Easy Chicken Souvlaki Salad Bowl (Low Carb | High Protein)
A quick and easy pan-fried souvlaki style chicken (with a secret ingredient!) in a fresh Greek salad bowl drizzled creamy Tzatziki dressing. Healthy low carb high protein meals don’t get much easier than this!
27 g of protein and only 7.5 g of net carbs!
A healthy and easy low carb meal ready in under x minutes, this recipe is part of my 30 minute meal series.
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Thin shavings of boneless skinless chicken seasoned with a simple Greek marinade. The secret to the outstanding flavour in this pan-fried souvlaki is a squeeze of yellow mustard! Before you close the page, you gotta try this I learned this from an actual Greek restaurant and I promise you this will be some of the most flavourful chicken you’ve ever had!
Why You’ll Love this Recipe
- Ready in just 30 minutes!
- A simple and versatile low carb salad bowl fit for a meal
- Easy to make, from the homemade marinade to the creamy Greek dressing this is a healthy family friendly meal you’d be proud to serve anyone.
- This low carb high protein salad bowl is a quick, simple, healthy, and affordable keto friendly meal.
Ingredients and Substitutions
Chicken marinade
Allowing the thin slices of chicken marinade for 15-20 minutes before cooking adds a ton of flavour into every bite. Get the chicken marinating while you work on the dressing and salad. This souvlaki marinade has a special secret ingredient that takes it to the next level.
- Boneless skinless chicken – Chicken thigh or chicken breast, both are perfect, just make sure you slice them very thin, this helps them marinate and fry up quickly. If you’re having trouble getting very thin slices, place the chicken in the freezer for 20-30 minutes to firm it up.
- Yellow mustard (Secret ingredient) – It may sound weird, but I promise you this will bring your souvlaki to the next level! This is a secret straight from a Greek restaurant and I have never looked back.
- Lemon Juice – A must for this marinade, aside from the delicious flavour, the acidity helps soften the meat. Zest the lemons before juicing them and set the zest aside for the dressing.
- Oregano or Greek Seasoning – Dried flakes of oregano, store-bought Greek seasoning, shawarma seasoning, or souvlaki seasoning can all be used. Fresh herbs can also be used, you’ll have to double up the amounts to get enough flavour.
- Garlic paste or garlic powder – You can crush fresh garlic into paste yourself by mincing it very fine and pressing it into the cutting board with the flat side of your knife or by using a mortar and pestle. Garlic powder or granulated can also be used.
- Onion powder – Onion powder packs a lot of flavour. If you prefer fresh onion, grate it very finely or mince into a paste.
- EVOO (Extra Virgin Olive Oil) – Any olive oil will do but EVOO has much more flavour.
- Salt and pepper
Creamy Tzatziki Dressing
This creamy, garlicky salad dressing is based on Tzatziki and is intended to coat the salad and be used as a garlic sauce to drizzle over the souvlaki. Prepare it after you get the chicken in the marinade, the longer it sits the better the flavour.
- Thick Greek yogurt or Sour Cream – The thicker the better. Look for full fat Greek yogurt or “Gold” sour cream.
- Mayonnaise – Any store-bought mayo is fine. This is where this depart from tzatziki a bit but it adds a nice richness to the dressing.
- Olive oil – The higher the quality the better EVOO will have the most flavour.
- Garlic paste or garlic powder – Make sure its nice and fine, you don’t want large chunks of garlic in the dressing.
- Fresh dill – Mince finely before adding to the dressing. Half the amount of dried dill can be used as well.
- Lemon Zest – Use the lemon zest set aside from the marinade.
- Feta or olive brine – Just a little bit of the brine from the container of feta or olives will add a nice flavour and make use of an otherwise wasted product.
- Salt and pepper – Season to taste after the dressing has been sitting for a while.
Greek Salad
This is what I consider a “classic” Greek salad. Feel free to add whatever you like to your salad bowl. The easy customization is one of the great aspect of a salad bowl for dinner. You can even let everyone make their own so everyone gets what they want.
- Ice berg lettuce – Its crisp, its fresh, its perfect for Greek salad. You can use other types of lettuce if you prefer.
- Red onion or shallot – Love the flavour of either. Adds a nice pop of colours and bite to the salad. Green onion is a nice substitution.
- Cucumber – Refreshing and crunchy, with next to no carbs, how can you go wrong.
- Bell Pepper – Green, red, yellow, orange, whatever you like.
- Tomato – Cherry tomatoes are some of the best for salads. Tons of flavour and easy to prepare. They have some carbs, but a handful goes a long way.
- Olives – For Greek salad is Kalamata every time. I could eat them by the spoonful.
- Feta cheese – What’s a Greek salad without some salty, briny feta cheese! Fried haloumi would be a luxurious substitution.
- Fresh Herbs – Always adds a beautiful flavour to salad bowls and are often overlooked! Fresh parsley, dill, oregano, thyme, even a touch of cilantro.
Make Ahead and Leftovers
Full prepared and dressed salad bowls are best eaten fresh. If you know you are making this for a packed lunch or leftovers, keep the dressing, chicken, and the salad separate. This will keep the salad fresh longer.
Reheat the chicken, and dress the salad right before eating.
Recipe Card
Chicken Souvlaki Salad Bowl
IMPORTANT – There are often Frequently Asked Questions within the blog post that you may find helpful. Simply scroll back up to read them!
Equipment
- Knife and Cutting Board
- Skillet or Frying Pan
- microplane/zester/box grater
Ingredients
Chicken Souvlaki
- 1 ½ to 2 lbs chicken, boneless skinless thinly sliced
- 2 whole Lemons zested and juiced
- 3 tablespoons olive oil for frying
- 3 tablespoons butter for frying
- 3 tablespoons yellow mustard
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 ½ tsp salt
- 1 tablespoon garlic paste
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano or Greek seasoning
Creamy Tzatziki Dressing
- ½ cup Greek yogurt or Sour cream full fat
- ¼ cup mayonnaise
- 1 tablespoon olive oil extra virgin
- ½ teaspoons black pepper
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 tsp fresh dill or 1/2 tsp dried
- lemon zest
- 1 tablespoon brine from feta or olives optional
- 1 pinch salt to taste
Greek Salad
- 1 head Iceberg lettuce or about 8 cups chopped
- ½ small red onion or 1 shallot thinley sliced
- ½ cup cucumber sliced
- ⅓ cup fresh parsley chopped
- 1 medium bell pepper red or green, chopped
- 12-15 whole cherry tomatoes sliced
- ⅓ cup olives Kalamata, black, or green
- ⅓ cup feta cheese
Instructions
- Make the chicken marinade. Zest the lemons before juicing and set aside the zest for the dressing. In a large bowl, combine the lemon juice, yellow mustard, oregano or Greek seasoning, garlic paste, onion powder, black pepper, and salt.2 whole Lemons, 3 tablespoons yellow mustard, 1 teaspoon black pepper, 1 1/2 tsp salt, 1 tablespoon garlic paste, 1 teaspoon onion powder, 1 teaspoon dried oregano or Greek seasoning
- Marinate the chicken. Using a very sharp knife, slice the boneless chicken into very thin shavings. It may help to pop the chicken in the freezer 15-20 minutes before slicing to get very thin shavings. Add the chicken to the marinade and toss to coat. Set aside for 10 to 15 minutes while you make the dressing and prepare the salad, or until ready to cook. If you aren't in a hurry, marinate for 1 hour or overnight in the fridge.1 1/2 to 2 lbs chicken, boneless skinless
- Prepare the dressing. Add the olive oil, black pepper, garlic powder, dill, lemon zest, and a pinch of salt to a small bowl. Use a spoon to lightly muddle and crush everything together before stirring in the mayo, sour cream, and feta brine if using. Set aside for at least 10 minutes while you cook the chicken.1/2 cup Greek yogurt or Sour cream, 1/4 cup mayonnaise, 1 tablespoon olive oil, 1/2 teaspoons black pepper, 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder, 1 tsp fresh dill, lemon zest, 1 pinch salt, 1 tablespoon brine from feta or olives
- Pan fry the chicken until golden brown. Add butter and olive oil to a large skillet over medium heat. Once hot add the chicken along with any marinade. Allow the chicken to fry until it begins to turn golden brown and is cooked through. Add additional olive oil or butter as necessary, and season the cooked chicken to taste.3 tablespoons olive oil, 3 tablespoons butter
- Prepare the salad. Add the shredded ice berg lettuce, red onion, cucumber, parsley, bell pepper, cherry tomatoes, and olives to a large salad bowl and toss to combine. You can either dress the salad now or drizzle the dressing over each bowl. If you're meal prepping or making this ahead of time leave the dressing off until you're ready to eat.1 head Iceberg lettuce, 1/2 small red onion or 1 shallot, 1/2 cup cucumber, 1/3 cup fresh parsley, 1 medium bell pepper, 12-15 whole cherry tomatoes, 1/3 cup olives
- Assemble the salad bowls. Add a portion of salad to each bowl. Top with the souvlaki style chicken, and drizzle with the creamy tzatziki dressing. Top with feta cheese and lemon juice before serving.1/3 cup feta cheese
Notes
Nutrition
Nutritional information is calculated using the recipe calculator and verified database available from Cronometer. Although every reasonable effort is made to provide accurate information this estimate is provided as courteously and convenience only. To obtain the most accurate representation of the nutritional information in any given recipe, you should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients used in your recipe.
Try the free recipe calculator at Cronometer
Enjoy!
