A simple marinade is all you need to make these easy, healthy, and flavorful beef Souvlaki kebabs with tzatziki sauce.
This week has been the big, sudden HELLO to Spring I’ve been needing. I’ve only been waiting four months for it since the first snow fell in our backyard but I it’s finally here and I am celebrating. Celebrating with backyard pb+j picnics, walks around the neighborhood, sandals, swimsuit shopping, and kebabs. Kebabs are such a warm-weather food in my mind and this warm-weather week definitely calls for kebabs.
I swear it was the Winter that just wouldn’t end. We’ve had longer Winter seasons for sure around here, with snow into April and May even. But for some reason this Winter d r u g on and on, maybe it’s because I’m now sharing my seasons with two very energetic toddlers who’ve breaking down the door to get outside but this particular Winter could not end soon enough and I’m so glad we’re out of snow shoveling season and into kebab season.
I think these Greek-inspired marinated beef Souvlaki kebas are the perfect kickoff to Summer-y eats. To grilling and bbqs and later evenings. This tasty recipe is so easy with a simple beef marinade including some olive oil, garlic, oregano, s+p, and freshly squeezed lemon juice. Shake that all up in a bag with your steak and let it hang out in the fridge for at least an hour, but if you’ve got the time they taste a even better after 8 hours or even a whole day of marinating.
If you’re a think-ahead-er, do all of the prep the night before – even the tzatziki sauce – and simple grill or bake your skewers the next day when you’re ready to eat. The tzatziki sauce gets more flavor too the longer it marinates so the whole make ahead the night before thing is really a win-win all around.
Buuuut if you’re a fly by the seat of your pants, last minute whip it up kind of person (I get that. I soooooo get it.) then these kebabs are still for you. Even an hour of marinating will turn some simple steaks into flavorful kebabs, ready for dipping into your cool and creamy tzatziki cucumber sauce.
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 3 teaspoons minced garlic
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh oregano (or 1 tablespoon dried)
- 1 teaspoon salt (or to taste)
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- juice of 1 medium lemon
- 1 1/2 – 2 pounds thick-cut steak (sirloin or new york strip work well)
- tzatziki sauce
- 1 medium cucumber, peeled and sliced + 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 2 cups cold plain Greek yogurt
- 4 teaspoons minced garlic
- 1/3 cup chopped dill, fresh or frozen (may sub 2 tablespoons dried dill)
- 1 1/2 tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice
- 1/2 tsp salt, or to taste
- 1/8 tsp black pepper, or to taste
- Chop steak into 1-inch pieces and set aside. Combine oil, garlic, oregano, salt, pepper, and lemon juice and stir to combine. Combine steak and marinade in a large zip lock bag, press as much as the air out as you can, and seal. Chill for 1 hour or up to 24 hours (the longer you can marinate the more tender and flavorful the meat will be).
- Spread cucumber slices out on a paper towel. Sprinkle generously with salt on both sides and allow to rest for 5 minutes. Wrap cucumber slices in paper towels, squeeze excess liquid out, and transfer to a food processor or blender. Add remaining sauce ingredients to blender and pulse until smooth and creamy. Chill until ready to use.
- When ready to cook your kebabs, thread the steak pieces onto skewers and discard marinade. Grill over medium-high heat for 10-12 minutes, rotating throughout to ensure even cooking. Alternately you can bake them in a large baking dish arranged in a single layer at 400 degrees for 30-40 minutes until cooked through.
- Garnish with chopped oregano and serve immediately with prepared tzatziki sauce.
hey girl- yummy!
Love the presentation of the glass to dip in! Stealing that trick right away.-Laurel
Very good kebabs. Thanks very much for the recipe!
Please disable the autoplay videos as they are very annoying and make me think twice about checking out your recipes.