Chicken Gyro Bowls

• It’s easy to make!
• It’s a great option if you meal prep or like to have leftovers for a day or two.
• It’s light, fresh, and a great balance of protein, carbs, and vegetables.
• You can easily customize the toppings if the ones listed aren’t your favorites.

Plain Greek yogurt – This is used for both the chicken marinade as well as the tzatziki. I recommend using 2% of full fat Greek yogurt.

Lemon juice – Always go with fresh squeezed lemon juice if possible for the best flavor.

Garlic – I prefer to grate my garlic on a microplane zester so that it dissolves into the marinade. It’s fast and you don’t risk biting into any chunks of garlic.

Flat leaf parsley – Fresh and flavorful herb that’s used in the chicken gyro marinade.

Fresh Dill – I like to use fresh dill versus dried dill in the tzatziki for the best flavor. You can use dried dill if that’s all you have, but you’ll want to use less of it.

Dried oregano, smoked paprika, ground cumin, ground coriander – The spice blend used in the chicken gyro marinade.

Boneless skinless chicken breasts – I prefer to use chicken breasts for the bowls, but you can substitute with boneless skinless chicken thighs if you prefer.

Cherry tomatoes – Unless it’s summer, I always use cherry tomatoes in recipes as they tend to be sweeter and taste better.

Cucumber – Persian or English cucumbers are best for this recipe. They’re crunchy, don’t have as many seeds and you don’t have to peel them.

Red onion – It has a milder flavor that yellow onion, which is preferable since it will be used as a raw topping.

Kalamata olives – This variety of olives is commonly used in Greek recipes, especially salads. They add a great briny salty flavor to the bowls.

Feta cheese – Feta is one of the most popular and well known Greek cheeses. It’s a brined white cheese made from sheep’s milk. The consistency is crumbly and has a slightly grainy texture.

Brown rice – Brown rice is a great gluten-free, whole grain option and adds a nutty flavor to the bowls. You can always substitute with white rice if you prefer.

1. Start by cooking the rice. While the rice cooks combine the Greek yogurt, lemon juice, garlic, parsley, olive oil, and dried spices in a bowl. Add in the cubed chicken and let it marinate for 30-60 minutes.
2. While the chicken marinates make the tzatziki sauce. Combine Greek yogurt, shredded cucumber, lemon juice, garlic, and fresh dill. Be sure to squeeze as much of the liquid out of the cucumbers as you can. Stir everything together and refrigerate until ready to serve.
3. Chop the cucumber, tomatoes, olives, and red onion.
4. In a large skillet, add some olive oil and when it’s hot throw in the chicken. Let it cook for several minutes before flipping it over. This will allow it to brown and get a light crust on the outside.
5. Once the chicken is cooked through remove it from the heat and assemble the bowls.
6. Fill the bowl with rice and then top it with some of the chicken, cucumbers, red onion, tomatoes, kalamata olives, crumbled feta, and a big dollop of tzatziki sauce.

I like to store the chicken and rice together since they taste best when warmed up. Simply reheat them in the microwave for 30 second increments until they are warmed through.

Keep the tzatziki sauce in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. You will need to stir it before each use because the cucumber will continue to release water and the sauce may separate.

The cucumber, tomatoes, onion, and olives can either be stored all together in one container or in separate containers. They’ll also keep for 4-5 days.

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