Since moving to Connecticut seven years ago, I’ve become accustomed to many of the regional expressions, and have adopted a few as my own. I now say  “package store” instead of “liquor store”, or even “the packy” if I’m feeling particularly New Englandy. I know that a “coffee regular” comes with cream and sugar, and a carriage is a shopping cart and not just something that comes after love and marriage when someone is K-I-S-S-I-N-G.

I’ve also adopted the habit of pronouncing “gyro” like “ji-ro.” For the better part of my 37 years, I’ve pronounced it “yeer-o”, but alas, no more. I can’t help it. I was confusing the nice food-truck vendors in downtown New Haven with my west coast speech patterns, and if I wanted to get a warm, grilled pita stuffed with creamy Tzatziki sauce, roasted lamb, tomato, and onion, I needed to learn to ask for it in a way they were used to.

When it comes to delicious food, I’m highly motivated.

This Crock Pot Chicken Gyro recipe is a tasty alternative to food-truck gyros when you don’t have the time to properly season and grill or roast the meat. The slow cooked chicken is tender and flavorful, and it’s a simple recipe to throw together.

I used flatbread for the kids’ gyros, as they were a better fit for their little hands, but whether I used flatbread or pita, both breads were warmed in a pan for a few minutes before being filled with tzatziki, chicken, and toppings.

Wrap them in foil to catch the sauce and filling that will inevitably sneak out of the gyro, and pretend you got them from a street vendor instead of your trusty slow cooker.

I used my 6 Quart Hamilton Beach Set ‘n Forget Programmable Slow Cooker to make these Slow Cooker Chicken Gyros.

I’m dying to know, how do you pronounce gyro, and where are you from?

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Crock Pot Chicken Gyros

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Prep Time 20 minutes

Cook Time 4 hours

Total Time 4 hours 20 minutes

Ingredients

• 2 Tbsp butter, divided in a few chunks
• 1 medium onion, diced
• ½ cup chicken broth
• 1½ lb boneless, skinless chicken thighs, cut into 1" pieces
• lemon zest from 1 medium-sized lemon
• juice from 1 medium-sized lemon
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 tsp dried oregano
• 1 tsp salt
• ½ tsp pepper
• pita or flatbread for gyros
• Tzatziki sauce (store-bought or homemade)
• topping ideas: tomato, red onion, fresh dill, feta cheese, lettuce, cucumber

Instructions

1. Place the onion in the bottom of slow cooker, and add butter and chicken broth.
2. Add chicken, and sprinkle lemon zest, lemon juice, garlic cloves, oregano, salt, and pepper on top.
3. Cover and cook on high 2-3 hours or low 4-5 hours.
4. To make gyros, slather Tzatziki sauce on flatbread or gyro, add chicken mixture, and top with favorite toppings.
5. Wrap bottom with aluminum foil to catch the mess, grab some napkins, and enjoy!

Notes

Linda This was yummy, and smelled sooo good all afternoon while it was cooking. The chicken was tender and really flavorful. The whole combination of the chicken, tomatoes, and the tzatziki sauce was perfect. This is a great summer recipe!

Kim I am a huge gyro fan and while this chicken has great flavor, it's no match for gyro meat. That said, I would make this again. The chicken is light and herby, and paired with tzatziki (I made my own), Feta, lettuce and tomatoes in a pita, it was quite tasty.

Me We all really liked this recipe, and I used some of the leftover meat on top of a salad for lunch the next day. My kids had a hard time keeping their gyros together, and they ended up taking them apart and eating them in pieces, which was messy, but predictable. This is a make again for sure!