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Loaded with plenty of fresh herbs, lemon, garlic, and Mediterranean flavor, these Crock Pot Chicken Gyros are a healthy, 10-minute dinner for your busiest days! The juicy, tender chicken is delicious when stuffed in a pita, piled high on rice, or tossed in a salad. Finish the gyro chicken with tzatziki sauce, hummus, olives, pickled red onions, or any of your other favorite toppings.
What is a Chicken Gyro?
These slow cooker chicken gyros are a simplified shortcut for the classic Greek dish. While traditional gyros are made with meat that’s cooked on a vertical rotisserie and then shaved off, this easy homemade version takes advantage of the set-it-and-forget-it Crock Pot method. After all, most of us don’t actually have a vertical spit of stacked meat in our American kitchens!
In Greece, pork and sometimes chicken are the most common meats used in gyros. Other countries, however, often use beef or lamb. The gyro meat is then served wrapped or stuffed in a pita or other similar flatbread, along with other toppings and ingredients such as tomatoes, onions, fried potatoes, and tzatziki.
Ingredients
This is just a quick overview of the ingredients that you’ll need for a pot chicken gyros. As always, specific measurements and complete cooking instructions are included in the printable recipe at the bottom of the post.
- Chicken: boneless skinless chicken thighs work well in the slow cooker, since they stay moist and juicy, even during the longer cooking time. If you prefer, you can substitute with boneless skinless chicken breast.
- Red onion and carrots: aromatics that sit at the bottom of the slow cooker and flavor the meat as it cooks. You do not need to serve the cooked carrots and onions with the meat in your finished dish.
- Lemon: the juice from a lemon gives the chicken a nice acidic component and bright, fresh flavor.
- Oregano, basil, and thyme: fresh herbs are always my preference for the best flavor, but dried herbs will also work.
- Garlic: for extra savory Mediterranean flavor.
- Olive oil, salt, and pepper: to season the meat and enhance the other flavors in the dish.
Tzatziki Sauce
A common condiment for gyros, and one of the most delicious options that you can add to the meat, is a cool, creamy, sauce called tzatziki. Tzatziki is made with Greek yogurt or other strained yogurt mixed with cucumbers, garlic, salt, olive oil, sometimes with vinegar or lemon juice, and herbs such as dill, mint, parsley, and thyme. You can make your own tzatziki sauce at home using this recipe, or keep it really simple and just purchase a container at the store. I typically find tzatziki sauce in a refrigerated case in the deli section of my grocery store, not far from the hummus.
How to Make Chicken Gyros at Home
Admittedly, these are not authentic Greek gyros. I’m not shaving meat off the spit; I’m not necessarily whipping up my own Tzatziki (although you can easily do so with this recipe); and I’m certainly not baking fluffy, soft flatbread in my oven.
But you know what? This dinner is so full of fresh, healthy, Mediterranean ingredients that nobody cares if they are technically “real” gyros. They’re just really good and really easy.
For those of you with picky eaters at home, this is a great way to keep the entire family happy at the table. Just set out the toppings on the counter and let everyone design their own gyros to suit individual tastes. It’s a simple mealtime solution that will make your life just a little bit easier!
- Place chicken in a large Ziploc bag (or bowl). Drizzle with a couple tablespoons of olive oil, and season with salt and pepper.
- Add the garlic and herbs to the chicken mixture; toss to coat.
- Let the chicken sit in the marinade in the refrigerator to marinate for a few hours (or overnight), or cook the meat right away — whatever is most convenient.
- Place the onions and carrots in the bottom of a slow cooker.
- Add the marinated chicken to the pot, then squeeze the lemon juice over top.
- Cover and cook on LOW for 4-6 hours or on HIGH for 2-3 hours.
- Chop or shred the meat, discarding the cooked carrots and onions.
- Season the chicken with additional salt and pepper, if necessary. Serve!
How to Serve Chicken Gyros
Serve the chopped or shredded chicken inside pitas, on top of naan bread, over rice, or on a salad. You’ll also want to pile on the toppings, such as:
- Tzatziki sauce (store-bought is great, or try homemade tzatziki sauce)
- Crumbled feta cheese
- Olives
- Additional chopped fresh herbs
- Tomatoes
- Iceberg or romaine lettuce
- Chopped red onion or quick pickled red onions
- Hummus
Pair the chicken gyros with a side of rice, a Greek salad, rosemary roasted potatoes, or crispy baked potato wedges.
Storage
Leftover chicken will keep in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 3-4 days.
How to Freeze
To extend the life of your gyro chicken, store the leftovers in an airtight container in the freezer for up to 3 months. Thaw in the refrigerator overnight.
How to Reheat
Place the cooked chicken (and juices) in a saucepan on the stovetop. Cover with a lid and warm over low heat, just until the meat reaches the desired temperature (stirring regularly). You can also reheat individual servings of the chicken in the microwave for about 60 seconds.
Chicken Gyros Recipe Variations
- Serving a larger group? Double all of the ingredients.
- Instead of the fresh lemon juice, add a splash of red wine vinegar to the Crock Pot right before cooking.
- Don’t have fresh herbs? You can substitute with about 2 teaspoons dried oregano, 2 teaspoons dried basil, and 1 teaspoon dried thyme.
- Season the finished chicken with additional salt and pepper and plenty of chopped fresh herbs, such as basil, oregano, thyme, rosemary, or fresh dill.
- For a stronger garlic flavor, use 3-4 cloves garlic.
Tips for the Best Chicken Gyro Recipe
- Use either boneless, skinless chicken breasts or boneless, skinless chicken thighs for this recipe. We find that the dark meat thighs stay a bit juicier during the slow cooking process, but they are both great.
- Marinate the chicken with the garlic, herbs, olive oil, salt, and pepper in the refrigerator for a few hours (or overnight). This isn’t necessary if you don’t have the time, but it adds even more flavor to the meat.
- Be careful not to overcook your chicken. I find that the chicken breast or thighs have the best texture when cooked in my slow cooker on HIGH for about 2-3 hours (at the most — sometimes they’re done in just 90 minutes). That keeps them moist and juicy, and prevents them from drying out. The meat is done when it reaches an internal temperature of 165°F.
- Also remember — every slow cooker runs at a slightly different temperature (which is why the recipe gives you general time ranges, rather than exact times). Since my slow cooker tends to cook at a relatively high temperature, I find that the meal is best when cooked on HIGH for about 2 hours or on LOW for about 4 hours. Just get familiar with your pot and adjust accordingly.
More Crock Pot Chicken Recipes to Try
- Crockpot BBQ Chicken
- Chicken Corn Chowder
- Crock Pot Chicken Stew
- Slow Cooker Garlic Sesame Chicken
- Crock Pot White Chicken Chili
- Slow Cooker Chicken Nachos
- Slow Cooker Chicken and Stuffing Casserole
Crock Pot Chicken Gyros
Ingredients
- 2 lbs. boneless, skinless chicken thighs
- 1 red onion, sliced (plus additional for serving, if desired)
- 4 large carrots, peeled and chopped into chunks
- Juice from 1 lemon
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh oregano
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil
- 1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme leaves
- 2 cloves garlic, minced or pressed
- Olive oil, salt, and pepper (to taste)
- For serving: pita bread or rice or salad; Tzatziki sauce; feta cheese; sliced red onion; sliced olives; sliced tomatoes; lettuce; sliced cucumber
Instructions
- Place chicken in a large Ziploc bag. Drizzle with olive oil. Season liberally with salt and pepper. Add oregano, basil, thyme, and garlic to the bag. Seal the bag, toss to coat the chicken. You can let the chicken marinate in the refrigerator for a couple of hours (or overnight), or you can just use it right away.
- Place onion and carrots in the bottom of a slow cooker. Top with chicken and herbs from the bag. Squeeze lemon juice over top.
- Cover and cook on LOW for about 4-6 hours, or on HIGH for about 2-3 hours.
- Remove chicken to a plate, bowl, or cutting board. Chop or shred the meat, then stir it back into the pot. Taste and season with salt and pepper, if desired.
- Use a slotted spoon to pile the chicken on top of pita bread, rice, or salad. I typically discard the carrots in the pot, which were just used to flavor the meat as it cooked. Garnish the chicken with Tzatziki sauce, feta cheese, and other toppings of choice.
Notes
- Use either boneless, skinless chicken breasts or boneless, skinless chicken thighs for this recipe. We find that the dark meat thighs stay a bit juicier during the slow cooking process, but they are both great.
- Marinate the chicken with the garlic, herbs, olive oil, salt, and pepper in the refrigerator for a few hours (or overnight). This isn’t necessary if you don’t have the time, but it adds even more flavor to the meat.
- Be careful not to overcook your chicken. I find that the chicken breast or thighs have the best texture when cooked in my slow cooker on HIGH for about 2-3 hours (at the most — sometimes they’re done in just 90 minutes). That keeps them moist and juicy, and prevents them from drying out. The meat is done when it reaches an internal temperature of 165°F.
- Also remember — every slow cooker runs at a slightly different temperature (which is why the recipe gives you general time ranges, rather than exact times). Since my slow cooker tends to cook at a relatively high temperature, I find that the meal is best when cooked on HIGH for about 2 hours or on LOW for about 4 hours. Just get familiar with your pot and adjust accordingly.
- Serving a larger group? Double all of the ingredients.
- Instead of the fresh lemon juice, add a splash of red wine vinegar to the Crock Pot right before cooking.
- Don’t have fresh herbs? You can substitute with about 2 teaspoons dried oregano, 2 teaspoons dried basil, and 1 teaspoon dried thyme.
- Season the finished chicken with additional salt and pepper and plenty of chopped fresh herbs, such as basil, oregano, thyme, rosemary, or fresh dill.
- For a stronger garlic flavor, use 3-4 cloves garlic.
Nutrition
This recipe was originally published in April, 2017. It was updated in April, 2022.
These sound delicious. Can’t wait to try them.
Thanks, Carolyn! Enjoy! 🙂
This sounds like such a great meal, Blair! I love gyros, but have never made them with chicken before, let alone in the slow cooker. I love how easy the prep time is, too. What a fun dish to recreate from your childhood and I know my husband would love these flavors, too!
Thanks so much, Gayle! I think your husband would like this healthy dinner too!
I love love love Gyros and have been craving them and these made with chicken sound divine. The fact I can make in my sleep cooker is a bonus. I took the chicken out to thaw i can mari ate overnight and make tomorrow. Once again thanks for a great recipe. You’re the best!
That’s great, Kathleen! I hope that you enjoy them! 🙂
Woman! I’ve been eyeing these all day on FB! IT’s about time I came here and drooled. LOVE gyros and slow cooker is GENIUS!
Thanks, friend! 🙂 Can’t beat the slow cooker for EASY dinners!
What do you do with the carrots when through cooking? I’ve never had a gyro with carrots. ???
You can just toss the carrots if you don’t want to eat them on the side. They give the chicken additional flavor as it cooks, keeps the meat juicy, and acts as a roasting rack for the chicken to sit on as it cooks. 🙂
Thanks! ????
This was delicious!!! Love all your recipes
Hi, Blayke! Thanks so much — you totally made my day. 🙂 I’m glad that you enjoyed the meal, and I’m so appreciative that you read the blog. Have a great week!
I’ve got this recipe in the crock pot as we speak and it smells amazing! My husband is active military and is also taking night classes to get his CDL, I work from home, we have a 3 year old son, and I’m almost 6 months pregnant so I need all the dinnertime help I can get! I’m so excited to share this with the gang for dinner. Thanks for posting this recipe!
Hi, Kay! That’s wonderful! I’m so glad that this might make your life a bit easier. I completely relate to the chaos of trying to work from home with multiple little kids at your feet (and a husband who is gone a lot). With three baby boys born in less than 4 years, that has definitely been my reality recently as well! At least I can share some of the easy recipes that we love with other women in similar situations!
Hi, thank you so much for delicious food, but I don’t know how to make Tzatziki sauce
Hi, Lia! Tzatziki sauce is a yogurt-based garlic and herb sauce…but I rarely make it myself! Instead I just buy a container of it at the grocery store for a short cut! 🙂 I usually find it either near the hummus in the deli section or near the dips in the refrigerated/dairy section. Hope that helps! 🙂
Thanks for the recipe! Does a 4-6 yield mean that it makes 4-6 gyros or feeds 4-6 people? I’ll be cooking for 5.
Hi, Tania! It should be enough meat/fillings to serve 4 large appetites or 6 small appetites. If you stuff one gyro really full, you might just get one gyro per person. If you fill them lightly, you will probably get more. Serving sizes are such a tricky thing because everyone had different size appetites. My kids eat a lot less than my husband, so calculating “one” serving size is very arbitrary. 🙂
Long story short, you should have enough fillings for all 5 of you. I’d buy at least 6 (or more) pitas, just to make sure there are plenty!
Can’t thank you enough for all your wonderful recipes! I’m a soon to be mother and your recipes have been my saving grace- My husband is also a huge fan. Every single recipe is a wow!
Hi, Kimberly! Thank you so much for your kind note. You totally made my day! 🙂 I’m really happy that you and your husband enjoy the recipes, and I SO appreciate the fact that you took the time to let me know. Thank you for reading the blog, and congrats on your soon-to-be baby!
This looks delicious! Have you ever made it with dried herbs? I always have dried thyme, oregano and basil on hand and would love to make this as a quick weeknight dinner.
Hey, Anna! You can definitely use dried herbs for this dish. I would adjust the amounts as follows, since dried herbs are more potent than fresh herbs:
– 2 teaspoons dried oregano
– 1 teaspoon dried basil
– 1 teaspoon dried thyme
Enjoy!!!
Made them for dinner last night…oh my gosh so yummy & delicious! Super easy too! Thanks for the awesome recipe!
Yay! That’s great, Haylea! Thank you for letting me know!
Made this it’s absolutely phenomenal. Marinated the chicken over night. Chicken is unbelievably tender.
Yay! Thanks, Cherish!
Im confused, do we add water to slow cooker or not if so how much? It doesnt mention anything.
No, there’s no water in the recipe. 🙂
If you see liquid in the photos, it’s just from the slow cooker process as the vegetables and meat release some liquid.
Thanks for breaking it all down so we know what to expect every step of the way, both the easy and hard
🙂
I made this for dinner tonight and we loved it! The lemon, herbs, carrots and onion are the perfect combination! Four hours on low worked for me. It tasted just like my favorite Greek restaurant! Thanks for a great and easy recipe Blair!
Thank you, Denise! 🙂
I only have bone in thighs, would this change the cooking time?
Hi, Michelle! Bone-in chicken typically requires a longer cooking time. That said, every slow cooker is a bit different in temperature, so it’s hard to give you a specific amount of time for the thighs in your pot. I would suggest trying 4-6 hours on low, and they should be good to go! 🙂
Thank you for the quick reply, starting these now ????
Wonderful! Enjoy!
Oops! I made it with dried herbs with tablespoons versus the suggested teaspoons. I’ll find out tomorrow how it tastes. Smells relish!
They were delicious! And they did not taste over seasoned due to my mistake! Full of flavor! I enjoyed them in my pita with all of my toppings and my kiddos enjoyed just the chicken alone!
That’s great, Jennifer! I’m so glad that they still worked! 🙂
Can i use boneless breasts instead??
Yes!
I’m putting some potatoes in the bottom too to absorb some of that tart flavor! Yum!
Awesome! Enjoy!
My entire family loved them tonight, even my super picky eater had 2 helpings! Thanks for a super easy recipe. Love that it was simple but flavorful!
Love that! Thanks, Lindsay! 🙂
If you are freezing this to make ahead can you add the onions and carrots to the bag prior to placing in freezer
Absolutely! 🙂
Made this recipe tonight and I absolutely loved it! Thank you for sharing. It was the perfect summer meal.
Yay! Thanks, Cacie!
Awesome!!! I made this and it is excellent !!!!
Thank you, Carla!
How many boneless chicken breasts should I substitute for the 2 lbs of thighs? And should I adjust the cooking time and marinade amounts? Thanks!
Hi, Adrienne! It really depends on the size of the chicken breasts, but typically you’ll need 3-4 chicken breasts to equal 2 lbs. You don’t need to adjust anything else to make that swap. Enjoy! 🙂
Good morning, Blair. Couple of questions. I’m still shopping around for a crockpot/instant pot Do you use a Crockpot brand crockpot? What size do you use for family size recipes such as this?
This sounds delicious and I can see where I could eat a serving or two and freeze the rest with good results.
Beth, you are so kind to answer my rookie questions. At 61, you would think I would have learned how to cook by now but I really haven’t, But going by prices alone,,the time to learn has come.
I really have a faith in your blog. My best wishes to you and your wonderful family. Your photos are lovely and it’s nice on Sundays to read about your part of the world and to hear what y’all are up to. Is soccer really big in your area or do all your boys just like it? Take care!
Hi, Marion! I use a slow cooker that’s made by All-Clad. It’s this one, which has a 7-quart capacity: https://www.williams-sonoma.com/products/all-clad-gourmet-slow-cooker-with-all-in-one-browning/
I know that Crock Pot sells good slow cookers as well, and anything in the 6-7 quart range will be plenty big enough for most recipes. Hope that helps!
My boys have all played a variety of sports, but they seem to enjoy the soccer most, so that’s what they’ve focused on. They play basketball in the winter, and soccer pretty much year-round. It’s not any more popular than baseball, basketball, or football around here, but it’s what they gravitate to. 🙂
These look amazing!! Can you please tell me the source of the paper you wrapped them in??
Thanks, Marilyn! Isn’t that paper great? It’s made specifically for food photography, so the “newspaper” articles are all food-related topics (but it has the texture of parchment paper). I love it. I ordered it from Texturit, which is a food photography product company based in Italy. Here’s the link: https://www.texturit.com/en/negozio/baking-oil-paper-design/?v=7516fd43adaa
We make these almost weekly! So tasty and they make great leftovers.
Thanks, Emily!!
I made this for my family a couple of days ago and everyone loved it, there was some leftover chicken that I used yesterday in a pasta bake so nothing went to waste, will make again, thanks for sharing 🙂
We’re so happy to hear this, Rakel! Thanks for trying it out.