Greek-style quick and easy chicken gyros are a cinch to whip up on busy nights with herb-marinated chicken, lemony cucumber salad, and creamy tzatziki sauce all wrapped in soft pita bread. Your family will love having this simple recipe on the weekly rotation!
If you love Greek food, then you’ll also want to try my Greek Beef Meatballs, Greek Chicken Power Bowls, and Baked Greek Chicken and Veggies Sheet Pan Dinner.
When my husband and I first got married we spent a couple of weeks in Washington, DC for his work. We walked through all of the museums and saw all of the monuments and at the end of a long touristy day, we were famished. When we made it to the metro stop, we decided to get dinner before riding back to our hotel and we found this little Mediterranean restaurant right around the corner called Roti.
I immediately fell in love with it (and the chicken gyro with red pepper sauce I had), it was SO GOOD! But, because I can’t go to DC all the time, I did my best to recreate that wonderful Greek gyro for when I am in the mood for Roti but can’t get there.
Why This Recipe Works
Easy – These gyros come together so quickly and they are completely family-friendly. If you’re not an onion fan, leave them out, if you love feta cheese (bless your heart friend) load it on.
Great intro to Mediterranean cuisine – If you love Mediterranean food then you’ll go nuts over this healthy gyro. If you’re new to the cuisine, wow is this perfect place to start. One bite and you’ll be a convert for life!
Meal planning – This chicken easily doubles. Keep all the ingredients separate and pull them out throughout the week when you need an easy, tasty, healthy meal. These healthy gyros are perfect for dinner, but they also make a great on-the-go option for work lunch!
Healthy – When you’re in the mood for something tasty yet healthy, these easy gyros can’t be beat. Chicken is high in protein and low in saturated fat, the Mediterranean seasoning adds tons of flavor without any calories, and the red pepper and onions offer antioxidants, vitamins, and minerals to boot. Top with lettuce, tomato, and some tzatziki sauce and devour!
Here’s How You Make It
Making these Greek chicken gyros is easy – only three steps and 20 minutes till dinner is served!
- Stir together all of the ingredients for the marinade. (photo 1)
- Add chicken to the marinade, cover tightly, and chill for 30 minutes (or longer for even more flavorful results!). (photo 2)
- While chicken is marinating, combine all ingredients for the cucumber salad, give it a good stir, and set aside. (photo 3)
- Use tongs to transfer marinated chicken to a preheated cooking surface (grill or skillet) and cook for 5-6 minutes on each side over medium heat until cooked through. (photo 4)
- Lay the pitas on a plate or clean surface. Assemble the pitas by filling pita bread with lettuce, chicken, cucumber salad, feta cheese, and tzatziki sauce. (not pictured)
- Fold the pita over like a sandwich or roll it up. Enjoy! (see below)
Ideas for Customizing This Recipe
- I like to treat these chicken gyros like a Greek taco, which means pile on ALL the toppings. If you want more topping ideas, may I suggest adding halved cherry tomatoes, thinly sliced cucumbers, Tzatziki sauce, red pepper sauce, feta, red onions (or pickled red onions), chopped kalamata olives, shredded lettuce, and even chickpeas if you’re feeling it.
- If you want to skip the pita, consider making these into Greek gyro bowls. Simply add prepared rice (or another grain) to the bottom of a bowl, then top with chicken and all the other toppings as you see fit. Save the sauces for last. Delish!
- For a low-carb option, skip the pita and the rice and make a healthy gyro salad. Swap the rice and pita for lettuce in the bottom of the bowl, then top with all your favorite ingredients, plus tzatziki dressing to finish it all off.
Expert Tips
- If you are someone who loves all the dressings and sauces, are you in for a treat. My tzatziki sauce is so good on these healthy gyros. In addition, if you love red pepper but prefer it in a sauce, try this version.
- If you want to make the chicken ahead of time, I suggest you refrigerate the breasts whole and slice them when you’re ready to eat them (after reheating) to keep them as moist as possible.
- For juicier chicken, consider marinating it for 2-3 hours (or overnight). Try this easy chicken marinade. Skip the vinegar and the mustard and swap Italian seasoning for Mediterranean if you have it.
- If you prefer the taste of grilled chicken, grill the chicken breasts over medium heat for about 6-10 minutes per side, depending on the thickness of your chicken.
- The chicken will keep in the fridge for up to 3 days, or you can freeze it in an airtight container/Ziplock bag for up to 3 months. Thaw and/or reheat the chicken in the microwave for a minute at a time until just heated through.
More Delicious Mediterranean Recipes
- Mediterranean Chicken with Roasted Red Pepper Sauce
- Greek Lemon Chicken and Rice Gyros
- Lemon Couscous
- Creamy Parmesan Spinach Orzo
- Greek Avocado Chicken Salad
Did you make these super delicious and easy chicken gyros? FANTASTIC! Please rate the recipe below!
Easy Chicken Gyros & Tzatziki Sauce
Ingredients
- 1 ½ pounds chicken tenderloins - cut thick ones in half lengthwise
- white or whole wheat pita bread
- crumbled feta cheese
- 5-Minute Tzatziki Sauce
- green-leaf lettuce
Marinade
- ½ cup olive oil
- juice of one lemon
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon cracked black pepper
- ½ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
- 1 tablespoon minced garlic
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 tablespoon Herbs de Provence - or Italian seasoning (see note)
Cucumber Salad
- ½ cucumber - sliced or chopped, see note
- ½ cup cherry tomatoes - halved
- ¼ red onion - thinly sliced
- 1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
- salt and pepper - to taste
- pinch of fresh dill - optional
Instructions
- Stir together all of the ingredients for the marinade.
- Add chicken to the marinade, toss to coat, cover tightly, and chill for at least 30 minutes (or up to two hours for more added flavor).
- While chicken is marinating, stir together all ingredients for the cucumber salad. Set aside.
- Use tongs to transfer marinated chicken to a preheated cooking surface (grill or skillet) and cook for 5-6 minutes on each side over medium heat until cooked through.
- Arrange the pitas on a plate or clean surface. Assemble the pitas by filling pita bread with lettuce, chicken, cucumber salad, feta cheese, and tzatziki sauce.
- Fold the pita over like a sandwich or roll it up. Enjoy!
How long is the sauce good for after it is made?
I’ve kept it up to 5 days. 🙂
I agree with the comments about the sauce being watery….but I think if you squeezed the water out of the cucumbers it would be fine. I like the cucumbers blended up, for a more smooth texture so just hand mixing wouldn’t cut it for me. The original recipe has you squeeze the water and I think that would make a huge difference. I don’t think the sauce is supposed to be really thick…even in the pictures it looks thin but squeeze those cukes and you will be happier. Love these sandwiches…my kids loved them too.
Just a quick comment on the tzaziki sauce and a tip. I’m a chef and I have made this sauce many times over. The best way to get it thick is to grate your cucumbers, sprinkle them with a little salt, and let them sit for 30 minutes or so. The salt will draw moisture out of the cucumbers so when you wring them out in a clean dish towel you are left with perfect cukes for a thick tzaziki sauce. I also strain my yogurt (I use whole milk yogurt for the flavor) in cheesecloth or a dishtowel in a pinch so it is super thick and dense. Anyway, your gyros look superb and I plan to make them as a salad since I can’t eat wheat.
Hi, I just wanted to say that I followed the directions for the sauce – including the notes – and it was still VERY thin….I’m talking splashes over the sides of the Tupperware thin. Maybe like gravy thickness? No, thinner. Anyway, I diced the cucumber and left it on a paper towel to drain for about an hour, squeezed it as much as possible before putting it in the blender, and it still came out that way. I think to fix this you’d need to salt the cucumber and then put it in a strainer to drain for awhile, then squeeze out as much excess water. I’m not sure if that’s how thick the sauce is supposed to be, but I do prefer my sauces thicker and thought this method might help others in the future. Thanks for sharing the recipe! If nothing else, it got me out of my dinner rut and gave me something new to try!
Loved your Asian recipes so came to look at this one too and may I suggest a couple of things (Have been cooking Greek food all my life not to mention eating it in Greece): if the tzatziki is thin make sure you actually use full fat Greek yogurt, not the low fat or zero fat stuff. We never blend it, just mix all the ingredients together – that way the cucumber doe snot get all smushed and all the water squeezed out of the small chunks into the sauce.
Also, not to be too technical… this is a souvlaki rather than a gyros. Delicious anyway. If you want more intense flavour for the meat (use chicken or pork, both are traditional), leave it to marinade over night and barbecue instead of pan frying.
Wow thanks Beatrice, those are some great ideas – I might need some more of your expertise because I’d love to try some more Greek-inspired recipes! Do you have other favorites??