Easy Chicken Gyros
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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.
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 Roasted Red Pepper Sauce recipe.
- 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!
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
asked my husband if he was coming home from work to get a sandwich for lunch. when I told him I was making these he asked for two more for his buddies. they loved them!
luckily there was enough left for me to make one for myself 😀
Oh that is so great, I love that he wanted his buddies to try them too!! My husband loves these as well, and I love how quick they are to make!!
I love love love gyros! I wanted to eat at Roti when I was in DC but didn’t get the chance. It is definitely on my list of places to eat at when I go back. But, I did get the chance to eat an absolutely amazing gyro at a local greek festival a while back! And my oh my, my love for Mediterranean food began! I was super excited when I found your recipe for an easy way to make gyros. I included it in my latest post, “Kick Start The New Year #3: 15 Healthy Lunches”!
I love this recipe! Do you have a certain pita brand you recommend?
Hi Micaela! You know honestly, I’ve never found one brand I love a lot more than others, I tend to just look for “fluffier” soft pitas (some can be dense and stiff) 🙂
What seasonings are in your Mediterranean seasonings? I would prefer to make the mix rather then using a pre-made mix.
Thanks
I came across this today, since I’m making Gyros for dinner! I made the sauce already and found that if you blend everything minus the yogurt and lemon juice in your food processor first, then strain out the juices with a mesh strainer, then add to your yogurt and lemon juice, it’s the quickest way to get a thick dressing 🙂
Great tip Jessica!!
I have never eaten or made gyros before and was super nervous about whether or not myself and my hubby would like these… I found “greek” seasoning in the regular spice area which I assume is the equivalent to the mediterranean seasoning and followed the recipe pretty much to the T and the gyros and sauce ended up perfect and delicious! And so, so easy and healthy too! I will definitely be putting these on my regular meal rotation.
Thanks so much for the delicious recipe! I will be trying more of them! 🙂
Yay! I’m so glad you and your husband liked these gyros Bridget! They really are so easy, it’s hard to beat good flavor that doesn’t take a ton of work! Welcome to my site, I hope you find LOTS more to love! 🙂
Love this recipe! I made it a few nights ago and my hubby and I both loved it! Do you know about how many calories are per serving size? I tried to guess and I would say about 350 per gyro, but does that sound about right? Or am I way off? lol
Hi Terra Ann! Aren’t these so easy and yummy?? We love them. I haven’t calculated the nutrition stats myself but if you jump over to http://www.myfitnesspal.com they have a great (free!) tool where you can link to a recipe online and it will calculate the nutrition stats for you!!
Awesome stuff! I added feta, onions, and tomatoes with a few Romaine leaves and extra cukes inside 🙂
So yummy!!! I was ill when I read your recipe and had no appetite. So well worth the 4 day wait 🙂
Love your recipes!
Thanks Jane!!! 🙂