This juicy chicken souvlaki is all due to an easy marinade made with fresh lemons, extra virgin olive oil, honey, greek oregano, garlic, parsley, and salt & pepper.
It doesn’t get any easier and produces the most flavorful moist and tender grilled Mediterranean chicken.
What is chicken souvlaki?
It’s simply grilled chicken on a skewer. A Greek meat dish usually marinated in olive oil, lemons and lots of raw garlic with the freshest herbs.
It is meant to be eaten off a stick but I like mine with homemade pita pocket bread and a dollop of tzatziki sauce.
I’ve ordered this out at my favorite local greek restaurant. While I love it, I always find it a bit lacking in flavor. I crave lots of lemon, oregano, and garlic with my chicken souvlaki.
Making it at home means I can control what goes into the marinade myself and put as much or as little ingredients as I want to make it flavorful. I also love to add a bit of honey so it caramelizes beautifully on the grill.
The fresh lemon zest and lemon juice breaks down the proteins in the muscle to give you a tender juicy chicken. As we know chicken breast tends to dry out quickly, especially if it’s overcooked.
I love the ease of this marinade and it comes together in minutes. If I’m in a hurry I’ll let it marinade at least a couple of hours, but typically I like to let it set overnight in the fridge to amass all those wonderful delicious flavors.
Yes, I’m aware that lemons cook raw chicken to some degree, but as I said, it makes it incredibly juicy and I’m a big fan of juicy tender chicken.
The marinade recipe makes enough for 2 large boneless chicken breasts, but you could probably stretch it to 3 breasts.
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Tips for preparing Chicken Souvlaki:
I recommend a mini food processor when making this as it makes the process easier and quicker, but you absolutely can chop and mix everything by hand.
An hour before grilling soak your wooden skewers in water to prevent them from burning and breakage on the grill.
Maybe you’re a bit more fancy pants than the rest of us and like metal skewers. Or possibly you’re just not into waste. That’s cool too.
I hope you enjoy this recipe as much as I do. This Mediterranean chicken dish is definitely a hit at our house. I hope it becomes a part of your favorite recipes rotation.
Serve it up with all the fixins like tomato and red onion or eat it right off the stick. Chicken on a stick makes life worth living. Come the think of it, there aren’t many foods on a stick I don’t like.
Juicy Chicken Souvlaki: Marinade Made Easy
Ingredients
- 1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 2 large peeled garlic cloves roughly chopped
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 teaspoon sea salt š§
- 2 Tablespoons honey šÆ
- 1 Tablespoon fresh parsley
- 1 Tablespoon fresh oregano šæ
- 2 lemons š š
- 2 large boneless skinless chicken breasts
Instructions
- In a mini food processor add olive oil, garlic cloves, salt & pepper, parsley & oregano and honey.
- Zest one lemon and squeeze the juice of 2 lemons into the mixture.
- Process together until mixture looks creamy and smooth (about 20 seconds.)
- Slice chicken breasts into 1 inch cubes. Try to keep them as uniform as possible so they cook evenly.
- Place the chicken in a bowl and pour the marinade over top and mix well.
- Cover with plastic wrap and place in refrigerator.
- Marinade at least 2 hours, but overnight is recommended for maximum flavor.
- Soak wooden skewers in water an hour before grill.
- Preheat your grill and season your grill with a high heat oil (we use avocado oil) so chicken won’t stick when you turn the skewers.
- Cook chicken for about 2 minutes each side.
- You will have the most beautiful char and caramelization on your chicken from the honey. Not overly sweet at all.
- Serve with my Tzatziki sauce and pita bread.
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