Chicken Gyros with Tzatziki
My first experience with gyros came during my freshman year of college. There was a small restaurant near my dorm that was open 24 hours a day and served mostly Mediterranean food. Honestly, I don’t think I had even heard of gyros until eating there. I probably ate there more times than I should have while in college, but I still kind of miss it. That’s the fun thing about food blogging, though – some recipes you never thought of making have a way of finding their way to you.
Elly is the queen of Greek cuisine, so I knew this recipe would be fantastic the moment I saw it on her blog. In fact, this recipe has been on countless blogs since then. After one taste of these, you’ll know exactly why. The chicken is moist and incredibly flavorful. The tzatziki is cool and refreshing with a garlicky punch. Wrap all of that in a warm pita, and you’ve got a dinner that could please anyone. If you have any leftover tzatziki, I definitely recommend saving it to snack on with some vegetables or grilled pita.
- YIELD: serves 4
For the tzatziki:
16 ounces plain yogurt (Do not use nonfat.)
½ hothouse cucumber or 1 regular cucumber, peeled and seeded
3 cloves garlic, pressed or finely minced
1 teaspoon white wine vinegar
Salt and pepper
Squeeze of fresh lemon juice
Extra virgin olive oil
For the gyros:
4 cloves garlic, smashed
Juice of 1 lemon
2 teaspoons red wine vinegar
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
2 heaping tablespoons plain yogurt
1 tablespoon dried oregano
Salt and pepper
1¼ pounds chicken breasts
4 pocketless pitas
2 tomatoes, seeded and diced
1 red onion, halved and cut into thin slices
- 1
To make the tzatziki, place the yogurt in a strainer covered with cheesecloth or a coffee filter and set over a small bowl. Allow to sit overnight or at least several hours, until most of the moisture has been removed.
- 2
Shred the cucumber using a box grater or food processor. Place shredded cucumber in a tea towel or a few paper towels and squeeze to remove any excess water.
In a medium bowl, mix together the yogurt, cucumber, garlic, vinegar and lemon juice. Add salt and pepper to taste. Drizzle lightly with olive oil and refrigerate at least 30 minutes.
- 3
Meanwhile, prepare the chicken by combining the garlic, lemon juice, vinegar, olive oil, oregano and yogurt in a medium bowl. Add salt and pepper to taste, then whisk until combined. Add the chicken, stirring to coat with marinade, then cover and refrigerate for about an hour.
- 4
Cook chicken as desired, using a grill, broiler or grill pan. Transfer to a plate and allow to rest about 5 minutes before cutting into strips. While chicken is resting, heat the pitas (we did ours on our grill pan). Top each pita with chicken, tzatziki, tomatoes and onion. Fold and enjoy.
I love these chicken gyros!! And I could eat that Tzatziki on everything!! Yours is making me crave it again…maybe this will be on the menu this week! YUM!
I love this recipe as well. It is a great substitute for the lamb gyros I crave so often.
So glad you guys like this recipe. 🙂 Looks great!
Thanks for the awesome recipe, Elly! It’s definitely one of our favorites.
awwww i miss Al’s too!!! Wait to go, Courtney! I refer to your blog every now and again…my mom and i are switching roles, i teach her american cooking and she teaches me indian. i think i will see if we can make this one together but maybe we’ll switch it up with tofu 🙂
glad to see you’re on foodbuzz too!