Chicken Gyros
These chicken gryos are the perfect summer meal. They come together in a snap and they are fresh, flavorful, light, and creamy.
A couple days ago I posted about the soft wrap bread that has changed my life. Don’t roll your eyes, I’m not being dramatic. It really has.
These divine gyros are what graced the soft wrap bread and the combination is fantastic. These gyros have been popping up all over the blogosphere and I am so glad I gave them a chance.
They come together in a snap (after marinating the chicken) and I can honestly say they are one of my favorite meals we’ve eaten all month. That’s saying a lot since I love food.
The chicken is extremely flavorful without being overpowering. And the tzatziki sauce? Oh, my heart. To die for.
Fresh, light, creamy. My husband said to me over dinner, “Why don’t you have a little gyro with your tzatziki sauce.” And of course I took it as a compliment. I love me some tzatziki (I just discovered that fact since this is my first time making it!).
All in all, this is a perfect summer meal. I’m making these again next week we loved them so much, and I suggest you do the same!
What to Serve With This
- Fresh fruit, or this Honey Lime Fruit Salad
- Hummus with fresh vegetables
- Cottage Cheese
Chicken Gyros
Ingredients
For the tzatziki sauce:
- 16 oz. plain yogurt, not fat free unless it is Oikos or Fage or another Greek-type yogurt
- ½ hothouse cucumber or 1 regular cucumber, peeled and seeded (I used 1/2 of an English cucumber)
- 2-3 cloves garlic, pressed through a garlic press (or finely minced)
- 1 teaspoon red wine vinegar
- Salt and pepper
- Squeeze of fresh lemon juice
- Extra virgin olive oil
For the chicken:
- 4 cloves garlic, smashed
- Juice of 1 lemon
- 2 teaspoons red wine vinegar
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 2 heaping tablespoons plain yogurt
- 1 tablespoon dried oregano
- Salt and pepper
- 1 ¼ pounds boneless skinless chicken breasts, cubed
To assemble:
- [Soft wrap bread], or pita bread
- Fresh tomatoes, seeded and diced
- Red onion, sliced thin
Instructions
- To make the tzatziki sauce, strain the yogurt using cheesecloth over a bowl. Let strain for several hours or overnight, if possible, to remove as much moisture as possible. (You won’t believe how much liquid drains from the yogurt – it makes the yogurt much thicker and creamier. If you want to splurge on Greek yogurt, like Oikos or Fage, you won’t need to strain it like this.)
- Shred the cucumber. Wrap in a towel a squeeze to remove as much water as possible. Mix together the strained yogurt, shredded cucumber, garlic, red wine vinegar, salt and pepper to taste, and lemon juice. Drizzle lightly with olive oil. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes before serving to allow the flavors to meld.
- To prepare the chicken, combine the garlic, lemon juice, red wine vinegar, olive oil, yogurt, oregano, and salt and pepper to taste in a medium bowl. Whisk together until mixed well. Add the chicken pieces to the bowl and mix well to coat. Cover and refrigerate for about 1 hour.
- Cook the chicken as desired, either in the skillet or with the broiler. (I sauted them in a hot skillet.) Once the chicken is completely cooked through, transfer to a plate and let rest for 5 minutes.
- Heat pitas. Top with chicken, tzatziki sauce, diced tomatoes and sliced onions. Serve immediately.
Notes
Recommended Products
Recipe Source: adapted slightly from Annie’s Eats (originally from Elly Says Opa!)
We love these with the quick pickled red onions from one of your other recipes – so fresh and yummy!
These are fantastic paired with your soft flat bread recipe! I broiled the chicken pieces on a foil lined sheet pan until the tops were a bit charred and crispy. I quick pickled some red onions since my kids prefer them to raw onions and they were the perfect topping. I think this will be my birthday meal this year. Thanks Mel!
This is one of our favorite recipes. I can’t count how many times we have made this meal. I was wondering if the the chicken can be frozen in the marinade. I was hoping to make this ahead of time.
Yes it can!
Hi Mel, great recipe. I cook a LOT and I am pretty picky about my recipes. I can usually tell if something is going to be good before I even make it. I loved this recipe! I thought it was fantastic. I modified the marinade a tad — my marinade had shredded cucumber in it — not much, but about 1/4 cup. I also used wine instead of vinegar, and I used more overall marinade. Lastly, I marinaded overnight with Chicken thighs instead of breasts and I grilled them whole, then cut into thin slices. When made with the flatbread, it was heaven. Thank you for a wonderful recipe!
Hi Mel, yesterday I made these and they were great especially with your flatbread. But the one thing I didn’t have was cucumber, and in this day of “stay at home” I couldn’t just run down the grocery store and get one. The closest I came was relish. Not having tasted the original, this came out pretty good. However it got me thinking of how great you are with lists and that maybe you could think of a Substitution List for things that are not necessarily home staples. Everyone stay safe, stay well.
Did you have the “life with Mel” website? I’ve been searching for that tzatziki sauce recipe because it was delicious!!!!
I think that’s someone different – sorry!
Oh My,,,,,Just loved these,,,the yogurt sauce make it plus every thing else,,can’t wait to make it with fresh tomatoes this summer.
i love Greek food but usually my husband isn’t a huge fan but he loved these. The chicken had such great flavor and the sauce took it over the top. Never failed me yet with any of your recipes. Perfect spring/summer meal that I will put on rotation for sure.
Just made this tonight, along with the soft wrap bread, and it was SO GOOD. Everyone licked their plates clean (which is HUGE at our house) and many requests to make again. Even used some homemade yogurt, and felt so domestic with everything coming from scratch! I did happen to have a rotisserie chicken in the fridge, so I took precooked chicken from that, but put in the marinade in the fridge for a few hours, and then sauteed it for several minutes to heat it up just before serving. I’m sure I’ll make it with uncooked chicken in the future, but for anyone else who might want to take that shortcut, it came out fabulous.
I’ve made this meal several times and it is fabulous! This morning I found out I was having company for dinner right after church so I made this with some mods. I didn’t have yogurt this time so I used low fat sour cream. My kids actually liked it better that way. I also threw the chicken ingredients in the slow cooker this morning and shredded it when I got home. I’m going to keep this in mind for a great company dinner that can be made ahead of time. With the flatbread and sauce made ahead and the chicken in the slow cooker it’s perfect! My guests loved it. I quadrupled the recipe so I’d have leftovers and I’m glad I did because they gobbled it all up! Thanks for an amazing recipe!
I made this for dinner tonight. It was amazing. Thank-you for the recipe!
BEST chicken ever!!!! Wow, these were awesome! The sauce was really good too! This will be my go to recipe for chicken now, seriously…SO GOOD!! Thanks! 🙂
Thank you, Mel. Great recipe. Have a good weekend!
I made the flat bread yesterday, so of course I’m going to try these today! Of course I looked at the ingredients and thought to myself, yes, I have all of those things. Not so much. I didn’t have the red wine vinegar, so I substituted cider vinegar. Hope that’s not too terrible, although I think my biggest down fall will be that I think I put in too much lemon… oh well, it’s dinner, like it or not! 🙂
Leah – I think tzatziki is a yogurt-cucumber sauce so most sauces I’ve seen on the internet or that I’ve ordered on gyros at restaurants are indeed yogurt based. (Using Greek yogurt works out best in my opinion.)
I have had gyros twice in the past and liked them. Are tzaziki sauces usually yogurt-based? Because I don’t really like yogurt normally, but I do like the sauce that I have had on gyros in the past. Just trying to figure out if I would like the sauce given my aversion to yogurt (it’s the tanginess or something). Thanks!
These really are out of this world. I make them with your soft wrap bread (oh…my…) and the only changes I make to the gyros are to sometimes use fresh oregano in place of the dried for the marinade, and in the tzaziki sauce I use lots of extra red wine vinegar, lemon juice and garlic. (I tend to like bold flavors!) Perfection. Thank you, thank you!
These are so delicious! Another winner to add to my MKC cookbook. My husband liked them but said “they aren’t chicken pillows.” So, I guess chicken pillows are up next on the menu!
So I have made this recipe a couple times and it is so God! I especially love the bread but I was going to make this recipe and it was on my weekly menu when I got a genius idea to use you’re best ever chicken marinade for the chicken and then grill it instead of doing as the recipe says…and let me just tell you….these were out of this world good. My husband and I finished all of the chicken ourselves! But it was oh so good on the gyros. Let me just recommend that everyone in the universe try this…
Love this recipe! My 4 year old loved the tzatziki sauce so much that he ate it with tortillas for lunch, snack and dinner!
Girl! I made these tonight and everyone loved them! I could have made twice as much chicken and I would not have leftovers. I must admit, I did not make pita bread. We have such delicious tortillas at our local grocery store, so I went that route. I served the gyros with lettuce, tomato and red onion. I’m pretty sure I could make this once a week and no one would complain. Thanks for another winner! You are a rock star!
ps hope that sweet baby girl you’re growing is treating you right. 😉
I have a question for you about this one. I plan to make it tomorrow and am just wondering if, since I have Greek yogurt, I still use 16 oz, or if I need less since 16 oz of regular yogurt strained would yield a smaller amount? Also, why doesn’t it work to strain fat-free yogurt? Thanks!
Vicky – I’ve made it with Greek yogurt (and with regular), and when I use Greek yogurt, I use about 12 ounces instead. I think on the fat-free deal, it is because the texture of the fat free regular yogurt, even after straining, is much grainier and less creamy than regular yogurt or fat free Greek yogurt.
This was delicious! My husband doesn’t like cucumber, so he used plain sour cream on his, and I think the idea was about the same. I thought the tzatziki was really too thick, and I might try it using regular (non-strained) plain yogurt next time, just to get it to spread easier (but this was totally fine using Greek yogurt). Also, the recipe made a ton, and I think that half the tzatziki recipe would make enough for the chicken recipe.
Thanks for the great recipes!
Oh My Heavens!!! Thank you so much for posting this recipe. I visited Greece 11 years ago and had not yet found much luck in finding a good tzatziki recipe. I made this dish last night and….WOW!!!! It’s definitely going to into my circulation for dinners on a regular basis. My hubby took the leftover chicken on a bed of salad for lunch today. So happy I “stumbled” upon your site. This morning I threw a pork shoulder in my slow cooker and made your homemade BBQ sauce. Again…..WOW!! It’s not even 10:00 AM and I can’t wait for dinner of Pulled Pork Sandwiches tonight!! With 3 kids under 5, I like extremely yummy foods that doesn’t require hours and gourmet chef skills. Looks like I’ll be a regular on this site! Thanks again!!
I was so excited to try these, and really liked the bread component. Perhaps tartness is not our favorite, and there is a lot of yogurt and lemon in this recipe… but no one liked it! I thought it was ok, but am not raving about it. I do have extra flat bread though, and can’t wait to put cinnamon sugar and butter on it for breakfast tomorrow! I think I might take the leftover chicken and make a wrap with cheese, lettuce, tomato and maybe some sort of dressing instead of the tzatziki. again, I don’t think this is a bad recipe, the flavors I think were just too foreign to our very American palates.
It’s whats for dinner tonight! So can’t wait.
I made this meal this week and I was blown away by the flavor. I was looking for something “different,” and that is exactly what I got. Although it was a little labor intensive, it was worth every minute. My husband raved about it and my boys (2&4) ate all of their gyros. The flavor of the chicken and sauce was fresh and vibrant and the bread was so soft. Awesome job! Thank you for sharing this, Mel. I will definitely make this again.
After stumbling upon your recipe I couldn’t get this out of my head!
But in order for me to enjoy these I’d have to get a little bit creative. (I’m a vegan)
Here’s what I did for an absolutely delicious dinner :
For the ‘tzatziki’ sauce:
16 oz. Plain soy yoghurt made from blending silken Tofu, water, tad of sugar, salt, nutritional yeast, cumin, nutmeg, lemon & AC vinegar (I made it thick like Greek yoghurt)
1/2 hothouse cucumber or 1 regular cucumber, peeled and seeded (I used 1/2 of an English cucumber)
2-3 cloves garlic, pressed through a garlic press (or finely minced)
1 teaspoon red wine vinegar
Salt and pepper
Squeeze of fresh lemon juice
Extra virgin olive oil
For the seitan:
4 cloves garlic, smashed
Juice of 1 lemon
2 teaspoons red wine vinegar
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
2 heaping tablespoons plain soy yogurt
1 tablespoon dried oregano
Salt and pepper
1 1/4 pounds seitan, cubed
I wrapped it all up with onion and tomato in a pre-made wrap and had the most blissful dinner 🙂
And I gotta tell you – this is one of the best “gyros” I’ve had in a while – it tastes so much like the real deal! It’s a great recipe ‘even’ with the seitan instead of chicken. So it’s easily transformed into a vegetarian or vegan recipe!
Thanks for inspiring me Mel!
Who knows why it didn’t strain, because it was the cheap stuff from Wal-mart…but it turned out delicious. Thanks for such a great recipe! I doubled this and served it to my extended family and everyone enjoyed, and the bread wraps…too. die. for! Sure appreciate this site and all the hard work you put into it.
Hayley – I’m glad this meal worked out for you, non-straining yogurt and all!
So excited to make these tonight! I put my yogurt in the fridge with cheesecloth and a strainer last night and there is no liquid in the bowl this morning…so I’m a little worried. Do I just give it time, or do you think I’m doing something wrong? There is 2 layers of cloth in some spots, is that a problem do you think?
Hayley – sorry for the delay in getting back to you. Did it work out? It shouldn’t be a problem if liquid didn’t drain from the yogurt. That probably means the yogurt you used was a higher-quality or a greek yogurt that is already strained. Let me know how it turned out.
I’ve been wanting to make these forever, but I was a little intimidated by the soft bread wrap component. So silly–it was easy! I finally got my act together and I have to say that this is in my top three favorite things I’ve made of yours. The chicken was so delicious–marinating in yogurt tenderizes it like crazy, and the lemon/oregano flavors were so bright. And then there’s the bread. Oh that bread. These are some of the quotes from dinner: “I would like to have my clothes made of that bread, and then I would eat them off.” And from my child who lives on air and peanut butter, “This is the best night ever!!” (Mind you, he ate his wrap with peanut butter and not chicken, but still–huge success!) So you get a huge standing ovation from the MalleyCats. Thank you!
Reyna – laughing my guts out at the dinner comments. Seriously. You are hilarious (and so are your kids!).