Cooking, Recipes

Chicken gyros with tzatziki

March 28, 2011
Chicken Gyro with Tzatziki

Going to Greece inspired me to make gyros at home. This chicken gyros recipe is a delicious marinade for chicken and a recipe for tzatziki that I tinkered with a lot to try to replicate what I tasted in Greece. I especially like to make my own because I don’t particularly care for ordering them in restaurants here because the meat tends to be fatty and I’m picky about that.

The tzatziki is delicious on everything. I put it on my leftover quinoa today as a dressing.  Also, this marinade is so flavorful and makes the chicken taste delicious.  You could use the marinade by itself to grill chicken and serve with vegetables in the summer.

For the pita bread, I recommend buying naan instead of pitas. It’s the closest thing that you can buy that’s like what you would get in Greece. The pita bread that you buy here is dry and thin and not at all like the real thing. I have made my own pitas before and while delicious, it just isn’t worth the effort to me when I can buy the naan and it works great for this purpose.

Chicken Gyros with Tzatziki

Print Recipe
Course: Dips, Main Course
Cuisine: Greek
Keyword: dip, dressing, gyro, tzatziki
Servings: 4
Author: Whitney Anderson

Ingredients

Chicken

  • 4 cloves garlic minced
  • Juice of 1 lemon
  • 2 tbsp. plain Greek yogurt
  • 2 tsp. red wine vinegar
  • 2 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
  • 1 tbsp. dried oregano
  • Salt and pepper
  • 1 -2 lbs. chicken breasts boneless, skinless

Tzatziki

  • 16 oz. Greek yogurt or regular yogurt strained, you can also strain Greek yogurt to make thicker, just strain using coffee filter or cheesecloth over a bowl
  • 1 English seedless cucumber
  • 4 garlic cloves minced
  • 4 Tbsp. olive oil or less – add a little at a time
  • 2 Tbsp. red wine vinegar
  • 1 Tbsp. finely chopped fresh dill
  • 1/2 Lemon

Other ingredients

  • 2 packages Naan bread
  • Tomatoes chopped
  • Red onion sliced thin

Instructions

Tzatziki

  • Peel and grate cucumber. Put in colander to drain and ring out with hands.  
  • Mix yogurt and grated cucumber in bowl. Add garlic. Pour in oil and vinegar. Add chopped dill. Squeeze lemon juice on top.
  • Season to taste and refrigerate for around one hour before serving.

Chicken

  • Combine all ingredients in a medium bowl. Whisk together until mixed well.  
  • Add the chicken to the bowl and mix well to coat.  Cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.
  • Cook the chicken on broiler pan under broiler set to high, for about 6 minutes each side.  (Or, you could grill it.) Once the chicken is completely cooked through, transfer to a plate and let rest for 5 minutes.
  • Cut into strips.
  • Assemble by placing chicken strips on the naan "pitas" and then add tzatziki, tomatoes and onions.

Notes

I recommend using naan bread for the pitas. It’s the closest thing that you can buy that’s like what you would get in Greece. The pita bread that you buy here is dry and thin and not at all like the real thing. 

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5 Comments

  • Reply marilyn March 28, 2011 at 7:21 pm

    I am so hungry now!!! I am going to try this! well..maybe witht he help of my husband. 🙂

  • Reply ebc March 28, 2011 at 8:10 pm

    so, is it a bad sign that when i first saw your title in my blog roll, i thought it said hormones instead of homemade? someone (me!) clearly needs a break/life/brain. anyways….those look amazing!!!! serious kitchen kuddos to you!

  • Reply Liz March 29, 2011 at 8:02 am

    What kind of side effects did you have on Clomid?

  • Reply Alex March 29, 2011 at 11:25 am

    Wow, this looks fantastic! I’m printing out now…

  • Reply Lisa Mc March 29, 2011 at 12:30 pm

    WOW! You made HOMEMADE Pitas!! You’re my hero, Whitney! ;o) This looks awesome and perfect for warm weather dining! xoxo

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