Chicken Gyros with a homemade tzatiki cucumber sauce is hands down our favorite family meal.  The best part is that it comes together in about 30 minutes.  Pieces of chicken are marinated in a lemon juice and olive oil marinade before being grilled.  Wrap the chicken gyros in pitas and serve with a delightfully fresh yogurt cucumber sauce for a light yet filling summer meal.

Just about a decade ago I spent a summer living and studying in Athens, Greece.  Just about every day for lunch I would stop at a little restaurant on my way home from campus and pick up a souvlakia.  Souvlakia looked like what Americans call “gyros” only instead of lamb it was almost always made with pork that was seasoned slowly roasted on a rotating skewer.  The slouvakia was served wrapped in a pita stuffed with meat, french fries and tzatiki and then sprinkled with paprika. It was divine.

These chicken gyros are technically my version of a cheater souvlakia.   Since I don’t own a large roasting skewer, I use a grill to cook the meat.  The spices aren’t exactly the same, but it the gyros are delicious in their own right. And the homemade tzatiki cucumber sauce is just amazing. I like dip french fries in it!

This recipe is for just over one pound of chicken, but we always triple it because we want leftovers!