Sheet Pan Chicken Gyros
An easy way to make this popular Greek sandwich that is full of the flavors of lemon and herbs.
Gyros are a Greek dish of roasted meat served on a pita and usually has tomato onion, cucumber, and tzatziki sauce. Gyros are usually made with either lamb, beef, pork, or chicken, seasoned with spices and roasted on a vertical rotisserie . Probably the most challenging thing about a Gyro is how to pronounce it. I have listened to audio clips of how to pronounce it, and it sounds like “Euros” , the European currency.
Gyros are something we like to make at home. I use boneless, skinless chicken breasts. I don’t have a vertical rotisserie, so I cook mine on a sheet pan in the oven. Before cooking the chicken, I marinate it in olive oil, lemon juice, some minced, garlic salt, and Greek seasoning. Marinating the chicken first helps make the chicken more tender and adds flavor. Gyros are best when people can make their own and choose their own toppings. I like to put out little bowls with hummus, tzatziki, and choices of toppings and I let everyone make their own.
Gyros inexpensive to make especially if you buy the chicken when it’s on sale. The pita and the vegetables are affordable. I spread hummus on the pita before adding the chicken and toppings. Hummus can be store-bought or made very inexpensively at home using chickpeas. enough talking about them, let’s start making our gyros!
Tips:
When marinating the chicken, I use a large zip closure bag, and then put the bag into a container so it doesn’t leak in the fridge.
These gyros can be made using a whole pita and held like a taco to eat, or the pita can be cut in half and opened up and filled like a pita pocket.
It’s best to not marinate the chicken too long because the marinate will start to “cook” the chicken. So, I only marinate the chicken for about 20 minutes.
This same recipe can be used to make beef gyros using a thin steak like flank steak or skirt steak.
I let people build their own gyros when making them at home so they can put what they want on their gyro.
Ingredients:
Chicken: I use boneless skinless chicken breasts. I look for chicken to be on sale for a good price and I stock up and keep it in the freezer.
Pita bread: A flat bread that comes to us from Mediterranean and Middle Eastern countries. Great for gyros and tearing apart and used to eat hummus and other eastern Mediterranean dishes.
Hummus: A Middle Eastern or Mediterranean spread or dip made with cooked mashed or blended chickpeas combined with tahini, lemon juice, and garlic. For this recipe, I used store bought hummus, but homemade is great too! I spread hummus on the pita when making a gyro.
Greek Seasoning: This is a store bought seasoning blend that is a combination of oregano, garlic, cinnamon, peppermint, nutmeg, dill, red peppers, and chives. Garam Masala or a homemade seasoning blend can also be used.
Olive Oil: I use extra virgin olive oil
Lemon juice: I like to use larger lemons for juicing
Garlic: I use a garlic press to mince the garlic, so as not to have chunks of garlic in the marinade. The garlic can also be grated as well.
Salt: I use just a couple pinches of salt. It is not a good idea to use too much salt in the marinade. If you would like to add more salt. The chicken breasts can be seasoned before going into the oven.
Toppings:
Tzatziki: I have made homemade tzatziki, but for this recipe because of all the components to prepare, I used store bought. Tzatziki originated in the Mediterranean and Middle East. It is made of strained yogurt, cucumbers, garlic, olive oil, salt, and sometimes lemon juice, dill, mint, parsley, and/or thyme.
Feta: A brined white cheese from Greece made from sheep's milk or from a mixture of sheep and goat's milk with a crumbly texture.
Shredded lettuce: This is optional. I don’t unusually have shredded lettuce on my gyros, but it is perfectly acceptable to have lettuce on a gyro. I would use shredded romaine or iceberg lettuce.
Sliced vegetables: I offer sliced Roma tomatoes, sliced cucumbers, and sliced red onion to people to put on their gyros.
Instructions:
Cut chicken breasts lengthwise like fileting a fish into 2 thinner pieces. If the chicken breasts are really large, they can be cut in half and you will end up with 4 pieces of chicken.
Place the chicken pieces into a gallon size zip top bag. Lay the bag flat on the counter and add 1 tbsp of olive oil on top of the chicken breast. Then sprinkle 1 t of seasoning on the chicken, and add the juice of half a lemon, and half of the minced garlic. Rub all of the marinade ingredients around on the chicken.
Turn the bag over, and do the same thing on the other side of the chicken. When done, massage the bag to equally distribute the marinade ingredients on the chicken.
Place the bag of chicken into a plastic or glass container, and place in the refrigerator for 20 minutes. Begin preheating the oven to 400 degrees.
While the chicken is marinating, slice the tomatoes, cucumbers, red onion, and cut the additional lemon into wedges, and place on a plate or platter and cover with plastic and keep refrigerated until ready to serve.
At the end of 20 mins, spray a baking sheet lightly with spray oil, and place the chicken pieces on the sheet pan. Put the chicken in the oven on the middle rack for approximately 20 mins.
While the chicken is cooking, prepare side dishes and assemble all the other components of the gyros.
At the end of 20 minutes, check the temperature on the chicken. Cook the chicken to a temperature of 165 degrees according to the USDA.
Let the chicken rest 5 minutes, then slice across the grain for more tender slices. I slice at a 45 degree angle for thinner slices.
Serve the slices on a plate or platter with all the other gyro components buffet style, and let people make their own gyros.
Enjoy!
Serving suggestions:
Gyros are good served with fries, tabouli, or chips.
Here a link for my tabouli recipe-
https://cowtowndealsandmeals.com/meals/tabouli-salad
Gyros can be made by spreading hummus on the pita first, then add the chicken and top with the toppings of the person’s choosing and drizzle with tzatziki sauce and top with feta and a squeeze of lemon.
The gyros can be made on top of the whole pita or as a pita pocket using a pita cut in half.
Recipe
For the gyros:
2 boneless skinless chicken breasts
Pita bread
Hummus
1 to 2 t Greek Seasoning (depending on level of seasoning you prefer)
1 or 2 roma tomato, sliced
½ cucumber, sliced
½ red onion, sliced
tzatziki
feta
1 lemon cut into wedges (for people to squeeze over their chicken on their gyro)
Shredded lettuce (optional)
For the marinade:
2 tbsp olive oil
Juice of 1 lemon
1 lemon (for wedges)
2 large or 3 small cloves of minced garlic
Salt
Directions:
Cut chicken breasts lengthwise like fileting a fish into 2 thinner pieces.
Place the chicken pieces into a gallon size zip top bag. Add 1 tbsp of olive oil on top of the chicken breast, sprinkle 1 t of seasoning on the chicken, and add the juice of half a lemon, and half of the minced garlic. Rub all of the marinade ingredients around on the chicken. Turn the bag over, and do the same thing on the other side of the chicken. When done, massage the bag to equally distribute the marinade ingredients on the chicken.
Place the bag of chicken into a plastic or glass container, and place in the refrigerator for 20 minutes. Begin preheating the oven to 400 degrees.
While the chicken is marinating, slice all the vegetables and cover and refrigerate
At the end of 20 mins, spray a baking sheet lightly with spray oil, and place the chicken pieces on the sheet pan. Put the chicken in the oven on the middle rack for approximately 20 mins.
While the chicken is cooking, prepare side dishes and assemble all the other gyro components.
At the end of 20 minutes, check the temperature on the chicken. Cook the chicken to a temperature of 165 degrees according to the USDA.
Let the chicken rest 5 minutes, then slice across the grain for more tender slices.
Serve the slices on a plate or platter with all the other gyro components buffet style, and let people make their own gyros.
Enjoy!
Notes:
Any leftovers can be kept up to 2 days covered and in the refrigerator.
The leftover chicken can be used to make other dishes such as shredding, reheating and using in chicken spaghetti or cut up and used in soup.
Conclusion:
I hope that you enjoy making my Sheet Pan Chicken Gyros. Feel free to change it up and make them your own. This recipe is brought to you by Lisa Ward, The Cowtown Deal Hunter, born and raised in Fort Worth, Texas where I live with my two kids. Bye y’all!
