Slow Cooker Chicken Gyros with Cucumber Tzatziki
Chicken thighs cook low and slow with lemon, garlic, oregano, and a little smoked paprika until they shred with a fork, then get tucked into warm pitas with a quick homemade cucumber-yogurt sauce, tomatoes, and red onion. Almost all of the work is hands-off, and everyone can build their own.
4 hrs 20 mins
6 servings
Ingredients
- 2 ½ pounds Chicken Thigh (Boneless Skinless)
- 1 cup English Cucumber
- 1 tablespoon Fresh Dill
- 5 cloves of Garlic
- ½ Red Onion (Medium)
- 2 Roma Tomatoes
- 2 cups Romaine Lettuce
- 1 Yellow Onion
- 6 Pita Pockets
- 1 ½ cups Yogurt (Greek)
- 1 ¼ teaspoons Kosher Salt
- ¼ cup + 1 tablespoon Lemon (Juice)
- ½ teaspoon Black Pepper
- 2 teaspoons Dried Oregano
- 1 teaspoon Ground Cumin
- 1 teaspoon Paprika (Smoked)
- 2 tablespoons Olive Oil
Directions
- Scatter the sliced yellow onion over the bottom of a 6-quart slow cooker and lay the chicken thighs on top.
- In a small bowl, stir together the minced garlic, most of the lemon juice, the olive oil, oregano, smoked paprika, cumin, most of the salt, and the pepper. Pour it over the chicken and turn the pieces to coat.
- Cover and cook on LOW for 4 hours or HIGH for 2 1/2 hours, until the chicken is very tender and reaches 165°F.
- While the chicken cooks, make the tzatziki: stir the Greek yogurt, squeezed cucumber, the remaining garlic (finely grated), dill, the remaining lemon juice, and the remaining salt together in a bowl. Cover and refrigerate until serving.
- Shred the chicken right in the slow cooker with two forks and stir it into the juices and onions. Let it sit uncovered on WARM for 10 minutes so it soaks up the liquid.
- To serve, pile the chicken onto warm pitas with lettuce, tomatoes, and red onion, and spoon tzatziki over the top.
