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Comment on Our Favorite Chicken Gyros by Jen

Published 1 day ago9 minute read

Greek Chicken Gyros are easy, flavorful, make ahead and healthy – winning!  The combination of juicy Greek lemon chicken, creamy cucumber dill tzatziki, fresh crisp veggies, and tangy feta wrapped in warm pita bread is out of this world.  While the chicken marinates, you can prep the tzatziki, chop the veggies and whip up some lemon rice or Greek pasta salad, so all you have to do is cook the chicken at dinner time.  These chicken gyros are excellent for meal prep, make ahead lunch/dinners, entertaining and leftovers – instructions included.

up close of a chicken gyro with Greek chicken, tomatoes, lettuce and tzatziki wrapped in paper
 

Greek cuisine is one of my all-time favorites.  I never get tired of the fresh Mediterranean flavors and feeling completely full and satisfied from healthy food such as hummus and veggies, souvlaki, or gyro flatbread pizza
Of course, gyros are one of the most popular Greek foods and what I make most often with my Greek chicken recipe, so I thought it was past time that I bring you this fabulous Greek chicken gyro recipe. It is every bit as delicious as your favorite Greek restaurant – and then some.  Here are just a few reasons to love this chicken gyro recipe:

showing how to make Greek chicken gyro recipe with top view of red onions, lettuce, feta, cucumbers, tomatoes, tzatziki
showing what to serve with chicken gyros with a gyro on a plate with Greek rice and salad

I’ve kept this Greek chicken gyro recipe quite traditional (except added lettuce and cucumber) but exceptionally flavorful.  These chicken gyros are made with the most flavorful marinated Greek chicken that can be grilled or cooked on the stove (a readers’ favorite recipe all on its own), then topped with fresh, cool, zingy tzatziki sauce, crisp lettuce, juicy tomatoes, zippy red onions, fresh cucumbers, and tangy feta all cocooned in warm pita bread.

showing how to make chicken gyro recipe by slicing Greek Chicken

Tzatziki sauce is a chilled garlicky Greek yogurt, dill cucumber sauce, dip or spread.  It is lusciously creamy, tangy, super flavorful and a MUST for Greek chicken gyros. 

Tzatziki is made with Greek yogurt, drained cucumbers, garlic, olive oil, fresh dill, lemon juice, salt and pepper.  It is easy to make with the only trick being to drain the cucumbers first. Here’s what you’ll need:

showing how to make chicken gyro recipe with a top view of tzatziki

You are welcome to use as many, as little of the veggies as you like or customize them to your liking.  Here is what I recommend for Greek chicken gyros:

I recommend Greek style pita bread for this chicken gyro recipe. It’s soft, just the right thickness and lays flat because it doesn’t have a hollow inside for stuffing.  If you can’t find hollow pita bread, then the pita pockets can work, but they tend to easily tear.   You’ll know if the pita bread has a pocket or not because it will usually says “pocket” in the name verses “pita flat bread” or “authentic pita bread.”

Let’s take a closer look at how to make this recipe with step-by-step photos (full recipe in the printable recipe card at the bottom of the post):

STEP 1: MARINATE GREEK CHICKEN

showing how to make chicken gyro recipe by adding Greek chicken marinade to a bowlr
showing how to make chicken gyro recipe by adding chicken to Greek marinade

STEP 2: MAKE TZATZIKI

showing how to make chicken gyro recipe by adding tzatziki ingredients to a bowl

STEP 3: CHOP VEGGIES

STEP 4: COOK CHICKEN

STEP 5: HOW TO SERVE CHICKEN GYROS

showing how to make chicken gyro recipe by thinly slicing chicken

Chicken Gyros are practically a meal in themselves stuffed with protein and veggies!  Still, they are fantastic with:

showing what to serve with Greek chicken with a big pot of Greek rice

Here are more fun ways to use serve Greek Gyro leftovers from salads, to pizza, to pasta, to wraps!

up close of Greek chicken gyro on a plate

Chicken gyros and chicken souvlaki are very similar in flavor and both can be served in pitas with tzatziki so they are easy to confuse.  The main difference between the two is the cooking method:
Traditional gyros are cooked as a turning vertical cone of meat and then the meat is thinly sliced off.  Souvlaki, on the other hand, is cooked horizontally on a spit over flames, so basically, our modern-day kabob.  Some souvlaki are served on the skewer, but they can also be taken off the skewer and made into a souvlaki pitas with tzatziki.

At first glance, a gyro and doner kebab can look almost identical, especially because the most popular way to serve both of them is in a pita sandwich or wrap. Both gyros and doner kebab are popular street foods consisting of a marinated cone of stacked sliced meats (most often lamb) that are roasted on a rotating spit then thinly shaved off to order.  Where they differ, however, are the seasonings (AKA flavor!) and toppings:
  The Greek gyro is primarily seasoned with a blend of lemon juice, oregano and garlic with a few additional herbs for a strong, bright lemon/oregano flavor.  Doner kebab is seasoned with cumin, smoked paprika, ground coriander, and cinnamon to create a warm, earthy, smoky, pungent flavor.  
  Another main distinction between doner kebab and Greek gyros are the toppings. While they both can be garnished with lettuce, red onions and tomatoes, Greek gyros are always finished off with tzatziki sauce – a yogurt-based sauce seasoned with cucumbers, garlic and dill. Doner kebab can be finished with tzatziki, but more often it is finished with a yogurt-mayo sauce that doesn’t contain dill or cucumber, simply lemon juice and garlic. It can also be served with tahini or chili sauce instead.  Doner kebab also often contains hummus and tabbouleh.  

At first glance, a gyro and a shawarma can look almost identical, so how are they different?  Like the doner kebab, both are popular street foods made of marinated meat cooked on a rotating spit then thinly shaved off to order.  Again where they differ are seasonings and toppings:
As previously discussed, the Greek gyro is primarily seasoned with a blend of lemon juice, oregano and garlic with a few additional herbs for a strong, bright lemon/oregano flavor.  Shawarma is seasoned with cumin, cardamom, turmeric, cinnamon and cloves to create a warm, earthy, smoky, pungent flavor.  
Another main distinction between Greek gyros and Chicken Shawarma Wraps are the toppings. While they both can be garnished with lettuce, red onions and tomatoes, Greek gyros are always finished off with tzatziki sauce – a yogurt-based sauce seasoned with cucumbers, garlic and dill whereas Chicken Shawarma Wraps can also be finished with a yogurt sauce but it doesn’t contain dill or cucumber, simply lemon juice and garlic; but shawarama can also be finished with hummus, or tahini.  In fact, in Israel, shawarma is almost always served with tahini because yogurt sauce would violate the Jewish dietary restriction of not eating milk and meat together.  Chicken Shawarma Wraps are also often served with pickled mangos known amba and pickled turnips. 

Chicken Gyros are can be part of a well-balanced diet.  They are stuffed with chicken, veggies, and healthy tzatziki sauce.  The chicken breasts are a lean protein low in fat and sodium with zero carbohydrates; the veggies are packed with vitamins and minerals and the tzatziki sauce is high in protein, packed with calcium and also an excellent source of potassium, protein, zinc, and vitamins B6 and B12.  
If you’re looking to make your Greek chicken gyro recipe even healthier, use whole wheat pita bread, flatbread like Flatout Flatbread or low carb tortillas.

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GREEK CHICKEN

    TO SERVE

      GREEK CHICKEN

        TZATZIKI SAUCE

        • Prepare Tzatziki Sauce according to recipe directions while the chicken marinates. Tzatziki is best made in advance and allowed to chill at least one hour in the refrigerator.

        SKILLET DIRECTIONS:

        • Heat one tablespoon olive oil in a large skillet over medium high heat. Once very hot, drain chicken from marinade, pat dry and add to skillet (work in batches if needed).

        • Cook undisturbed for 3-4 minutes, or until nicely browned on one side. Turn chicken over, cover, and reduce heat to medium. Cook for approximately 4-6 more minutes (depending on thickness of chicken), or until chicken is cooked through. Remove to cutting board and let rest 5 minutes before slicing.

        GRILL DIRECTIONS:

        • Grease and preheat the grill to medium heat, 375-450°F.

        • Grill chicken undisturbed for for 5-7 minutes per side, or until chicken is cooked through. (An inserted thermometer should read 165 degrees F.) Remove chicken from grill and let rest 5 minutes before slicing.

        ASSEMBLE

        • Top pitas with lettuce, tomatoes, cucumbers, red onion, chicken and tzatziki sauce.

        • The longer you marinate the Greek chicken, the more flavorful it will become!
        • On the other hand, don’t marinate chicken for longer than 8 hours or it can become tough and chewy.
        • You can add the Greek chicken to the marinade ingredients and freeze.  When you’re ready to use, the chicken will marinate as you defrost the chicken.
        • You can also freeze cooked Greek Chicken for easy meal prep or use-as-you-go individual chicken gyros.   
        • The tzatziki is very best after being refrigerated for at least one hour so the flavors have time to meld; so make tzatziki right after you add the chicken to the marinade.
        •   Tzatziki is a key component in Greek chicken gyros and adds TONS of flavor!  Its creamy consistency is also needed to marry all of the ingredients together.  If you don’t want to make your own tzatziki you can use store-bought.
        •   Don’t skip seeding and draining the cucumbers for lusciously creamy tzatziki.
        • The vegetable ingredients and measurements are simply suggestions- you can use add/swap any ingredients for your favs such as bell peppers, olives, artichoke hearts, avocado, sun-dried tomatoes, etc.
        •   Use pita flatbread and not pita pockets. Warm pitas are softer and roll easier without tearing.
        •   Turn these gyros into a deconstructed chicken gyro salad, grain bowl, flatbread, or pizza.

        The marinated, cooked chicken can stay fresh in the fridge for 3-5 days and is ready to use when needed.  The fresh components should be stored separately so the tomatoes don’t make the rest soggy and stay as fresh as possible. 

        Chicken gyros make excellent meal prep if you want to prep them ahead of time and serve later. If you are meal prepping for at home, then you can easily keep all of the ingredients and store in separate containers in the refrigerator.  If you are meal prepping for-on-the-go lunches, I consolidate the ingredients. I prefer warm Greek chicken, so I divide the chicken from the fresh ingredients. Here’s how: 

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