Greek Lamb Souvlaki is the dish that introduced me to Greek Food, and I’ve loved these grilled lamb skewers for years! And this Lamb Souvlaki recipe has classic Greek flavors with olive oil, lemon juice, and oregano used to marinate the lamb!

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Greek Lamb Souvlaki finished lamb skewers on serving plate

Greek Lamb Souvlaki is the first Greek food I remember ever tasting as a college student, and it was the beginning of a long love affair with Greek flavors for me. And this recipe was back in the archives for years, so recently I bought some leg of lamb from Costco and made Greek Lamb Souvlaki with Jake so we could update the photos.

And it was so much fun to make the Lamb Souvlaki, take new photos, and eat some, and Jake was happy to get some of the leftovers.

If you like Greek food, this recipe is simple to make and I think it’s a perfect main dish any time you don’t mind splurging a bit on some lamb. And if you’re lucky enough to be celebrating warm weather by cooking something on the grill, enjoy!

What ingredients do you need for this recipe?

(This is only a list of ingredients; please scroll down for complete printable recipe. Or if you use the JUMP TO RECIPE link at the top of the page, it will take you directly to the complete recipe.)

What is Souvlaki?

Wikipedia defines Souvlaki as “a popular Greek fast food consisting of small pieces of meat and sometimes vegetables, grilled on a skewer.” And although in the U.S. this is almost always called Souvlaki, the plural form is Souvlakia, so when there are multiple skewers like you see in my photo that would be called Lamb Souvlakia in Greece.

What lamb did we use for Greek Lamb Souvlaki?

For this Souvlaki recipe with lamb we used leg of lamb that we cut into cubes and trimmed off most of the fat.

How low in carbs is this Lamb Souvlaki recipe?

This amazing Souvlaki made with lamb only has about 3 net carbs per serving.

What other meats can you use for Souvlaki?

The meat used most for Souvlaki in Greece is pork, and on my blog I have a recipe for Kalyn’s Pork Souvlaki.  I’m also a fan of Chicken Souvlaki, which is fairly common in the U.S. but not as popular in Greece.

What Flavors Are Most Common in Greek Food?

The most essential herb in Greek cooking is oregano, and it must be Greek Oregano, as opposed to Mexican Oregano, which truly does have a different flavor. In Greece, most cooks have a jar of dried oregano right by the stove, and the dried version is often preferred over fresh oregano, since drying concentrates the flavor. Greek dishes also use a lot of mint, dill, onion, garlic, rosemary, and bay leaves. Read more at Wikipedia about Greek Cuisine.

Want more ideas for grilled meat?

There are lots of good ideas for grilled meats of every kind in my round-ups of Keto Beef, Pork, and Lamb on the Grill and Amazing Keto Steak Recipes.

Greek Lamb Souvlaki process shots collage of recipe steps.

How to make Greek Lamb Souvlaki: 

(This is only a summary of the steps for the recipe; please scroll down for complete printable recipe. Or if you use the JUMP TO RECIPE link at the top of the page, it will take you directly to the complete recipe.)

  1. Cut lamb into cubes about one inch square. I started with two pounds of lamb and trimmed off most of the fat; take your choice on that.
  2. Mix together olive oil, lemon juice, dried Greek Oregano, and granulated garlic or garlic powder.
  3. Put lamb cubes inside a Ziploc bag (or use a plastic container with a tight lid), add the marinade, and marinate the lamb cubes about 4 hours in the refrigerator.
  4. Dump the lamb and marinade into a colander placed in the sink, drain off the marinade, and let lamb come to room temperature while you heat the grill to medium-high.
  5. Thread lamb cubes on to skewers. If you don’t have blade-type skewers (affiliate link) like these great skewers I bought in Turkey or double skewers for kabobs (affiliate link) be sure to push the cubes of lamb tightly together so they don’t spin around on the grill.
  6. Place skewers on the grill and rotate every 2-3 minutes to get nice grill marks on the meat.
  7. Cook lamb about 8 minutes for medium rare or 9-10 minutes for medium, but don’t overcook.
  8. Season cooked lamb with a little salt and fresh-ground black pepper and serve hot.
  9. Souvlaki is great served with The World’s Best Tzatziki Sauce.

Close-up photo for Greek Lamb Souvlaki

Make it a low-carb Meal:

Greek Lamb Souvlaki would taste great with American Greek Salad, Easy Grilled Vegetables, Greek Salad with Peppers, Greek Dip with Tomatoes and Feta, or Chopped Greek Salad with Peperoncini for a low-carb meal.

More Delicious Grilled Food with Greek Flavors:

Close-up photo for Greek Lamb Souvlaki
Yield: 4 servings

Greek Lamb Souvlaki

Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 10 minutes
Total Time 30 minutes

Greek Lamb Souvlaki is the dish that introduced me to Greek Food, and I love these skewers with marinated lamb.

Ingredients

Souvlaki Ingredients:

  • 2 lb. leg of lamb (or slightly less if there isn't much fat to be trimmed)
  • olive oil or non-stick grill spray for brushing or spraying the grill

Marinade Ingredients:

  • 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil (preferably Greek olive oil)
  • 3 T fresh-squeezed lemon juice (see notes)
  • 1 tsp. dried Greek Oregano
  • 1 tsp. garlic powder or dried granulated garlic (I prefer not to use freshly chopped garlic because it can burn on the grill.)
  • salt and fresh ground pepper to taste

Instructions

  1. I started with two pounds leg of lamb and trimmed off most of the fat; take your choice on that. If your lamb doesn't have much fat you might not need two pounds
  2. Cut lamb into cubes a little over one inch square.
  3. Whisk together olive oil, lemon juice, dried Greek Oregano (affiliate link), and granulated garlic or garlic powder to make the marinade.
  4. Put the lamb cubes inside a Ziploc bag (or use a plastic container with a snap-tight lid) and add the marinade.
  5. Marinate the lamb cubes at least 4 hours (or marinating all day wont' hurt) in the refrigerator.
  6. Dump the lamb and marinade into a colander placed in the sink, drain off the marinade, and let lamb cubes come to room temperature while you heat the grill to medium-high heat.
  7. Thread lamb cubes on to skewers. If you don't have blade-type skewers like these great skewers I bought in Turkey or double skewers for kabobs be sure to push the cubes of lamb tightly together so they won't spin around on the grill. (affiliate links)
  8. Place skewers on the grill and rotate every 2-3 minutes to get nice grill marks on the meat.
  9. Cook lamb about 8 minutes for medium rare or 9-10 minutes for medium, but don't overcook.
  10. Season cooked lamb with a little salt and fresh-ground black pepper and serve hot.
  11. Souvlaki is great served with The World's Best Tzatziki Sauce.

Notes

I used my fresh-frozen lemon juice for this recipe. Use more or less lemon juice to taste; I like quite a bit of lemon.

Recipe inspired by The Frugal Gourmet Cooks Three Ancient Cuisines, one of my favorite cookbooks. (affiliate link)

Nutrition Information:

Yield:

4

Serving Size:

1

Amount Per Serving: Calories: 744Total Fat: 54gSaturated Fat: 18gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 33gCholesterol: 211mgSodium: 297mgCarbohydrates: 3gFiber: 0gSugar: 0gProtein: 58g

Nutrition information is automatically calculated by the Recipe Plug-In I am using. I am not a nutritionist and cannot guarantee 100% accuracy, since many variables affect those calculations.

Did you make this recipe?

Did you make this recipe? Please leave a star rating (under the PRINT button in the recipe) or share a photo of your results on Instagram! THANKS!

Greek Lamb Souvlaki shown on serving plate with Tzatziki in background.

Low-Carb Diet / Low-Glycemic Diet / South Beach Diet Suggestions:
Greek Lamb Souvlaki is a great dish for low-carb or Keto diet plans, and most low-carb dieters probably wouldn’t mind a bit of fat left on the meat. Lamb is a limited food for the South Beach Diet, due to the amount of fat, but if you trim the fat well you could eat this for an occasional treat.

Find More Recipes Like This One:
Use Grilling Recipes to find more recipes like this one. Use the Diet Type Index to find recipes suitable for a specific eating plan. You might also like to follow Kalyn’s Kitchen on Pinterest, on Facebook, on Instagram, on TikTok, or on YouTube to see all the good recipes I’m sharing there.

Historical Notes for this Recipe:
This Lamb Souvlaki recipe was first posted in 2007! The recipe was updated with better photos in 2019 and last updated with more information in 2024.

Pinterest image of Greek Lamb Souvlaki

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