If you've been following along with me for a little while, you'll know how much I LOVE Greek food! Both my husband and I worked in Greek restaurants when we were younger so we enjoy making Greek food at home now (with the secrets we learned from the restaurants.) His Greek Chicken Souvlaki is superb and my favorite way to enjoy it is by making it into a pita. We used to eat it that way at the restaurant all the time. And this recipe tastes just like you ordered it off a restaurant menu! The bonus is that it's Weight Watchers friendly @ 2 WW points on the blue plan on it's own and 5 WW points as a wrap (using my WW friendly Tzatziki Sauce)
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🥘 Souvlaki Ingredients
This recipe is dead easy to make with only a few pantry ingredients:
- chicken breast
- lemon juice
- dried oregano
- olive oil
- garlic powder
- salt
- white pepper
- lemon for garnish (and extra squeezing)
- skewers
If you are making it into a souvlaki pita wrap, you'll also need:
- pita bread
- Tzatziki Sauce
- tomatoes
- red onions
- additional dried oregano
- fresh parsley (optional)
*Just remember to take the meat off the skewer 🙂
💭 Top tip
The great thing about this recipe is that YOU DON'T HAVE TO MARINATE IT! I have marinated it for a few hours and really didn't find it made that much of a difference. I always assumed that restaurants marinated the chicken souvlaki for long periods of time, but I found out from my husband (who worked as a cook in more than one Greek restaurant) that is not necessarily the case. It really depended on when it was ordered, how much they had made (if it has been marinating in the fridge overnight or was simply a new batch). So if they had just made it and it hadn't had a chance to marinate, they would simply add additional lemon juice (preferably fresh) before serving. So, if you want it extra lemony, just squeeze extra lemon juice over it when it's done!
📖 Variations
Another thing I love about this recipe is the versality! You can eat it as a chicken souvlaki pita (which is my favorite way as shown above) or on a bed of vegetables, rice, cauliflower rice or with Greek Style Potatoes.
Or you can also eat it on its own, dipped in WW friendly Tzatziki Sauce
🧂 Souvlaki Seasoning
This simple souvlaki is seasoned with lemon juice, olive oil, garlic powder, dried oregano, salt and white pepper. However, it tastes so flavorful that you think there is actually more in there! However, if you're going to make it into a pita wrap, then you'll want to use additional oregano and parsley.
🥗 Side dishes
If you're having the souvlaki on it's own and looking for side dishes to go with this souvlaki, like I mentioned above, you'll love these Greek Style Potatoes. Or this Easy Greek Pasta Salad Recipe!
And if I'm having it in a pita, I'll have a simple side salad with it or nothing at all. When you eat this souvlaki as a wrap, it's really a full meal! So if you're looking for a FAST, delicious and versatile Greek Chicken Souvlaki, you will love this one!
📋 Greek Chicken Souvlaki Recipe
Ingredients
- 5-6 chicken breasts
- 1 tbsp dried oregano
- 2 tbsp lemon juice, from concentrate
- ¼ cup olive oil
- ¼ tsp white pepper
- ½ tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp salt
Garnish
- fresh lemon wedges
Souvlaki Pita Wrap
- 8 pitas * white or whole wheat
- 16 tbsp tzaiziki sauce Tzatziki recipe: https://foodmeanderings.com/easy-tzatziki-sauce/
- ½ whole red onion
- 8 sprigs fresh parsley
- 4 fresh chopped tomatoes * I use Roma
- 1 tbsp dried oregano
Instructions
For Souvlaki Chicken Skewers
- Cut chicken into strips.
- Put chicken onto skewers. *If you are grilling these on an outdoor BBQ grill, you'll want to soak them for 10 minutes in cold water first (so they don't catch on fire).
- Continue to add chicken pieces to skewers until they are all gone. You should get about 8 skewers. Then add skewers to a long shallow dish. I use a 9X13 baking pan *You can use smaller skewers for the pita wraps and longer skewers for the plain souvlaki
- Mix garlic powder, lemon juice, oil, salt, white pepper and oregano together, then stir and pour over souvlaki skewers. Rotate to ensure skewers are well coated in the marinade.
- Add skewers to non-stick fry pan, cooking as many as you can fit at once (usually about 4 per frying pan).
- Fry over medium heat on stovetop or on grill, turning periodically until lightly browned on all sides, for about 12-15 minutes or until cooked through (no longer pink).
Garnish
- If you want as stronger lemon flavor, drizzle additional fresh lemon juice on top.
For Souvlaki Pita Wrap
- Add 2 tbsp of tzatziki sauce (https://foodmeanderings.com/easy-tzatziki-sauce/) to pita, as well as red onions, and parsley as desired. * Remove meat from skewer
- Wrap as shown in VIDEO "How to wrap a souvlaki" : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qo7DzmllzWA * I also fold mine over at the top and you can either fold or twist at the bottom
- Sprinkle with additional dried oregano, if desired.
Laura
What a great summer sandwich, it looks just like the real thing! I like that you can make the skewers in a pan as I’ve always thought I had to have a bbq to do this. Will be frying lots of skewers this summer for sure now!
Bernice
I love Greek food too! And, to be honest I love it for its simplicity and how easy it is to make at home, especially these souvlaki.
nancy
that wrap sammy looks SO delicious! I love a good Greek Chicken souvlaki!!
AmyG
I love souvlaki and often have leftovers. This is a great idea for leftovers and lunch the next day.
Colleen
We love souvlaki and lately with our summery weather we are all about grilling, so this is going on our weekend plans. Looks delicious!
Sean
Thanks for the tips re: marinating! I would have assumed that I'd need a lot of time to get souvlaki ready, but if it can be just as good without the long wait, it definitely brings this into the realm of easy weeknight dinner (my favourite kind of dinner, lol). Thanks for sharing!