Kalimera's Famous Greek Chicken Gyros

Recipe video above. This Chicken Gyros recipe was given to me by Thomas Deliopoulos, the owner of Kalimera Souvlaki Art which is a wildly popular gyros bar in Melbourne. It's ridiculously, unbelievably, eye-rollingly good that has top chefs like Australia's Ben Shrewry and New York Times food critic Sam Sifton raving!Thomas’s secret is a touch of curry powder in the marinade. Yes, really!At Kalimera, the chicken is cooked on a vertical spit layered with fat, but even on the BBQ or stove, it’s ridiculously good. I've made it for many people now, and everyone is nuts for it!

Prep time: PT20M

Cook time: PT10M

Total time: PT1470M

Rating

4.92 stars (67 reviews)

Keywords

chicken gyros, Greek Chicken, gyros, gyros recipe, restaurant gyros recipe

Ingredients

1.25 kg / 2.5 lb chicken thighs, skinless boneless
1 tbsp sweet paprika ((ie regular paprika, not smoked not spicy))
1 tbsp mustard powder ((substitute with Dijon mustard))
1 tbsp dried oregano ((Greek, if you've got it))
1/2 tbsp curry powder (, mild not spicy *secret ingredient!* (Note 2))
1 1/2 tsp cooking salt / kosher salt ((halve if using table salt, +50% if using flakes))
1/2 tsp black pepper
1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
400g / 14oz thick-cut chips (, frozen - optional (Note 3))
Pinch table salt (, for the chips (or chicken salt))
1 cup plain yoghurt (, preferably Greek or Greek-style)
3 tbsp whole-egg mayonnaise (, substitute regular mayonnaise)
3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
2 tbsp yellow American mustard ((yes, really!) - substitute with Dijon mustard, not hot English mustard, too spicy)
2 tsp garlic powder
2 tsp sweet paprika
1/2 tsp cooking salt / kosher salt
2 tomatoes (, halved and sliced)
3 cups cos lettuce (romaine) (, finely sliced (5mm / 0.2"))
1/2 small red onion (, diced (5mm / 0.2" squares))
5 x 20cm / 8" pita breads, (the slightly bready kind if you can (Note 5))

Cuisine

Greek

Steps

ABBREVIATED RECIPE
- Marinate chicken overnight (minimum 3 hours). Mix sauce, make chips. Cook chicken, rest 3 minutes, assemble gyros as follows: Sauce, chicken, lettuce, tomato, onion, chips, sauce. Fold, devour!
FULL RECIPE
- Marinate chicken - Mix the marinade ingredients in a large bowl. Add the chicken and mix well to coat. Marinate in the fridge for 24 hours (absolute minimum 3 hours!)
Before cooking:
- Sauce first - Mix the ingredients in a bowl and set aside for at least 20 minutes to let the flavours meld.
- Chips next - If using hot chips, make them before cooking the chicken using whatever method suits - baked, fry, air fry. (I bake for convenience and fry to impress.) Season with salt to taste (sorry, you're going to have to eat one!) Keep them warm in a 100°C/200°F oven while you cook the chicken.
Cooking the chicken gyros
- BBQ option (recommended!) - Preheat the BBQ on medium high (the grill side preferred, flat iron also works). No need to oil the grills. Cook the chicken for 3 - 4 minutes on each side until deep golden with slightly charred edges.
- Stove cook - Heat a large non stick pan over medium high heat (no oil required). Cook the chicken in batches for 3 - 4 minutes on each side until deep golden and cooked through (internal temperature 72°C/162°F). Give the pan a quick wipe with paper towels between batches, to remove excess black bits.
- Remove & rest - Remove chicken onto a tray. Loosely cover with foil and rest for 3 minutes, then slice into 1 cm / 0.4" pieces.
Assemble gyros
- Heat the pita bread until warm and pliable. Honestly, microwave is so easy (stack on plate, 45 sec - 1 1/2 minutes on high). For stove, brush each side with water then heat in lightly oiled non-stick pan for 1 minute on each side (medium high), don't let it go crispy else it will crack when folded.
- Wrapping - Spread 3 tablespoons of the sauce down the middle. Pile the chicken onto the sauce, add lettuce and tomato on one side. Sprinkle with red onion, pile chips on top, drizzle with more sauce. Fold to enclose, wrap in foil to keep everything in place.
- Serve gyros with extra sauce for dunking!

Nutitrion

Serving Size: 1 serving
Calories: 661 kcal
Carbohydrates: 45 g
Protein: 49 g
Fat: 31 g
Saturated Fat: 6 g
Trans Fat: 0.05 g
Cholesterol: 204 mg
Sodium: 1369 mg
Sugar: 4 g
Unsaturated Fat: 23 g

Reviews

Courtney on 2026-07-01 (5 stars):
Absolutely love, love, love, this recipe. It is so tasty and different. I love the original gyros but I absolutely cannot get enough of this one. My husband and I smash these out and the sauce is sooo good. So tasty. It definitely has been on repeat.
Nina on 2026-05-25 (5 stars):
Oh my! This is so good, definitely one of my fav recipes I have made. I prepped the chicken (used tenders as didn't have thigh) and the sauce the night before and we had some leftover pizza dough so made the breads fresh in the pizza oven. I cooked in a cast pan and the chicken came up beautifully. Very tasty and was easy to make the fussy kids a similar dish with breads, veges, felafel (delish with the sauce) and plain yoghurt. Best part is we have leftovers for tomorrow!
Hilary on 2026-05-21 (5 stars):
very good, thank you for sharing the recipe
Juanita on 2026-04-21 (5 stars):
This one's going into regular rotation. Put it on turkish rolls since my favourite pita bakery was closed tiday (noooooo!!!), but still so yum. The sauce and marinade are absolutely delicious and so easy to make, highly recommend!
Sally on 2026-04-10 (5 stars):
These gyros were mind blowing. They were so good and easy to make. All the ingredients were simple and straightforward. There was no mincing and minimal dicing. Even though you have to marinate, it is just spices so really fast. Both my husband and I felt as if we were eating something we bought at a gyro restaurant. While I liked your other gyro recipe as well, this will be our go to item.
Bethany on 2026-03-27 (5 stars):
So delicious. Great family takeaway night
Abby on 2026-03-05 (5 stars):
INSANELY DELICIOUS! Sauce and chicken are soo delicious!!!
Joanne caravaggio on 2026-03-02 (5 stars):
Wow I will never buy a kebab again flavours that bursts in your mouth and don't get me started on that sauce another winner winner chicken dinner thankyou
Alber Aslam on 2026-01-26 (5 stars):
Nagi’s gyros are incredible! The unique spice blend is a pro, though the long marinating time requires planning. Good Food Remedies recommends this for healthy, flavorful living—visit their site for natural wellness tips!
Nicole on 2026-01-05 (5 stars):
This is a great recipe! The marinade is delicious and perfect for group gatherings with or without wraps - definitely going on the ‘best of Nagi list’
AF on 2026-01-02 (5 stars):
I have made this twice now. The first time I was a little disappointed with the chicken (dry and a bit bland) but loved the flavours of everything else. Well the 2nd time I made it the chicken was the star of the dish. I’d obviously left out one of the ingredients and a new bbq has made it so juicy and tender. I found a souvlaki bread recipe online so made my own. Wow totally next level! Thank you for such a delicious recipe.
Bruce on 2025-12-26 (5 stars):
These are delicious and easy to make. A winning recipe.
Cait on 2025-12-21 (5 stars):
This is EXTREMELY popular and hotly requested in our household. Husband originally declared it his favourite dinner of the year before amending it to favourite meal ever. Very picky 10 year old who eats like a bird and is extremely sauce fussy (only tomato sauce and sriracha are accepted/allowed) scoffed down 2 complete with the sauce. Only change was we used breast. Requires some forward thought so the chicken has time to marinate but is so incredibly easy and prep/cooking time is very minimal.
tami on 2025-12-12 (5 stars):
these are superb! thank you for the recipe!
Nic on 2025-12-09 (5 stars):
I was torn between the two gyro recipes, but really wanted to try these flavours, so I actually ended up adding greek yoghurt to this recipe for the best of both worlds. It was amazing! I'm a sucker for a Greek yoghurt marinade and if you are too, know this is amazing with that addition! I'm sure it's delicious without as well.