Greek Chicken Pita Pockets {Slow Cooker}
Slow Cooker + unique and flavorful spices + tender chicken + crunchy fresh veggies = Greek chicken pita pockets. A perfect, easy meal!
This meal is so fantastically delicious, you need to make it.
Like today.
Slow Cooker + unique and flavorful spices + tender chicken + crunchy fresh veggies = a perfect weeknight meal to kick off the start of the school year (for those that care about school years and fast dinners).
If you feel the need to be a regular Betty Crocker, make your own pita bread, and this meal will go from great to really great. Wow. I’m killing myself with eloquent descriptions tonight. You get what I mean, though, right? Make this. It’s delish.
Peace out.
What to Serve With This
One Year Ago: The Best Zucchini Bread
Two Years Ago: Butter and Garlic Shrimp Penne
Three Years Ago: Apple Cider Pudding Cake
Greek Chicken Pita Pockets {Slow Cooker}
Ingredients
- 1 medium white or yellow onion, sliced into thin half moons
- 1 clove garlic, finely minced
- 1 ½ pounds boneless skinless chicken breasts
- 1 ½ teaspoons lemon pepper
- ½ teaspoon dried oregano
- ¼ teaspoon ground allspice
- 4 pita pocket breads, cut in half
- ½ cup plain yogurt
- 1 medium tomato, sliced or diced
- ½ cup chopped cucumber
- 1 medium red bell pepper, sliced in thin strips
Instructions
- In a slow cooker, combine the onion, garlic, chicken, lemon pepper, oregano, and allspice. Turn the chicken so that it is coated with the seasonings. Cover and cook on low for 5-6 hours.
- Remove the chicken and onions from the slow cooker with a slotted spoon. Shred the chicken into bite-sized pieces. Cover the chicken and onion mixture and keep warm. Whisk the yogurt into remaining juices/seasonings in the slow cooker. Spoon some of the chicken and onions into each pocket of the pita bread (or just place the chicken and onions on top of another round bread that can be rolled up, like this soft wrap bread or other flatbread). Top with tomato, cucumber and red pepper strips. Drizzle warm yogurt sauce on top and serve immediately.
Notes
Recommended Products
Recipe Source: adapted from 365 Days of Slow Cooking
Not my favorite. The chicken had a good flavor to it but the sauce was pretty flavorless and didn’t add much to meal. I feel like it just made the pita bread soggy, if anything. I did pair it with the Mel’s Simple Pita Bread. I mostly just tasted bread, adding BBQ sauce to it to give it some sort of flavor.
Entire family enjoyed this simple and tasty dinner tonight! They even gobbled the vegetables without complaint because the chicken was so delicious. Used a generous amount of Penzey’s Trinidad Lemon Garlic seasoning.
Sorry this may be a dumb question, but I have never cooked chicken in my crock pot without liquid (like chicken broth). Does this cook for 5-6 hours with no liquid? How does it not dry out/burn?
That’s a good question, Karalyn. This has worked fine in my slow cooker but if your slow cooker cooks hot, I’d suggest adding maybe 1/2 cup of broth or so.
Hey Mel, what would this be like without the onions? Could I substitute them with anything? I LOVE your recipes by the way and have made dozens…and dozens…and probably even more dozens! Thank you!!!
You could probably leave them out! If you have onion powder…try adding a teaspoon of that. So happy you love the recipes! 🙂
I made this for dinner tonight, and loved it! My kids were not big fans, however. Obviously I need to try new recipes more often. The home made pitas were much yummier than the store bought. Also, being the dork that I am, it took me a couple to realize that I needed to layer the chicken and vegetables like a sandwich, not like a taco.
I am looking for a recipe to make for a mom who is nursing and can’t have dairy. Do you think this will still be delicious enough without the yogurt, or should I find something else? I will keep looking but this looks so tasty. 🙂
Sure, I think it would still be ok!
No salt?
It’s always a good idea to salt and pepper to taste.
Hi! I just found this recipe. Can I subsitute the plain yogurt for greek yogurt?
I think so although it might be more watery than if using the thicker Greek yogurt.
Mel, I am new to your site and I love it!! Do you cook your chicken for a little while and drain the grease off before adding the seasonings? I get confused when I am supposed to do this or whether its part of the juices. The last recipe that I did, didn’t mention doing this and it ended up being way to greasy.
Do you mean in the slow cooker, Lindsay? No, I don’t remove it or any liquid before adding the seasonings although if you are worried about the fat, you could. I usually use very lean boneless, skinless chicken breasts so there isn’t a lot of excess grease.
today I tried to do greek chicken pita pocket and I found it was delicious.thanks for an awesome recipe
Thanks! We went ahead with frozen anyways and ended up getting back to it late, so it all worked out. The chicken practically fell apart on it’s own when it came time to shred it, the whole thing turned out great. Thanks for an awesome recipe! It’ll definitely be going into regular rotation. 🙂
Does the chicken have to be thawed for the times given? How much more time should I let it cook if it’s frozen? Is that even recommended? I’m kinda new at the slow cooker, still trying to figure out adjustments and substitutions.
Cat DuFoe – Usually an extra 30 minutes is enough for frozen chicken. I use frozen chicken all the time and it thaws pretty quickly in the slow cooker.
I made your homemade flatbread a couple of days ago. The first day we made mini pizzas with it and yesterday we made this and and served it in the flatbread. My small children loved the look of the pizza but turned their noses up at this dish. Then they tasted it and my 8yo boy and 6yo girl started fighting over who would get to make it on their dinner night. We all loved it. It was very quick and easy and so yummy! Thanks!
I made this and the homemade pitas. It was light, refreshing, and tummy satisfying. I am definitely going to make this again. Thank you for all that you do!
Delicious recipe! We served it over rice, and it was a hit with everyone! Thanks 😉
Awesome meal!!!
I made this yesterday AND made the homemade pitas (although only one of the six puffed the tiniest bit- oh well, we just cut them and used them as pitas anyway- delicious!) and my children devoured these!!! I really liked them, but my kids LOVED them! I actually wouldn’t have guessed they would, because they are SO picky lately! Good luck with your move, Mel! We sure love your recipes, and appreciate your efforts:)
I made this with chicken thighs, and cooked it in the pressure cooker because I forgot to throw it in the crock pot in the morning. It was really tasty. I’m sure it would have been a thousand times better with homemade pitas, but we still enjoyed it. Thanks!
Hey Sarah – I’m sorry to hear that! Looks like if people are worried about burned chicken, it would be safer to add 1/4 to 1/2 cup of chicken broth. I haven’t had that problem when I’ve made it but every slow cooker can cook at different temps.
hmmm….I made this today, on low, 5 hours and the chicken did burn and was dry dry dry. I wonder what went wrong? I should have read the comments first!!! Mel I hope you have a great move and get settled into your home soon. Thanks for all the great recipes!
Stefanie – my chicken didn’t burn at all with no added liquid. I suppose if you have a slow cooker that cooks excessively hot, it might not hurt to add 1/4 cup of liquid but you don’t want it to be overly liquidy. The slow cooker, based on how it cooks, creates moisture and liquid so even without adding any, it still creates delicious juices from the chicken and spices.
This looks awesome, but I am wondering if you need to add stock or any moisture to the chicken before cooking? I’m afraid it will burn. I kept double checking the recipe, but do not see anything! Thanks 🙂
Very, very good but the recipe calls for too much pepper and not enough yoghurt. Cut the pepper in half, double the yoghurt, maybe add 6 oz of white wine to the sauce before serving, and this could be a 4- or 5-star winner.
Just came across your site. This recipe looks simple and satisfying. I love anything slow cooked. I will definitely give this a try, as right now I am cooking a slow cooker lasagna. I will be passing this recipe on to my friends and family as I think this will be great for work and school lunch boxes. Again, thank you.
what doesn’t kill us makes us stronger, or so they say… 🙂
Good luck with the move! I’ve made a similar recipe before but add dried Greek seasoning with the lemon pepper seasoning and never thought to do bell peppers with the cucumber and tomatoes.
This looks fantastic. I am making chicken right now and plan to make this for school lunches this week. My littles will love it!
oh this looks amazing. Good luck with everything – you’re so organized, I’m sure you’re on top of it all! 🙂
Love your flavorful chicken packed with colorful veggies. I’m motivated to make my own pita bread for this! I make bread all the time but haven’t get my hands on pita pockets before. 🙂
Looks so good. Wish I had a slow cooker.
looks yummy! good luck!
Best of luck!
I need to break the slow cooker back out and make these! It’s been resting all summer…and that’s unacceptable 🙂
Are you going to start a new blog called The Weeping Chef?
Good Luck with your move… I love your recipes!
Good luck to you Melanie. 🙂
Slow cooker meals save the day during stressful times. Moving is tough, but there are good things that await in new places too. Will you be settling in MN or WI?
This looks delicious, Mel, and it’s the perfect recipe to stuff your homemade pita bread with! I’m really looking forward to making the pita bread and trying this recipe!
My heart goes out to you during this move, Mel! If there is anything I can do for you, please don’t hesitate to ask! 🙂