Chicken Souvlaki Pitas – Juicy, tender, grilled chicken wrapped in soft pita bread with tangy tomatoes, onions and tzatziki sauce. Your new go-to recipe.
Whenever I visit the mall or pass by any area with a Greek Restaurant, I must buy some Souvlaki Pita; it is just irresistible.
What is Souvlaki Pita?
Souvlaki means Skewer, be it wooden or metal. It’s a Greek Fast Food, and traditionally, pork is used, but it can be substituted with chicken, beef and lamb. Pita is a flatbread which can be homemade or store-bought. In this recipe, I used store-bought pita bread. Potato chips can also be included in the wrap.
Recipe Tips:
- Cut your chicken into same and small sizes so that spices can easily penetrate and for evenly cooking.
- Chicken should be marinated for hours, 4 hours to overnight.
- Soak the wooden skewer in water for at least 1 hour to prevent burning.
- If you don’t have a BBQ grill, Bake chicken in a preheated oven at 450 degrees F for 20 minutes. Or Pan Grill Each side for 3 mins till cooked through.
- Tomatoes and onions should be seasoned and left to rest for about 5 minutes, so it becomes tangy.
- The key ingredient here is oregano which gives this meal an ideal flavour.
WHAT’S IN MY SOUVLAKI PITA?
For The Chicken:
- Olive oil
- Lemon juice
- Salt
- Black pepper
- Thyme, marjoram, oregano
- Chilli flakes
- Paprika
- Garlic
Tzatziki Sauce;
This combines Greek yogurt, shredded cucumber, olive oil, garlic, lemon juice, salt, and herbs. I usually get mine from the grocery store, and it’s a must sauce for this wrap. It’s also perfect for salad, crackers and as a dip. The taste is amazing.
Tomato and Onion Mix
- Tomatoes
- Onion
- Red wine vinegar or lemon juice
- Salt
- Black pepper
- Oregano
Pita Bread: This can be store-bought or homemade.
How to Assemble the Wrap
- Heat Pita in a hot pan. It shouldn’t be too hot like it will become hard and burnt. When your pan is hot, turn off the heat and use the residual heat to soften the pita.
- Remove the chicken from the skewers and place on the wrap. Put the tzatziki sauce on it with the onion mix. You can sprinkle some fresh parsley on it.
Chicken Souvlaki Pitas
Equipment
- Wooden skewers soaked in water
- BBQ Grill Oven, grill pan
Ingredients
For the Chicken
- 2 Chicken breast
- 1 Lemon Juiced
- 1 tsp Thyme dried
- ½ tsp Marjoram
- 1 tsp Oregano dried
- 3 Garlic cloves minced
- 1 tsp Salt
- 1 tsp Blackpepper
- ½ tsp Paprika optional
- 1 tsp 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 tbsp Olive oil
- 1 tbsp Red wine vinegar white vinegar
- Pinch of Salt, Oregano and Black pepper
Instructions
- Cut the chicken into cubes and set aside.
- Add all the ingredients for the marinade in a bowl and stir to combine.
- 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.
- 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.
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 tbsp of the tomato mix and 1 tbsp tzatziki sauce.
- Wrap it and take a big bite. Enjoy.
