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Two plates of pork souvlaki kebabs. In the background is one square plate has pork kebabs on top of a bread garnished with lettuce on the sides. At the foreground is one rectangular plate of several pieces of pork souvlaki.

Pork Souvlaki & Marinade Recipe: How to Make Souvlaki From Scratch

Last Modified: April 17, 2018 // by Tracy Ariza, DDS // May 9, 2015 I may receive a commission if you purchase through links in this post. Learn more here.

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This pork souvlaki marinade recipe will help you prepare a perfectly seasoned and tender souvlaki.

This pork souvlaki marinade recipe will help you prepare a perfectly seasoned and tender souvlaki.
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Eating souvlaki was one of those things that I enjoyed back home at our city’s summer festival each year. Not only was it my mom’s favorite booth, but it always seemed to be one of the most popular food booths. It’s not surprising at all, of course, because it was delicious.

Now that I live in a different country, it has been a long time since I’ve been able to visit the Festival of the Arts and eat that wonderful souvlaki. I haven’t forgotten the extraordinary combination of flavors, though.

Fast forwarding to a couple of years ago when I first started living in Spain, we went to visit one of my aunts who lives in the province of Seville, and she served us some delicious grilled pork chops that completely reminded me of the souvlaki I had always loved eating growing up. It made me realize that making my own delicious souvlaki wasn’t out of my reach, and I asked her how she had made her pork chops to get an idea for how to make my own.

She happily told me that her marinade was just a combination of olive oil, lemon, garlic, oregano and thyme.

I was amazed by how flavorful something so simple could really be!

It turns out that the secret to making good souvlaki is having a good pork souvlaki marinade recipe. Being able to cook it over a grill only makes it better!

Want to learn how?

Here’s the pork souvlaki marinade recipe that I’ve developed and have been using, based on the ingredients in my aunt’s pork chop marinade.

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This pork souvlaki marinade recipe will help you prepare a perfectly seasoned and tender souvlaki.

Pork Souvlaki Marinade Recipe

4.18 from 23 votes
Print Rate
Author: Tracy Ariza, DDS

Ingredients

  • 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
  • 1 lemon juiced
  • 4 cloves garlic
  • 2 Tbsp. oregano
  • 1 Tbsp. thyme
  • salt to taste
  • 800 g pork I used pork shoulder

Instructions

  • Cube your pork into pieces that will comfortably fit onto a skewer, and place them into a bowl that is large enough to hold all of the pork easily.
  • Mince your garlic and add it to your bowl, along with your salt.
    This pork souvlaki marinade recipe will help you prepare a perfectly seasoned and tender souvlaki.
  • Add the juice of your lemon, the olive oil, and add in your herbs. I prefer to use fresh herbs and bruise them a little before adding them so that they’ll give off more of their flavors. If using dried herbs, you can use smaller quantities.
    This pork souvlaki marinade recipe will help you prepare a perfectly seasoned and tender souvlaki.
  • Mix all of your ingredients together, making sure that the meat is well coated in the pork souvlaki marinade. Cover and refrigerate for at least half an hour. Several hours is even better. (I left mine overnight.)
  • When you are ready to grill your souvlaki, remove it from the pork souvlaki marinade and push your skewers through the pieces of meat.
    This pork souvlaki marinade recipe will help you prepare a perfectly seasoned and tender souvlaki.
  • Grill on high heat, turning occasionally until the meat is cooked through and browned as desired.
    This pork souvlaki marinade recipe will help you prepare a perfectly seasoned and tender souvlaki.

Notes

This marinade also works wonderfully for marinading chicken.
When adding salt, I usually only add a pinch of salt to the marinade, and then salt the finished, grilled souvlaki. That way everybody can adjust the saltiness to their liking.
Course Main Dish
Cuisine Greek, Mediterranean
Tried this recipe? Tag me today!Mention @thethingswellmake or tag #thethingswellmake!

Once you have your souvlaki ready, you’re ready to serve it with pitas and/or rice. Since I’ve been having issues with wheat, I made myself some grain free pitas to serve with the souvlaki. I wish I had thought to place them on the grill before serving them. That would have made them even better!

This pork souvlaki marinade recipe will help you prepare a perfectly seasoned and tender souvlaki.

Want to make your own grain free pitas?

I’ll share my recipe with you soon. I promise!! 🙂

Other than that, souvlaki is also good served with tzsatziki sauce (or just use greek yogurt like I usually do), cucumbers, and other grilled veggies. You can see in my pictures that I love grilling up padron peppers to accompany these sorts of Mediterranean meals.

Category: Condiments & Sauces, Lunch & Dinner, Recipes

About Tracy Ariza, DDS

Tracy Ariza, B.A., D.D.S., left dentistry and the United States to found Oh, The Things We’ll Make!, writing to you from the Spanish Riviera. She loves making things herself in order to keep control of what goes in them. While far from perfect, she strives each day to live a healthier, more sustainable lifestyle.

Previous Post: « Homemade solar water heater made out of coiled black water hose laid on the ground next to a white water tank. Homemade Solar Water Heater
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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Allan Gilsig

    June 7, 2019 at 3:07 AM

    Souvlaki is street food in the large Greek neighborhood of Montreal called Park Extension where I spent my first 49 years. I have since moved to Indiana and have introduced my wife to this amazing dish. It’s been a while,think I’ll make some this weekend and yes it works great with pork tenderloin.

    Reply
  2. Polly

    August 21, 2016 at 3:08 PM

    Would pork tenderloin work in this recipe?

    Reply
    • Tracy Ariza

      August 22, 2016 at 12:47 AM

      Hi Polly,
      Pork tenderloin should work well in the recipe. The marinade should help tenderize the tenderloins, which I think is important because they have less fat than a pork shoulder, which is what I usually use.
      I personally like a cut with more fat in it, but I think a tenderloin would turn out well for a leaner version.

      Reply
  3. Travis

    August 10, 2016 at 11:02 PM

    I live in Grand Rapids and love the recipe. You recreated it very well!

    Reply
    • Tracy Ariza

      August 11, 2016 at 8:52 AM

      Hi Travis,
      Thank you!
      Well, I have to admit I’m a bit jealous. I haven’t been back to Grand Rapids in awhile. We made it back to the US this year, but my mom went down to Disney World to see us there because we wanted to bring my son there before he outgrows it. (Not that you can really ever outgrow Disney.) 😉
      I still have other family there that I’d love to see, though.
      Say “Hi” to the city for me. Hopefully I’ll be over there again soon.

      Reply
  4. A_Boleyn

    May 20, 2015 at 12:36 AM

    I have to admit that I use Kraft’s salad dressing as my pork or chicken marinade. The sun-dried tomato & oregano or feta & oregano are all delicious.

    Reply
    • Tracy Ariza

      May 20, 2015 at 10:42 AM

      Thanks for your comment.
      Living here in Spain, those sorts of dressings aren’t readily available, but even if they were, I have gotten in the habit of making salad dressings (and pretty much everything, for that matter) myself. Not only do I find that they taste better, but it helps me avoid any unwanted ingredients in the commercial brands.
      This marinade recipe is very quick and easy, so it should be an alternative that anybody can make in a matter of minutes.

      Reply
  5. Rachel

    May 15, 2015 at 8:58 AM

    Goodness, sounds so simple and delish!

    Reply
    • Tracy Ariza

      May 15, 2015 at 2:00 PM

      Thanks, Rachel.
      This is one of my favorites!
      I love sweet potato and sausage, too. I think I´m going to head over and check that out! 😉
      Have a great weekend.

      Reply
  6. Tash

    May 12, 2015 at 8:52 PM

    These sound amazing and I love your olive oil bottle 🙂

    Reply
  7. Jessica

    May 12, 2015 at 5:55 PM

    This looks great. I’ll try it soon because I have some pork to use.

    Reply
  8. Andrea Fabry

    May 12, 2015 at 5:49 PM

    This is awesome! I have never done much with pork shoulder. This looks doable and so delicious. Great photos!

    Reply
  9. Emily @ Recipes to Nourish

    May 12, 2015 at 5:46 PM

    This sounds delicious! My husband would love this. Lovely flavor combos.

    Reply
  10. Krystal

    May 12, 2015 at 4:34 PM

    Oh my goodness Tracy this looks so delicious!! I’m totally gonna try this marinade and yes please to the grain free pita recipe. In the meantime I’ll just make your flaxseed paleo tortillas.. 😉

    Reply

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Hello, I’m Tracy!

I love making my own natural products like soaps and lotions and my own pantry items like yogurt and salad dressings.
Why do I do it? Sometimes to save money, sometimes because it's healthier, but I always love having control of the ingredients!​
Oh, the things we'll make!...

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