Greek Chicken Stuffed Pitas

5 from 2 votes

Greek Chicken Stuffed Pitas with homemade tzatziki, feta, Castelvetrano olives, and pickled red onions. A fresh Mediterranean dinner ready in just 20 minutes.

Prep Time15

Total Time15

Course: Dinner, Lunch

Cuisine: Greek

Servings: servings

Author: Gaby Dalkin

Ingredients

For the Tzatziki

2 cups plain full-fat Greek yogurt
½ English cucumber peeled, grated, and squeezed very dry
1 lemon juiced
1-2 cloves garlic grated or super finely chopped
1 tablespoon chopped fresh dill plus more to taste
Kosher salt and freshly cracked black pepper to taste

For the Chicken Filling

2 cup shredded rotisserie chicken
½ cup tzatziki from the homemade amount above
1 teaspoon dried oregano
lemon zest to taste
1 tbsp olive oil
Kosher salt and freshly cracked black pepper to taste

For Assembly

4 Greek-style pita breads the thick, puffy pocket kind
½ cup chopped tomatoes
⅓ cup crumbled feta cheese
⅓ cup Castelvetrano olives roughly chopped
½ cup pickled red onions
2 tablespoon fresh dill chopped

Instructions

Make the tzatziki: In a medium bowl, combine the Greek yogurt, grated and very well-squeezed cucumber, grated garlic, dill, olive oil, and half of the lemon juice. Stir well to combine. Taste and add more lemon juice as needed. Season generously with salt and pepper. Cover and refrigerate until ready to use.
Make the chicken filling: In a large bowl, combine the shredded rotisserie chicken, ½ cup of the tzatziki, sliced red onion, dried oregano, lemon zest, and olive oil. Toss until the chicken is evenly coated. Taste and season with salt and pepper as needed.
Warm the pitas: Place the pita breads on a baking sheet and warm in a 350 degree F oven for about 5 minutes, until soft, warm, and pliable. Alternatively, warm them directly over a low gas flame for 20 to 30 seconds per side.
Assemble: Carefully open each warm pita to create a pocket and fill generously with the chicken mixture. Top with chopped tomatoes, crumbled feta, chopped Castelvetrano olives, pickled red onions, and fresh dill. Drizzle with additional tzatziki and serve immediately.

Notes

Squeeze the cucumber until you cannot squeeze it anymore. The number one enemy of great tzatziki is excess moisture. After grating the cucumber, wring it out in a clean kitchen towel or layers of paper towels as hard as you can. Watery tzatziki equals soggy pitas, and we are absolutely not doing that.

Grate your garlic rather than chopping it. For tzatziki specifically, a microplane-grated clove disperses so much more evenly and gently than chopped garlic. You get that flavor throughout without any harsh raw bites.

Let the tzatziki rest before serving. Even 15 to 20 minutes in the fridge makes a meaningful difference. It gives the flavors time to meld and the garlic to mellow into the yogurt.

Use the right pita. You want the thick, soft, puffy Greek-style pitas that open into a proper pocket, not the thin flatbread kind. Warm them in the oven at 350 degrees F for about 5 minutes or directly over a low gas flame for 20 to 30 seconds per side for the best texture and flexibility.

Season the chicken filling generously. Rotisserie chicken is already seasoned, but once you toss it with tzatziki, give it another taste and adjust the salt, lemon, and oregano before stuffing the pitas.

Assemble right before serving. All the components can be prepped hours or even a day ahead, but load the pitas at the very last minute. This keeps the bread from getting soggy and the toppings crisp and fresh.

Do not skip the pickled red onions. They add a hit of acidity that cuts through the richness of the tzatziki and feta in a way that fresh red onion simply cannot replicate. They take about 30 minutes to make and are completely worth it.

Nutrition