Chicken Gyro Bowls with Quinoa

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.

Overhead shot of quinoa gyro bowl topped with cucumbers, tomatoes, next to bowl of tzatziki sauce.

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.

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. Just look at the prettiness…

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 retaining all of those traditional ingredients, but I’m swapping out the heavy pita bread for quinoa which is filled with protein, fiber and iron. Perfect for when you’re looking to eat in a more healthful, mindful way.

Before you take a look at the recipe below, let me forewarn you: The list of ingredients for these Chicken Gyro Bowls can look intimidating – But really, the ingredients in each step are repeated over again – i.e. there is garlic, lemon juice, white wine vinegar, and Greek yogurt used in both the chicken marinade and tzatziki sauce. And honestly, you can make these from start to finish in just about 30 minutes – Just be sure to marinate the chicken the night before.

Ingredients for gyro bowls on counter.

While the chicken is marinating, it’s the perfect time to whip up some yummy tzatziki. All you need to make it is garlic, lemon juice, vinegar, olive oil, cucumber and Greek yogurt.

It’s also a great time to make the pickled onions (though you can make them up to 2 weeks ahead of time). In truth, I normally have a jar of these pretty pink onions in my fridge at all times. 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, tacos and salads.

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.

These bowls are great for meal prep. Since it’s just the two of us at home, I’ll normally have a couple extra servings to enjoy lunches during the week. Love that!

Overhead shot of chicken gyro bowl topped with cucumbers, tomatoes, next to bowl of tzatziki sauce.

Wine Pairings for Chicken Gyro Bowls:
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.

Chicken Gyro Quinoa Bowls
These Chicken Gyro Quinoa Bowls with Tzatziki turn your favorite traditional Greek sandwich into a quick, healthy dinner.

Ingredients

2 pounds Open Nature® boneless, skinless chicken breasts
Marinade
3 cloves garlic (minced)
3 Tablespoons lemon juice
4 teaspoons white wine vinegar
2 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
3 Tablespoons Open Nature Plain, Nonfat Greek Yogurt
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
2 Tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1 ¼ cups Open Nature Plain, Nonfat Greek Yogurt
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 (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.