Perfect as a quick weeknight dinner or a dish for a BBQ party, this chicken Souvlaki pita is hearty, wholesome and lip-smacking delicious. It comes together in just 30 minutes, and has a great balance of flavors and textures.
Whether you love Greek food or just want to try a simple chicken recipe that everyone will like, this recipe is a must try!
For parties and get-togethers, I love making food that isn't just delicious, but fun, interesting and unique as well. My African egg rolls and spicy chili garlic chicken wings are almost always on the menu, but this time I wanted to try something different with chicken.
And then I thought of making these wraps. I served them with my Air Fryer potatoes, a few dips and sauces on the side, and some of my fluffy, twisted donuts.
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What I Love About this Recipe
I love how this chicken Souvlaki pita recipe is so easy to make! It may look complicated and time consuming, but it literally takes me just 30 minutes to put everything together.
Another big win in my books is the fact that it is so customizable. Many times, I end up adjusting the seasonings and spices, and it turns out great every single time. It's like enjoying a new wrap with just a few mix-ins and tweaks.
It's quick, customizable, and always a hit whether I’m craving something healthy or just something super tasty.
Recipe Ingredients
Chicken souvlaki: The chicken souvlaki is made using some boneless chicken cubes marinated in lemon juice and olive oil, herbs like thyme, marjoram, and oregano, and some seasonings like garlic, paprika, chili flakes, salt, and pepper.
Tzatziki sauce: To make the sauce, you'll need Greek yogurt as the base, shredded cucumber, fresh garlic, lemon juice, oregano, and some salt. And, of course, some extra virgin olive oil, too.
Tomato salad: You'll need a simple mix of tomatoes (or cherry tomatoes), red onions, salt, black pepper, lemon juice, and a dash of oregano. If you have some feta cheese, you can add it too. Sometimes, I make my Mediterranean cucumber tomato salad and use it instead.
Pita bread: You can make homemade or store-bought, just like me.
See the recipe card for quantities.
Variations & Substitutions
- To lend a kick of heat to the chicken Souvlaki, add a pinch of cayenne or smoked paprika to the marinade.
- You can also add some sliced cucumbers and bell peppers into the salad if you want to.
- Another great idea is to swap the chicken for some medium sized shrimp and make shrimp Souvlaki. Just remember that shrimp cooks faster than fish, so you'll need to cut down the cooking time.
How to Make Chicken Souvlaki Pita
To make the chicken Souvlaki in pita bread, start by cutting the chicken into cubes and marinating it in a mix of extra virgin olive oil, lemon juice, and all the mentioned herbs and seasonings. Refrigerate this for 3-12 hours.
- Skewer the seasoned chicken onto pre-soaked wooden skewers.
Heat the BBQ grill, place the chicken skewers over it and grill each side for 4 to 5 mins at 400℉ or until charred and cooked through.
- Prepare the salad. In a bowl, combine the sliced tomatoes, onions, red wine vinegar (or lemon juice), salt, black pepper, oregano, and feta cheese. Toss and set it aside.
- In a bowl, combine the Greek yogurt with the shredded cucumber, extra virgin olive oil, minced garlic, fresh lemon juice, salt and herbs. Mix well and refrigerate it to cool.
- To assemble, heat the pita in a hot pan with some extra virgin olive oil. Remove the chicken cubes from the skewers and place them on the wrap. Spoon the Tzatziki sauce on it with the tomato-onion salad mix. You can sprinkle some fresh parsley or feta cheese on it too!
Storing Leftovers
Store your leftovers in separate containers to keep them fresh. The chicken can stay good for up to 3 days when refrigerated, and the sauce can be stored for up to a week. I wouldn't recommend storing the salad for later, as it can start to get watery pretty quick.
Tips & Tricks to Make the Chicken Souvlaki Pita
- Make sure you cut the chicken into cubes such that they're roughly the same size. This way, spices can easily penetrate, and chicken will be cooked evenly without overcooking or being undercooked.
- Don't skip the marination time. The chicken should be marinated for at least 3 hours, ideally overnight.
- Remember to remove out all the excess water from the shredded cucumber by placing it in a clean muslin cloth and squeezing it out. This will help keep the Tzatziki sauce thick and creamy.
- The salad has just tomatoes and onion, both high in water content. Season it towards the end to keep it from getting soft and releasing too much water.
- If you are serving your pitas right off the grill to eat, then it's okay. But with you preparing them like an hour ahead of them, cover them with clean cloth. Otherwise, your pita will dry out and become stiff and crumbly.
- If you are using an Air Fryer, make sure that you let it rest for 10 minutes between batches. It will help it reheat properly.
Serving Ideas & Suggestions
This hearty and wholesome Chicken Souvlaki Pita is a complete meal in itself. If you really want to go the extra mile and serve it with something, I would recommend something simple like roasted garlic butter Parmesan potatoes or crispy baked potato wedges.
After enjoying this savory Greek-inspired meal, satisfy your sweet tooth with a slice of our buttery yogurt banana bread. Also, if you have some leftover pita bread that you want to use up, try my easy pita bread pizza recipe.
Recipe FAQs
The secret is to soak the wooden skewer in water for at least 1 hour to prevent burning. This is the most common issue why people avoid using skewers.
Heat the pita in a medium-hot pan. If the pan is too hot, it will burn the pita and make it hard. You can also heat the pan on high and turn off the heat. Then, heat the pita over the residual heat.
Pour the Tzatziki sauce in an airtight clean jar and refrigerate it up to 4 days. You can eat it will crackers, veggie sticks or with chips too, it an amazing dipping sauce. Some people will say freeze it but I will never recommend that. It will ruin the texture and the consistency upon thawing.
More Chicken Recipes to Try
Looking for other recipes like this? Try these:
If you tried these chicken Souvlaki pita or any other recipe on my website, please leave a 🌟 star rating and let me know how it went in the 📝 comments below. Thanks for visiting!
Chicken Souvlaki Pita
Equipment
- Wooden skewers soaked in water
- BBQ Grill Oven, grill pan
Ingredients
For the Chicken
- 2 Chicken breast
- 1 Lemon Juiced
- 1 teaspoon Thyme dried
- ½ teaspoon Marjoram
- 1 tsp Oregano dried
- 3 Garlic cloves minced
- 1 teaspoon Salt
- 1 teaspoon Blackpepper
- ½ teaspoon Paprika optional
- 1 teaspoon Chilli flakes optional
- ¼ cup Olive oil
For the Wraps
- 6 Pita flatbreads
- ½ cup Tzatziki sauce store bought
- 1 large Tomato
- 1 medium Onion red or white
- 2 tablespoon Olive oil
- 1 tablespoon Red wine vinegar white vinegar
- Pinch of Salt, Oregano and Black pepper
Instructions
- Cut the chicken into cubes and set aside.2 Chicken breast
- Add all the ingredients for the marinade in a bowl and stir to combine.1 Lemon Juiced, 1 teaspoon Thyme, ½ teaspoon Marjoram, 1 teaspoon Oregano, 3 Garlic cloves, 1 teaspoon Salt, 1 teaspoon Blackpepper, ½ teaspoon Paprika, 1 teaspoon Chilli flakes, ¼ cup Olive oil
- Put the chicken inside the marinade and mix very well with your hand. Cover and let it rest for 3 hours - overnight.
- While the chicken is marinating, soak the skewers in water so it doesn't burn during grilling.
- Take out the chicken from the refrigerator about 1 hour before cooking, so it comes to room temperature.
- Put the chicken in the wooden skewers. Do not overcrowd the skewer.
- Grill on a BBQ grill, if there is no BBG grill, see notes. Grill each side for about 4 mins at 400℉ till cooked through. Cook time will depend on how thick the chicken is.
- Remove from the grill.
To make the Tomato Filling
- Slice the tomato and onions.1 large Tomato, 1 medium Onion
- Put it inside a bowl and add the oil, oregano, red wine vinegar, salt and black pepper. Mix well and let it sit for 5 mins.2 tablespoon Olive oil, 1 tablespoon Red wine vinegar, Pinch of Salt, Oregano and Black pepper
To warm the Pita
- In a pan, drizzle a little olive oil. When the pan is warm, warm both sides of the pitas till soft, be careful not to use high heat as it will burn and become hard.
Assemble the souvlaki
- Place the pita bread on a plate or working surface and add the grilled chicken removed from the skewer, 3 tablespoon of the tomato mix and 1 tablespoon tzatziki sauce.6 Pita flatbreads, ½ cup Tzatziki sauce
- Wrap it and take a big bite. Enjoy.
Notes
- Make sure you cut the chicken into cubes such that they're roughly the same size. This way, spices can easily penetrate, and chicken will be cooked evenly without overcooking or being undercooked.
- Don't skip the marination time. The chicken should be marinated for at least 3 hours, ideally overnight.
- Remember to remove out all the excess water from the shredded cucumber by placing it in a clean muslin cloth and squeezing it out. This will help keep the Tzatziki sauce thick and creamy.
- The salad has just tomatoes and onion, which are both high in water content. Season it towards the end to keep them from getting soft and releasing too much water.
- If you are serving your pitas right off the grill to eat, then it's fine. But with you preparing them like an hour ahead of them, make sure to cover them with clean cloth. Otherwise, your pita will dry out and become hard and crumbly.
- If you are using an Air Fryer, make sure that you let it rest for 10 minutes between batches. It will help it reheat properly.
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Bilikis says
Thanks for the recipe ma.This is irresistible