Greek Chicken Gyros
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Easy, make-ahead chicken gyros! You can marinate the chicken ahead of time and whip up your homemade tzatziki too! So fast, so good!
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Make-ahead Greek chicken gyros! Is there anything better?
The tzatziki sauce can be made well ahead of time, just marinating in the fridge and getting better and better as it sits. And the chicken can marinate in all these spices – olive oil, lemon juice, garlic, oregano, thyme and paprika.
Now I prefer to throw these on the grill, letting them get beautifully charred and smoky but if you reside in a very cold climate with no Spring/Summer in sight (like me in Chicago), these can be thrown on a cast iron grill pan instead. You should still be able to get that charred goodness!
From there, pack your toasted pita flatbreads (this can be toasted on a gas burner very carefully or a cast iron grill pan if you do not have access to a grill at this time) with the chicken, lettuce, tomatoes, onion and tzatziki sauce that’s been marinating in the fridge. It’s a speedy meal that will please everyone!
Tools For This Recipe
Cast iron grill pan or large cast iron skillet
Greek Chicken Gyros: Frequently Asked Questions
Chicken tenderloins (or chicken tenders) are long narrow strips of meat that can be found attached loosely underneath the breast against the rib bones. Chicken tenderloins are far more lean and tender than chicken breasts.
Not at all! If tenderloins are not readily available, you can purchase chicken breasts (or chicken thighs) and cut them lengthwise into 1/2-inch-thick strips.
The tzatziki sauce can be set aside in the refrigerator and the chicken can be marinated at least 2 hours in advance.
No grill, no problem. A cast iron grill pan or a large cast iron skillet will work beautifully here, especially during those winter months when it’s too cold to grill out!
Greek Chicken Gyros
Ingredients
- 2 pounds chicken tenderloins
- 1 ½ tablespoons olive oil
- 1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 teaspoons dried oregano
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- ½ teaspoon paprika
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- 6 pita flatbreads
- 2 cups shredded romaine
- 2 cups cherry tomatoes, quartered
- 1 red onion, thinly sliced
For the tzatziki sauce
- ¾ cup Greek yogurt
- ½ cup grated English cucumber, squeezed dry
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh dill
- 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
- 2 teaspoons lemon zest
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
Instructions
- In a gallon size Ziploc bag, combine chicken, olive oil, lemon juice, garlic, oregano, thyme, paprika, 1 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper. Marinate for at least 2 hours, turning the bag occasionally. Drain the chicken from the marinade, discarding the marinade.
- Preheat grill to medium heat. Add chicken to grill, and cook, turning occasionally, until chicken is completely cooked through, reaching an internal temperature of 165 degrees F, about 8 minutes.
- To serve, warm pitas on the grill, about 1-2 minutes per side. Halve pitas, and fill with chicken, romaine lettuce, tomatoes, red onion and tzatziki sauce.
- Serve immediately.
For the tzatziki sauce
- In a medium bowl, combine Greek yogurt, cucumber, dill, lemon juice, lemon zest and garlic; season with salt and pepper, to taste. Set aside in the refrigerator until ready to serve.
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Loads of flavor and overall wonderful recipe! Thank you!
This was so beyond yummy. I had Naan bread and used that instead but followed everything else exactly and loved it. Love this site so much, thanks for all the yummy recipes
Fabulous!! There was a bit of chopping and prep involved but TOTALLY worth it!! Restaurant quality!! It was phenomenal. Definitely a keeper. **I did add a bit of dill to the sauce, for a little extra Greekness.
Soooo good!
delicious and so fresh! we loved the recipe and the marinade was divine 🙂
We took a trip to Greece for dinner tonight, and it was well received!! Thank you, again, for a wonderful chicken marinade. I made a quick little salad (lettuce, red onion, cuke and tomato), added in some cous cous, chicken, Tzatziki, Greek dressing and a side of Oita. It was definitely Damn Delicious!!
Make i love a good health recipe for health nutrition filled, and absolutely delicious! I love this recipe, it’s fast and easy and tastes so good!
While my family is very picky – this meat worked! I wish I had planned ahead and let it marinate longer, but at just two hours it was so flavorful. They all loved the pita and the chicken together. A nice change of pace. The add ins were all optional of course but I made myself the accompanying sauce and it made the whole thing come together. There were places where I made adjustments where it was needed and to accommodate to what I had, and I’m admittedly an eye baller measurer and cook to taste. But mostly kept to the plan. Thanks for supper!!!
Great marinade! Used with chicken and shrimp and served with flatbreads, chopped tomatoes, cukes, feta, red onion, and tzatziki….this was one happy house at dinnertime! Another fabulous recipe. Thank you!
Easy and delicious – my favourite kind of recipe! I have never been disappointed by any of your recipes. Thank you!
Easy prep and chicken had great taste!
Great, easy to make recipe. I made it with the chicken tenderloins per the recipe. Since those are part of the breast, they tend to be a little on the dry side. So, next time I’ll try it with boneless, skinless chicken thighs.
Loved it! Couldn’t find fresh dill in grocery store, but used dry dill for tzatziki sauce and blended with fresh mint from my garden. Delish!
Love it! I actually love EVERYTHING that I make off this site!
Chungah-
Thank you SOOO much for making me a cook! Your recipes are so easy and delicious. I have never really considered myself good at cooking but your recipes have made me love being in the kitchen. My husband can be somewhat picky but he loves your food too so that’s saying something! Keep it up! Can’t wait for more damn delicious!
I made these last week and they were SO good! The chicken was so flavorful and the tzatziki was perfect. My kids voted this their favorite quarantine meal so far! (Your steak fajitas were a close second.)
I added extra salt and pepper, plus an extra shake of thyme and used roughly butterflied breasts so it caught under the grill, was beautiful.
Absolutely phenomenal recipe! Made this last night for dinner, and had left overs for lunch today. This recipe will definitely be a part of my meal rotation 🙂
Easy to make and absolutely delicious! Thank
You for a great recipe!
It was a warm night in Ohio so we fired up the grill! These gyros were great! Simple recipe that was quick to make in a weeknight. I will definitely have these in rotation this summer ! Thanks for a great recipe!
So fast and easy to make. In fact I even had time to make some homemade hummus to go along with it . The only thing I will change for next time is to make some homemade pita, too. The flavor of the chicken was perfect and our vegetarian folk enjoyed it all with chickpeas subbed for the chicken.