Greek Chicken Gyros
These easy Greek Chicken Gyros transport you to the Mediterranean
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Authentic Greek Chicken Gyros are super simple and so delicious.
The lemony chicken, fresh vegetables, creamy cucumber Tzatziki sauce, and tangy feta cheese will fill you with the taste of the Mediterranean. As an added bonus, chicken gyros are also healthy!
I always start by trimming up my boneless skinless chicken breasts. I like to take the little fat that may have been left on them and cut that off as well as anything that looks like it could make the chicken a bit tough.
The next step is to make the creamy Greek yogurt marinade.
I use non fat Greek yogurt but you can use whatever type you like.
Freshly squeezed lemon juice is a must for this. Although there isn’t much of it in the marinade it gives it such a bright flavor. Please don’t skimp and use the stuff in a bottle or in those little plastic lemon containers. That may be fine for some things, but not for this recipe. (Besides, I just love using my citrus juicer for this)
I’ve had several people tell me that they don’t like red wine vinegar and asked if they really had to use it. Yes! I promise you will not taste it, but it does give it just the right flavor as well as helping to make the chicken tender.
Greek Seasoning
I know many of you may not have Greek Seasoning just hanging out in your spice cabinet (unless you are a person that has become hooked on Greek or Mediterranean food like me).
If you don’t have Greek Seasoning you can substitute Italian Seasoning. That being said, you really should pick up some Greek Seasoning and try it.
I personally love Cavender’s Greek Seasoning. I am never without it.
Cavender’s Greek Seasoning is great in this recipe, but it is also fantastic on grilled pork chops, fish, grilled chicken and vegetables.
They even make a Salt Free Cavender’s if you are watching your salt intake.
Whisk all of the Greek Marinade ingredients together and place the chicken in a gallon Ziploc bag, pouring the marinade over the chicken. Squeeze out the air, seal the bag, and pop it into the refrigerator.
This can marinate anywhere from an hour to 4 hours. I personally wouldn’t let it go past 4 hours as it may change the texture of the chicken.
Tzatziki Sauce
Tzatziki sauce is a mixture of cucumber, Greek yogurt and a few other things. If you have never had this you really should give it a try.
Here is a link for our Homemade Tzatziki Sauce. It is very simple and is the perfect compliment to our Greek Chicken Gyros.
You can make this Tzatziki Sauce really quick while you are waiting for that chicken to marinate or you can make it a day ahead.
Next Step – Grill The Greek Chicken
When you remove the chicken from the Ziploc bag, let the extra marinade drop off. You do not have to wipe it off and it will still have some of the onions and garlic on it, that’s OK.
Make sure that you spray the grates of the grill with either a cooking spray or brush the grates with olive oil. This will prevent the chicken from sticking to the grill grates.
I love using my little indoor grill for this recipe. I have a Cuisinart Electric Griddler that I absolutely love. You can see it HERE! Not only does it grill meat and vegetables wonderfully, but I also use it as a griddle and as a Panini Press for sandwiches.
Make sure your Greek Chicken reaches a temperature of at least 165 degrees. I personally like my chicken at 175 degrees. It’s a texture thing.
Always use an instant read thermometer to make sure the chicken is cooked. No one wants under cooked chicken!
Assembling The Greek Chicken Gyros
I have found the best way to do this is to assemble on a piece of aluminum foil.
Lay the pita bread down on the foil. Then place your thinly sliced chicken strips onto the pita. Top with onions, tomato, lettuce, feta cheese, Kalamata Olives and of course our Homemade Tzatziki sauce.
After the gyro is assembled, roll it up and then wrap the foil around it. This will help to keep everything inside of the pita while you’re eating.
Enjoy
Greek Chicken Gyros
Ingredients
Marinate
- 4 boneless skinless pounded to ½ inch thickness
- 1⅓ cup red onion chopped
- ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil plus extra for brushing
- ¼ cup fresh lemon juice
- 3 tbsp plain non fat Greek yogurt
- t tbsp red wine vinegar
- 2 garlic cloves minced
- 1 tbsp Greek seasoning I use Cavanders
- salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
For Serving
- red onion thinly sliced
- tomato diced
- pita bread I like Joseph's
- Tzatziki Sauce Our recipe is fantastic! Check it out!
- feta
- lettuce
- Kalamata olives
- Hummus
Instructions
Greek Chicken
- Trim chicken breasts, removing any fat.
- Combine and whisk together olive oil, lemon juice, yogurt, red wine vinegar, chopped red onion, garlic, Greek seasoning, salt and pepper.
- Place chicken in a gallon Ziploc bag and pour in marinade. Make sure all the chicken is coated with marinade, remove air from bag and close.
- Place in the refrigerator for 1 to 4 hours.
- Preheat grill and brush grates with olive oil so that chicken does not stick.
- Cook chicken until done, 165°. Let chicken rest about 10 minutes before slicing into thin pieces lengthwise.
Greek Chicken Gyros
- Lay pita flat (do not try to make a pita pocket)
- If adding Hummus, spread down middle of the pita
- Add a few strips of chicken
- Get creative and add the rest of your toppings
- Roll up Gyro and wrap with foil to hold it together. Slice in half and enjoy
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2 Comments
Jay
This is really good, everyone in my family loved it. One thing I did after I cut the chicken up was lightly sprinkle more Greek seasoning on it. It really takes it to another level and gives it that traditional Greek gyro taste.
I didn’t have red onion so used white, it was still really good, but will try it with red onions next time. I know red onions are the best for gyros.
The tzatziki sauce was delicious, but I had to mix in some xanthun gum to thicken it. That could have been my fault for not drying the cucumbers. Also, the recipe says to dice the cucumber, but I would suggest grating it instead.
Other than that I love this recipe. Thanks for sharing.
Two Southern Sweeties
I’m so glad you loved it!! I will have to try it with the extra Greek seasoning on it after cutting it up.
~Tracey