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!
This has to be the best marinade I have ever used for chicken! I still can’t believe how flavorful and delicious it is. I used chicken breasts because it’s what I usually have. I cut each breast into 4 smaller pieces and put them in the marinade for 3 hours. I cooked them in a pan (no grill) until they were cooked through and browned. This was the first time I have cooked chicken on the stove where it actually tasted grilled too. So so good! Thank you!
Thanks for trying my recipe Supta! I’m so glad you enjoyed it, and thank you for taking the time to let me know! N x
Hiya – just wondered where you are now so that I know what size your tablespoons are. Here in Australia our tablespoon is twice the size of a US tablespoon. I know you have grown up in Australia but I don’t know where you are now so don’t know what your sizes are.
Cheers
Lorelle
Hi Lorelle! I’m still here in Australia! 🙂 In the northern beaches in Sydney, to be exact. You’re right, the tablespoons here are a bit bigger than in the US, not twice the size though. Rest assured that all my recipes work with both US and Australian measures. the difference is not enough to make a noticeable difference for the vast majority of my recipes, but when it does, I am very careful to test recipes using both US and Aus measures and provide both measurements where necessary. So don’t worry, I promise this works just find with both! N x
I get skeptical about chicken marinades for grilling because they often don’t have much flavor no matter how long you marinade. Not this one! It was spectacular and the family loved it. I plan to slice the leftovers to top a Greek salad.
Do you see any reason why I couldn’t cube the chicken and cook it on skewers with this marinade? I loved the recipe exactly as you wrote it but with two 11-year old daughters, eating food on a stick can definitely make the meal a fun one.
Thanks a bunch!
Ooh! So glad you enjoyed this Kathryn, thank you for letting me know! As for putting this on skewers….you read my mind! I was about to share the skewered version of this! 🙂 Works fabulously! N x PS your kids have great taste, food on sticks is always yummier!!
Wow! I made these tonight and they were amazing! The chicken was SO flavorful. Better than our favorite local Greek place. Thank you for posting!
Woah! high praise! 🙂 Thanks Jen! N x
The chicken gyros were fantastic! Great recipe.
Thank you Pamela! So glad you enjoyed it!!!
Hi, I wondered which brand wraps you use and where you get them.
Thanks!
Hi Karla! Where are you based? I’m in Sydney and I get these from Harris Farms -> http://www.harrisfarm.com.au/collections/flatbreads_wraps-naans/products/golden-top-pita-bread These are very authentic Greek souvlaki wraps, perfect for gyros! Otherwise any thin pliable rollable flatbread is great 🙂
I am in New Jersey, USA. I am going to try your wraps/naan recipe. We eat a lot of Indian so these will come in handy 🙂 Thanks!
Oooh, I hope you do! It really is great!
I am going to try this!! We fix these all the time with left over leg of lamb but the chicken sounds amazing . We usually try to find thin pita and slightly oil and season ad grill it for a quick minute on each side!!! Making this tomorrow!!!!
You will love this Denise! The marinade is really incredible!!! 🙂
I made these this weekend! That chicken marinade… OH, MY. So good! Thank you!
I’m so glad you enjoyed it Gee, thank you so much for coming back to let me know!!! N x
Hey there! I don’t have a grill, unfortunately — could I bake the chicken? If so, what temperature/time would you recommend? Thanks!
Hi Alicia – no stove either? It would be better cooked on the stove 🙂 But to bake it, if you use chicken thighs and crank the oven up to 200C/390F and put the shelf high up in the oven, and bake it for around 12 minutes on the first side then 8 minutes on the other side, you should get a nice browning on it!
My husband and I made the chicken and tzatziki sauce last night, and I agree with you that I am now officially obsessed with this marinade. It was seriously the most delicious grilled chicken I’ve ever made at home, and it was so easy to do. I’m really glad I stumbled across this recipe and look forward to trying others on your site. Thanks again for sharing!
Thanks for your message Tammi, I’m glad you enjoyed it! N x
I can’t find the flatbread recipe
No worries, here you go! https://www.recipetineats.com/easy-soft-flatbread-yeast/
I’m excited to try this recipe tonight. (Got the chicken in the marinade now!) I just wish this (and all recipes, really) would just say “specific amount” or “approximately this amount” for things like garlic and cucumber. I don’t know what a Lebanese cucumber is. I have 1 large English cucumber and it’ll have to do! And my idea of large garlic might vary from yours. It would be so much easier to read, “approx 3 tsp minced garlic.”
I know recipes can be flexible, it’s just a secret wish of mine that they were a bit more specific.
Thanks!
Hi Christa! Thank you for that feedback, I will start incorporating that into recipes where relevant. 🙂 Most of the time “1 garlic clove” can range in size and it will be just fine, but I totally agree that for some recipes it makes a difference so when it matters, I will provide more details 🙂
Hi Nagi :))) !!! Thank you so, so, so much for your great and delicious, yet quite simple recipes with easy-to-find ingredients!!! I really love your website and have been recommending it to friends and family whenever I remembered :))) !! I really would like to thank you from the bottom of my heart for sharing your wonderful recipes with us all; it’s very sweet that you put so much time and effort in putting these great recipes up for us all for free!! Whenever I’m stuck or sick of making same food over and over, I remember your website and nearly everytime, I find a fabulous recipe that suits our leftovers or stuff we already have in our pantry or what I feel like eating 😉 !! I’ve tried a few of your recipes, such as this delicious Greek Chicken wrap, Honey and Sesame Chicken, coconut fish, and etc.., and even though my husband can be fussy with food, even he liked them all and didn’t object when I said I’d make the recipes again :)))!! I’m really sorry for not leaving comments for them all, though; I’ll try to do that!! By the way, my sister and I are going to try making the extremely delicious-looking Lamb Shank recipe on Sunday for mother’s day celebration as our mum loves Lamb Shank, and I will try to certainly let you know how we go 😉 !! By the way, I’m a very elementary to intermediate cook, but your recipes have been making me feel like a real chef 😉 !!! Thanks a lot again 🙂 <3
Hi Farina, thanks so much for your lovely message!!! I’m so glad you are enjoying my recipes 🙂 And it doesn’t matter how experienced you are with cooking, if you are enjoying it, loving the food, and it’s bringing together families, then you’re the best chef there is!!! 🙂 N x
Can I use chicken breasts instead of thighs? Won’t they come out too dry? While I prefer the chicken legs my husband eats only chicken breast.
I love your recipes.
Hi Mihaela! Breast is fine for this, the marinade will juice it up 🙂 just make sure you don’t overcook and dry it out!! N x
Making this tonight for my boyfriend and I to try. We made some pita bread last night, so a full on homemade meal, can’t beat that! Thank you so much for posting this wonderful recipe! (I had so much fun grating the cucumbers, haha!)
Oooh! I’m so glad you enjoyed it Autumn, thank you so much for coming back to let me know!!
Just wanted to say that I made these for mine & my husband’s lunches last week, along with your easy no yeast flatbreads, and they got a huge thumbs from both of us! We’re off on holiday to Greece in May and these totally got me in the mood for it 🙂 Thanks for sharing!
Oh WOW! You made this with homemade flatbread too!!! 🙂 I am green with envy that you’re off to Greece……
Hi. I know grilling is best but can I broil? And how long?
Hi Ana! Yup, you sure can. I suggest broiling on high. 🙂
Hello, I’d just like to correct your tzatziki recipe, since I am original Greek, and let you know that the authentic tzatziki contains a lot of garlic, dill , more olive oil than that and no lemon. Enjoy!!!
Thank you for the tip Vicky! I must get a full proper tzatziki recipe in my repertoire!!!
I’ve made this before with chicken it was perfect! Could I use any red meat or pork if so please let me know what cut of meat please!! 🙂 your the best
I’m so glad you enjoyed this Salina!!! Pork will work, I am not sure about red meat – just not sure that the yoghurt will tenderise it!
Made this tonight for a night in with the hubby. So good and filled my Greek food craving. Looking forward to the leftovers this week and when I make it again.
Fantastic! I’m so glad to hear that Jen, thank you so much for coming back to let me know! N x
Greetings! from a rain-soaked and wind-swept North Scotland! I’m just marinating a batch of this as I type and I was wondering if it’s ok to freeze? And if it is ok to freeze, should I freeze before I cook it or after? Because it smells so scrummy I’m going to give you 5 ***** and then another 5***** when I eat it! lol 🙂
Hi there Mo from wet North Scotland!!! It is fine to freeze, please freeze it raw then defrost before cooking. It might separate while defrosting but that’s ok, the marinade has done it’s job and infused into the chicken!!