Simple marinated citrus Greek chicken with a two ingredient sauce. It’s perfect all year round and you only need one skillet to make dinner in 30 minutes!
Marinated chicken is where it’s at! Whether it’s our simple marinated grilled chicken breasts or our smoked marinated chicken thighs, marinating chicken adds so much flavor and tenderness. The marinade for this citrus Greek chicken packs this recipe with outrageous flavor and is so simple!
This citrus Greek chicken looks like something you’d be served in your favorite restaurant, but it’s the easiest recipe ever. However, I’ve got rules so listen up!
Tips for the Best Citrus Greek Chicken
Boneless, skinless chicken breasts should not be overcooked. Ever. Here’s a really simple way to have perfectly cooked, perfectly moist chicken every single time.
I cringe when I hear about chicken breasts in the oven for an hour or a half hour on the stove top. Please, please don’t do that. Your dinners will be 100 times better if you cook the chicken properly.
Marinated meat is an easy way to have flavor without extra calories or effort, but it must have time. We like to marinate our chicken at least two hours or up to overnight. You pick what works for you.
And finally, oil packed sun dried tomatoes should always be in your fridge. They are amazing. The end.
Ingredients for Citrus Greek Chicken
I’m going to list the ingredients for the chicken marinade first, and then the simple 2 ingredient sauce that we will use to pour over the chicken. Here is what you will need:
- Chicken Breasts: boneless, skinless
- Olive Oil: help tenderize the chicken as it marinates
- Orange Juice: If you have the time, juice your own oranges so you have pure fresh orange juice without any added sugar.
- Greek Seasoning: We prefer McCormick brand, but if you like a different brand or want to make you’re own, we’ve included a recipe below.
- Salt: adds flavor
- Pepper: adds flavor
- Garlic: adds flavor
For the Sauce
- Packed Sun-dried Tomatoes: adds texture, flavor and color to the chicken
- Orange Juice: adds bright citrus flavor to the chicken as it cooks
The measurements for all of the ingredients can be found in the recipe card at the end of this post.
For Cade’s chicken gyros, the chicken is marinated in a tangy yogurt sauce loaded with garlic, lemon, fresh herbs and spices. Then it is baked and piled into soft pita bread and topped with veggies, feta and creamy tzatziki sauce!
Alright, so Cade has reentered the kitchen and I’m beyond thrilled because he knocked this one out of the park!! I cannot get enough of the juicy, succulent chicken and I’m just sure we can find more uses for it than just gyros. Scroll down to see some of my ideas.
How to Pronounce Gyros
Let’s start with how NOT to say “gyros”…basically don’t say it how it looks! It is not pronounced jai-rohs. Though I’m sure everyone would know what you were ordering if you did say it that way. The correct way to pronounce “gyros” is yee-rohs.
What is a Greek Gyro?
A gyro is sandwich typically made with either lamb, pork, beef or chicken (or some combination of the those) on pita bread topped with tomato, red onion, lettuce and tzatziki sauce. It’s eaten like a wrap. It makes a great lunch or dinner.
Ingredients for Chicken Gyros
Here is a brief overview of the ingredients you will need for this gyro recipe. The measurements of each can be found in the recipe card at the end of the post.
- Chicken Thighs: You want them to be boneless and skinless and chicken breasts also work fine. Chicken thighs just tend to have more flavor.
- Plain Greek Yogurt: adds flavor to the marinade and helps tenderize the meat. It also makes the marinade thick so it sticks to the chicken when you bake it.
- Garlic: the purpose for garlic is always to add flavor and you’ll want a lot of it in this recipe!
- Olive Oil: adds richness to the marinade and also helps it not stick when baking
- White Wine Vinegar: adds tanginess and flavor
- Lemons: fresh is a must and you’ll want the juice and zest for maximum flavor
- Oregano: fresh is definitely preferred here, if you have to use dried then use 1 teaspoon
- Parsley: same story as the oregano
- Herbs de Provence: Italian seasoning also works too, and this is a dried herb blend
- Salt: adds flavor
- Smoked Paprika: adds a delicious smokiness to the chicken
- Black Pepper: adds flavor and a little heat
- Crushed Red Pepper Flakes: use as much or as little as you want for the heat on the chicken
For the Gyros:
- Small Campari Tomatoes: You could use type of tomato you want but I love the size and flavor of the campari tomatoes!
- Red Onion: slice them super thin, they add so much flavor and beautiful color to the gyros
- Parsley: adds a delicious pop of freshness to the finished gyro
- Pita Flatbreads: you can buy these at the groce