On Monday I went a little over the top with my Chicken Cordon Bleu-Croque Monsieur. To prove that's not how I always eat, I'm sharing a lighter meal that's perfect to enjoy any day of the week.
It's a good thing my favorite Greek joint in Atlanta is a trek from my house, or I just might go there every day (and that could get a little dangerous). Without fail I order the lamb gyro plate with a zesty salad and garlic roasted coin potatoes. It's the stuff dreams are made of. I love their flavors so much that I decided to create an easier homemade version to enjoy in between my visits.
A Bon Appétit recipe for an Indian spiced yogurt marinated chicken inspired the marinade. Their version uses a whole pantry's worth of ingredients and a blender; I cut it down to the bare necessities. The result is moist, tender chicken as good as any you'd find in a restaurant. I cooked the chicken in a garlic-oregano infused olive oil to amp up the flavors even more. My favorite part of this recipe, however, is the creamy "Greek" sauce. Instead of a traditional tzatziki (been there, done that), I used a riff on my favorite Alabama white sauce—a Southern-style barbecue sauce that uses mayonnaise as its base. Consider it my flirtatious little wink to the tastes of the Mediterranean.
I hope you love this easy, healthy lunch as much as I do. It's definitely going into my regular rotation, and that's a tough list to crack.

Yogurt-Marinated Chicken & Creamy Greek Sauce
Makes 1 to 2 pitas
For the marinade
1 large chicken breast (about 1/2 pound)
1/2 cup plain, whole milk yogurt
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
For the Greek sauce
4 tablespoons mayonnaise (regular or light)
1 tablespoons milk
1 tablespoon cider vinegar
3/4 teaspoon sugar
1/8 garlic powder
Squeeze of lemon juice
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
For the chicken
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 large garlic cloves, peeled and smashed
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1 tomato, diced
1/2 cucumber, diced
Pita bread, for serving
For the marinade, cut the chicken breasts into bite-sized cubes. In a medium-sized bowl, whisk the yogurt, olive oil, oregano, salt, and pepper until combined. Add the chicken and marinate for at least two hours, but overnight if possible.
For the Greek sauce, mix together all of the ingredients and refrigerate. Adjust seasoning according to taste before serving. (Note: I used 1/4 teaspoon salt and a very generous amount of black pepper. You can't have too much in my opinion.)
For the chicken, wipe off the excess marinade. Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the garlic and oregano, and cook until fragrant and golden, about 2 minutes. Remove the garlic. Add the chicken and cook for 3 minutes without stirring. Give a quick toss and continue cooking for another 3 minutes, or until the chicken is cooked through.
To assemble, combine the chicken with desired amount of Greek Sauce, tomatoes, and cucumbers. Add salt and pepper to taste. Pile onto a piece of pita bread, fold like a taco, and devour.

Related: Recipe: Easy Homemade Pita Bread
(Images: Nealey Dozier)
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Comments (15)
Oh, this looks lovely! I love my local Greek restaurant, too, but it's pretty pricey. I'll have to give this a try (also need to work on making Greek pitas at home).
This recipe looks like a keeper...
That Alabama White sauce riff reminds me of Kenji's (Serious Eats) recipe for Halal Cart Chicken white sauce.......which is seriously delicious, as is the chicken.
I see red onion in the photo but not in the recipe.
Oh I hope you're talking about Nicola's on Lavista. That place is like crack to me. My parents order a massive mezze whenever I come home (Yes. I am 29 years old and my parents still order my favorite foods when I visit). I eat their baba ghanoush until my tongue is so burned by the acid that I tear up... Then I eat three more bites. THEN I stop. Warning: garlic will come out of your pores for days.
I know I sound like a walking ad (sorry!), but honestly I just want everyone to experience this magical joy.
Looks great! My fiance is always asking for me to make greek food. What is your fave greek place in Atlanta?
Printed, bookmarked and totally making this dish this weekend. Loooove me some Greek-style chicken
I really like this recipe. It is so versatile as far as the flavorings one can put in there. I am Indian and we have a tandoori dish that is similar, except that it has tons of spices.
Here is a recipe:
http://indianculinarycenter.com/?p=54
Amazing recipe. I add lime juice to the marinade. Just because I love the bright flavor of it. This is an absolutely keeper for year round, specially in the hot weather.
Thanks for sharing!
I have to let you know that this is utterly delicious. I tweaked mine a bit, because I have food allergies (substituted the yogurt and mayo for greek yogurt), but it still turned out so good. And filling! I made it twice; the first time as a salad and the second time as a sandwich. I can't decide which one I like better, but the entire recipe is a keeper. Thanks for sharing.
That looks so delicious. Where do you get your pita bread? It looks so much softer and fuller than anything I can find.
Made this for dinner tonight. But I did make some changes. I added garlic to the marinade for the chicken and to the sauce. I also added chopped fresh mint to the sauce. And I skewered the chicken chunks after removing them from the marinade and grilled them, as a way to avoid even more steps and avoid adding the fat from the oil. I also added sliced red onion with the cukes and tomatoes, as pictured but not mentioned in the recipe. I would definitely use the marinade again, but I prefer regular tzatziki sauce, for which I have better recipes, or store-bought brands, either of which we like better than this sauce, which wasn't bad, just not as good, at least to us.
I can't wait to try these. I linked your post on my blog. My son isn't excited for Pita bread, but I think he will be fine once he gets eating these. They look so good. Here is a link to my post. http://www.samanthaandersenphotography.com/2012/05/last-week-of-school.html
Thank you,
i have my chicken marinating and the greek sauce made, they both taste really nice and i'm very much looking forward to eating it on fresh pitas. i didn't have cider vinegar in my cupboard like i thought, so i used white wine vinegar and the sauce is still very excellent.
Made this for dinner tonight & had on a bed of quinoa as I'm gluten free- amazing! I will definitely make this again!
Really tasty, I was skeptical about the mayo basted sauce and cooking it on a stove instead of grilling. My fears were totally unfounded on both counts, the meat was tender with lots of flavor and my family preferred the sauce to my usual yogurt based one. It's going to go into regular rotation through fall and winter when I can't cook outside .