Greek-Style Chicken Tzatziki
This tender, flavorful chicken tzatziki (Greek chicken gyros) is a light, easy meal everyone loves. Lean chicken breast strips marinated in Greek yogurt and Mediterranean spices become melt-in-your-mouth tender and incredibly flavorful.
Wrap the delicious grilled chicken in pillowy soft pita bread, top it with a drizzle of yogurt tzatziki sauce, and serve it with the simple tomato and cucumber salad for a healthy, satisfying meal.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
Recipe Ingredients
Here are the main ingredients needed to make chicken tzatziki. I’ve also included ingredients for the simple cucumber-tomato salad I like to serve with it. Substitutions and variations are in the section below.
Be sure to check out the recipe card below for the complete list of ingredients with measurements.
Chicken. Buy regular chicken breasts, cut them in half horizontally, and pound them thin. Doing so makes them more tender than thin-sliced breasts or chicken tender strips. But you can also use those in a pinch.
Greek yogurt. It’s a staple ingredient for this recipe, both for the tzatziki sauce and as the marinade for the chicken. The lactic acid in yogurt does an amazing job of tenderizing the chicken. I recommend plain whole-milk Greek yogurt for the tzatziki sauce because it’s rich and creamy. Any kind of plain Greek yogurt (nonfat, 2%, or whole milk) will work for the chicken marinade.
Herbs and spices. For the chicken marinade, I use a blend of dried oregano, garlic powder, cumin, coriander, and paprika. Use fresh (not dried) dill, parsley, and chives for the tzatziki sauce and tomato-cucumber salad.
Pita bread. Look for a good quality brand that’s soft, fresh, and chewy.
Substitutions and Variations
- Feel free to add more or less of any of the spices for the chicken marinade, depending on your preference. Other spices to try include cayenne pepper (a pinch or two if you like some heat), za’atar, turmeric, and cloves.
- If you prefer boneless, skinless chicken thighs, use those instead of chicken breast.
- Spread a tablespoon or two of homemade hummus on the pita bread in addition to the tzatziki.
- You can substitute naan bread for pita.
- Try some chopped fresh mint in the tzatziki sauce for a flavor variation.
Step-By-Step Instructions
1. Tenderize the chicken. Cut each side of the chicken breast into cutlets. This article has some helpful tips to get even sizes. Place the chicken between two sheets of plastic wrap and pound them thin.
2. Marinate the chicken. Combine the spices with Greek yogurt in a bowl and add the chicken. Flip the chicken once or twice to coat it well. Cover the bowl and refrigerate it for at least 60 minutes. You can do this up to 24 hours before.
3. Grate the cucumber. Use a cheese grater to grate the cucumber. You can peel it if you wish, but you don’t have to. Sprinkle it lightly with salt to draw out the water.
4. Drain the cucumber. Place the grated cucumber in a strainer and press out as much liquid as possible.
5. Make the tzatziki sauce. Combine the Greek yogurt, grated, drained cucumber, fresh dill, minced garlic, lemon juice, and salt. Stir well and refrigerate the yogurt sauce until ready to serve.
6. Grill the chicken. I like to cut the marinated chicken in half lengthwise and thread each piece onto skewers. You can also grill the whole pieces of chicken flat on the grill.
7. Make the tomato and cucumber salad. Combine the sliced tomato and cucumber with red wine vinegar, fresh parsley, and chives. Season with a pinch of salt and sprinkle with feta cheese. Serve the chicken on pita, topped with tomato-cucumber salad, and drizzled with tzatziki sauce.
Expert Tips
- The longer the chicken marinates in the yogurt-spice blend, the more flavorful and tender it will become. It needs at least one hour, but four to five hours or overnight is even better, so if possible, do this early in the day or the night before.
- The tzatziki sauce will also become more flavorful if you make it an hour or two in advance. Note that it will become a bit watery as it sits in the refrigerator, so either carefully drain off the water if you prefer a thicker sauce, or leave it and stir it in for a thinner consistency.
- Warm your pita bread in the microwave for 15-20 seconds before assembling the gyros. It will be softer and more pliable. Plus, it’s delicious when warm.
How to Eat Chicken Tzatziki
I love to serve this chicken tzatziki on pita bread, drizzled with the tzatziki sauce and topped with the tomato-cucumber salad, like Greek chicken gyros. But you also deconstruct this recipe:
- Serve the grilled chicken with a Mediterranean cucumber and tomato salad or stuffed tomatoes on the side.
- Add the grilled chicken to a chicken and orzo salad.
- Use the tzatziki sauce to top poached salmon with herbs.
- Make chicken tzatziki bowls with farro or brown rice instead of serving this gyros-style in pita bread.
Recipe FAQs
You can refrigerate any leftover chicken and tzatziki sauce for up to two days. You can also keep the tomato and cucumber salad for a day or two, but the vegetables will soften.
Other Easy Chicken Recipes
Love this recipe? Please leave a 5-star rating on the recipe card below & a review in the comments section further down the page. Your email will not appear publicly!
Greek-Style Chicken Tzatziki
Ingredients
- 1 1/4 cups plain Greek yogurt non-fat, low-fat, or whole milk, divided
- 1 medium lemon zested and juiced, divided
- 1 1/2 teaspoons dried oregano
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/2 teaspoon cumin
- 1/2 teaspoon coriander
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- 1/2 teaspoon salt divided
- 1 pound chicken breast skinless, boneless
- 1 large English cucumber
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh dill divided
- 1 small garlic clove minced
- 1 large tomato sliced
- 2 teaspoons red wine vinegar
- 2 tablespoons fresh parsley and chives minced
- 1 ounce feta cheese crumbled
- 4 medium pita bread warmed in the microwave
Instructions
- Make the chicken marinade. In a mixing bowl, combine 1/2 cup of the yogurt, the lemon zest, half (about two tablespoons) of lemon juice, the oregano, garlic powder, cumin, coriander, paprika, and 1/4 teaspoon of salt. Stir well to combine. Set this aside.
- Cut the chicken breasts in half horizontally to make thin cutlets. NOTE: see the link in the instructions above if you're unsure how to do this. Place each cutlet between two sheets of plastic wrap and pound them gently so each piece of chicken is evenly thick. If you plan to skewer the chicken, cut each cutlet in half lengthwise into strips. Place the chicken in the yogurt marinade. Stir it well to coat everything. Cover and refrigerate for at least one hour or up to overnight.
- While the chicken marinates, grate the cucumber and make the tzatziki sauce. Grate about 2/3 of the cucumber into a bowl using a cheese grater. You can peel it if you like, but it's not necessary. Sprinkle the grated cucumber with a pinch of salt and let it sit for about 15 minutes. Place the grated cucumber in a mesh strainer and press out as much water as possible. Alternatively, you can use your hands to squeeze out the water.
- Combine the drained, grated cucumber with the remainder of the Greek yogurt and lemon juice. Add dill and minced garlic. Mix well to combine. Season with a pinch of salt or to taste. Set the tzatziki sauce in the refrigerator until ready to serve.
- Thread the chicken onto skewers.Heat a grill to high heat, spray the grill grates, and grill chicken for about 10-14 minutes or until cooked through. Flip the chicken after five minutes so both sides cook evenly. Let the chicken cool for a few minutes, and remove it from the skewers if desired.
- Slice the remainder of the cucumber into thin slices. In a mixing bowl, combine the cucumbers, red wine vinegar, sliced tomatoes, chopped parsley, and chives. Toss lightly and sprinkle the crumbled feta cheese over the salad.
- To serve, warm the pita bread a microwave until soft and pliable (about 15-20 seconds per slice). Top each piece of pita bread with chicken, tomato-cucumber salad, and a dollop of yogurt tzatziki sauce.
Notes
Nutrition
If you print this recipe, you can scan the QR code below to see updates and tips or leave a comment.
This is a delicious summer dinner recipe!