Slow Cooker Chicken Gyros with Tzatziki Sauce

Just like your favorite Greek takeout, but 10x more fresh and flavorful! These slow cooker lemon-garlic chicken gyros with cool cucumber tzatziki sauce make a healthy, delicious and easy meal.

Slow Cooker Chicken Gyros with Tzatziki Sauce - Just like your favorite Greek takeout, but 10x more fresh and flavorful! Thecomfortofcooking.com

Throughout my pregnancy, and now almost a year later, I have had an insatiable taste for Greek cuisine. I have never loved the combination of fresh veggies, tangy lemon, salty olives and slow cooked meats more. Like most Mediterranean cooking, Greek food emphasizes fewer, quality ingredients and simple seasonings like a squeeze of citrus, a sprinkle of oregano, and a buncha garlic.

Every time the hubby and I grab Greek from our local place, he orders lamb gyros with hummus, and I scarf a salad with chicken, tomatoes, cucumber, cool tzatziki and warm pitas. So, what would make us happier than a delicious combination of our two favorites… made easily at home!

 Slow Cooker Chicken Gyros with Tzatziki Sauce - Just like your favorite Greek takeout, but 10x more fresh and flavorful! Thecomfortofcooking.com

The chicken breasts in these gyros are slow-cooked in a tangy, tenderizing mixture of lemon juice, garlic, olive oil and red wine vinegar. So, to keep the clean up quick and easy, I used one of my must-have kitchen staples, the Reynolds Slow Cooker Liners. Washing the giant insert of my slow cooker is the only thing that keeps me from using it on a daily basis. However, these heat-resistant, leak-proof liners make cleanup as easy as grab and toss! Just wrap the pot of your slow cooker in a liner, simmer your favorite slow cooker recipe, and discard the liner. It’s heavy enough to handle the heartiest ingredients, and leaves no mess behind. No soaking, scrubbing or anything left to do but enjoy your meal. These liners make us love our slow cooker again!

Slow Cooker Chicken Gyros with Tzatziki Sauce - Just like your favorite Greek takeout, but 10x more fresh and flavorful! Thecomfortofcooking.com
Slow Cooker Chicken Gyros with Tzatziki Sauce - Just like your favorite Greek takeout, but 10x more fresh and flavorful! Thecomfortofcooking.com

The tzatziki has to be the best part of this meal, truly! It’s our favorite summertime sauce – we put it on everything from kebabs to burgers, salads and sandwiches. And while it may have a complicated sounding name, it’s anything but. All you need is Greek yogurt, garlic, cucumber, red wine vinegar and a lemon for this life changing sauce. You will love it!

After my chicken is cooked, I simply slice it up and pop it back into the pot while preparing my pitas and toppings. To heat your pitas, you can wrap 1-2 at a time in damp paper towels and microwave, or toss them on a broiler or grill for a couple minutes. Either way, a bit of toastiness to your pita makes them so tasty! And there’s nothing better than a warm pita stuffed with juicy chicken and fresh, crunchy veggies.

So, pile them on! I like to layer the chicken, tzatziki, and heaps of crisp veggies like tomatoes, cucumber, red onion and lettuce. Serve with a few lemon wedges and enjoy this healthy, hearty and fresh Greek favorite!

Slow Cooker Chicken Gyros with Tzatziki Sauce - Just like your favorite Greek takeout, but 10x more fresh and flavorful! Thecomfortofcooking.com

Slow Cooker Chicken Gyros with Tzatziki Sauce

Slow Cooker Chicken Gyros with Tzatziki Sauce

Yield: 4

Ingredients

For the Chicken Gyros:

  • 1 lb. about 2 boneless skinless chicken breasts
  • 4 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1 lemon, juiced
  • 2 Tablespoons olive oil
  • 2 teaspoons red wine vinegar
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons Greek seasoning, or you can just use 1 tsp. oregano
  • 1 teaspoon kosher salt

For the Tzatziki Sauce:

  • 1 medium cucumber, peeled and seeded
  • 16 oz. about 2 cups Greek yogurt
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • 2 teaspoons red wine vinegar
  • Juice of 1/2 lemon
  • 1/2 teaspoon dried dill weed
  • Kosher salt and freshly cracked black pepper, to taste

Serving suggestions:

  • Warm pita bread
  • Tzatziki sauce
  • Leafy greens, lettuce, spinach, mixed greens
  • Sliced tomatoes, Roma, cherry, grape, etc.
  • Sliced red onion
  • Sliced cucumber
  • Lemon wedges

Instructions

For the Chicken Gyros:

  1. Place a slow cooker liner into your 3- to 6-quart slow cooker, letting the liner hang over the edges of the slow cooker.
  2. Add garlic, lemon juice, oil, vinegar, seasoning and salt, whisking until well blended. Add chicken breasts. Cover and cook on LOW heat for 4-6 hours. Remove chicken and cut into slices. Place slices into remaining cooking liquid before serving.

For the Tzatziki Sauce:

  1. Shred or grate cucumber, then place grated cucumber on top of several paper towels. Squeeze to rid of as much excess moisture as possible. In a medium bowl, combine yogurt, shredded cucumbers, garlic, vinegar, lemon juice and dill. Add salt and pepper, to taste. Refrigerate at least 30 minutes before serving.

For serving:

  1. Top warm pitas with chicken, tzatziki, greens, tomatoes, red onion and cucumbers. Serve with lemon wedges, if desired.

Did you make this recipe?

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Join the Conversation

  1. I’m a huge fan of Greek food and gyros is probably my favorite one! I love this easy yet fancy-looking homemade version, so that I get to know exactly what goes in it. Can’t wait to try out this recipe, I have a feeling it will become a summer staple around here :)

    xo, Elisa

  2. I usually make mine with lamb and grill skewers for just a few minutes and then eat. I kinda like the idea of cooking in the slow cooker and dinner’s done. This is one of our favorite meals too.

  3. Oh wow! This looks delicious!!!

  4. This sounds so yummy – I can’t wait to make it!
    I would love to serve it as a full chicken breast with potatoes any idea how to do this in the slow cooker; cooking time and layering?
    If not I will just serve the breasts with your Greek Orzo with Tomatoes and Feta!!
    Your blog and recipes are so inspiring to me! Thank you!!

  5. Cooking time depends if you’re slow cooking the potatoes whole or cubed. I would reference a slow cooked chicken and potatoes recipe for directions. It would be delicious with my Greek orzo, though!

  6. 5 stars
    I have the chicken in my crockpot right now and let me tell you that it tastes delicious….it’s unbelievable! It’s been in the crockpot for almost 9 hrs, so it’s VERY tender! Hubby is having a late night at work and I am determined to wait for him for dinner, he’s on his way home as I type this!

    I am going to serve it in a bowl on a bed of brown rice and quinoa topped with tzatziki sauce, cucumber and tomatoes. I even made your flourless almond butter brownies and those will be used to make some sundaes for dessert to surprise him!

    Love You!

  7. 5 stars
    I made this tonight and it was awesome. The homemade tzatziki was delicious! I have been trying out a lot of your recipes lately and every dish has turned out wonderfully. Thanks for the great blog :)

  8. 5 stars
    I made this for dinner tonight and it was so good and simple! I served it with a big Greek salad on the side. Husband ate it right up (and had seconds). I’ll definitely be using the slow cooker chicken recipe again too. Thank you for all of these delicious Mediterranean recipes!

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