Chicken Gyro Bowls with tzatziki sauce turn your favorite traditional Greek sandwich into a quick, healthy dinner. Lots of yummy gyro toppings piled on a bed of fluffy quinoa.
Table of Contents
Fall is coming. And for me, that usually means the onslaught of comfort food making its way into the kitchen – dishes like pumpkin risotto, osso buco and braised short ribs. But this year, I’m focusing on more mindful eating…
I’m ready to create more dishes that taste light and fresh, and feature lots of color. Enter these Chicken Gyro Bowls.
Gyros are traditionally made with either lamb or chicken and served on pita bread with lots of tzatziki (a cucumber-yogurt sauce), a bit of lettuce and a sprinkling of tomatoes.
For this recipe, I’m using all of those traditional ingredients, but I’m swapping out the heavy pita bread for quinoa which is filled with protein, fiber and iron.
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Love
Just made this for dinner. YUM! So delicious. We added a bed of salad greens underneath everything and it was perfect!
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Looking for more bowl recipes? Be sure to try these Poke Bowls, Quinoa Taco Bowls, Spicy Peanut Tofu Bowls and Sweet Potato & Chickpea Buddha Bowls.
Ingredient notes
- Boneless, Skinless Chicken Breasts – You can also use boneless skinless chicken thighs.
- Quinoa – My new favorite way to make quinoa is in the Instant Pot. If you have one at home, I’d definitely suggest cooking it up in there. It takes just a minute (plus time for pressure to build and release) and it comes out so flavorful and fluffy using these tips. You can also pile these ingredients onto a bowl of white rice, brown rice, or salad greens.
- Garlic
- Lemon
- Cucumber
- Cherry Tomatoes
- Feta Cheese
- Red Onion
- Vinegar – White wine vinegar and apple cider vinegar. Or use just one or the other. Or, swap in red wine vinegar.
- Olive Oil
- Plain Greek Yogurt – Nonfat or full fat.
- Fresh Herbs – Parsley and mint.
- Spices – Dried oregano, ground mustard, salt, pepper, sugar
How to make them
Step 1
Marinate the chicken
- Add the marinade ingredients to a large Ziploc bag, add the chicken and massage the marinade into the meat.
- Allow to marinate for at least 1 hour, or preferably overnight.
Step 2
Make the pickled onions
- Add sliced onions to a bowl. Pour boiling water over them to fully cover and count to 10. Drain onions and place in jar or bowl.
- Heat vinegar and sugar in a small saucepan until sugar has dissolved.
- Pour vinegar mixture over onions. Allow to stand at room temperature, until cooled.
- Tip: I’ve got an entire post dedicated to how I pickle my onions. In the recipe for these Chicken Gyro Bowls, I make a half batch, but why not go ahead and pickle an entire onion. Then you can have leftovers for topping things like scrambled eggs, migas, tacos and salads.
Step 3
Make the tzatziki
- Cut the cucumber in half lengthwise and scoop out the seeds. Coarsely grate the cucumber using a box grater or food processor. Then wrap in paper towels or a tea towel and squeeze to remove excess liquid.
- Place cucumber in a bowl. Add remaining ingredients then mix to combine. Set aside for at least 20 minutes for the flavors combine.
- Tip: Take a shortcut here are purchase premade tzatziki sauce in your grocery store. It’s found near the hummus in the refrigerated cheese section. Or, try my Creamy Feta Dressing!
Step 4
Cook the chicken
- Remove chicken from marinade and cook in a large skillet or grill pan over medium heat 5-6 minutes on each side until cooked through.
- Cut into strips.
Step 5
Assemble the bowls
- Divide quinoa between bowls. Top with chicken strips, pickled onion, tomato, cucumber and feta.
- Drizzle with tzatziki sauce and garnish with parsley and mint.
Variations
- Instead of serving these gyro bowls on quinoa, you can serve them on a bowl of white rice, Greek Lemon Rice, farro, or greens.
- Swap out the chicken breasts for pork chops, or ground turkey or ground chicken. Or, top your bowls with these air fryer chicken bites.
How to make ahead and store
You can make these bowls 3-5 days ahead of time. I like to cook the chicken and the quinoa, then package them up together in a microwave safe container. When ready to heat, simply pop it into the microwave, then top with the tzatziki, pickled onions and other veggies.
Erin’s wine pairings
- Sauvignon Blanc or Vinho Verde will nicely compliment the fresh herbs and citrus in this recipe.
- A light fruity red wine, such as Beaujolais, won’t overpower the fresh flavors in this dish
- A dry Rosé will also pair well with these quinoa bowls.
More quinoa recipes
- More → 35+ BEST quinoa recipes
More bowl recipes
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PS- Check out these 30+ sides for gyros and 15+ tasty sauces for gyros too!
Full Recipe
Chicken Gyro Bowls
Ingredients
- 2 pounds chicken breasts (boneless, skinless )
Marinade
- 3 cloves garlic (minced)
- 3 Tablespoons lemon juice
- 3 teaspoons white wine vinegar
- 2 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 3 Tablespoons Greek yogurt (nonfat)
- 1½ Tablespoons dried oregano
- 1 teaspoon ground mustard
- 2 teaspoons kosher salt
Tzatziki
- 2 cloves garlic (minced)
- 1 Tablespoon lemon juice
- 2 teaspoons white wine vinegar
- 1 Tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- 1 ¼ cups Greek yogurt (nonfat)
- 1 medium cucumber
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
Pickled Onions
- 1/2 red onion (thinly sliced)
- ¼ cup apple cider vinegar
- 2 teaspoons sugar
Assembly
- 3 cups cooked quinoa
- 1 cup grape tomatoes (halved)
- 1 cucumber (sliced)
- 4 ounces feta cheese (crumbled)
- ¼ cup chopped flat leaf parsley
- ¼ cup chopped mint
Instructions
Marinade:
- Add the marinade ingredients to a large Ziploc bag, add the chicken and massage the marinade into the meat. Allow to marinate for at least 1 hour, or preferably overnight.
Pickled Onions:
- Add sliced onions to a medium bowl. Pour enough boiling water over them to fully cover and count to 10. Drain onions and place in jar or bowl.
- Heat vinegar and sugar in a small saucepan over medium heat until sugar has dissolved, about 3 minutes.
- Pour vinegar mixture over onions. Allow to stand at room temperature, until fully cooled, about 20 minutes.
Tzatziki:
- Cut the cucumber in half lengthwise and scoop out the seeds. Coarsely grate the cucumber using a box grater or food processor. Then wrap in paper towels or a tea towel and squeeze to remove excess liquid.
- Place cucumber in a bowl. Add remaining ingredients then mix to combine. Set aside for at least 20 minutes for the flavors combine.
Chicken:
- Remove chicken from marinade and cook in a large skillet or grill pan over medium heat 5-6 minutes on each side until cooked through. Cut into strips.
Assembly:
- Divide quinoa between bowls. Top with chicken strips, pickled onion, tomato, cucumber and feta. Drizzle with tzatziki sauce and garnish with parsley and mint.
Notes
-
Instead of serving these gyro bowls on quinoa, you can serve them on a bowl of white rice, Greek Lemon Rice, farro, or greens.
-
Swap out the chicken breasts for pork chops, or ground turkey or ground chicken.
Nutrition
This post was originally published in 2017. It was updated in 2023 to add new information. The gyros bowl recipe remains the same. Enjoy!
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