Grilled Greek Chicken Gyros with Tzatziki Sauce are flavorful, marinated chicken breasts grilled to perfection and wrapped in a warm pita, piled with fresh toppings and drizzled with creamy yogurt sauce. With options for meal prep or make-ahead, these are an excellent weeknight dinner! Or double the recipe and serve to a crowd.
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The love for these grilled chicken gyros runs deep in my house. They are phenomenally flavorful and healthy to boot! My oldest son even has a specific tinfoil wrapper that must accompany these. Luckily, I find them at the dollar store so he can wrap to his heart's content.
Typically, when I make these I double the recipe and put all the components into meal-prep containers for the week. Everyone can make them however they choose. ✅ Trying to watch your carbs? Pile up everything on lettuce. ✅ Want to get some added grains in your diet? Layer rice or quinoa in a bowl and top with the ingredients here serving the pita on the side. Better yet, buy whole wheat pita. ✅ Being careful about your fat intake? Go lite on the dressing and use fat-free yogurt in the tzatziki sauce. ✅ Do you prefer chicken gyros without yogurt? Just leave off the tzatziki sauce. These are truly delish no matter how you serve them.
The versatility of these chicken gyros is what makes them so perfect for serving to a large group. In my experience meals that can be customized by each person are always the best kind to serve to a crowd. I have served this after church at one of our Family Football Sundays, and I have taken them to the lake and served a large group as one of my meals for a family vacation. Plus they are on our weeknight dinner plan at least once a month.
The inspiration for the marinade section of this recipe comes from Carlsbad Cravings. The dressing inspiration comes from The Cafe Sucre Farine and the tzatziki is all ours. This recipe is a great example of a Borrowed Bites recipe. A little from this and a little from that and now you have something all your own.
🍅 Ingredients
Chicken Marinade
Chicken breasts: I prefer the ease of chicken breasts but thighs would also work well.
Olive oil: Fruity and flavorful. The perfect oil for this marinade.
Garlic: The aromatic vegetable that imparts big flavor.
White Balsamic Vinegar: A milder flavor than regular balsamic, but either will work.
Lemon Juice: Used to up the flavor and tenderize the meat. Fresh squeezed juice, please.
Herbs & Spices: Dried oregano, dried basil, onion powder, sugar, salt, pepper, paprika.
Dressing
Canola oil: A neutral flavored oil that allows the other flavors shine.
EVOO: A fruity, flavorful oil. Regular olive oil can be substituted but will not have the same flavor.
Red wine vinegar: White wine vinegar will work as well.
Garlic powder: Concentrated deep garlic flavor.
Dried basil & oregano: Intense flavors of dried herbs work best in this dressing.
Kosher salt & pepper: To round out the dressing.
Toppings
Tzatziki Sauce: Refreshing yogurt sauce flavored with cucumber and dill. There are so many other ways to eat tzatziki.
Romaine: Tender but firm makes romaine the perfect choice. Iceberg can be substituted in a pinch.
Tomatoes: Cherry tomatoes are our favorite for their intense bursts of flavor but any fresh chopped tomato will be delicious.
Cucumber: English cucumbers are crunchy and the skin is thin enough that it doesn’t need to be peeled.
Red onion: More mild than its yellow cousin and so pretty.
Feta: I would say this one is an option, but is it? In my book feta makes the gyro! I love President and Athenos brands. I am not being paid to say that. It's just that they are both easy to find, reasonably priced, and delicious.
Olives: Kalamata is the classic Greek olive.
🔪 Instructions
This really is as easy as 1, 2, 3.
1. Combine the chicken marinade ingredients in a jar and shake. Pour over the chicken. Marinate overnight or at least 8 hours.
2. Prep the toppings, dressing, and tzatziki sauce.
3. Grill the chicken. Slice and serve.
👨👩👧👦 For a Crowd
This is a great one for a crowd! A couple things to note:
1. Don’t overcrowd the bags of marinated chicken breasts. They tend to stick together and marinate unevenly. Divide between multiple bags.
2. Prep the dressing, tzatziki, and fresh toppings the day before. All you have to do on the day of is cook and slice the chicken. Now that’s a winner in my book!
📋 Variations
If you don't have a grill or just do not want to use one, the chicken can be made in a skillet or on an indoor grill. I have found cast iron to be the best at mimicking a good grilled piece of chicken so please use that if you have one.
Feel free to serve this according to your needs and preferences. Sometimes I just make the chicken and serve it as a salad. Or make quinoa or rice and serve it as a bowl. To make it gluten-free leave out the pita. If you can't find pita feel free to use naan or any other flatbread.
🙋 Questions and Answers
The chicken can be frozen in the marinade up to 3 months ahead. This is one of my favorite time saving tricks. Having ready-to-cook chicken in the freezer gives me a deep feeling of security. 🤷
Yes! If you are preparing within 24 hours marinate the meat and place it in the fridge. If it will be longer than that, place the marinated chicken in the freezer. Go ahead and make the dressing and tzatziki the day ahead. The toppings can also be chopped and ready to go.
Meal prep is a lot like the make-ahead directions, except you cook the meat, slice it, and store the components separately in the refrigerator. When hunger strikes you can whip together a gyro, salad, or bowl. Healthy food at your fingertips. Doesn't get better than that!
We keep this simple, but sometimes I serve french fries, fresh fruit, or additional fresh veggies.
📖 Other Quick Dinner Recipes
- This 25 Minute Lemon Broccoli Pasta is a quick and nutritious recipe that every family member can agree on.
- For a truly fast dinner try these Easy Chicken Tinga Tacos (using rotisserie chicken). It’s shredded rotisserie chicken bathed in a smoky, slightly spicy tinga sauce. Wicked good!
- For a tasty weeknight meal, Crazy Good Pepper Steak is the perfect combination of tender meat and colorful veggies dripping in a savory asian-inspired sauce. It is healthy AND delicious, a family winner if there ever was one!
👨🏼🍳 Tips & Tricks
- When you put the chicken in the zipbag to marinate make sure you put each half in separately so that each side gets coated with the marinade.
- Keep the chicken in the marinade for at least 8 hours. It really deepens the flavor and tenderizes the meat.
- Slice the chicken very thinly. It is hard to bite into a thick piece of chicken in this situation.
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📋 Recipe
Grilled Greek Chicken Gyros with Tzatziki Sauce
Ingredients
Chicken Marinade
- 4 chicken breasts approximately 3-4 lbs
- ½ cup olive oil extra virgin
- 3 tablespoon garlic minced
- ¼ cup white balsamic vinegar can substitute regular balsamic
- ¼ cup lemon juice
- 1½ tablespoon dried oregano
- 1½ tablespoon dried basil
- 2 teaspoon onion powder
- 2 tsp sugar
- 1 tsp cumin
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- 2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon pepper
Dressing
- ⅔ cup canola oil
- ⅓ cup olive oil extra virgin
- ⅓ cup red wine vinegar
- ¾ teaspoon garlic powder
- 1½ tsp dried oregano
- ¾ teaspoon dried basil
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon pepper
Toppings
- 1 recipe Quick & Easy Tzatziki Sauce
- Pita bread or other flatbread
- 1 cup cherry tomato halved or quartered
- 1 medium English cucumber
- ¼ cup red onion diced
- ½ head romaine sliced
- Feta according to taste
- Kalamata olives optional
Instructions
Chicken marinade
- Slice chicken breasts in half horizontally. Add to zipbag or container for marinating. Add marinade ingredients to a jar and shake vigorously. Pour marinade over the chicken breasts. Smoosh the chicken breasts and marinade around to ensure that it gets in between all the pieces. Store in the refrigerator for at least 8 hours or overnight.
Toppings
- Make one recipe of Quick & Easy Tzatziki Sauce.
- Place all dressing ingredients in a jar and shake. Refrigerate until serving.
- Prep all other toppings.
Grilling
- Heat half the grill to medium-high heat. Place chicken on heated side of the grill for 5-6 minutes. Turn the chicken over and continue grilling for 4-6 more minutes. If they begin to brown too much on the heated side, transfer them to the unheated side, close the lid, and cook until done.
- Thinly slice the meat.
- To serve, layer pita with tzatziki, chicken, and other toppings. Drizzle dressing over top and wrap.
Notes
- When you put the chicken in the zipbag to marinate make sure you put each half in separately so that each side gets coated with the marinade.
- Keep the chicken in the marinade for at least 8 hours. It really deepens the flavor and tenderizes the meat.
- Slice the chicken very thinly. It is hard to bite into a thick piece of chicken in this situation.
Add Your Own Notes
Nutrition
All nutrition information is provided by a third party and is an estimate only. Use your own nutritional calculator for more specific measurements.
The nutritional information above only includes the basic components of the gyro. Depending on amounts this information will vary tremendously. Please use a nutritional calculator of your own to determine the calorie content of your gyro.
Delani Denton says
This looks so amazing, I look forward to making it!
Misty says
Hope you like them!
Lindsey says
These were so delicious! My family asked me to make them again next week.