Grilled chicken souvlaki with tzatziki

grilled chicken souvlaki on top of pita with tzatziki, tomato and red onion

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5 from 2 votes

Grilled chicken souvlaki with tzatziki

A simple marinade gives this grilled chicken such great flavor and keeps it tender. An easy meal that all ages love.

Prep Time10

Cook Time10

marinade time (minimum)2

Total Time20

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: Greek

Servings: approx

Calories: 398kcal

Author: Caroline

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Ingredients

For chicken and marinade

1 ½ tablespoon lemon juice
2 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon crushed garlic (1tbsp is 2-3 cloves)
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon dried mint optional
½ teaspoon ground cumin optional
¼ teaspoon paprika optional
¼ teaspoon salt + a little pepper
1 lb boneless skinless chicken thighs or you can use boneless breasts

For tzatziki

⅓ cup cucumber coarsely grated & squeezed, ⅓ cup is approximately a 3in/7 ½cm piece
½ cup Greek yogurt
½ tablespoon lemon juice or a little more to taste
½ tablespoon olive oil or a little more to taste
½ clove garlic crushed (small)
1 pinch salt or a little more to taste
2 - 3 fresh mint leaves finely chopped, or a small amount of fresh dill

To serve

1 tomato sliced (2 if smaller)
⅛ red onion approximately - a couple thin slices
4 pitta bread

Instructions

Whisk together the lemon juice, olive oil, garlic, oregano, mint, cumin, paprika, salt and pepper in a medium bowl. Dice the chicken and remove any excess fat or other tough membrane etc. Try to make the pieces relatively even in size. Add the pieces of chicken to the marinade and mix so all the pieces are well covered. Cover and put in the fridge for at least 2 hours, but a bit longer is also good up to overnight.
Before you start cooking, cut the chunk of cucumber in half, remove the seeds in the middle, if they are large, and discard. Coarsely grate the cucumber then gently squeeze most of the liquid. Put the drained cucumber in a small bowl and add the yogurt, lemon juice, olive oil, salt, garlic and mint (or dill). Mix together and set aside until needed (chill if any more than around 15-20min).
Remove the chicken from the fridge around 20 minutes before you plan to cook to let the chicken come nearer to room temperature. If using wooden skewers on a flame grill/BBQ, soak the skewers. Thread the chicken pieces onto skewers, not pushing the chunks together too tightly. Warm the grill to a medium heat then place the skewers on the grill (you can also cook them on a grill/griddle pan). Turn once or twice and cook until cooked through, around 3 - 4 minutes a side depending on size of pieces of chicken.
Once cooked either make a pita wrap by removing the pieces from the skewer and placing on pita with a couple slices of tomato and red onion and a good spoonful of tzatziki. Alternatively serve the skewers with pita and tzatziki on the side and serve eg with salad and grilled vegetables.

Video

Notes

Note re preparing chicken:

You can also use the same marinade to make gyros - to be most authentic, marinate large pieces of chicken (so whole thighs or breasts, halved if thick). Then after marinating you stack them vertically on a skewer. Either cook in the over by placing the stack on a lined baking sheet/tray (approx 400F/200C) or place on side and cook on grill - if you have rotisserie option, even better. You will likely want a double batch to make it work better as a stack. I also often make a cross between gyros and souvlaki (as in video) by marinating then grilling whole thighs, then slicing after cooking. It's technically not quite either dish, but has all the delicious flavors and stays wonderfully tender and juicy.

For tzatziki - if you are using Persian cucumber or a thinner English cucumber, there's no need to remove seeds, they will be small enough. If you are using a thicker skinner cucumber you may want to remove some or all of the skin as it can be more bitter and not break up well.

Nutrition

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