Here I’ll show you how to make the most delicious chicken souvlaki in the air fryer!
You won’t believe how simple this recipe is! The chicken comes out so juicy and flavoursome too. You’re going to love it 😋 Follow me…
Marinated Chicken Souvlaki
To inject some flavour into the chicken we’ll be combining it with a simple marinade. The base is Greek Yoghurt, which alongside the lemon juice, will also help tenderise the meat. The result is super-soft chicken!
Chicken Thighs
Thighs are perfect for this recipe because they’re much fattier than breast, meaning they’re much more difficult to overcook. This will allow you to get a light char on the outside (i.e. extra flavour) without drying out the chicken.
How long should I marinate the chicken?
I typically go for 4 hours, with 2 hours being the minimum and overnight being the maximum. If you’re pushed for time just do as long as you can. Even 30 minutes will help!
Process shots: add marinade ingredients to bowl (photo 1), mix (photo 2), add chicken (photo 3), mix (photo 4).
Air Fryer Chicken Souvlaki
You’d typically grill the skewers/cook them over flame, but you can get really awesome results in the air fryer! Depending on how thick the chunks are they cook in around 15 minutes too.
What kind of skewers should I use?
I use bamboo skewers and have never had an issue with them burning. You could use metal skewers, just be aware they’ll be piping hot! I snap the skewers to 20cm/8″ which I find fit perfectly in the air fryer. I recommend packing the chunks quite compactly too, just to keep them nice and juicy!
I also like to add chips to the basket too (we’ll get to that in a sec). But the only other thing you’ll need is a little bit of oil spray.
Process shots: add skewers to air fryer (photo 1), add chips (photo 2), spray and cook (photo 3).
Greek Salad
To go alongside the souvlaki, I love whipping up a fresh and delicious Greek-style salad. You can prep this as the chicken is cooking, so no added time!
The dressing is just a simple concoction of extra virgin olive oil and red wine vinegar, seasoned with salt and pepper. You’d typically add oregano to a traditional Greek salad, but the chicken is quite oregano-heavy, so I opt for dill in this recipe.
Process shots: add ingredients to bowl (photo 1), toss to combine (photo 2).
Chicken Gyros
From what I’ve researched and experienced, chicken souvlaki is diced chicken cooked on skewers, whereas gyros is shaved kebab-style chicken. Souvlaki seems to be served as more of a spread, but sometimes in a flatbread. Gyros always seem to be served in a flatbread, sometimes with chips. As such, I guess this recipe is a kind of gyro-style souvlaki (somebody please correct me if I’m wrong!).
As such, I load up some flatbreads with tzatziki, chips and the salad.
Process shots: spread tzatziki over flatbread (photo 1), add chips and salt (photo 2), add chicken (photo 3), add salad (photo 4).
Serving Chicken Souvlaki
As I mentioned, you could serve these as more of a spread, in which case you could keep the salad a bit chunkier. I just like it more finely diced to top the flatbread more easily.
Alrighty, let’s tuck into these air fryer chicken souvlaki shall we?!
How to make Air Fryer Chicken Souvlaki (Full Recipe & Video)
Air Fryer Chicken Souvlaki
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Equipment
- 2x Medium-Sized Bowls (one chicken one for salad)
- Tongs
- Cling Film
- Sharp Knife & Chopping Board
- 4x 20cm / 8″ Skewers (see notes)
- Brush
Ingredients
Chicken
- 60g / 1/4 cup full-fat Greek Yoghurt
- 1 1/2 tbsp EACH: Lemon Juice, Olive Oil
- 3 cloves of Garlic, minced/finely grated
- 2 1/2 tsp Dried Oregano
- 2 tsp Smoked Paprika
- 1 tsp Ground Coriander
- 3/4 tsp Salt
- 1/2 tsp Black Pepper
- 640g / 1.4lb boneless skinless Chicken Thighs, sliced into bite-sized pieces
- Oil Spray, as needed
Salad
- 200g / 7oz Tomatoes (2 medium)
- 100g / 3.5oz Cucumber
- 100g / 3.5oz Feta
- 75g / 2.6oz Green Pepper (1/2 large)
- 75g / 2.6oz pitted Kalamata Olives
- 1/2 small Red Onion
- 2 tbsp chopped Fresh Dill
- 2 tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil
- 1 tbsp Red Wine Vinegar
- 1/8 tsp EACH: Salt, Black Pepper (or to taste)
- squeeze of Lemon Juice, to taste
To serve
- 4 Flatbreads
- Tzatziki, as needed (homemade or store-bought)
- Frozen Chips/Fries, as needed
Instructions
- In a medium-sized bowl combine the marinade, then stir in the chicken until completely coated. Tightly cover and marinate in the fridge. I recommend 4 hours (up to overnight), with a minimum of 2 hours. Take out the fridge around 30mins before needed, just so you’re not cooking cold chicken.
- Thread the chicken onto 4 skewers, ensuring you leave a gap at both ends. Make sure the pieces are nice and compact so they stay nice and juicy.
- Place in the air fryer, brush over any excess marinade and add the chips in between each skewer. Lightly spray with oil and cook at 200C/400F for 15 minutes, turning once, or until the chicken is lightly charred on the outside and piping hot right through the centre (timings may depend on the size of chicken pieces – safe internal temp for chicken is 165F/74C).
- During this, finely dice everything for the salad. In a medium-sized bowl whisk together the extra virgin olive oil, red wine vinegar and salt & pepper. Toss everything in then stir in a squeeze of lemon juice (to taste).
- Brush the chicken with the excess oil in the air fryer, then serve in flatbreads with tzatziki, chips and salad. Enjoy!
Video
Notes
b) Chicken Thigh – I highly recommend using thigh as it’s much fattier and is more difficult to overcook. You could try breast, but just be aware it’ll likely cook through quicker. The safe internal temp for chicken is 74C/165F.
c) Marinating – This is a 30 minute dinner that takes place in two slots (chicken prep/chicken cook – salad prep is during cooking). If you need to make the dish without the breakup, just simply continue on with the recipe. Marinating is highly recommended, but they’ll still be delicious.
d) Serving – I love serving the souvlaki like a gyro, but you can serve it as more of a spread if you wish. In which case you can keep the salad a little chunkier if you’d prefer. Chips are optional but recommended.
e) Calories – Per wrap without chips assuming 2 tbsp tzatziki per wrap.
Nutrition
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