Made with fresh dill and chicken of your choice, this gyro chicken salad recipe is a super quick and tasty high-protein lunch option. Made with a creamy greek yogurt dressing, this salad comes together in just minutes and can be eaten with crackers, chips, in a wrap, or on a sandwich. The possibilities are endless!
gyro chicken salad highlights
- SO easy and fast to make if you use canned chicken or leftover chicken!
- Tastes just like a chicken gyro in a single bite. It's honestly crazy how much it tastes like a gyro!
- Packed with protein from the chicken, chickpeas, and Greek yogurt.
Back in my construction days, I ate chicken salads regularly to have for lunch. It's easy to make when you're working lots of long hours and it's delicious cold!
I've made all sorts of flavor combinations, buffalo, California, a dill pickle chicken salad, and more. But after making this gyro casserole and sheet pan chicken gyros, I thought the same classic Mediterranean flavors would be perfect for a gyro chicken salad!
ingredient notes & substitutions
All substitutions are a 1:1 substitute unless otherwise noted. See recipe card for quantities.
- Chicken: I used 1 can of chicken to keep it quick and easy. You can also use rotisserie chicken, make your own, or use leftovers.
- Creaminess: Some salads use just mayo, but I love the tang of Greek yogurt! But, I find it needs a smidge of mayo to balance out the tang.
- Veggies: This salad is packed with nutrients thanks to chickpeas, cucumber, red onion, garlic, and dill! You could add or swap bell peppers for cucumber. And lupini beans can be used in place of chickpeas.
- Flavor: Keeping it simple, this salad just needs lemon juice and salt.
variations
- Make a Caesar chicken salad: Leave out the chickpeas for this version and use double the garlic. Also add a hefty amount of pepper and capers to the sauce.
- Use Tzatziki to save time: You can swap the Greek yogurt, salt, cucumber, and dill for store bought tzatziki sauce.
This recipe has not been tested with other substitutions or variations. If you replace or add any ingredients, please let us know how it turned out in the comments below!
how to make it
Be sure to scroll to the recipe card for the full greek chicken salad recipe!
- Chop everything small.
- Mix everything together in a large bowl.
- Chill and enjoy!
quick recipe video
helpful tips
- Chop everything really small! This is very helpful for getting a little bit of everything with every bite.
- Just use the canned chicken. Some people are weirded out by it, but it's no different than canned tuna and so fast!
- Taste, taste, taste. Taste and adjust the salt and lemon juice after everything is mixed together.
ways to serve chicken salad
I just love chicken salads because they are SO versatile! Here are a few of the ways I've enjoyed it.
- In a wrap
- In a sandwich
- With lettuce as part of a bigger salad
- With crackers (I love it with Simple Mills almond flour crackers)
- With pita chips
- In a pita pocket
common questions
You can, but I would add a lot more lemon juice to add that tang back in. For a Greek inspired chicken salad, the greek yogurt is pretty important.
If I make chicken from scratch, I would make 2 chicken breasts in the Instant Pot. You can add it to the pot with 1 cup of broth and cook for 8 minutes (12 minutes from frozen) and cook on high. Once done, shred with a hand mixer and then mix into this salad.
how to store & meal prep it
fridge
I prefer this gyro chicken salad cold so keeping it in the fridge is ideal! It will keep for 5 days in an airtight container.
frozen
I don't recommend freezing this salad because the yogurt gets kind of icy when frozen.
meal prep
This salad is awesome to make a double batch of so you and someone else in your house can have lunch for the week! I will even just snack on it mid-afternoon or in the evening when I need a little protein boost.
Recipe
gyro chicken salad with a greek yogurt sauce
Ingredients
- 12.5 oz chicken about 2 chicken breasts shredded
- ½ c greek yogurt plain
- ¼ c mayo
- ½ of english cucumber or 1 small cucumber or 3 mini
- ½ red onion
- ½ c of chickpeas about half a can
- 1.5 tablespoon lemon juice juice from half a lemon
- 2 tablespoon dill minced, fresh or dried
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- ¼ teaspoon salt
Instructions
- Dice the ½ of english cucumber and ½ red onion small into bite sized pieces.If you're cooking chicken, you can do this now.
- Combine them with the 12.5 oz chicken drained, ½ c greek yogurt, ¼ c mayo, ½ c of chickpeas, 1.5 tablespoon lemon juice, 2 tablespoon dill, 2 cloves garlic, and ¼ teaspoon salt until well mixed and the chicken is broken up.
- I like to chill it for a bit before serving but you can enjoy right away with pita chips, in a wrap, sandwich, or however else you enjoy!
Video
Notes
helpful tips
- Chop everything really small! This is very helpful for getting a little bit of everything with every bite.
- Just use the canned chicken. Some people are weirded out by it, but it's no different than canned tuna and so fast!
- Taste, taste, taste. Taste and adjust the salt and lemon juice after everything is mixed together.
how to store & meal prep it
fridge
I prefer this gyro chicken salad cold so keeping it in the fridge is ideal! It will keep for 5 days in an airtight container.meal prep
This salad is awesome to make a double batch of so you and someone else in your house can have lunch for the week! I will even just snack on it mid-afternoon or in the evening when I need a little protein boost.Nutrition
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