I’m obsessed with the marinade from this easy Greek Chicken Gyro recipe. The chicken is so good! Eat it in a pita or serve it over a big salad.
Chicken Gyros
My husband Tommy loves Greek food (he’s obsessed with my Lamb Gyro Loaf from the Skinnytaste Meal Prep cookbook), so he’s never upset when these Chicken Gyros are on the menu! I marinate the boneless skinless chicken thighs (you can also use chicken breasts) ahead and cook them in the air fryer, skillet, or grill. It works great with whatever cooking method you choose! He likes his on a pita with all the fixin’s, and I serve mine over a big Chopped Feta Salad. Everyone’s happy! I also have Chicken Shawarma and Street Cart Chicken with White Sauce that’s also popular!
Why This Chicken Gyro Recipe Works
Like most of you, cooking meals that everyone in my house will enjoy is always a challenge. I love this recipe because it pleases my whole family. Here’s why it works:
- Versatile: You can serve it many ways, such as a bowl, over rice or salad, or in a pita.
- Convenient: Marinate it early for a quick weeknight dinner, and choose the cooking method that’s easiest for you.
- High Protein: The Greek yogurt marinade boosts the protein content, giving one serving 54 grams of protein.
- Dietary Restrictions: Weight Watchers-friendly, gluten-free, high-protein, Mediterranean diet-friendly, keto, low-carb
If you make this healthy chicken gyros recipe, I would love to see it. Tag me in your photos or videos on Instagram, TikTok, or Facebook. And be sure to join the Skinnytaste Community to see what everyone’s cooking!
What You’ll Need
Here are the chicken gyros ingredients. See the recipe card below for the exact measurements.
- Whole Milk Greek Yogurt slowly tenderizes chicken to make it juicy. While acidic chicken marinades can toughen the meat and make it rubbery, yogurt slowly breaks down the proteins in the meat resulting in the most tender texture.
- Garlic: Grate or mince garlic for a flavor boost.
- Lemon: Zest and juice lemon for a bright, fresh taste.
- Chicken Gyros Seasoning: Kosher salt, cumin, onion powder, sweet paprika, turmeric, black pepper, cinnamon, red pepper flakes
- Chicken: I prefer boneless, skinless chicken thighs, but chicken breasts also work.
How to Make Chicken Gyros
This easy chicken gyros recipe is perfect for meal prep. Marinate it the day before when you have time, then cook it the next day before dinner. It’ll take under 25 minutes no matter which cooking method you choose. See the recipe card at the bottom for printable directions.
- Chicken Gyros Marinade: Combine all the marinade ingredients in a bowl and coat the chicken in it. Cover and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes or overnight. Don’t marinate it for more than 36 hours, as the yogurt will begin to break down the chicken.
- Air Fryer: Air fry thighs at 400F for 20 to 24 minutes, flipping halfway.
- Grill or cook on the stove: over medium-high heat for 15 to 20 minutes, flipping halfway.
- Once cooked, slice the chicken and serve on pita or over a salad.
Variations
- Yogurt: Use nonfat or reduced-fat yogurt if you prefer.
- Dairy-Free: Substitute a dairy-free Greek yogurt.
- Lettuce: Swap iceberg with romaine or little gem.
- Onions: Replace red onion with shallots or pickled onions.
- Tomatoes: Use cherry or grape tomatoes.
Serving Suggestions
- Make a Greek salad, gyros pita, or rice bowl with iceberg lettuce, red onion, cucumbers, and tomato, and top them with feta, tzatziki, baba ganoush, or hummus.
- Add it to other salads, like my Mediterranean Quinoa Salad, Greek Orzo Salad, or Chopped Feta Salad.
Storage
- Refrigerate chicken for four days.
- Freeze it for 3 months.
- Thaw chicken in the fridge overnight and microwave or air fry until warm. It’s also good cold over salads.
More Chicken Thigh Recipes You Will Love
For more dinner ideas using chicken thighs, check out my Chicken Thigh Recipes collection, plus these five delicious chicken thigh recipes to inspire your next meal!
- Air Fryer Boneless Chicken Thighs
- Air Fryer Asian-Glazed Boneless Chicken Thighs
- Crispy Baked Chicken Thighs
- Chicken Shawarma Kebab Salad
- BBQ Chicken Foil Packets
Chicken Gyro Recipe
Ingredients
For The Chicken:
- ½ cup whole milk Greek yogurt
- 4 cloves garlic, grated or minced
- 1 lemon, zest and juice
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- ½ teaspoon sweet paprika
- ½ teaspoon turmeric
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- ¼ teaspoon cinnamon
- ¼ – 1 teaspoon red pepper flake, spice preference
- 6 medium boneless skinless chicken thighs, or 3 boneless chicken breasts, halved lengthwise
For serving:
- 3 cups shredded iceberg lettuce
- ½ cup red onion, thinly sliced
- 1 beefsteak tomato, sliced
- 4 large Pita flatbreads, optional for serving
- tzatziki, optional for serving
Instructions
- In a large bowl combine yogurt, garlic, lemon, salt, cumin, onion powder, paprika, turmeric, black pepper, cinnamon & red pepper flakes. Add chicken & coat completely. Marinate for a minimum of 30 minutes but up to overnight (do not recommend going beyond 36 hours as the yogurt will begin to break down the chicken).
Air Fryer Method:
- Air fry chicken thighs in an even layer 400°F for 20 to 24 minutes, flipping halfway in a single layer, in batches as needed.
Skillet or Grill Method:
- Head a skillet or grill/grill pan over medium-high heat and spray with oil. Cook the chicken about 15 to 20 minutes, turning halfway.
Serve
- When done, transfer to a cutting board and slice. Build pita sandwiches or serve over salad with sliced chicken, 1/2 cup shredded lettuce, onion, 1 slice tomato and tzatziki, if desired.
Fabulous! I doubled the recipe and had it for multiple meals on pita/salad. Picky kids enjoyed it too. The seasoning was delicious! Thank you for another amazing recipe.
Very tasty and healthy! We loved it!
This chicken is absolutely delicious. I couldn’t find pita bread so I had it on some naan which was excellent but also a bit big for me. I will make this chicken on repeat. Next time in a salad with Pita chips on top. Yum. Thanks for another great recipe.
This chicken is truly out of this world. The flavor is phenomenal. My family demolished this meal and immediately wanted it back on the menu.
Love greek food( in Cyprus now)and this recipe was fantastic. Will definitely be making this again & again
I made this recipe today it’s delicious. I didn’t have wraps so I served it over rice and side salad. I highly recommend it.
Was good at first meal but when reheated not very good, dried out.
Suggestion: when reheating meat, don’t put it in the microwave, put it in a ziplock baggie and drop it in some hot/warm water for about 10 mins.
Yummy
So stinking good! We will be making this again!
I marinated the chicken about 5 hours, and it was SO juicy and delicious! I added lettuce, tomatoes, and white sauce to the pita and chicken. I was somewhat sad when I took my last bite – but the leftovers will taste just as good or better tomorrow! Yum!!!
Amazing!! So great and easy to make! Wondering if this marinade could be used with shrimp?
Making this this week for dinner, can’t wait! Is there a substitute for the tzatziki?
Made this for my family last night and it was very well received. My daughter had the chicken only in pita bread where my husband and I filled the pita with all the veggies and tzatziki. I can’t wait to make this again, so much flavor and didn’t take long to make.
Will make this again. It is so flavorful! Served it with your tzatziki recipe. My picky husband even liked it.
Amazing!!
The whole family loved it!!
Will be making it again and again!!
Even teen approved, delish!
Perfect!
Made it in airfryer and used deboned skin-on chicken legs. The skin crispied up very nicely and the meat was very flavorful. Great with baked potatoes and tzatziki.
Making this for the 2nd time this. Yummy and Light
Repeating this one. Enjoyed the flavours with moist chicken done in the air fryer. Tzatziki is thr finishing touch bringing together all the flavours.
So flavorful and delicious!
My husband just rated this a 5! The chicken is super moist and flavourful. Well done!
We loved this recipe! Lots of flavor. Will definitely be making this again!
Cooked beautifully in the air fryer! Will be using this recipe over and over.
VERY tasty. I used the least amount of chili flake, but will up that next time. Hubs enjoyed it as well. Such a great meal, cooked in the air fryer, served with some homemade hummus. It was all Yummus!!!
easy recipe and great flavor
Does the time/ temp in the air fryer change if I use thin sliced chicken breast?
This was easy and full of flavor! I have two picky teenagers; my husband is a third picky eater! This is a quick and easy weeknight meal. Another winner from Gina!
Everyone loved the chicken! I smoked the chicken at 300 degrees for 20-30 minutes depending on size. While diets in our home vary, everyone loved that they could have it in a gyro or on top of the chopped feta salad that I made as a side. Definitely in the summertime rotation.
Hi Gina,
I’ll be making this tonight with chicken breast. Do I slice each breast into two thinner pieces? Or am I truly cutting them in half but keeping the thickness as is? Having trouble wording this, but hopefully you can clarify what you mean by “halve lengthwise”. I don’t want to risk it being too dry if I slice them thin and that’s not what the recipe intended. Thanks!
Thinner to make into cutlets
Excellent served with 2-ingredient (Greek yogurt and self-rising flour) flatbread! Will definitely be making this again
Does the nutritional information include the optional pita bread and tzatziki?
No, its extra
I made this tonight, let the chicken marinade 24 hours. To be honest, I thought it was going to be awful – the yellow, thick marinade. Boy was I wrong – it was absolutely delicious! I put mine on the chopper feta salad! What a fantastic meal! Looks sure can be deceiving! Will make this regularly!!
Loved this recipe! Super easy and we served over salad and added feta. I purchased store bought tzatziki and used that for the yogurt in the chicken recipe as we never finish a tub before it goes bad and I didn’t want to also get plain Greek yogurt when we had this! It worked like a charm.
I baked the chicken in the oven for convenience. Because I am gluten free, I served it over quinoa cooked with chicken broth. Easy and everyone can choose what they enjoy on their plate. I put 3/4 tsp red pepper flakes but next time I will bump it up because we love tzatziki sauce!
I love the quinoa idea!
Exceeded expectations. Very good and super easy. Definitely being added to our regular rotation.
Absolutely delicious. I understand why you are obsessed with the marinade. Great Mediterranean flavor. I am seving it with rice pilaf and bean salad. Wow, so good!!!
Is there a reason that my 1 star review of this recipe isn’t showing publicly? I love so many Skinnytaste recipes and just wanted to share my view that this one didn’t work for my husband and I. We had to throw away the leftovers we hated it that much. To us, it doesn’t taste anything like the chicken gyros we love at our local Greek restaurant. I posted similar comments with a one star review selected two days ago. It hasn’t shown up. For those that love this one, happy it worked out for you. For those who haven’t tried it yet, I just wanted to share that not everyone loves this one even though it is showing as a 5 star recipe.
I can see your 1 star review. You didn’t really explain the issue beside the seasoning blend not being it. Was the flavor off? Too salty? Too bland?
Can you use no fat Greek yogurt for the marinade? Or add something to it?
Sure
Are we supposed to wipe off the marinade before cooking?
This one was a rare Skinnytaste fail for us. We disliked it so much that we threw away the leftovers because we knew we would never eat them. Perhaps our local Greek restaurant makes a different style of chicken gyros because this seasoning blend didn’t even remotely taste like what we get there. Glad that others are enjoying this one, but we will chose from our many other Skinnytaste favorites next time.
Sorry you didn’t like it, we loved it but everyones taste is different!
Great flavor and easy to make.
Amazingly good! I’m so happy to have leftovers so we can eat it again tonight. I will definitely make this again.
This was incredibly good. My picky teen kids went back for seconds and said these were as good as our local Greek diners version!
Awesome!
Delicious! My hubby loved it too. The Tzatziki was a little thick what
could I have done?
Is the nutrition facts just for the chicken and marinade or the whole recipe?
Chicken, marinade and veggies.
Am thinking the time for the air fryer a bit long. Other skinny taste recipes for thighs are more like 14 minutes total flipping half way? Maybe the oven time got switched with the air fryer time? So I cut time to 7 minutes each side and they were done with even some crispy edges. I trimmed all the fat I could from the thighs and ended up with about 19 ounces raw, so they were not too big and some ended up in pieces..so that may have something to do with the time. They were so good it was hard not to eat them all at once. Seasonings perfect –used 2% Fage Greek yogurt. I did have a pita, but really didn’t put the chicken on it–just had pita with some hummus and a romaine salad on side. The chicken is good all on its own. A favorite! Can’t wait to do them again.
Just prepped the chicken for this week and it’s so delicious! Super juicy and great flavor. I also prepped the tzatziki that Gina refers to in the recipe. I will be using this as a dip too and probably shouldn’t have only made half the recipe.Cannot wait to have these gyros for dinner this week.
My daughter loves chicken gyros, so I am looking forward to making this recipe. I see that if making in the oven, you recommend broiling…how long would you suggest and should I use the “low” setting on the broil function?
This was an easy marinade and tasted great! My chicken thighs were kind of frozen so next time will defrost first before putting the marinade on. But even with the semi frozen chicken it was delicious. I stuck it all in a dish and broiled it based on one of the comments and so it was easy to make! Everyone loved it including toddler.
Great recipe! I can’t figure out why the cholesterol is so high though. My husband loves gyros but I’ve never cooked lamb, so this is a great alternative.
Wonderful recipe. Loved the fact that once the chicken could be marinated, the recipe came together easily. Using the air fryer was another plus. Easy cleanup. Froze our leftovers for use in wraps and salads.
This is a great recipe . Once you have marinated the chicken, it is pretty much finished. Loved using the air fryer. Had plenty left over so I froze the extra for use in salad, soup or wraps.
I made this last night for my family for the first time and it was absolutely delicious. It is going to be one of our favorite meals from now on and it’s not fattening which I like. Thank you
Making this tonight. Is your nutrient count for thighs or breasts? How do I do the nutrition count taking away the marinade or do you include it?
Thighs, its included
???
I love Greek gyros, either chicken or lamb . The salad or pita works. I will make this recipe definitely.
Can you make this in the oven?
Sure I would broil it
I made this in the oven tonight. Used boneless skinless thighs. Baked in a wire rack/sheet pan at 450°F for about twenty minutes and it was perfect!
Do you have a low carb pita flatbread to recommend.
Josephs makes a low carb one.
Gina, how do you reduce the marinade for two chicken breasts? We don’t like thighs and if I cook more than two breasts 8 end up throwing one out. Only two in the house eat poultry or fish.
Just use half
This recipe sounds really good. Can’t wait to make it. Wondering how would this marinated chicken stand up to being flash frozen?
Not sure?
This was so delicious and easy to put together after work. The ingredients all came together perfectly! Will definitely make this again soon!