce – this sauce is nice and sweet and perfect for grilled chicken
• Grilled Tandoori Chicken – if you like tandoori, then you will love this recipe!
• Moroccan Spice Rub – this exotic flavour is just delicious

Today’s recipe was made alongside the Lemon Roasted Potatoes I shared yesterday. The marinade for the chicken is full of Greek flavours that I use when making Greek salad and souvlaki.

If you are looking for a few other Greek recipes, check out some of these:

• Homemade Greek Salad with Dressing – this salad goes great with the grilled chicken
• Greek Tzatziki – Dip the grilled chicken in some of this tzatziki. You will love it!

There is a wonderful combination of garlic and herbs in the marinade that comes through clearly with each bite. The red wine vinegar, lemon juice and salt work together in the marinade to tenderize and brine the chicken. I use this marinade for chicken mostly but it works great with pork and lamb. Souvlaki anyone.

If you want to make souvlaki with this, simply cut the chicken breast into cubes and let them marinate for a good hour. Then, put the chicken cubes on wood BBQ skewers. Great served with Greek pita bread.

Chicken marinade with olive oil, garlic, oregano, thyme, lemon juice and red wine vinegar. Perfect for grilling or for souvlaki. Great with pork or lamb also.

• 4 boneless skinless chicken breasts
• 1/3 cup olive oil
• 1/4 cup red wine vinegar
• juice of 1 lemon
• 4 garlic cloves , minced
• 1 tbsp oregano
• 2 tsp thyme
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp ground black pepper

Related Articles

Baked Chicken Drumsticks

December 1, 2017

Chicken Parmesan Oven Baked

November 14, 2017

Chicken Cutlet with Broccoli and Peppers in a Dill Cream Sauce

October 28, 2017

61 comments

Thank you Steve! I’m a Grecophile at heart, so I’m very happy indeed to see this post, as well as your recent Greek Potatoes! 🙂

I love a good marinated chicken breast and this looks moist and delicious!! Great flavors and I bet it complimented your potatoes from yesterday wonderfully! 🙂

Its a joy for a parent seeing your kids liked what they do. After the activity this is a great food to eat. I can smell the delicious chicken. Yum! =)

Regarding the club, it is amazing that your kids endured and did not give up. Most kids would have with much complaining as well. You should be proud.

The key to cooking chicken breasts is making sure they do not dry out. Your chicken here does look like the marinade was very helpful in that respect. In addition, I am sure it made an excellent meal paired with those potatoes. Well done Steve!

YUM! My boyfriend loves greek flavors, I never know what to use. Thank you!

oh this sounds delicious – i love marinated grilled chicken!

I think these are some of my favorite flavors for grilling..meats or veggies, Greek flavors are the best!

Made this tonight and it was a big hit! Just right on the balance of herbally to sour. And tenderized. Great for grilling and so simple–will add this to the regular rotation–thank you!

so glad you enjoyed it! We make it often with the Greek roasted lemon potatoes.

This is exactly what I’ve been looking for. Trying it out tomorrow. Thanks!

I made this for a get together yesterday and paired with tzatziki, Greek salad and fresh pitas it was a hit! The only change I made was decrease the salt to 1/2 tsp and I marinated the chicken overnight. Thanks so much! I’m already planning on making it again. 🙂

So glad that it turned out well Laurie! It is a great marinade that goes great with all those other greek dishes you made! I sometimes cut the chicken into cubes and make souvlaki with the marinade

OMG this was brilliant, the second time I made this I left the skin on the chicken breasts & put a tspn of garlic butter under the skin after marinating them. Great tasty, tender chicken…yummmm

I love the idea of spreading some garlic butter under the skin!

This was fantastic!

We enjoyed flavourful, juicy chicken breasts for two meals.

With or without tzatziki… wouldn’t change a thing!

Hey Melissa! Thanks for the kind words. I am so glad you enjoyed it!

what if you don’t have a bbq? can you just put in oven? if so, what temp and for how long?

Saw your comment and thought I could help… Put in oven around during 350-375 F, and depending on how big the breast is 15-20 minutes for a med to larger piece. When you prick the chicken the juice should run clear not pink, and when u touch the chicken it should not feel squishy, it should bounce back when pressed. Hope this helps some!

Love this recipe! I use it to marinate chicken cubes for kebobs.

Our family absolutely loves this marinade! We use it with chicken, pitas and tzaiziki for homemade gyros. The leftover chicken is wonderfully moist and flavorful and great in a salad the next day! Thanks for the greay recipe!

I was going to try this marinade with a boneless leg of lamb for Easter. Can I use this marinade with the lamb and put it in the crockpot as my oven will be occupied with other dishes? Also, any idea how long it will need to cook in the crockpot? The lamb is just over 4 pounds.

That sounds delicious! I would say that cooking it in the slow cooker on low for 6-8 hours would be good.

Wow – this was fabulous! Great flavor .. thanks so much for posting this.

An absolutely wonderful recipe which is true to the authentic Greek Souvlaki.

All I added for a bit of color was 1/2 Tbsp of paprika. My husband, who is difficult with food (he has a “super taster” palate – they are a minority of the population…lucky me!) also really loved it!

I will be making this recipe over and over again since I love Greek food! Thank you!!

I ended up doing a variation of this, but it wasn’t grilled, rather oven baked and also we used plain yogurt for the marinade. Have a look see and maybe do a comparison! http://ifigottagetup.com/recipe/greek-marinated-chicken-potato-couscous/

The only thing that would make this better would be a little atm!

Simple, tasty, and perfect. I made half this recipe with two large chicken breasts, and it was delicious. I also cut the chicken breasts in half before marinating and grilling so I had four 5 ounce pieces – perfect for lunch.

Like everyone else who made this, mine turned out really well – the sign of a good recipe. Served with chopped tomatoes, cucumber and olives, shredded lettuce and tzatziki, stuffed in whole wheat pitas, with Greek potatoes on the side. Thanks so much!

Thanks for your comment! So glad you liked it. 🙂

We are making this tonight with pesto risotto and grilled eggplant. Should I use fresh or dried herbs for the marinade?

Fresh is always better but I have also used dried herbs often with this marinade it still comes out great.

I have marinated chicken breasts over night in the refrigerator to oven roast tonite along with Greek potatoes. Can I roast the chicken in the marinade safely?

We had this for lunch, cubed and skewered with the marinade poured over the top before baking in a tray in the oven, so long as the chicken itself is cooked, the marinade will also be cooked (and therefore perfectly safe), it was delicious. We had it with feta red onions and tomato salad, with no additional dressing, in pitta withTzaziki (and for me sriracha sauce for a bit of spice).

Sounds just delicious.

Tried the marinade this past weekend. The chicken came out delicious. I got the timing right too, (which for me is a challenge) so it was so juicy and tender. The flavor was fabulous and even my 11 year old picky eater loved it. I doubled the batch and have lots of wonderful chicken slices left to eat cold, in a salad, or in a sandwich. This is my new go to chicken recipe.

I don’t have a grill. How would you make this on a stove top?

Made this 2 weeks ago with the lemon roasted potatoes. Have to admit this is THE best marinade I’ve made. Chicken was so juicy. Baked them in the oven. Making this again this weekend. Marinaded for 9 hours. Thanks you. Even my pickiest daughter loves it!

Marinated for 3-4 hours and was very flavorful! Definitely a keeper!

Made this marinade last night and let hough I just browned chicken in cast iron pan it was amazing! Served it with home made pita bread, tatziki, fried fresh cucumbers, tomatoes and feta …. I guess a chicken gyro of sort! Thank you for the great recipe, I look forward to making this again for my husband who although loves my Traditional Southern Cuisine makes no complaints when I experiment with the Italian and Greek recipie’s he grew up with.

Could I put the chicken & marinade in the freezer for a later date?

Yeah – you totally could do that. Just make sure they are fully thawed before grilling.

I used the marinade with boneless pork chops. It was great!

Awesome! Thanks for sharing your feedback!!

Souvlaki Marinade (Chicken, Beef, Pork And/Or Lamb)

Recipe by YiayiaMouse

people discussing

Top Review by

Top Review by

people discussing

Souvlaki Marinade (Chicken, Beef, Pork And/Or Lamb)

SERVES:

Ingredients Nutrition

• 4 lemons, quartered
• 2 lemons, juice of
• 1 cup white wine
• 1 ⁄₄ cup olive oil
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon oregano
• 1 ⁄₂ teaspoon rosemary
• pepper, to taste
• 2 bay leaves
• 2 garlic cloves, crushed

Directions

1. Put all ingredients into the zipper bag.
2. Add meat of choice.
3. Refrigerate for up to 24 hours, turning occasionally to coat meat evenly.
4. Reserve marinade to brush on meat while grilling.

get the genius kitchen app.

Watch on your iPhone, iPad, Apple TV, Android, Roku, or Fire TV.

get the genius kitchen app.

Watch on your iPhone, iPad, Apple TV, Android, Roku, or Fire TV.

Join the Conversation

• all
• reviews
• tweaks
• q & a

Attach Photo

Would you like to attach a photo to your submission?

• Browse
• Cancel

Attach Photo

The image has been attached to your submission.

Report this post?

Are you sure you want to report this post for review?

• Yes, report it.
• Oops! Cancel!

You must be logged in to interact with the activity feed.

• Log in now
• Cancel

Missing Input

Please enter a rating or review before submitting.

Missing Input

Please enter a reply before submitting.

Please enter your before submitting.

Your reply has been submitted for moderation.

There was an error processing your submission. Please refresh and try again!

Nutrition Info

Serving Size: 1 (78 g)

Servings Per Recipe: 2

Amt. Per Serving % Daily Value Calories 396.6 Calories from Fat 249 63% Total Fat 27.7 g 42% Saturated Fat 3.8 g 19% Cholesterol 0 mg 0% Sodium 1176.7 mg 49% Total Carbohydrate 31.4 g 10% Dietary Fiber 10.5 g 42% Sugars 2.3 g 9% Protein 3.1 g 6%

Grilled Pork Souvlaki

• 2 hrs 40 mins
• Prep: 2 hrs 30 mins,
• Cook: 10 mins
• Yield: 4 servings

Souvlaki (soo-vlah-kee), meaning “little skewers” in Greek, are skewers of meat such as pork, lamb and chicken that are marinated in a wonderful red wine mixture and then grilled. Souvlakia (the plural of Souvlaki) are traditionally wrapped in pita bread and then topped with a variety of condiments such as lettuce, tomato, onion, and, of course, the famed cucumber-and-yogurt-based tzatziki sauce. But they are also quite delicious without the pita and trimmings.

This marinade recipe is for a pound of pork shoulder and will yield about four 9-inch skewers. You can multiply the recipe according to the number of people you are feeding. Make sure you begin the recipe ahead of time to allow at least 2 to 3 hours for the meat to marinate and really absorb the flavors.

If using wooden skewers, you will need to soak them in water beforehand so they don't burn. Place them in a shallow dish of water while the pork is marinating.

Chicken Souvlaki Marinade

Recipe by Paula

people discussing

Top Review by

Top Review by

people discussing

Chicken Souvlaki Marinade

SERVES:

Ingredients Nutrition

• 2 teaspoons minced garlic cloves
• 1 teaspoon lemon juice
• 1 teaspoon extra virgin olive oil
• 1 ⁄₂ teaspoon dried oregano
• 1 ⁄₂ teaspoon salt
• 1 ⁄₄ teaspoon black pepper
• 1 lb chicken breast

Directions

1. Place all ingredients together in a zip-top plastic bag and shake.
2. Grill over medium heat until chicken is no longer pink.

get the genius kitchen app.

Watch on your iPhone, iPad, Apple TV, Android, Roku, or Fire TV.

get the genius kitchen app.

Watch on your iPhone, iPad, Apple TV, Android, Roku, or Fire TV.

Join the Conversation

• all
• reviews
• tweaks
• q & a

Attach Photo

Would you like to attach a photo to your submission?

• Browse
• Cancel

Attach Photo

The image has been attached to your submission.

Report this post?

Are you sure you want to report this post for review?

• Yes, report it.
• Oops! Cancel!

You must be logged in to interact with the activity feed.

• Log in now
• Cancel

Missing Input

Please enter a rating or review before submitting.

Missing Input

Please enter a reply before submitting.

Please enter your before submitting.

Your reply has been submitted for moderation.

There was an error processing your submission. Please refresh and try again!

Nutrition Info

Serving Size: 1 (118 g)

Servings Per Recipe: 4

Amt. Per Serving % Daily Value Calories 208.2 Calories from Fat 104 50% Total Fat 11.6 g 17% Saturated Fat 3.2 g 15% Cholesterol 72.6 mg 24% Sodium 362.5 mg 15% Total Carbohydrate 0.7 g 0% Dietary Fiber 0.1 g 0% Sugars 0.1 g 0% Protein 23.8 g 47%

One more step

Please complete the security check to access www.lemonandolives.com

Why do I have to complete a CAPTCHA?

Completing the CAPTCHA proves you are a human and gives you temporary access to the web property.

What can I do to prevent this in the future?

If you are on a personal connection, like at home, you can run an anti-virus scan on your device to make sure it is not infected with malware.

If you are at an office or shared network, you can ask the network administrator to run a scan across the network looking for misconfigured or infected devices.

Cloudflare Ray ID: 3c87d108d92b9011 • Your IP : 185.87.51.142 • Performance & security by Cloudflare

Marinated Greek Lamb Souvlaki recipe (Skewers) with Pita and Tzatziki

Perfectly moist and crispy succulent lamb souvlaki / suvlaki skewers! Get the fire started.. it’s barbecue time this weekend with this amazing Greek lamb souvlaki recipe! Souvlaki is one of the most popular street foods in Greece and for good reason! Juicy and well seasoned meat garnished with cooling tzatziki sauce, served or wrapped in a delicious crispy and fluffy pita.. Well, one couldn’t ask for more! Although I just love the classic Greek chicken and pork souvlaki skewers, I think you will agree that there is nothing better than the smell and deliciousness of a charcoal barbecued lamb souvlaki! It’s a shame that nowadays lamb souvlaki is commonly substituted with pork skewers, as a much cheaper alternative. But if you like me, just love lamb, here is a very easy to follow Greek lamb souvlaki recipe with fluffy pita bread and creamy tzatziki sauce to make your own homemade juicy lamb souvlaki skewers from scratch!

Greek lamb souvlaki recipe – Preparing the marinade

The most important step in making the perfect, traditional Greek lamb souvlaki (suflaki) is nothing else but the marinade! For this traditional lamb souvlaki recipe, the meat is first marinated to soak up all the wonderful Mediterranean flavours and then grilled, to get all crunchy, nicely coloured and juicy. Select some good quality lamb leg or shoulder and season with a selection of Greek spices like oregano and fresh thyme, coat with extra virgin olive oil and lemon juice and flavour with garlic and chopped onions. Marinading your lamb souvlaki in the fridge for at least 4 hours will allow the aromas to infuse the meat and give it the desired flavours.

Of course the best option is to grill the lamb souvlaki (skewers) on a char-coal barbecue, to get them all crispy and smokey. However they also work great on a grill pan or in the oven, if you don’t have the time or space for a proper barbecue. Cooking time varies greatly, mostly depending on how well done you like your meat. Most Greeks are not big fans of medium-rare, hence most tavernas offer the lamb souvlaki well done.

Lamb Souvlaki recipe – Serve your lamb souvlaki (skewers) the traditional Greek way

The best way to serve your traditional Greek lamb souvlaki is nothing other than with some delicious traditional Greek pita. Finding the original Greek pita can be quite challenging as most supermarkets stock only the arabian style ones but you can most likely find them at your local Greek deli or amazon (here and here). However as we all know, nothing compares to home-made, so you can also make your own homemade pita bread with this super easy recipe. Of course tzatziki is the preferred sauce to garnish your lamb souvlaki and we have included one below as well as here. Don’t forget to season with some salt and paprika, sweet or spicy if you like an extra kick.

Another delicious alternative of this lamb souvlaki recipe is to serve the lamb souvlaki with roast peppers and tomatoes and a full spoon of yogurt seasoned with a pinch of cumin, salt, pepper and lemon zest. Grill the peppers and tomatoes on a gridle pan over high heat to get them all nicely coloured and finish in the oven along with the lamb souvlaki for extra flavour.

So go ahead, prepare his traditional lamb souvlaki recipe for your friends and family and enjoy over a glass of cold beer!

Ingredients

• 1kg lamb leg or shoulder, cut into chunks (35 oz.)
• 80ml olive oil (approx. 5-6 tbsps)
• 2 cloves of garlic, crushed
• juice of 1 lemon
• 2 red onions, roughly chopped
• 1 tsp dried Greek oregano
• 1 tsp dried thyme or some fresh thyme, chopped
• 1/2 tsp smoked sweet paprika (optional)
• 1/2 tsp cumin (optional)
• salt and freshly ground pepper
• 10 metal or wooden skewers

For the tzatziki sauce

• 1 cucumber
• 2 cloves of garlic, minced
• 1/4 of a cup extra virgin olive oil
• 500g of strained yogurt (18 ounces)
• 1-2 tbsps of red wine vinegar
• a pinch of salt

Directions

1. To prepare this Greek lamb souvlaki recipe, cut the meat into equal sized (3 cm) chunks and set aside.
2. Prepare the marinade for the lamb souvlaki. In a large bowl add the olive oil, garlic, lemon juice, the herbs and spices and season with freshly ground pepper – don’t add salt yet. Whisk all the ingredients to combine. Add the meat and the chopped onions and blend to coat. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap, chill and let marinade for at least 4 hours. It’s best to leave the meat for the lamb souvlaki marinade overnight, to soak up all the wonderful flavours. (If you are at home blend the marinade once in a while).
3. In the meantime prepare the tzatziki sauce for the lamb souvlaki. Pour in a blender the olive oil and grated garlic and blend until combined. Remove the skin and the seeds of the cucumber and grate it into a large bowl. Season with salt and pepper and leave aside for 10 minutes. Wrap the grated cucumber in a towel and squeeze, in order to get rid of the excess water. In a bowl, add the cucumber, the blended garlic and oil, the yogurt, 1-2 tbsps of red wine vinegar, a pinch of salt and blend, until the ingredients are combined. Store the tzatziki sauce in the fridge and always serve cold.
4. To assemble the lamb souvlaki (skewers), you can either use wooden or metal skewers. For this lamb souvlaki recipe, you will need about 10 skewers, depending on the size of each lamb souvlaki. If using wooden skewers, cut them to fit your griddle pan and soak them in water. (This will prevent them from burning.) Lift the chunks of lamb out of the marinade and thread the pieces, comfortably, on the skewers. At this point don’t forget to season your lamb souvlaki with salt.
5. Heat a grill, barbecue or griddle pan and cook the lamb souvlaki for about 10-15 minutes, until cooked to your liking.
6. While your lamb souvlaki is cooking, prepare the pita breads. Preheat the oven to 250C. Use a cooking brush to lightly oil the pita breads on both sides and season with salt and oregano. Place a large oven tray at the bottom of the oven and place the pita breads on top of the tray. Bake for 2-3 minutes. (Alternatively barbecue the pita breads, until nicely coloured on both sides).
7. Enjoy this delicious Greek lamb souvlaki recipe with pita bread and tzatziki sauce with a nice refreshing Greek feta salad.

Share This:

Leave a Facebook comment

11 Comments

This is the best! I used for a butterflied lamb leg, used all the spices they recommend and cooked Medium Rare with 10 min rest. It topped anything I’ve had at a restaurant!

I made this for dinner last night along with the Greek salad and roasted vegetables. It was the best ever and far nicer than our usual Sat night takeaway. Even the kids loved it. Can’t wait to make it again.

I’ve made these twice now. I skewer some veggies to grill along side and my husband and I LOVE it!

Ah awesome! So glad you liked them!!

we had this for dinner the other night. superb. really reccomend. Thanks for sharing. Simon

I usually use this recipe to make beef frajolaki for my son however I decided to make this recipe as intended with lamb regardless of what my son might wish. He went on and on at how good the beef was and after awhile I said so you like it huh. Well then I guess you like lamb then as well. He was glad I hadn’t told him first. The lamb was so juicy and tender and the flavours; thank goodness I have left overs and he isn’t here. I guess it will be lamb frajolaki from now on.

This is awesome in a plain tortilla wrap, too! I cooked some red onion & capsicum (bell pepper, to you norther-hemispheres), added the already bought marinaded lamb, & added some wine/s/p. Made a bit of garlic aoli with plain mayo/garlic, and a spread of avo– delish! Just goes to show how a great base can be utilized outside of it’s origins?

Absulely fabulous! My husband said he could eat it all by himself. Thank you so much for a great meal.

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Serves: 4-5

Time: 40 minutes (plus 4 hours to marinade)

Difficulty: Beginner

SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER

STAY IN TOUCH WITH US!

SEASONAL SPECIALS

NIBBLES, MEZE & SMALL DISHES

BROWSE OUR RECIPE COLLECTIONS

BROWSE BY COURSE

OUR MOST POPULAR RECIPES

BROWSE BY INGREDIENT

USEFUL LINKS

Find us on:

Copyright © 2017 My Greek Dish. All Rights Reserved.

Souvlaki Marinade Recipe

Souvlaki Marinade Recipe

Juicy pieces of succulent meat are the result when you use this easy to make, delicious and tasty Souvlaki Marinade Recipe.

Prep Time: 10 minutes

• 2 TBSP Onion, finely chopped

• 4 TBSP Olive Oil

• 2 TBSP Dried Parsley

• 2 tsp Dried Oregano

• 1/4 tsp Garlic Powder

• 2 lbs Beef, Chicken OR Lamb, to cook

• Let stand 1 hour.

• Cut 2 pounds or lamb, chicken OR beef into 2″ bite size chunks.

• Add meat to marinade, and fold until meat is well coated.

• Cover bowl, and let sit in marinade a minimum of 2 hours (overnight is better).

• Grill marinaded meat about 10 minutes, turning at least once on each side, until done.