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Greek Chicken

savory chicken to tuck into pillowy pitas or top a fresh salad
Print Recipe
Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 6 hours
Course Main Course, Salad
Cuisine Mediterranean
Servings 8 servings

Ingredients
  

Ingredients:

  • 3 lbs chicken breasts or thighs. Whole or cut into strips or cubes
  • 1-2 onions (wedged, sliced, or chopped) optional, but really adds more flavor
  • 1 package Greek Pita bread pocketless

Marinade:

  • ¾ c olive oil
  • ½ c lemon juice (fresh is always best)
  • 1 TBS oregano
  • 1 TBS salt
  • 1 tsp garlic powder
  • 2 tsp pepper

Toppings:

  • thinly sliced red onions
  • lettuce leaves we prefer romaine
  • thinly sliced tomatoes
  • thinly sliced cucumbers we prefer persians
  • crumbled feta cheese
  • Tzatziki sauce find recipe here

Instructions
 

Instructions:

  • Mix marinade together and brush onto pita bread, set aside.
  • Roughly chop the onions (or quarter them, your choice) and place on bottom of the slow cooker.
  • Place chicken onto onions.
  • Pour remaining marinade over chicken.
  • Cook on low for 4-8 hours or high for 2-4 hours.

To serve:

  • Warm the pitas in the oven on a hot, preheated stone. (No worries if you don't have a stone, place them onto a baking sheet and place into the preheated oven). This takes only a few minutes.
  • Spread tzatziki sauce on the warm pita and add the toppings of your choice.
  • Chicken can also be cooked in a pressure cooker (4-7 minutes, depending on type and size of chicken pieces) or on the grill.

Notes

This recipe originally came to me via a neighbor from her friend Tiffany Murray. We have made it slightly differently through the years and find that our favorite way is whole breasts or thighs marinated for a few hours (no longer than overnight) and cooked on the grill, then sliced into strips. Cooking this in the crockpot or Instant-pot yields a much juicier end result. The latter 2 choices are also more hands-off and work well for those busy days/nights when you need to feed everyone but are avoiding takeout. Trust me, this will be of those recipes that makes it into your regular rotation. Every vacation or visit home, this is the top request from any of my kiddos. Serve it with Tzatziki sauce and toppings listed above. Leftovers are amazing for topping a salad or mixing into rice or pasta or mixing into a soup. Enjoy!
As a shameless shortcut, I have used Olive Garden Italian dressing in lieu of the lemony marinade with decent results. In a pinch, it is still tasty but the recipe as is remains a 5-star meal in our home. It is ALWAYS the #1 request of kids when they visit or invite friends over. I LOVE this recipe!
Keyword crock pot, greek, grill, healthy, instant pot, planned overs