Chicken Gyros
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Make authentic Greek Chicken Gyros at home in the oven with this easy recipe! Perfectly seasoned, marinated chicken thighs are stacked up on top of each other and roasted to perfection. The chicken is sliced and served in warm pita bread with hummus, feta cheese, tomato cucumber salad, and tzatziki sauce for an incredibly flavorful homemade meal.
Why you’ll love this recipe
There’s nothing better than slow cooked, perfectly seasoned meat sliced right off a rotisserie and loaded into a warm, pillowy piece of pita bread.
Now if you’re thinking, “but I don’t have a vertical rotisserie at home?” Don’t you worry, I have two different options for you to make this flavorful meat in your oven, no vertical rotisserie needed! Here’s why I know you’ll love it.
- It’s so flavorful! After one bite, you’ll feel like you’re at your favorite Greek restaurant. The chicken is moist, tender and flavorful. It’s marinated in a delicious combination of Greek yogurt, herbs, spices and garlic, creating chicken that tastes amazing.
- It’s actually really easy to make! While it does take some time to marinate the chicken and slowly cook it in the oven, this is all hands-off time. The hands-on time you need to make this recipe is only 15 minutes!
- It’s great for meal prep! You can prepare the gyro chicken on Sunday, then eat it throughout the week. It’s great wrapped in pita bread, but it’s also great added to salads or bowls.
Ingredients
Here I explain the best ingredients for this Greek chicken gyros recipe, what each one does, and substitution options. For the exact ingredient measurements, see the recipe card at the bottom of this post.
- Chicken thighs – I recommend boneless, skinless chicken thighs for this recipe. They have a lot more flavor than chicken breasts and stay juicy and tender while they cook in the oven.
- Greek yogurt – always use plain Greek yogurt, without any added flavors. I recommend a high quality, whole milk Greek yogurt for the best flavor. While the yogurt used in Greece is made with sheep’s milk, that’s very hard to find in the US, so I tested this recipe with Greek Gods (pictured above) and Chobani. I would recommend both of these brands. They have a better taste, without any sour tang, than the other brands of Greek yogurt that I tested.
- Garlic cloves
- White wine vinegar
- Fresh lemon juice
- Olive oil
- Dried oregano – if you can find it, I recommend using Greek oregano. It has a deeper, stronger flavor than traditional Italian oregano and it really stands out in the marinade.
- Greek seasoning – click the link for my homemade spice mix that features a variety of Greek herbs and spices. You can make it ahead and store it in the pantry for up to 6 months, so you’ll have it on hand whenever you want to make gyros. If you don’t want to make the seasoning blend, I recommend replacing it with a combination of dried parsley, dried mint, and dried dill.
- Salt
- Black pepper
Instructions
I’ve included step by step photos below to make this recipe super easy to follow at home. For the full detailed recipe instructions, scroll to the recipe card at the bottom of this post.
- Marinate the chicken. Add Greek yogurt, crushed garlic, white wine vinegar, lemon juice and olive oil to a large bowl or zipper bag. Season with Greek oregano, Greek seasoning, salt and pepper. Stir to combine all of the marinade ingredients, or shake them up in the bag. Add boneless skinless chicken thighs and toss until the chicken is completely covered in the yogurt marinade. Place in the refrigerator to marinate for 2 hours, or up to 12 hours.
- Stack up the chicken for roasting. I purchased the vertical skewer pan that you see pictured above on Amazon for $25. If you don’t want to purchase this, I have another option for you. Cut both ends off of an onion, so both sides of the onion are now flat. Peel the onion then place it in the middle of a baking dish. Place two wood skewers, or metal skewers, in the onion, then you can skewer the chicken on that. Either way, you’ll want to stagger the chicken around the skewer, so that each piece of chicken is added in a different direction as it goes on the spit. Pour 1 cup of chicken broth in the bottom of the pan. This will prevent any drippings from burning while the chicken roasts in the oven. Skewer a small piece of foil on top of the chicken, so that the top piece does not burn in the oven.
- Roast the chicken gyros meat. Arrange a rack in the middle of the oven, so that the vertical spit will fit. Preheat the oven to 425°F. Place the chicken in the oven and roast for 75-90 minutes. I recommend checking the internal temperature at the middle/bottom of the skewer after 75 minutes. You want the chicken to reach an internal temperature of 165°F before removing it from the oven.
- Slice the meat off of the skewer and make gyros. Use a sharp knife to slice the chicken off of the skewer and load it into warm pita bread. Add the toppings of your choice.
How to fill gyros
There are tons of options when it comes to filling Greek gyros with more than the flavorful chicken that we just made. Here are some of my favorite gyro toppings!
- Veggies: lettuce, tomato and red onion, or tomato cucumber salad
- Dips and sauces: hummus, tzatziki sauce, spicy feta dip
- Cheese: a sprinkle of crumbled feta
Recipe notes
If cooking with chicken breasts, instead of chicken thighs, you will need to reduce the cooking time. I recommend checking the internal temperature of the chicken at 45 minutes when using chicken breasts.
The chicken can sit in the marinade for up to 24 hours. I do not recommend marinating it for longer than that, as the yogurt will start to break down the proteins in the chicken and could ruin the texture of the chicken.
Store chicken gyros leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 6 days.
What to serve with them
Chicken gyros are delicious on their own or served with any of these side dish recipes!
Chicken Gyros
Ingredients
- ½ cup whole milk plain Greek yogurt
- 1 tablespoon crushed garlic cloves
- 1 tablespoon white wine vinegar
- 3 tablespoons fresh squeezed lemon juice
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 ½ tablespoons Greek oregano
- 1 tablespoon Greek seasoning, click link for the recipe *see notes below
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- 2 ½ pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs
- 1 cup chicken broth, or water
Serve with
- pita bread
- hummus
- feta cheese crumbles
- tomato cucumber salad, or lettuce, tomato and red onion
- tzatziki sauce, click link for the recipe
Instructions
- Add the Greek yogurt, crushed garlic, white wine vinegar, lemon juice, olive oil, Greek oregano, Greek seasoning, salt and pepper to a large bowl or zipper bag. Combine the marinade ingredients, then add the chicken thighs and toss until they're fully coated in the marinade.
- Marinate the chicken in the refrigerator for 2-12 hours.
- Preheat the oven to 425°F.
- Using a vertical skewer pan, place the chicken on the skewer, rotating each one opposite of the last. Add 1 cup of chicken broth (or water) to the pan. If you don't have a vertical skewer pan, refer to the notes section below.
- Add a small piece of foil on the top piece of chicken.
- Place the chicken in the oven and roast for 75-90 minutes, or until the internal temperature of the chicken reaches 165°F.
- Use a sharp knife to slice the chicken off of the skewer and load it into warm pita bread. Add the toppings of your choice.
Notes
- You can replace the Greek seasoning with 1 teaspoon dried parsley, 1 teaspoon dried mint, and 1 teaspoon dried dill.
- To make the recipe without a vertical skewer pan, cut both ends off of an onion, so both sides of the onion are now flat. Peel the onion then place it in the middle of a baking dish. Place two wood skewers, or metal skewers, in the onion, then you can skewer the chicken on that.
- If cooking with chicken breasts, instead of chicken thighs, you will need to reduce the cooking time. I recommend checking the internal temperature of the chicken at 45 minutes when using chicken breasts.
- The nutritional information provided is for one serving of the prepared chicken and does not include the pita bread or optional toppings.
Nutrition Facts
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