Greek Chicken Gyros with Tzatziki

The marinade for the chicken for this Greek Chicken Gyros is SO GOOD that I use it even when I’m not making Greek Chicken Gyros. Make this once, and I think you’ll be as obsessed with it as I am! The marinade is made with yoghurt, lemon, garlic and oregano – classic Greek ingredients that infuses the chicken with flavour AND tenderises it.

Seriously. I’m not exaggerating. 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!!

It’s also magical what a bit of yoghurt can do to chicken. 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!

I really wish I could share this Greek Chicken Gyros recipe with you along with stories of amazing times in Greece. Conjuring up memories of seemingly endless stretches of pristine beaches, ancient ruins, sipping ouzo and nibbling on olives.

I can’t. Because I haven’t BEEN!! (I need a pout emoji to insert right here!)

I love to travel so I have an extensive list of places I still need to visit and Greece is right at the top of the list. So until I’m actually walking on Greek soil, the closest I can get is with these.

Though ironically, Gyros as westerners know them aren’t actually authentic. But hey, delicious is delicious, authentic or not!

PS 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. 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!

PS If you would like to make your own flatbread for this recipe, try my easy NO YEAST Easy Soft Flatbread recipe!

Save this Greek Chicken Gyros to your CHICKEN Pinterest Board!

The marinade for the chicken is so sensational that I use it even when I'm not making Gyros! This is fantastic for entertaining because you can just lay it all out for guests to help themselves. The smell when the chicken is cooking is incredible - you can really smell the oregano. Recipe VIDEO below, MARINADE TIME: Minimum 3 hours

2 lb / 1 kg boneless skinless chicken thigh fillets

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 yoghurt

1 1/2 tbsp dried oregano

1 tsp salt

Black pepper

2 cucumbers (to make about 1/2 - 3/4 cup grated cucumber after squeezing out juice)
1 1/4 cups plain Greek yoghurt
2 tsp white wine vinegar (or red wine or apple cider vinegar)
1 tbsp lemon juice
1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil (or more if you want richer)
1/2 garlic clove , minced
1/2 tsp salt
Black pepper

3 tomatoes , desseeded and diced
3 cucumbers , diced
1/2 red spanish onion , peeled and finely chopped
1/4 cup fresh parsley leaves
Salt and pepper

4 to 6 pita breads or flat breads

1. This recipe makes a generous amount of Tzatziki. But better to have too much than not enough!

Greek Chicken Gyros recipe video!

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!

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 ❤️

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Best Homemade Chicken Gyros recipe!

Crispy, juicy and absolutely delicious! Our very best traditional homemade Greek chicken gyro recipe with fluffy pita breads and creamy tzatziki sauce for you to recreate this authentic Greek delight from scratch!

Souvlaki with gyro is one of the most popular street foods in Greece ( skewers / suvlaki / suflaki ), that is known and loved around the world. The traditional souvlaki with chicken gyro (yiros) recipe is actually a pita bread sandwich, filled with lots of spicy chicken, fresh juicy tomatoes, crunchy slices of onion and cooling tzatziki sauce. Simply irresistible! Souvlaki stands for “meat-on-a-skewer”, however the majority of Greeks and especially those from Athens call any type of pita wrapped meat a souvlaki, specifying the type of meat and method of roasting separately. For example Souvlaki with pork Gyros or Souvlaki with Chicken Skewers etc.

Homemade chicken Gyros recipe – Preparing the marinade

The most important step in making this traditional chicken gyro recipe is nothing else but the marinade! For this chicken gyro recipe, the chicken is first marinated in a salt-based marinade (almi), along with Greek herbs and spices, to soak up all the wonderful Mediterranean flavours and then grilled to high temperature, to get all crunchy and nicely coloured. Marinading your chicken gyro in the fridge for half an hour will allow the aromas to infuse the gyro meat and give it the desired flavours.

Chicken Gyro recipe – Serve your Chicken Gyro the traditional Greek way

The best way to serve chicken gyro is nothing other than wrapped in a delicious traditional Greek pita. Finding the original Greek pita can be quite challenging as most supermarkets stock only the arabian style ones but you can most likely find them at your local Greek deli or amazon (here and here). However as we all know, nothing compares to home-made, so you can also make your own homemade pita bread with this super easy recipe. Of course tzatziki is the preferred sauce to garnish your chicken gyro and we have included one below as well as here. Don’t forget to season with some salt and paprika, sweet or spicy if you like an extra kick. Most Greeks enjoy their traditional Greek chicken gyro souvlaki with some potato chips so feel free to try adding some as well.

Prepare this super easy Greek chicken gyro recipe for your friends and enjoy over some cold beer!

For the chicken gyro

700-800g boneless chicken thighs (25 ounces)
1,2 lt water (5 cups)
2 bay leaves
1 lemon (cut in the middle)
1 tbsp dried oregano
1 tbsp honey
3 cloves of garlic (not peeled)
1tsp pepper
40g sea salt (approx. 2 tbsps)

For the tzatziki sauce

1 cucumber
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1/4 of a cup olive oil
500g of yogurt (18 ounces)
1-2 tbsps of red wine vinegar
a pinch of salt

8 pita breads
olive oil
1-2 tsps dried oregano
1 tomato, sliced
1 red onion, sliced
fried potatoes (optional)
romaine (cos) lettuce (optional)
paprika
salt and freshly ground pepper

Instructions

To prepare this chicken gyro recipe, start by preparing the marinade for the gyro. Place a large saucepan over medium heat, add all the marinade ingredients for the chicken gyro and stir well. As soon as the water comes to the boil, remove the pan from the stove and let it cool. In the meantime cut the chicken legs into thin strips.
Pour the water into a large bowl and add the chicken strips. Cover with some plastic wrap and place in the fridge for half an hour. (Be careful not to leave the chicken gyro marinade more that half an hour, because it will become very salty.)
In the meantime prepare the tzatziki sauce for the chicken gyro. Pour in a blender the olive oil and grated garlic and blend until combined. Remove the skin and seeds of the cucumber and grate it into a large bowl. Season with salt and pepper and leave aside for 10 minutes. Wrap the grated cucumber in a towel and squeeze, in order to get rid of the excess water. In a bowl, add the cucumber, the blended garlic and oil, the yogurt, 1-2 tbsps of red wine vinegar, a pinch of salt and blend, until the ingredients are combined. Store the tzatziki sauce in the fridge and always serve cold.
Drain the chicken from the water and wipe with some paper towel. When preparing this chicken gyro recipe, to achieve the desired crunchiness sauté the gyro into a very hot large non-sticking pan for 2-3 minutes on each side, without stirring, until nicely coloured. Open one piece up to see if it is cooked (there should be no pink in the middle).
While your chicken gyro is being cooked, prepare the pita breads. Preheat the oven to 250C. Use a cooking brush to oil the pita breads on both sides and season with salt and oregano. Place a large oven tray (upside down) at the bottom of the oven and place the pita breads on top of the tray. Bake for 2-3 minutes.
Chicken gyro is usually served wrapped, like a sandwich. Spread some tzatziki sauce on the pita breads and top it with the chicken gyro, some slices of red onion, some sliced tomato and fried potatoes and wrap.
For an easier version of this traditional Greek souvlaki with chicken gyro recipe you can serve with Greek yogurt or some mustard and mayonnaise sauce. Enjoy!

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3 Comments

Eli, this chicken gyros recipe is AMAZING. I’ve searched high and low for that one authentic, perfect chicken gyros recipe and this is it! So many recipes out there for it, and they are all simply not correct. Some better than others, but none correct…

Until now!! I found THIS gem and knew it was the one! Brilliant, using what is more a quick brine than a marinade, this delivers that perfect product; tender yet crispy, tasty and grilled, slightly salty and herby garlicky goodness! No yogurt rub on the meat!! That’s a satay. What you shared is the real thing!!

I’ve used it a few times now and made a couple slight modifications to it which adjusted it to my preferences, but the credit is all yours Eli. I’m trying the pork recipe tomorrow, your lemon crispy potatoes, and dozens more. Thank you very much for sharing these with us all!

Here are my slight changes to amounts, no ingredient additions or removals, just changes to the amounts of these items. This delivered more flavor punch without changing the profile at all. Absolutely incredible.

2 lbs boneless skinless thighs, thinly sliced

3 Tbsp of coarse Mediterranean sea salt (

6 cloves of garlic, peeled and split

1.5 Tbsp Oregano

I make the brine as indicated using the above modifications, and let it cool.

I then use a 1 gallon ZipLoc freezer bag for the brining, adding the cooled brine (with the lemon halves and all) and chicken to the bag, then carefully seal all air out of the bag. I lay it flat on the bottom shelf of my refrigerator for 2 hours. This gets brine to all the surface area of each piece of the chicken.

Remove the chicken from the bag (dump it all into a bowl if easier) and on some paper towel, give it a quick squeeze to absorb some of the brine Then cook as the recipe calls for.

The end result is absolute heaven. Eli, thanks again for sharing all these wonderful recipes, I’m grateful and excited to make many of them!

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Serves: 4

Time: 20 minutes (plus half an hour for the marinade)

Difficulty: Beginner

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Chicken Gyros (Secret Recipe Club)

by Dorothy Reinhold on June 25, 2012

We all can use a new chicken recipe, can’t we? This one is bound to go into frequent rotation at your house, as it has at mine. It’s easy, it’s packed with galicky, lemony, punchy flavor, and I’ve never met a gyros sandwich I didn’t want to devour.

A gyros (say it yee-ros, and roll the r!) made from chicken is just genius! A blop of garlicky Tzatziki sauce, some chopped fresh summer tomatoes and red onion slices, all on a pita….call me for dinner!

I discovered the recipe at the blog Lynsey Lou’s. Lynsey is a passionate home cook who’s like many of us – she loves to entertain, research new recipes, read cookbooks, find the latest new thing in the culinary world, and most of all, she loves to talk about food to anyone who is interested.

“I love cooking but when I cook for others it’s such an amazing experience. It’s awesome to see the joy on their face when they sink their teeth into something I’ve made,” she writes.

Doesn’t she sound like a good friend to have? I’d like her to move next door to me.

She’s been blogging since 2008, which means she has tons of recipes on her site. I have bookmarked her Pumpkin Snickerdoodles, Roasted Strawberry Lemon Ice Cream, Irish Coffee Blondies and Sweet and Salty Cookies with the M&M’s I love the most – pretzel!

But in the end, what I most need is a good new-to-me chicken recipe, so I settled on the intriguing Chicken Gyros.

There’s nothing better than a good sandwich for an informal summer dinner, is there?

Recipe: Chicken Gyros

Summary: Garlicky, oregano-laced, lemony chicken chunks are piled on a pita, sauced with a classic yogurt Tzatziki, and garnished with chopped fresh tomatoes and half moons of red onion slivers. Opa!

Ingredients

For the Tzatziki sauce (need to make 1-24 hours ahead) :

1 cucumber (or 1/2 hothouse cucumber), peeled and seeded
8 ounces Greek yogurt
2-3 cloves garlic, pressed through a garlic press (or finely minced)
1 teaspoon white wine vinegar
1/2 teaspoon dried dill (you may omit if you don’t have this)
¼ teaspoon ground coriander
Pinch of kosher salt
Grind of fresh black pepper
Squeeze of fresh lemon juice
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil (I used Calolea Meyer Lemon Olive Oil)

4 cloves garlic, pressed through a garlic press or finely minced
2 tablespoons Meyer lemon juice (or regular lemon juice)
2 teaspoons red wine vinegar (I used white balsamic vinegar)
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon Greek yogurt
1 tablespoon dried oregano
Salt and pepper
1 1/4 pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs (you could use breasts)

4 pita breads
4 fresh tomatoes, seeded and diced
Red onion, thinly sliced

Instructions

Make the Tzatziki sauce : Shred the cucumber and then wrap shreds in paper towels. Squeeze to remove liquid, and discard paper towels. Put cucumber, yogurt, garlic, vinegar, dill, coriander, salt and pepper to taste, lemon juice and olive oil in a bowl. Mix well and refrigerate for at least 1 hour before serving to allow the flavors to combine. I like to make the sauce a day ahead of time.
Marinate the chicken : In a medium bowl, whisk together garlic, lemon juice, vinegar, olive oil, yogurt, oregano, and salt and pepper to taste. Add the chicken and make sure the marinade coats each piece. Cover the bowl and refrigerate for an hour to marinate.
Cook the chicken : Remove from refrigerator, discard marinade and cook as you like, either in a skillet or under the broiler (7 minutes per side). When chicken is cooked, transfer to a cutting board and let rest for 5 minutes; cut chicken into strips or chunks.
Assembly : Heat the pitas (or not, as you wish). Top pitas with chicken, sauce, diced tomatoes and onions. Serve immediately.
Serves 4.

Recipe source

I adapted this just slightly from Lynsey Lou’s. She got it from a June 19, 2009 post on Loves To Eat, who got it from a June 2, 2009 post on Annie’s Eats, who got it from a March 9 2009 post on Elly Says Opa, who must have gotten it straight from God’s lips to her ears.

Preparation time: 30 minutes, + 1 hour for marinating

This post is part of the monthly Secret Recipe Club, in which participants are secretly assigned another’s food blog to explore and cook from for a month. Today is our “reveal day,” in which we ‘fess up and share which blog we had. Thanks to Lynsey for such a great recipe, and so many delicious options throughout her site.

Readers, you can see all of the other Secret Recipe Club deliciousness right below here in the array of photos. Click any of them to be transported to that particular recipe!

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I love gyros! I don’t know why I’ve never thought of making them myself. These look awesome, definitely bookmarking

Visiting from Group D SRC . You definitely cant have too many chicken recipes This looks delicious – great pick!

I LOVE chicken gyros! These look so delicious!!

Yum! I’ve tried a ground beef version of this before, but I will definitely have to try it with chicken.

I love tzatziki on almost anything – delicious!

I also have never met a gyros that I didn’t like. These sound great, love the use of meyer lemon olive oil too!

I found your site a year or so before I started blogging myself when I made your witch’s fingers for Halloween. Little did I know that we’d be fellow SRC members one fine day! I’m putting the chicken gyros on my must-make list–great selection and great post…

How sweet! October is around the corner, isn’t it?

this looks summer fresh and exactly what i want for lunch. just pinned it for next week’s menu planning

happy src reveal, friend!

I’m so glad you enjoyed the gyros! They are a favorite at our house, as well. Beautiful pictures…and I LOVE your blog!

Note to self… Put pita on shopping list. GREG

What a GREAT recipe! LOVE it, it’s lovely to meet you and your blog through SRC – visiting from group D and Lavender and Lovage! Karen

oooh i love gyros! this version sounds fab

yum! yes, we can always all use more chicken recipes + this is one unlike anything we make around our house. this looks just fabulous! i’ll definitely have to try it soon!

YUM!! And yes I am always on the lookout for new and delicious chicken recipes.

If you haven’t already, I’d love for you to check out my group “A” SRC entry: Candied Popcorn.

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Gyro Meat with Tzatziki Sauce

4 videos | Gyro Meat With Tzatziki Sauce (04:55)

Ingredients

1 medium onion, finely chopped or shredded
2 pounds ground lamb
1 tablespoon finely minced garlic
1 tablespoon dried marjoram
1 tablespoon dried ground rosemary
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Tzatziki Sauce, recipe follows

Tzatziki Sauce:

16 ounces plain yogurt
1 medium cucumber, peeled, seeded, and finely chopped
Pinch kosher salt
4 cloves garlic, finely minced
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 teaspoons red wine vinegar
5 to 6 mint leaves, finely minced

Directions

Process the onion in a food processor for 10 to 15 seconds and turn out into the center of a tea towel. Gather up the ends of the towel and squeeze until almost all of the juice is removed. Discard juice.

Return the onion to the food processor and add the lamb, garlic, marjoram, rosemary, salt, and pepper and process until it is a fine paste, approximately 1 minute. Stop the processor as needed to scrape down sides of bowl.

To cook in the oven as a meatloaf, proceed as follows:

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.

Place the mixture into a loaf pan, making sure to press into the sides of the pan. Place the loaf pan into a water bath and bake for 60 to 75 minutes or until the mixture reaches 165 to 170 degrees F. Remove from the oven and drain off any fat. Place the loaf pan on a cooling rack and place a brick wrapped in aluminum foil directly on the surface of the meat and allow to sit for 15 to 20 minutes, until the internal temperature reaches 175 degrees F. Slice and serve on pita bread with tzatziki sauce, chopped onion, tomatoes and feta cheese.

To cook on a rotisserie, proceed as follows:

Form the meat mixture into a loaf shape and place on top of 2 overlapping pieces of plastic wrap that are at least 18 inches long. Roll the mixture in the plastic wrap tightly, making sure to remove any air pockets. Once the meat is completely rolled in the wrap, twist the ends of the plastic wrap until the surface of the wrap is tight. Store in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours or up to overnight, to allow the mixture to firm up.

Preheat the grill to high.

Place the meat onto the rotisserie skewer. Place a double-thick piece of aluminum foil folded into a tray directly under the meat to catch any drippings. Cook on high for 15 minutes. Decrease the heat to medium and continue to cook for another 20 to 30 minutes or until the internal temperature of the meat reaches 165 degrees F. Turn off the heat and allow to continue to spin for another 10 to 15 minutes or until the internal temperature reaches 175 degrees. Slice and serve on pita bread with tzatziki sauce, chopped onion, tomatoes, and feta cheese.

Tzatziki Sauce:

Place the yogurt in a tea towel, gather up the edges, suspend over a bowl, and drain for 2 hours in the refrigerator.

Place the chopped cucumber in a tea towel and squeeze to remove the liquid; discard liquid. In a medium mixing bowl, combine the drained yogurt, cucumber, salt, garlic, olive oil, vinegar, and mint. Serve as a sauce for gyros. Store in the refrigerator in an airtight container for up to a week.

Yield: 1 1/2 cups

Pairs well with Merlot

Gyro Meat With Tzatziki Sauce (04:55)

Onion How-Tos (01:54)

Grilling Basics (03:26)

How to Mince Garlic (02:02)

Great Grilled Mains

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Gyros

A Greek specialty, gyros are traditionally made from spiced, spit-roasted lamb. Here, we mold a ground lamb mixture into loaves. The yogurt dressing is a variation on traditional tzatziki.

Ingredients

Loaves:
1 teaspoon onion powder
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon dried oregano
2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon salt
3 garlic cloves, minced
6 ounces ground lamb
6 ounces ground sirloin
Cooking spray
1/8 teaspoon ground red pepper
Sauce:
1 cup peeled shredded cucumber
1/4 cup vertically sliced red onion
1 tablespoon chopped fresh mint
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon black pepper
1 (8-ounce) carton plain fat-free yogurt
Remaining ingredient:
4 pocketless pitas

Nutritional Information

Calories 375
Caloriesfromfat 28%
Fat 11.6g
Satfat 4.4g
Monofat 4.7g
Polyfat 1g
Protein 25g
Carbohydrate 42.4g
Fiber 2.3g
Cholesterol 61mg
Iron 3.5mg
Sodium 627mg
Calcium 158mg

How to Make It

To prepare loaves, combine first 8 ingredients, stirring well. Divide mixture in half, forming each half into a 6 x 3-inch loaf. Place each loaf on a broiler pan coated with cooking spray; broil 7 minutes on each side or until done.

Sprinkle loaves with red pepper. Cut each loaf crosswise into 1/8-inch slices.

To prepare sauce, place cucumber and onion onto several layers of heavy-duty paper towels. Cover with additional paper towels; let stand 5 minutes.

Combine cucumber mixture, mint, and next 5 ingredients (mint through yogurt), stirring well. Divide meat slices evenly among pitas; top each serving with about 1/4 cup sauce.

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Homemade Greek Pork Gyros Souvlaki recipe

Make your own homemade, traditional Greek pork gyros (yiros) wrapped in a pita bread – souvlaki ( skewers / suvlaki / suflaki ) style with this easy to follow souvlaki recipe! Souvlaki is one of the most popular street foods in Greece and for good reason. Its stuffed with well cooked and seasoned meat, garnished with a cooling tzatziki sauce, wrapped in a delicious crispy pita and best of all? It tastes like heaven! Souvlaki stands for “meat-on-a-skewer”, however the majority of Greeks and especially those from Athens call any type of pita wrapped meat a souvlaki, specifying the type of meat and method of roasting separately. For example Souvlaki with Pork Gyros or Souvlaki with Chicken Skewers etc.

This souvlaki recipe can actually be a very healthy dish if prepared the right way. By using good quality pork for your pork gyros, low fat yogurt for the tzatziki and avoiding dipping the pita in oil and frying but opting for a healthier baked version instead you can have the full-blown souvlaki with pork gyros experience in less than 270 calories – yes that is less than your average sandwich! That being said, if you feel a little naughty add some extra virgin olive oil to your souvlaki with pork gyros and enjoy a more street-food like experience.

Homemade souvlaki recipe – Preparing the pork gyros

The most important step in making the perfect, traditional Greek pork gyros souvlaki is nothing else but the pork! Select good quality pork meat, preferably slices of tenderloin and season with a selection of Greek spices like oregano, thyme, garlic and onion. The secret ingredient in this traditional Greek pork gyros recipe is adding a tiny bit of honey and vinegar to the marinade to break the intense pork meat texture. Marinading your pork gyros in the fridge for at least a couple of hours will allow the spices to infuse the gyros and give it the desired aromas.

Preparing your traditional Greek souvlaki

The best way to serve your traditional Greek souvlaki with pork gyros is nothing other than wrapped in a delicious traditional Greek pita. Finding the original Greek pita can be quite challenging as most supermarkets stock only the arabian style ones but you can most likely find them at your local Greek deli or amazon ( here and here )! Of course tzatziki is the preferred sauce to garnish with and we have included one below as well as here . Don’t forget to garnish with some salt and paprika, sweet or spicy if you like an extra kick. Most Greeks enjoy their traditional Greek souvlaki with some potato chips stuffed in the pita so feel free to try adding some as well.

As always, if you have any questions, comments or just want to say hi, feel free to comment in the section below and share with your friends on your favourite social networks using the sharing links above and below!

For the pork gyros

1 pork tenderloin, cut into strips
1 clove of garlic, chopped
1/2 red onion, sliced
3-4 tbsps of olive oil
1-2 tbsps red wine vinegar
1 tbsp oregano
thyme
rosemary
1/2 tbsp of honey

For the tzatziki sauce

1 cucumber
2 cloves of garlic
1/4 of a cup extra virgin olive oil
500g of yogurt (18 ounces)
1-2 tbsps of red wine vinegar
salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

4 pita breads
1 red onion, sliced
1 tomato, sliced
fried potatoes (optional)
some lettuce

Instructions

To prepare this souvlaki recipe start by preparing the pork gyros. Mix into a large bowl the tenderloin (cut into strips), the garlic, the red onion, 3-4 tbsp of olive oil, 1-2 tbsp of red wine vinegar, some thyme, some rosemary, and mix with your hands. Squeeze the ingredients together, so that all the flavours blend and add 1/2 tbsp of honey. Wrap the bowl and put it into the fridge. Leave the marinade in the fridge for at least 2 hours, before using it (ideally leave it over night).
In a (very hot) large non-sticking pan, add the tenderloin along with the ingredients of the marinade, and sauté for 1 minute on each side, without stirring, until the meat is nicely coloured, crispy and tender inside.
To prepare the tzatziki sauce for the pork gyros, pour in a food processor the olive oil and garlic and blend until the garlic is diluted (don’t leave any large pieces of garlic). Into a large bowl, grate the cucumber, season with salt and pepper and leave it aside for 10 minutes. Wrap the grated cucumber into a towel and squeeze, in order to get rid of most of the water. Into a bowl, add the cucumber, the blended garlic and oil, the yogurt, 1-2 of red wine vinegar, salt and pepper and mix. (This recipe is for 5-6 servings. Store in the fridge and always serve cold.)
Use a cooking brush to oil the pita breads on both sides and season with salt, pepper and oregano. Place a large pan (upside down) at the bottom of the oven, place the pita breads on top, and bake in preheated oven at 250C for about 1 minute.
Pork gyros is usually served wrapped, like a sandwich. To serve, spread some tzatziki sauce on the pita breads and top with the pork gyros, some slices of red onion, some sliced tomato and wrap.
For an easier version, you can substitute the tzatziki sauce with some fresh yogurt or some mustard and mayonnaise sauce.

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Where has the print friendly button at bottom of recipe page gone? I dont really want my pc on the work surface of the kitchen!

Oups, must have been a glitch with our system. It has been re-instated 🙂 Enjoy!

Recently signed up for your newsletter and have thoroughly enjoyed it. Can’t wait to try all of your amazing and authentic recipes. Keep up the great work

Reading the instructions the Oregano is not used in the marinade (1)

but only at 4, seasoning the pita bread, is this correct?

I have tried this an I find it better to add to marinade as you would with the chicken recipe, you can save some to sprinkle before wrapping in pita but it does not taste as good.

Do you have recipe for the flatbread?

google jennycancook.com…she makes a great one, and has a video as well!

I tried this recipe and many other Gyros recipes but none is the Gyros as we are used to eat!

Absolutely delicious Gyros recipe!! I used COSTCO Naan pita and Tzatziki and am in heaven with your meat seasoning! (I left out the honey though, no sweetness required)

Thanks for the receipe…….a memory from my childhood summer holidays drops into my mind…….. And by the way concerning the facebook posts above…… Mustard-mayonnaise is so typical for this in greece. Hellas.

I am making this today but sad to notice, no honey? Is it OK to eliminate the honey?

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Serves: 2

Time: 20 minutes (plus 2 hours to marinade)

Difficulty: Beginner

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Marinated Beef Gyros Recipe

Ingredients

1/2 cup reduced-sodium beef broth
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 garlic clove, minced
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon salt
Dash pepper
1 pound boneless beef sirloin steak, cut into thin strips
2/3 cup reduced-fat cucumber ranch salad dressing
1 teaspoon sugar
5 whole gyro-style pitas (6 inches), warmed
2 cups chopped lettuce
1 cup chopped tomato
1 small cucumber, peeled and sliced
1 small red onion, sliced

Directions

Nutritional Facts

1 each: 396 calories, 14g fat (3g saturated fat), 51mg cholesterol, 1046mg sodium, 41g carbohydrate (6g sugars, 3g fiber), 24g protein.

1/2 cup reduced-sodium beef broth
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 garlic clove, minced
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon salt
Dash pepper
1 pound boneless beef sirloin steak, cut into thin strips
2/3 cup reduced-fat cucumber ranch salad dressing
1 teaspoon sugar
5 whole gyro-style pitas (6 inches), warmed
2 cups chopped lettuce
1 cup chopped tomato
1 small cucumber, peeled and sliced
1 small red onion, sliced

In a large resealable plastic bag, combine the first six ingredients; add beef. Seal bag and turn to coat; refrigerate for up to 24 hours.
In a small bowl, combine salad dressing and sugar; refrigerate until serving. Drain and discard marinade. In a large nonstick skillet coated with cooking spray, saute beef for 3-4 minutes or until no longer pink. Serve on pitas with lettuce, tomato, cucumber and onion; drizzle with dressing. Yield: 5 servings.

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Reviews for Marinated Beef Gyros

Average Rating

"I substituted chicken Fried Steak in place of the Sirloin steak and it tasted awesome"

"True, of course I can't think why you would want to add suger to a salad dressing."

"I think I would like this better with the Greek Yogurt sauce (can't remember the correct name) Sounds good tho.

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Pork Souvlaki Gyros (Meat Only)

Recipe by David S 2

people discussing

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Pork Souvlaki Gyros (Meat Only)

SERVES:

Ingredients Nutrition

2 lbs pork roast
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon greek adobo seasoning
1 ⁄₄ cup water
1 ⁄₄ cup extra virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons lemon juice
2 tablespoons vinegar
1 tablespoon soy sauce
2 garlic cloves
1 ⁄₂ medium onion
salt

Directions

- Mix the dried herbs, water, olive oil, lemon juice, soy sauce, and vinegar in a bowl deep enough to hold the pork roast.
- Coat pork roast with the marinade.
- Slice the garlic and onion and spread over top of meat.
- Cover and refrigerate for at least 2 hours, turning and coating several times.
- Place all in roasting pan or dish.
- Tent and roast at 300 degrees 4 to 4.5 hours, basting often with its own juices. Should have internal temp of at least 170 degrees.
- After removing from oven, allow to cool to touch.
- Remove meat from bone, discarding any fat and/or grissle.
- Mix all sauce and bits from the pan together with the pulled meat and salt to taste.
- Meat should be very moist but if necessary, add olive oil and water to moisten especially if reheating.
- Before serving, dry fry (no oil) the meat in a non-stick skillet. This will produce crispy golden brown bits nearly identical to that from a rotisserie.

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Nutrition Info

Serving Size: 1 (193 g)

Servings Per Recipe: 4

Amt. Per Serving % Daily Value Calories 421.5 Calories from Fat 197 47% Total Fat 22 g 33% Saturated Fat 4.4 g 21% Cholesterol 156.5 mg 52% Sodium 384.7 mg 16% Total Carbohydrate 2.7 g 0% Dietary Fiber 0.4 g 1% Sugars 0.9 g 3% Protein 50.6 g 101%

Quick and Easy Marinated Chicken Gyros

This post may contain affiliate links. Affiliate links come at no extra cost to you. These links allow me to share the products I authentically recommend (and use) and support Live Simply by receiving a small commission.

Just the other day, we chatted about making real food doable during the full seasons of life.

During our chat, I mentioned that I keep a list of quick and easy meal ideas/recipes on my fridge. I can easily reference this list and add them to my meal plan each week. This list is a bit different than my Family Favorite Meals list, as these meals must meet a 45 minute or less criteria, or may be prepped in advance.

If you’d like to create a similar list to keep on your fridge, you can download my printable worksheet, here. Yes, you can also use a piece of notebook paper, but you know how much I love a pretty printable.

One of my family’s favorite meals from this list is a Quick and Easy Marinated Chicken Gyros recipe. The gyros take 15 minutes to prep for the marinade in the morning, and in the evening, when we’re ready for dinner, the gyros cook and come together in 30 minutes. That’s a huge dinner win, especially since this meal is packed full of veggies, protein, and a probiotic-rich sauce. These gyros are so balanced and filling that I usually serve them with a simple fruit salad, or just an individual fruit. A real food meal just doesn’t get any easier than that.

Along with being hearty and nutritious, the gyros may also be prepped ahead. The onions and radishes may be chopped a few days in advance, the chicken may be marinated for up to 12 hours, and the greens may be washed on a lazy weekend afternoon. All of these little prep steps may seem minimal, but they add up, and make getting dinner on the table an easy and quick process.

Don’t despair if you can’t spend a few extra minutes on the weekend, or an evening, prepping this meal. Even without the prep time, these gyros come together quickly compared to more time-intensive dinner options.

Finally, let’s talk about the kid-friendliness of this meal.

I’ve learned that my kids particularly gravitate toward two types of meals:

1. Meals that they can get involved with prepping.

2. Meals that feature a build-your-own style of eating.

The kids love to help prep this meal, chopping the tomatoes and cutting the pitas in half with their kid-friendly knives. They also love to build their pitas once the ingredients are placed on the table. The kids are encouraged to try each ingredient in their pitas, which usually doesn’t happen, but we try! Their choices will vary each time gyros are served for dinner. Sometimes, Piper will go for the tomatoes, despite expressing his dislike for them, and then realize that they taste pretty good when sandwiched between the chicken, sauce, cheese, and pita. Sometimes, he won’t touch the tomatoes.

I think your entire family will fall in love with the convenience, ease, and flavor of this meal.

Quick and Easy Marinated Chicken Gyros

Servings 4 -6 people

Calories 459 kcal

Author Kristin Marr

Ingredients

Marinated Chicken:

4 boneless and skinless chicken breasts totaling 2 pounds
3 TB extra virgin olive oil
1 lemon juiced (3 TB of juice)
2 TB red wine vinegar
1 TB dried oregano
3 garlic cloves minced
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper

Make the Pitas (pick and choose your toppings):

4-8 whole wheat pitas
2 cups arugula
1/2 cup sliced radishes
1/2 red onion thinly sliced
1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese
1/2 cup sliced grape tomatoes
1/3 cup sliced black olives
homemade tzatziki sauce

Instructions

This is one of those rare meals when I’ll actually use boneless and skinless chicken breasts. Feel free to use breasts with the bones and skins–you’ll just need to extend the cooking time.

I purchase pita from the health food store or Whole Foods. My favorite brand is Middle East Bakery. If you’d like to make homemade pita, I recommend using the einkorn recipe in Jovial’s Cookbook.

The amount of toppings you’ll need will vary depending on what your family likes and how much your family eats. The amounts given for the toppings (example: 1/2 cup crumbled feta and 1/3 cup sliced black olives) are based on what works for my family of four.

If you make this recipe, be sure to snap a photo and hashtag it #LIVESIMPLYBLOG. I'd love to see what you make!

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4 Comments

Hi Kristen. These look wonderful. I’d love to know where you get your pitas. What brand are they? thanks for all the effort you put into your beautiful blog. Your passion is evident and I rank you as my favorite real food blog! Sending Love from Pennsylvania!

Thank you so much, Moriah! The pitas are made by the company Middle East Bakery. I purchase the pita from the health food store or Whole Foods. They are the cleanest store-bought pitas I’ve been able to find.

Our family absolutely loves this meal. Since you first posted it last September, I think we’ve made it at least a half dozen times. My teen girls have completely opposite taste in foods, which is so irritating… but this one everyone loves. (The only modification made is leaving out the red onions) Also, we use the flatbread sold from Trader Joes. The homemade tzatziki sauce is the bomb, and I always have to make a double batch to use for various other things all week, including just eating with a spoon! thank you.

Yay, Rachel! I’m so glad it’s such a winner. I need to check out the flat bread from TJ’s next time I’m there–I’ve heard great things about it.

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Grilled Flank Steak Gyros

Don't feel like a sandwich? Serve the steak topped with the cucumber sauce and the vegetables as a side salad. Cut the flatbread into triangles, and toast until crisp.

Ingredients

1 (1-pound) flank steak
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt, divided
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder, divided
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, divided
Cooking spray
1/2 cup peeled shredded cucumber
1 (7-ounce) container plain 2% reduced-fat Greek yogurt
1/3 cup vertically sliced red onion
1/3 cup coarsely chopped fresh dill
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
4 (1.5-ounce) flatbread pockets (such as Toufayan SmartPockets)
4 (1/4-inch-thick) tomato slices, halved

Nutritional Information

Calories 335
Fat 12.2g
Satfat 4g
Monofat 5.1g
Polyfat 1g
Protein 34g
Carbohydrate 21g
Fiber 3g
Cholesterol 68mg
Iron 2mg
Sodium 395mg
Calcium 56mg

How to Make It

Preheat the grill or grill pan to medium-high heat.

Sprinkle steak evenly with 1/4 teaspoon salt, 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Place steak on grill rack coated with cooking spray; grill 10 minutes or until desired degree of doneness, turning after 6 minutes. Let stand 5 minutes. Cut steak diagonally into thin slices.

Place shredded cucumber in paper towels; gently squeeze to release moisture. Stir cucumber, remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt, remaining 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder, and remaining 1/4 teaspoon pepper into yogurt.

Combine onion, dill, oil, and juice in a bowl; toss to coat.

Divide steak evenly among flatbread pockets; top each with about 2 tablespoons yogurt mixture, 1/4 cup onion mixture, and 1 halved tomato slice.

Chef's Notes

MyRecipes is working with Let's Move!, the Partnership for a Healthier America, and USDA's MyPlate to give anyone looking for healthier options access to a trove of recipes that will help them create healthy, tasty plates. For more information about creating a healthy plate, visit www.choosemyplate.gov.

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вторник, 12 декабря 2017 г.

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Greek Chicken Gyros with Tzatziki

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Homemade chicken Gyros recipe – Preparing the marinade

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Chicken Gyros (Secret Recipe Club)

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Gyro Meat with Tzatziki Sauce

4 videos | Gyro Meat With Tzatziki Sauce (04:55)

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Gyro Meat With Tzatziki Sauce (04:55)

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Homemade Greek Pork Gyros Souvlaki recipe

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вторник, 12 декабря 2017 г.