1 bird’s eye pepper (optional) seeded and finely diced
For the sandwich filling:
1 English cucumber, diced
2 cups tomatoes, seeded and diced
1 cup seeded Kalamata olives
¼ red onion thinly sliced
freshly chopped herbs, such as dill, mint or basil
1 cup feta cheese, crumbled
drizzle of olive oil
squeeze of lemon
salt and pepper
To serve:
6 Greek-style pitas, about 8-inch round
1 cup feta cheese, crumbled
1 cup tzatziki sauce (see instructions below)
sandwich filling
potato chips (optional)
Tzatziki sauce:
1 English cucumber
sprinkle kosher salt
1 cup plain Greek yogurt
4 garlic cloves, peeled, grated
1 teaspoon white vinegar
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon chopped fresh dill or mint
pinch of sugar (optional)
½ teaspoon kosher salt
½ teaspoon black pepper
Takes ,
serves 6.
Instructions
Prepare marinade: Place all of the ingredients for the marinade into a large bowl. Whisk to combine. Taste then add more salt and pepper if desired.
Marinade chicken: Drop chicken into bowl, tossing it thoroughly to coat. Cover and refrigerate for between 2 and 4 hours.
While chicken is marinating, prepare sandwich filling: Place all of the vegetables, fresh herbs and feta into a medium bowl. Add a drizzle of olive oil and a squeeze of lemon along with a sprinkle of salt and pepper. Do not stir. Cover with wrap and refrigerate until you’re ready to serve.
Cook chicken: Preheat the left side of the griddle to moderate-high, 450°F. Turn right side of griddle to low heat, about 250°F. Spread oil out across the left side surface using a griddle flipper. Drop the thighs onto the hot side of the griddle, close cover and cook for 3 minutes. Flip and grill for 3 minutes more. Transfer cooked pieces to a tray or platter covering loosely with foil. Swipe oil from surface using the flipper and turn off left side of griddle
Warm pita: Drop pitas onto the right side of the griddle, warming for 1 minute per side.
To serve: Transfer chicken to cutting board and slice into thin strips. Lay pita on a piece of parchment paper on your work surface. Toss sandwich filling and add 2 or 3 spoonfuls onto the pita. Sprinkle with feta cheese. Add slices of chicken and a drizzle of tzatziki. Gently pull sides of pita up like a wrap, then pull parchment paper over each side and roll. Gather excess paper at the bottom and twist to secure the sandwich. Place on plates and serve as is or with chips.
For the tzatziki: Grate the cucumber into a medium bowl. Sprinkle with salt, toss then leave to rest for 5 minutes. Transfer into a square of cheesecloth over a bowl, then gather up and squeeze to remove excess liquid.
In a second medium bowl add yogurt, garlic, vinegar, oil, fresh herbs and sugar, if using. Stir or whisk to combine. Stir in cucumber. Season with salt and pepper. Cover and refrigerate until use.
Greek Chicken Sandwich
Ingredients
2 pounds skinless, boneless chicken thighs
drizzle of canola, peanut or avocado oil
For the marinade:
12 garlic cloves minced
¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
juice from 1 lemon
2 teaspoons dried oregano
1 teaspoon paprika
½ teaspoon allspice
½ teaspoon nutmeg
1 teaspoon kosher salt
½ teaspoon black pepper
1 bird’s eye pepper (optional) seeded and finely diced
For the sandwich filling:
1 English cucumber, diced
2 cups tomatoes, seeded and diced
1 cup seeded Kalamata olives
¼ red onion thinly sliced
freshly chopped herbs, such as dill, mint or basil
1 cup feta cheese, crumbled
drizzle of olive oil
squeeze of lemon
salt and pepper
To serve:
6 Greek-style pitas, about 8-inch round
1 cup feta cheese, crumbled
1 cup tzatziki sauce (see instructions below)
sandwich filling
potato chips (optional)
Tzatziki sauce:
1 English cucumber
sprinkle kosher salt
1 cup plain Greek yogurt
4 garlic cloves, peeled, grated
1 teaspoon white vinegar
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon chopped fresh dill or mint
pinch of sugar (optional)
½ teaspoon kosher salt
½ teaspoon black pepper
Directions
Prepare marinade: Place all of the ingredients for the marinade into a large bowl. Whisk to combine. Taste then add more salt and pepper if desired.
Marinade chicken: Drop chicken into bowl, tossing it thoroughly to coat. Cover and refrigerate for between 2 and 4 hours.
While chicken is marinating, prepare sandwich filling: Place all of the vegetables, fresh herbs and feta into a medium bowl. Add a drizzle of olive oil and a squeeze of lemon along with a sprinkle of salt and pepper. Do not stir. Cover with wrap and refrigerate until you’re ready to serve.
Cook chicken: Preheat the left side of the griddle to moderate-high, 450°F. Turn right side of griddle to low heat, about 250°F. Spread oil out across the left side surface using a griddle flipper. Drop the thighs onto the hot side of the griddle, close cover and cook for 3 minutes. Flip and grill for 3 minutes more. Transfer cooked pieces to a tray or platter covering loosely with foil. Swipe oil from surface using the flipper and turn off left side of griddle
Warm pita: Drop pitas onto the right side of the griddle, warming for 1 minute per side.
To serve: Transfer chicken to cutting board and slice into thin strips. Lay pita on a piece of parchment paper on your work surface. Toss sandwich filling and add 2 or 3 spoonfuls onto the pita. Sprinkle with feta cheese. Add slices of chicken and a drizzle of tzatziki. Gently pull sides of pita up like a wrap, then pull parchment paper over each side and roll. Gather excess paper at the bottom and twist to secure the sandwich. Place on plates and serve as is or with chips.
For the tzatziki: Grate the cucumber into a medium bowl. Sprinkle with salt, toss then leave to rest for 5 minutes. Transfer into a square of cheesecloth over a bowl, then gather up and squeeze to remove excess liquid.
In a second medium bowl add yogurt, garlic, vinegar, oil, fresh herbs and sugar, if using. Stir or whisk to combine. Stir in cucumber. Season with salt and pepper. Cover and refrigerate until use.
Greek Chicken Sandwich
5 / 5. 4
Chicken thighs marinated in Mediterranean flavours, griddled tender and juicy then topped with garlicky tzatziki and wrapped sandwich style…
Need a simple but delicious idea that you can serve any time of day? This GREEK CHICKEN SANDWICH is it!
We’re often asked for suggestions on recipes that can work for either lunch or dinner, and this GREEK CHICKEN SANDWICH fits that and then some. It’s relatively simple to prepare and is comprised of three components: the marinated chicken, the sandwich filling and a classic sauce or condiment to go with. We’re especially pleased with how easy it is to serve, wrapped in parchment and presented with nothing more than potato chips.
Highlights of this post include:
Boneless chicken thighs flavoured with a traditional Greek marinade often used on gyros and souvlaki.
The chicken thighs get cooked tender and juicy on Weber Grill’s state-of-the-art SLATE, a 30-inch rust-resistant griddle.
The sandwich itself boasts a filling that’s akin to a Greek salad.
We add a very garlicky tzatziki, a yogurt and dill-based sauce, giving this sandwich loads of flavour.
As you read on, please note: that this post contains sponsored content as part of our ambassadorship with Weber Canada. We also divided the following sections of this post into the various components of this homemade sandwich recipe. Hope this helps keep your sammie-making skills en pointe!
Here are some more tips on making this GREEK CHICKEN SANDWICH recipe.
CHICKEN THIGHS
In planning this recipe for a chicken sandwich, we elected to use skinless, boneless chicken thighs. We found that chicken thighs cook both tender and juicy and we especially noticed the rich flavour of this dark meat. Of course, you can use boneless, skinless chicken breasts if you wish, but we suggest trying the recipe first using thighs as we’ve directed. Purchasing free-range organic chicken is also suggested. It just tastes better.
CHICKEN MARINADE
This first photo shows the various ingredients needed to whisk together the marinade for the chicken thighs. We called out to a few Greek friends asking for their guidance on what to include within. In our minds, we wanted the meat for this sandwich to mirror the flavours of a traditional GYROS, meat cooked on a vertical rotisserie. Another option, SOUVLAKI, cubes of meat cooked kebab-style on brochettes. The olive oil, red wine vinegar and lemon juice are common in traditional Greek recipes as is the oregano and the garlic. Additional suggestions included the addition of three fragrant flavourful spices – paprika, nutmeg and ground allspice. We also like adding a bird’s eye red pepper that we added to give the chicken thighs a bit of heat.
MARINATE
Once you’ve whisked up the marinade for this GREEK CHICKEN SANDWICH recipe, simply add the chicken thighs and toss thoroughly to coat. Because butchers often fold the two sides of the thigh back together after deboning thighs, we suggest opening the meat right up before tossing it into the marinade. Again, the goal is to make sure the entire chicken thigh is coated. After that, cover and refrigerate for between two to four hours to maximize flavour. Marinating them longer only increases the flavours, yum!
SANDWICH FILLING
Looking at the photo of the ingredients for the sandwich filling, we expect you might be thinking, “Hmmm, kinda looks like a Greek salad.” Well, almost. Although we could have served the sandwich filled with cooked chicken, lettuce and sauce, we wanted to add a bit more to take this sandwich idea from simple to amazing. Our filling is a melange of cucumber, tomato, garlic, red onion, fresh herbs, pitted Kalamata olives, lemon juice, salt and pepper.
Make sure to closely follow our instructions on making the sandwich filler. Everything gets added into a medium bowl, then covered and refrigerated – no mixing! Do not toss until right before you make the sandwiches. During the testing of this recipe, we found that stirring the filling right before assembling these sandwiches kept the various diced veggies and herbs intact.
TZATZIKI SAUCE
Years ago we posted this recipe for our now-famous CREAMY CUCUMBER SALAD. We got comments on Pinterest from our Polish followers, “It’s mizeria!”. Our Turkish readers told us, “It’s cacik!”. Then, the Greeks said, “It’s tzatziki!”. Well, no. Just so we’re all on the same page, this is tzatziki. For the most part, it’s a rich, creamy condiment or sauce made with cucumbers, garlic, Greek yogurt, fresh herbs, salt, ground pepper and a tiny bit of vinegar. It’s very, very tasty.
Two things set this tzatziki apart from others. First, we grate the English cucumber using a box grater. The grated cuke is then salted and left to sweat before being squeezed through cheesecloth to release excess liquid.
This method further yields a dense sauce or dip that’s loaded with cucumber flavour. Often served in Greece as meze or appetizer, this dip is wonderful on warmed pita or with grilled eggplant, zucchini or stuffed grape leaves.
Try tzatziki on a chicken sandwich such as this, or enjoy it with lamb, beef, pork or any grilled or roasted meat in need of a pleasing flavour boost.
COOKING CHICKEN THIGHS
We prepared the marinated chicken thighs for this recipe using a SLATE GRIDDLE. This state-of-the-art griddle is big, with a 30-inch wide flat surface that held our goal temperature of 450°F for the total time needed to cook the chicken. Visit WEBER GRILLS to learn more about this essential piece of outdoor cooking equipment.
Griddling the chicken is easy, where we sear the thighs for three minutes per side. You’ll notice serious browning and caramelization as the chicken thighs cook. We also expect you’ll notice the heavenly aromas too. It’s like being in the kitchen of a traditional Greek taverna or standing next to a gyros or souvlaki cart in downtown Athens. Yup, it’s that good.
Chicken thighs are cooked when the internal temperature in the thickest part of the thigh reads 165°F. We then remove them from the grill, covering them loosely with foil. The thighs get sliced into thin strips or slices. The chicken is very, very tender and juicy and the flavours are off the charts with hints of cloves garlic and spices.
SANDWICH FIXINGS
Once the chicken is off the griddle we’re ready to serve, so time to gather up all the fixings for these delicious Greek chicken sandwiches. We crafted our sammies using traditional Greek pita bread, the sandwich filling, the tzatziki and then a cup of crumbled feta cheese.
WARMED PITA
Make sure to watch the VIDEO attached to this post where we suggest you warm the Greek pita bread for a minute per side over moderate heat. This warms this light flatbread enough so that it becomes more pliable. It’ll then fold around the various sandwich components without breaking, snapping or falling apart. We think this presentation is more enjoyable than stuffing pita halves or making a pita pocket.
SANDWICH COUNTER
Once everything is ready, set up a little sandwich-making station on your work surface. Have the pita, tzatziki, sandwich filling and chicken at the ready and then either assemble all the sandwiches or call family and friends in to make their own. It’s a fun, chill way of serving this lovely lunch or dinner idea.
ASSEMBLE SANDWICHES
The first time we tested this recipe we noticed two things: the sandwiches we super tasty but they were also very messy. Folding them in half like tacos just didn’t work. Instead, we came up with this brilliant idea; wrap them in parchment paper just like they do in Greek restos. So, to serve, place a piece of parchment on your work surface. Then a warmed pita, a tablespoon or two of the filler, a sprinkle of feta, the strips of chicken and a dollop or two of tzatziki. Finishing touch is to fold the sides in like wrap, then roll the sandwiches and spin the excess paper at the bottom. Way less messy and more enjoyable to eat. Pro tip: have extra napkins ready, just in case.
This sandwich idea is so tasty, we suggest you PIN the recipe to a favourite light meal or sandwich board on PINTEREST or BOOKMARK this tab for easy access. SHARE it with friends so they can make them too. We’d also appreciate seeing pics of all the delicious dishes you’re making these days. Use #weekendatthecottage when you post those pics on Facebook and Instagram. Thanks!
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Ingredients
2 pounds skinless, boneless chicken thighs
drizzle of canola, peanut or avocado oil
For the marinade:
12 garlic cloves minced
¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
juice from 1 lemon
2 teaspoons dried oregano
1 teaspoon paprika
½ teaspoon allspice
½ teaspoon nutmeg
1 teaspoon kosher salt
½ teaspoon black pepper
1 bird’s eye pepper (optional) seeded and finely diced
For the sandwich filling:
1 English cucumber, diced
2 cups tomatoes, seeded and diced
1 cup seeded Kalamata olives
¼ red onion thinly sliced
freshly chopped herbs, such as dill, mint or basil
1 cup feta cheese, crumbled
drizzle of olive oil
squeeze of lemon
salt and pepper
To serve:
6 Greek-style pitas, about 8-inch round
1 cup feta cheese, crumbled
1 cup tzatziki sauce (see instructions below)
sandwich filling
potato chips (optional)
Tzatziki sauce:
1 English cucumber
sprinkle kosher salt
1 cup plain Greek yogurt
4 garlic cloves, peeled, grated
1 teaspoon white vinegar
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon chopped fresh dill or mint
pinch of sugar (optional)
½ teaspoon kosher salt
½ teaspoon black pepper
Directions
Prepare marinade: Place all of the ingredients for the marinade into a large bowl. Whisk to combine. Taste then add more salt and pepper if desired.
Marinade chicken: Drop chicken into bowl, tossing it thoroughly to coat. Cover and refrigerate for between 2 and 4 hours.
While chicken is marinating, prepare sandwich filling: Place all of the vegetables, fresh herbs and feta into a medium bowl. Add a drizzle of olive oil and a squeeze of lemon along with a sprinkle of salt and pepper. Do not stir. Cover with wrap and refrigerate until you’re ready to serve.
Cook chicken: Preheat the left side of the griddle to moderate-high, 450°F. Turn right side of griddle to low heat, about 250°F. Spread oil out across the left side surface using a griddle flipper. Drop the thighs onto the hot side of the griddle, close cover and cook for 3 minutes. Flip and grill for 3 minutes more. Transfer cooked pieces to a tray or platter covering loosely with foil. Swipe oil from surface using the flipper and turn off left side of griddle
Warm pita: Drop pitas onto the right side of the griddle, warming for 1 minute per side.
To serve: Transfer chicken to cutting board and slice into thin strips. Lay pita on a piece of parchment paper on your work surface. Toss sandwich filling and add 2 or 3 spoonfuls onto the pita. Sprinkle with feta cheese. Add slices of chicken and a drizzle of tzatziki. Gently pull sides of pita up like a wrap, then pull parchment paper over each side and roll. Gather excess paper at the bottom and twist to secure the sandwich. Place on plates and serve as is or with chips.
For the tzatziki: Grate the cucumber into a medium bowl. Sprinkle with salt, toss then leave to rest for 5 minutes. Transfer into a square of cheesecloth over a bowl, then gather up and squeeze to remove excess liquid.
In a second medium bowl add yogurt, garlic, vinegar, oil, fresh herbs and sugar, if using. Stir or whisk to combine. Stir in cucumber. Season with salt and pepper. Cover and refrigerate until use.
Until Cottage Season
