This marinated chicken on a stick is one recipe you need to make. My Air fryer Greek chicken souvlaki recipe is easy to make, flavorful and fits right into most diets. It’s a perfect low carb or keto side to tomatoes, onions and lettuce.
No need to use the grill or turn on your oven. In less than 20 mins you will get this easy Greek fast food from air fryer to the table. Simply get your fixings ready while the Air fryer does it’s thing.
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Table of Contents
- What is Souvlaki (Greek Souvlaki)
- Souvlaki VS Gyros, what’s the difference
- What ingredients do you need to make Greek chicken souvlaki in the air fryer
- Souvlaki marinade
- How long to cook chicken souvlaki in air fryer
- How to make Air fryer Chicken Souvlaki
- How to serve
- Storing leftovers and reheating
- Tips for success
- FAQs
- More air fryer recipes
- Air fryer Greek Chicken Souvlaki recipe
What is Souvlaki (Greek Souvlaki)
Greek Souvlaki or Souvlakia (plural form) as the name implies is a Grecian street food that’s looked upon the National Greek food. Just like Kabobs / Kebabs, Souvlaki simply means grilled meat on skewers.
It can be eaten as a grab and go meal while walking down the streets of Athens or eaten in a restaurant like Souvlatzidiko.
Souvlaki can be made with pork, chicken or lamb. These marinated skewered meats are usually sold in wraps of pita bread with tzatziki sauce. If you love chicken skewers you should try our Chinese chicken on a stick recipe, so good!
Souvlaki VS Gyros, what’s the difference
Souvlaki and gyros are both street foods that include some form meats served on pita bread. The major difference in gathered is that while souvlaki is made from grilled skewered meats, gyros are made from meat slices shaved from a rotating meat cone which is a vertical rotisserie style stack of grilled meats.
Both are commonly made with pork but can be made with beef, lamb or chicken and served with a side of veggies, chips and the yogurt dip tzatziki.
Souvlaki and gyros can be served as platters, however souvlaki is more popularly eaten on the skewers while gyros are eaten in pita bread wraps. You can read more of the differences between these 2 Greek fast foods in the linked article.
What ingredients do you need to make Greek chicken souvlaki in the air fryer
- Boneless skinless Chicken thighs or breasts
- Mediterranean style Oregano: You can substitute with Italian style oregano. Did you there are different types of oregano leaves? Let me know if you did in the comments below.
- Oil
- Garlic powder or cloves of garlic
- Salt
- Paprika
- White pepper
- Black pepper
- Cayenne pepper
- Lemon juice
- White wine. I didn’t use white wine in this recipe as I didn’t have any on hand. Since I happen to see it used in most souvlaki recipes, I thought to mention it. If you intend to use it, you can add about 2 Tablespoons of white wine to the marinade.
Souvlaki marinade
This is a marinated meat recipe so it needs a good and tasty marinade to infuse rich flavors into the chicken skewers. To make the marinade I gather all my spices and herbs and mix them together in a bowl before coating the bite sized meats in the marinade.
I like to marinade the chicken for 30 mins up to 2 hours and sometimes 24 hrs if time permits. However if time is an issue, marinate for a minimum 10-15 mins on the counter top should do the trick.
How long to cook chicken souvlaki in air fryer
The cooking time for air fryer chicken souvlaki may vary based on the size of the chicken pieces and the temperature at which it is cooked. It will also depend on your type and brand of air fryer. As a general guideline, cook at 400 degrees F (200 degrees C) for 15 mins ensuring that you flip halfway through the cooking time.
It's also very important that you make sure that the chicken is fully cooked and has reached an internal temperature of 165 degrees F (74 degrees C) before serving. I recommend you use a meat thermometer for this.
How to make Air fryer Chicken Souvlaki
Now to the fun part! This is an overview of the recipe. Full recipe and tips can be found in the printable recipe card at the bottom of this page.
Cut up the chicken into bite sized pieces. 2 inch cubes should be fine. Marinade chicken bites in the souvlaki marinade for at least 30 mins. While the chicken is marinating, soak the wooden skewers in water this would prevent it from getting burnt as the meat cooks.
When the chicken is ready, thread the meats on the skewers and air fry at 400°F / 204°F for 15 mins flipping half way through. The meat is cooked when the internal temperature is at least 165°F / 74°C and meat is no longer pink.
Don’t have an air fryer just yet? Not to worry there are other ways to make Greek souvlaki
Pan fry on the stove top
You can pan fry chicken souvlaki on the stovetop using a cast iron grill pan. Simply pan fry till cooked through.
Make it in the oven
Preheat the oven to 400°F / 204°C. Place marinated chicken skewers on parchment paper lined baking sheet. You can also bake on the rack in the baking sheet.
Bake for 25 to 30 mins flipping half way through. You can use that me broil setting for an extra minute or two.
Storing leftovers and reheating
Greek Souvlaki is best enjoyed immediately. However if you need to store leftovers, I’d suggest you remove the chicken from the skewers and store in an air tight container for up to 2 days in the fridge. Leftovers can be used in salads, wraps or burgers.
To reheat, simply pop in the microwave and microwave at 30 secs intervals until warmed through. Reheating chicken in the air fryer is my preferred method. place chicken in the air fryer basket or rack and reheat at 350 degrees F for 3 to 5 mins or until its warmed through.
Tips for success
- I love to use boneless skinless chicken thighs because they make juicy kebabs and don’t dry out easily. However I’ve also used boneless chicken breasts and they worked fine.
- Marinating the chicken for a minimum of 30 mins will make the chicken flavorful.
- I used garlic powder for this recipe. To use fresh garlic cloves swap out the garlic powder for 4 cloves of garlic.
- You do not need to soak the skewers like you would normally do if you were cooking this in an outdoor grill.
FAQs
What kind of meat is souvlaki, is it healthy?
Souvlaki is a meat on stick recipe. It could be made with pork chicken, lamb or beef. The most common being pork. In my opinion this is a healthy side dish.
How do you eat chicken souvlaki
Chicken souvlaki can be eat right from the stick or unthreaded from the stick and served with various fixings like tomatoes, onions, tzatziki and pita bread.
Is Souvlaki a Kebab?
Kebab simply means meat on a skewer so technically souvlaki is a type of kebab.
What country does souvlaki originate from?
Souvlaki is a Mediterranean delicacy originating from Greece.
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Air fryer Greek Chicken Souvlaki recipe
Equipment
- Air fryer 5.8qt
- Perforated Parchment paper
- Bamboo skewers
Ingredients
- 2 lbs Boneless skinless Chicken thighs or breasts
- 1 tablespoon Mediterranean style Oregano
- 2 tablespoon Oil
- 3 teaspoons Garlic powder or 4 cloves of garlic
- 1 ¼ teaspoon Salt
- 1 teaspoon Paprika
- ½ teaspoon White pepper
- ½ teaspoon Black pepper
- ¼ teaspoon Cayenne pepper
- 3 Tablespoons Lemon juice
Instructions
Prepare souvlaki marinade
- Mix salt, spices, herbs, oil and lemon juice in a bowl and set aside
Prepare chicken
- Wash and pat chicken dry with a clean paper towel.
- Cut chicken thighs into 2 inch bite sized pieces.
- Combine the chicken bites with the marinade till well coated. Set aside in the refrigerator to marinate for at least 30 mins.
- While the chicken is marinating soak the bamboo skewers in water to keep it from burning during cooking.
- When ready to bake, thread the chicken pieces on the skewers till all the meat has been threaded.
Air fry
- Place chicken skewers in a parchment paper lined air fryer basket. Mine takes 4 at a time.
- Bake at 400°F / 204°C for 15 mins flipping half way through cooking time. Internal temperature should be at least 165°F / 74°C
- Let it rest for 2 minutes then bake the next batch.
- Serve with your favorites fixings
Notes
- This recipe makes 8-10 souvlaki chicken skewers.
- If you can’t have Mediterranean oregano you can substitute with Italian oregano.
- If you are in a hurry you let chicken rest for 10 mins on the counter after mixing with marinade.
Do you think the cooking time would change using a large air fryer? I have the Ninja Foodie that looks like a toaster oven (since we're a family of five). I'm just curious if the smaller basket you have would make a difference. TIA
Hey Gina,
The basket style air fryers tend to cook faster than the toaster oven style air fryers. However, some brands like the Ninja foodie tend to heat up really hot so you should keep an eye on it if making this recipe for the first time in your ninja foodie. Hope this helps.
I made this last night and it was wonderful. I did use chicken breasts and they so tender and moist. I also made your rice with it and some oven roasted veggies. Perfect! Thanks!
Hi Sara!
That’s amazing.Thank you for letting me know. Your sides sound amazing. Yum!!
Thank you for this recipe! My family loves it so much that I make it at least once a week. Sometimes I use skewers, sometimes I just throw it all in the air fryer! I have used chicken thighs and chicken breast, it always turns out so tasty. My only problem is that I never can cook enough for my hungry boys..whether I double or triple the recipe, there is always a race to get the last serving!
Hi Pam!
You comment just warmed my heart. Happy you and your family love this recipe. It’s so yummy. And yes skewers or not, they are amazing. Enjoy!!
This is now one of my favourite go to air fryer recipes. Which oil do you use? I use olive oil I also add some rosemary and honey to the marinade too. I bought an air fryer accessory kit with skewer rack and metal skewers, works so well. could I cook them and have them cold for lunch?
Hi Gareth!
Happy to hear that this is one of favorites. So long as they are fully cooked, having them cold in sandwiches within a few hours should be fine.
You mention in the recipe garlic powder or cloves. I think you might want to correct this to say 'cloves of garlic'. In the UK at least, cloves are a very medicinal tasting hard spice (often used in mulled wine) and VERY different to garlic. I'd hate to think what a souvlaki would taste like if it included cloves.
Hi Jon!
Thanks for your input. I definitely don’t want cloves in our souvlaki 😀. The recipe card states cloves of garlic, you must be referring to the ingredients list in the body of the post which has now been fixed so it’s not confusing. Thanks again and hope you enjoyed the recipe.
Are these baked or air fried?
Hi Faith!
They were air fried. If you are asking per the bake or air fry function in air fryers. I used the air fry function.
It looks a great recipe but I don’t like chicken thighs. If I use chicken breast, what cooking times do you suggest I use?
Hi Patrick,
Chicken breasts would work as well. Depending on the size you cut it, it will take anywhere from 12 to 15 mins to cook. If you have a meat thermometer, you can use it. The internal temp should be 165°F / 74°C. I think you’d lovf it. Enjoy!
I ran out of skewers. Can I just lay the chicken to cook in the air fryer with out it being on a stick?
Hi Amy!
Yes you can. They will be Greek souvlaki chicken bites! So good.
Thank you, BTW, there is s typo. It should say 400F/204C
Hi Donna,
You are welcome! Thank you too for catching the typo. Will fix it asap!
We just ate at a fabulous Greek restaurant in Chicago area and sure want to try Greek cooking at home in Tennessee so will sure try this.
Hi Mary!
Your description of the Greek food you had has got my mouth watering. Will definitely be making some myself! I’d be happy to hear your thoughts when you get to try this souvlaki recipe. Thanks for stopping by.
Can I add veggies on skewer with the chicken???
Hi Sherry!
Yes you can add veggies to the skewered chicken.
Hi and Greetings from Sweden! Sounds wonderful, I'll try this recipe for tonight. Only one question: do I need to preheat my airfryer before putting the chicken inside it? Best wishes!
Hi Magnus!
Happy to hear from you. You don’t need to preheat the air fryer. What brand of air fryer do you have?
If it comes with automatic preheat option, you should start checking for doneness two minutes before the time stated in this recipe.
Hope that helps. Please feel free to reach out if you have more questions! I love Sweden between. Haven’t been there but hope to visit someday.
Yes I knew there is different Oregano - also different Thymes (German, English etc)
Hi Geoffrey,
Hmmm. Didn’t know about thyme. Thanks for sharing. I also found out that there are different curry powders too. Wow!
It’s hard to get respect and appreciation from a teenage daughter but this recipe got me those things! It was delicious!
Yayy!! Sophia!!
This is awesome news. Thanks for letting us know. Reading your comment made me smile.
I have never tried chicken souvlaki before so I don’t know how the it should taste. But this chicken is so delicious. I used chicken breasts since that is what I had and it was still yummy. Thanks for the recipe
Hi Susie!
You are welcome. It sure is delicious. Thanks for your feedback. 😊