Gyro Chicken & Orzo Skillet is an easy one pan meal that tastes like a chicken gyro.
We start with tons of flavor from a smokey paprika spice mix which coats bite-size pieces of chicken. A hearty pan of orzo stands in for the traditional pita bread. Your taste buds will love the contrast; a touch of heat from crushed red pepper, cooled by refreshing Tzatziki cucumber sauce. There’s also an eye catching fresh tomato & cucumber salad mounded in the center of the skillet. To finish, a sprinkling of feta cheese, fresh parsley and a squeeze of lemon. Layers and layers of flavor!
I created this gyro in a pan with my hubby in mind. ALS has made an unwieldy sandwich impossible to manage, so a skillet meal is the next best thing. We both loved the final result! It really embraced the spirit of a chicken gyro. At first I wasn’t sure about topping a hot skillet meal with fresh salad-style ingredients. Then I started to think about the many sandwiches that do this – pulled pork and cold slaw, burgers with the works, BLT’s; lots of precedence!
Why Gyro Chicken & Orzo Skillet Works:
- Cutting the chicken into bite-size pieces before tossing in the spice mix ensures the chicken is well coated with flavor.
- Orzo (rice-shaped pasta) makes a great stand in for pita bread and happily takes on the flavors of sauteed onion, garlic and spices.
- A great balance of flavors; hot and fresh, spicy, creamy and cool.
- Makes a great family style meal or plenty of leftovers.
Original Version
I took major liberties with this One Pot Greek Chicken Orzo recipe which also looks delicious.This version uses chicken thighs and includes kalamata olives. The cumber & tomato salad and Tzatziki sauce were my own flourishes.
Additional Tips
- Adding some chopped red onion to the cumber & tomato salad would be a nice touch and also embraces the flavors of a gyro.
- Making the Tzatziki sauce a few hours or even a day in advance makes the rest of this meal a snap to pull together.
Love Greek Flavors?
If you love Greek food as much as I do, check out some of these delicious recipes from our Greek Feast Gourmet Group dinner.
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Gyro Chicken & Orzo Skillet
Ingredients
Gyro Chicken & Orzo Skillet
- 1 tbsp smoked paprika
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1/2 tsp salt or to taste
- 1/4 tsp pepper or to taste
- 18 oz. chicken breast cut into bite-sized piece
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 large onion chopped
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
- 1/2 tbsp dried oregano
- 1 tsp dried thyme
- 1 1/2 cups orzo dry
- 1 cup white wine
- 2 cups chicken broth low sodium
- 3/4 c. peeled seeded diced cucumber
- 3/4 c. cherry tomatoes quartered
- 2 tbsp fresh parsley chopped divided
- 1/4 cup feta cheese crumbled
- Tzatziki sauce
- 1/2 lemon cut into wedges
Tzatziki Sauce
- 1 medium cucumber grated, with excess liquid squeezed out with hands or towel
- 1 c. plain Greek yogurt
- 1 tbsp. olive oil
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
- 2 tbsp chopped fresh dill
- 1/4 tsp garlic salt or more, to taste
Instructions
Gyro Chicken and Orzo Skillet
- In a medium sized bowl stir together, smoked paprika, garlic powder, salt and pepper.
- Add chopped chicken, tossing to coat with spice mixture.
- In a large skillet, heat 1 tbsp of olive oil over medium-high heat. Add the chicken and saute for about 5 minutes. (Don't worry if the chicken isn't cooked through completely. It finishes cooking with the orzo.) Transfer the chicken to a plate and set aside.
- In the same skillet, add the remaining tbsp of olive oil. Add the onion, garlic, red pepper flakes, oregano, thyme and stir. Cook for about 3 minutes. Add garlic and saute for another minute or until the garlic gets aromatic and the onion begins to soften a bit. At this point you can season with a bit of salt and pepper.
- Add the orzo to the skillet, pour in the wine, chicken broth and stir. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to a medium. Cover with a lid and cook for about 11 minutes or until the orzo is cooked through, stirring occasionally. Add the chicken back to the skillet, stir, cover and cook for 1 additional minute.
- After removing pan from heat, drizzle with Tzatziki sauce.
- Toss diced cucumber and cherry tomatoes in a small bowl and mound in center of pan
- Garnish with feta cheese, parsley and squeeze lemon over pan.
- Serve warm.
Tzatziki Sauce
- Combine all ingredients in a food processor or blender and pulse to create chunky sauce. Can be made in advance and refrigerated until ready to use.
Top tier skillet, will make again
Very tasty dish. We topped our bowls with some flavored pitas chips we had on hand. I love the cucumber sauce. I’ve never shredded them before. Loved that technique. Thanks for another great recipe
Looking forward to trying the turkey lettuce wrap. One of my favorites.
So glad you liked it! It was one of my favorite recent concoctions. The topping of flavored pita chips sounds like a great tweak too. It’s always fun to hear how someone added their personal touch.
Brad would really enjoy this.