Greek Chicken Gyros (Authentic Cooking Method)

When you think of Greek food you probably think of the delicious Greek Chicken Gyros. Vendors line the streets in all the Greek cities with their vertical rotisserie of meat (either pork or chicken) ready to make you the most life-changing wrap you’ll ever find. You’ll usually find these served with fresh tomatoes, onions, fries, and tzatziki. It’s seriously so good and it’s making my mouth water thinking about it.

❤️ Why You’ll Love Greek Chicken Gyros

• Healthy: The best part about these delicious chicken gyros is that they are healthy for you but taste next level, amazing!
• Authentic: Make your own authentic Greek Chicken Gyros right in your kitchen. The whole family will love it
• Simple: This authentic way of cooking takes some time, but it takes easy ingredients and is super simple to make

🍲 Ingredients

Greek Yogurt – Greek yogurt is such a versatile ingredient in our kitchen. You can use it in your tzatziki or other dips, and you can marinate your meat in it like this Greek Chicken Gyros recipe. The best part is that it’s healthy and protein-packed

Tzatziki – One of the most common dips you’ll find in Greek cuisine is tzatziki! It is a cucumber yogurt dip and it’s so easy to make on your own with a few healthy ingredients. You can check out my recipe here

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👩‍🍳 How to Make Greek Chicken Gyros

1. Make the marinade: add all of the marinade ingredients to a medium-sized mixing bowl or baking dish and whisk together.
2. Marinate the chicken: add the chicken thighs to the marinade, toss to combine well, and put in the fridge to marinate for at least one hour and up to 24 hours.
3. Once the chicken has marinated for at least 1 hour, remove from the fridge and preheat the oven to 400F.
4. Use a vertical spit (meant for oven use) OR use an onion half as a base and position a skewer or two vertically into the onion like a spit on a sheet pan lined with foil. Thread the chicken thighs onto the skewer, making sure to rotate each thigh a bit as you go and the thighs are layered tightly together.
5. Bake for 1- 1 ½ hours, until the internal temperature of the chicken reaches 165°F (75°C). Let cool for 10-15 minutes before slicing/carving off slices of the chicken. Serve with pita, tzatziki, and vegetables or in a bowl (see below for ideas).

🪄 Tips and Tricks

• Marinade: You want to marinate your chicken for 24 hours. You can always marinade for less time but you won’t get as much of the flavors absorbed into the meat. I promise you, it’s worth the wait
• Cooking Time: What makes authentic gyros is the slow cooking time to make it so flavorful and juicy
• Gyro Pan Skewer: Pick one of these up from Amazon. It will make the baking and serving so much easier for you

🗒 Variations

Chicken Gyros Bowl

• 2 cups cooked rice
• 1 cup halved baby tomatoes
• 1 cup chopped cucumber
• 1/2 cup black olives
• 1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese
• 2 cups thinly sliced romaine lettuce
• 1/2 cup tzatziki (make our easy tzatziki recipe)
• 2 pitas (make our fluffy Greek pita bread recipe)

Use the cooked chicken to make chicken gyros bowls by dividing the cooked chicken, rice, baby tomatoes, chopped cucumber, olives, crumbled feta cheese, sliced romaine lettuce, tzatziki, and pita between 4 bowls.

🗒 Best served with

• Simple Homemade Greek Salad 
• Greek Potatoes
• Fluffy Greek Pita Bread Recipe

👝 How to Store Leftovers

This chicken is so good leftover. Store it in the fridge for up to 3 days and use it on literally anything – wraps, salads, bowls.

🤔 Common Questions

Greek Chicken Gyros (Authentic Cooking Method)

5 from 25 votes

Make authentic Greek Chicken Gyros 🌯 at home in your kitchen. Transport yourself to Greece with this easy, delicious recipe.

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Prep Time 5 minutes mins

Cook Time 1 hour hr

Marinating 1 hour hr

Total Time 2 hours hrs 5 minutes mins

Course Main

Cuisine Greek-Inspired

Servings 4

Calories 395 kcal

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Ingredients

  

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• 2-2.5 lbs boneless, skinless chicken thighs (about 12-16 thighs)

For the marinade

• 1 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp pepper
• 2 garlic cloves, pressed
• 1 tbsp dried oregano
• 1/2 lemon juiced
• 1/2 tsp ground cumin
• 1/2 cup plain Greek yogurt
• 2 tbsp olive oil

Variation: chicken gyros bowl

• 2 cups cooked rice
• 1 cup halved baby tomatoes
• 1 cup chopped cucumber
• 1/2 cup black olives
• 1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese
• 2 cups thinly sliced romaine lettuce
• 1/2 cup tzatziki (make our easy tzatziki recipe)
• 2 pitas (make our fluffy Greek pita bread recipe)

Variation: Gyro chicken with vegetables

• 2-2.5 lbs boneless, skinless chicken thighs (about 12-16 thighs)
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp pepper
• 2 garlic cloves, pressed
• 1 tbsp dried oregano
• 1/2 lemon, juiced
• 1/2 tsp ground cumin
• 1/2 cup plain Greek yogurt
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1/2 large white onion, grated
• 1/4 tsp cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp all spice
• 1/8 tsp cloves
• 1 tsp dried parsley
• 1/2 red onion, cut into 1 inch pieces
• 1 red pepper, cut into 1 inch pieces
• 1 cup baby potatoes

Instructions

 

• Make the marinade: add all of the marinade ingredients to a medium sized mixing bowl or baking dish and whisk together.
• Marinate the chicken: add the chicken thighs to the marinade, toss to combine well and put in the fridge to marinate for at least one hour and up to 24 hours.
• Once the chicken has marinated for at least 1 hour, remove from the fridge and preheat the oven to 400F.
• Use a vertical spit (meant for oven use) OR use an onion half as a base and position a skewer or two vertically into the onion like a spit on a sheet pan lined with foil. Thread the chicken thighs onto the skewer, making sure to rotate each thigh a bit as you go and the thighs are layered tightly together.
• Bake for 1- 1 ½ hours, until the internal temperature of the chicken reaches 165°F (75°C). Let cool for 10-15 minutes before slicing / carving off slices of the chicken. Serve with pita, tzatziki and vegetables or in a bowl (see below for ideas).

Variation: chicken gyros bowl

• Use the cooked chicken to make chicken gyros bowls by dividing the cooked chicken, rice, baby tomatoes, chopped cucumber, olives, crumbled feta cheese, sliced romaine lettuce, tzatziki and pita between 4 bowls.

Variation: Gyro chicken with vegetables

• Make the marinade: add all of the marinade ingredients to a medium sized mixing bowl or baking dish and whisk together (salt, pepper, garlic, dried oregano, lemon juice, ground cumin, Greek yogurt, olive oil, grated onion, cinnamon, all spice, cloves and dried parsley).
• Marinate the chicken: add the chicken thighs to the marinade, toss to combine well and put in the fridge to marinate for at least one hour and up to 24 hours.
• Once the chicken has marinated for at least 1 hour, remove from the fridge and preheat the oven to 400F.
• Use a vertical spit (meant for oven use) OR use an onion half as a base and position a skewer or two vertically into the onion like a spit on a sheet pan lined with foil. Thread the chicken thighs onto the skewer, making sure to rotate each thigh a bit as you go and the thighs are layered tightly together. Add the chopped red onion, chopped red pepper and potatoes to the base of the vertical spit (or sheet pan if you're using).
• Bake for 1- 1 ½ hours, until the internal temperature of the chicken reaches 165°F (75°C), baste the vegetables with any pan juices at the half hour mark. Let cool for 10-15 minutes before slicing / carving off slices of the chicken. Serve with pita, tzatziki and vegetables or in a bowl (see above for ideas).

Video

Notes

• Serving suggestions:
  • Simple Homemade Greek Salad and Greek Potatoes
  • With our Fluffy Greek Pita Bread Recipe

Nutrition

Calories: 395kcal | Carbohydrates: 4.8g | Protein: 50.2g | Fat: 18.7g | Saturated Fat: 4.5g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 3.2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 9.4g | Cholesterol: 227.9mg | Sodium: 820.7mg | Fiber: 0.5g | Sugar: 2.2g

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