The marinade for the chicken for this Greek Chicken Gyros recipe is SO GOOD that I use it even when I’m not making Gyros. Try it once, and I think you’ll be as obsessed with it as I am!
This is a reader-favourite recipe included by popular demand in my debut cookbook “Dinner”!
Greek Chicken Gyros recipe
It’s been ages since I made this Greek Chicken Gyros. But the minute the chicken hit the grill, all I could think was “why don’t I make this more often??”
The smell is incredible. You can REALLY smell garlic and oregano. You know how sometimes you add herbs into things and you can’t really taste it? Or you can, but it’s a very subtle flavour. Definitely not the case with this!!
What goes in Gryos
Here are the components that make up a Greek Chicken Gyros wrap:
Marinated Greek Chicken
Tzatziki
Tomato Cucumber Salad
Flatbread to roll up the gyros – or use smaller pita breads and just fold them over
Greek Chicken Gyros Marinade ingredients
Here’s what you need for the marinade. There’s LOTS of garlic and dried oregano. Lots!!
Yogurt is a magical marinade – it’s a terrific flavour carrier and tenderises the chicken!
Yogurt is the secret ingredient in this recipe. The acid in the yoghurt breaks down the fibres so it not only softens the chicken but also helps the marinade really infuse into the flesh.
Plus, the yoghurt makes this marinade “paste like” so it stays slathered on the chicken when you cook it (unlike many marinades that are thin). So you have extra flavour oomph!
In the video, you’ll see that I cook this indoors on a grill pan. But during the warmer months, this is a BBQ favourite!
What goes in Tzatziki for Greek Gyros
And here’s what goes in the tzatziki.
Greek Yogurt please! Or at least Greek style which is what I mostly use because it’s easily found at everyday supermarkets. 🙂
How to make Greek Chicken Gyros
And onto the making part!! There are a few components to Gryos – but the making part is a cinch!
GREAT meal for groups – prepare ahead, make loads!
This Greek Chicken Gyros is a really fab recipe for entertaining. Because it is really fast to prepare and the men can BBQ while the girls sip wine and chatter. (Joke joke JOKE!!!)
Then you can just lay everything out on the table. Why should you slave away, rolling up a gyros for everyone? Make ’em do it themselves!
(Few more of my favourite large format foods, DIY style, include: Chicken or Beef / Lamb Doner kebabs, Chicken Shawarma and Lamb Shawarma, Vietnamese Chicken Noodle Bowls).
What to serve on the side
I serve Greek Chicken Gyros as a complete meal in itself because there’s a decent amount of tomato and cucumber used to stuff inside.
If you wanted to boost the fresh vegetables, a big fat juicy Greek Salad would be terrifically on theme! For something more substantial, especially if you’re making Gyros for a group, try this Greek Lemon Orzo Salad as well.
And though not specifically a Greek-style salad, this Cucumber Salad with Garlic & Herb Dressing OR this Creamy Cucumber Salad with Lemon Yogurt Dressing would go down a treat with this Gyros. I also offer a Greek take on my recipe for Roasted Pumpkin with Yogurt Sauce and Pine Nuts (see Customisations ideas section) that would be a great partner to the Gyros.
If you’re really wanting to impress, make Gyros using your very own homemade flatbread wraps. They’re easy and they’re made without yeast!!
– Nagi x
Watch how to make it
This recipe features in my debut cookbook Dinner. The book is mostly new recipes, but this is a reader favourite included by popular demand!
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Greek Chicken Gyros with Tzaziki
Ingredients
- 2 lb / 1 kg chicken thigh fillets , boneless skinless
Marinade
- 3 large garlic cloves , minced (~ 3 tsp)
- 1 tbsp white wine vinegar (or red wine or apple cider vinegar)
- 3 tbsp lemon juice
- 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 3 tbsp Greek yogurt , preferably full fat
- 1 1/2 tbsp dried oregano
- 1 tsp salt
- Black pepper
Tzatziki
- 2 cucumbers (to make about 1/2 – 3/4 cup grated cucumber after squeezing out juice)
- 1 1/4 cups Greek yoghurt , preferably full fat
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
- 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil (or more if you want richer)
- 1 garlic clove , minced
- 1/4 tsp salt
- Black pepper
Salad
- 3 tomatoes , desseeded and diced
- 3 cucumbers , diced
- 1/2 red spanish onion , peeled and finely chopped
- 1/4 cup fresh parsley leaves (optional)
- Salt and pepper
To Serve
- 4 to 6 pita breads or flat breads
Instructions
- Place the Marinade ingredients in a ziplock bag and massage to mix. Add the chicken into the ziplock bag and massage to cover all the chicken in the Marinade. Marinate for at least 2 hours, preferably 3 hours, ideally 12 hours and no longer than 24 hours.
Make the Tzatziki
- Cut the cucumber in half lengthwise. Use a teaspoon to scrape the watery seeds out. Coarsely grate the cucumber using a box grater. Then wrap in paper towels or a tea towel and squeeze to remove excess liquid.
- Place cucumber in a bowl. Add remaining ingredients then mix to combine. Set aside for at least 20 minutes for the flavours to meld.
Salad
- Combine ingredients in a bowl.
Cook Chicken
- Brush the outdoor grill with oil, then preheat on medium high. Or heat 1 tbsp of oil in a fry pan over medium high heat.
- Remove chicken from Marinade. Cook the chicken for 2 to 3 minutes on each side, until golden brown and cooked through (cooking time depends on size of chicken).
- Remove the chicken from the grill / fry pan onto a plate. Cover loosely with foil and allow to rest for 5 minutes before serving.
Assemble Gyros
- If your chicken thighs are large, you may need to cut them. Mine were small.
- Get a pita bread or flatbread (preferably warmed) and place it on a piece of parchment (baking) paper (or you could use foil). Place some Salad down the middle of the bread, then top with chicken and Tzatziki.
- Roll the wrap up, enclosing it with the parchment paper. Twist the end with the excess parchment paper to secure it and cut if desired.
- I prefer to lay everything out on a table and let everyone help themselves.
Recipe Notes:
Nutrition Information:
First published June 2015. Long overdue for fresh new photos and a brand new video!!
Life of Dozer
WAY too close to the BBQ!
Nothing short of amazing!! I didn’t make gyros, but simply used mixed chicken parts and the results were delicious. However, the Tzatziki sauce? ***Out of this World*** tasty, yummy, tongue tickling, delightful and all things good for the tummy.
No kidding! Tzatziki is now a standard in our house. I actually took the time to make these recipes as directed. I grated the cucumber (using Persian ones eliminates the need to peel and/or de-seed) as drained even though I felt lazy, but was greatly rewarded by the results.
Thank you so much! A recipe that needs not a single change is worth its weight in gold.
Thank you so much for sharing your feedback Anita, I’m so pleased to hear you enjoyed this! N x ❤️
I loved this! I have tried several tzaziki recipes and they ended up tasting like greek yogurt. This tzaziki was so good! I loved the meat as well. I made it again, but made it as a salad (no bread). That was good as well. Thank you for a great recipe!
WHOOT WHOOT!!! 🙌🏻
I made this last night and it was amazing! My husband deemed it the best chicken ever! What else could you use the marinade for?
Hi Rachel, so pleased to hear you both enjoyed this! It works REALLY great with lamb too 🙂 lamb is very Greek! I will share a Greek marinated lamb soon! N xx
Fabulous! Easy to make and yum! Next time I will make the tzatziki sauce first …. I over looked the part that said it needs to sit for 20 mins (it does in deed need to sit for 20 mins)
So pleased you enjoyed it Carolyn! Thanks for letting me know!! N xx ❤️
This was seriously delicious…I made it last night and the entire family, including the grandmas, loved it! This is going into my rotation and I may even add it to my tailgating rotation. Thanks so much!!
WHOOT! So glad you hear that Linda, thanks! N x
Do the calories on this include only the chicken or is it for everything including the veggies, tatziki and wrap? Trying to count my calories! Thanks! 😊
Includes everything 🙂 Just the chicken certainly doesn’t have 50g carbs! N x
This is a great recipe!!! I have been to Greece twice and the flavors are quit authentic. The only change I made was to reduce the amount of salt in the marinade. I will say that I think the prep time of 20 minutes is optimistic. Maybe I am not as organized but it took me about an hour to prep which includes cleaning the chicken, making the marinade, making the tzatziki and cleaning up afterwards. I will say I have made this recipe many times and usually start marinating the chicken early in the morning!
I’m so pleased to hear you enjoyed this Heidi!! Thanks for letting me know – N x
I love this recipe! I use this marinade for chicken all the time now, just because i love the flavor. Sometimes, if I don’t have a lot of time to make dinner I will just buy the trader joe’s Tzatziki sauce and make the salad and chicken. Saves a little time but my husband always says it’s better when I make it, so thank you! We love these chicken gyros!
That’s terrific to hear Sarah! So glad you enjoyed this, thank you for letting me know! N x
These are wonderful. We are having them again tonight💖
That’s terrific April! Thanks for letting me know! N xx ❤️
I tried the recipe the other day. OMG…It was great. I will make this every week. Next week I will try it with Lamb. Thanks!
That’s terrific to hear Ulethea! Thank you for sharing your feedback! N x ❤️
We’ve made this twice and really are pleased with the flavor. However we haven’t quite found the right flat bread to match what we are seeing in your video. Obviously this is a critical component. It has to be like flat bread and not a fajita wrapper but also not so thich like naan. It also has to be wrappable and not split as you wrap it around the filling ingredients. What specifically are you using in the video? Thank you for your help with this.
Use white pita rounds that’s what they use for a true gyro! Use 1 whole round per each warm slightly in a pan on stovetop!
Have you tried lavash?
Going to make this recipe this week. Would I use regular parsley or flat leaf parsley?
Thank you!
I made this recipe tonight, it was fantastic, my teens even ate their veggies on this to get the full Greek Gyros taste. It is so light and fresh tasting. I have lot’s of sauce left so I may make it again this week! Thanks for a great recipe!
That’s so terrific Patty! I’m so pleased to hear that, thanks for sharing your feedback! N x ❤️
This recipe looks amazing! I want to make but I’m wondering why its so high in sodium. Is there something I can change to decrease the sodium. Thank you!
Hi Michelle! Just reduce the salt 🙂 Hope you love it! N xx
This recipe sounds fantastic but my husband can’t have any dairy products – can I omit the yoghurt or substitute it with something else?
Hi Elaine! I would use my chicken souvlaki recipe – it’s similar but doesn’t use yoghurt 🙂 https://promotown.info/chicken-souvlaki-tzatziki/%3C/a%3E%3C/p%3E
I was so disappointed in this recipe. I used chicken breasts and marinated them for 5 hours.
The flavour was good but chicken had a funny texture (kind of mealy). I’m wondering what could have gone wrong. I hope you can help because I’d love to try this recipe again!
Hi Betty, I’m sorry to hear you are disappointed but I think think something went wrong here because the chicken certainly should not have a funny texture especially after just 5 hours of marinating 🙂 Is there a chance there was something wrong with the chicken you used? N x
Do you think this would work using chicken breasts instead of thighs? Hubby does not like chicken dark meat.
It will be fine, please see the notes! N x
I just made this with breasts tonight and it turned out great!
Do you think this would work on beef as well?
YES! Use a quick cooking cut 🙂
I was wondering, would this recipe be okay in the crockpot? Would it do weird things to the yoghurt or do you think it would be okay?
Sorry Cody, needs to brown and it will just stew in a slow cooker 🙂 N x
o m Geeee! We had this for dinner last night and it was a hit. Two adults, two kids – we smashed it! My family loved the homemade breads, very similar to a vegan chapati that I make for dhal. Thank you, thank you 😊
I’m so happy you enjoyed this Diana! Thank you for letting me know – N x ❤️