Greek Chicken Wrap: Load warm pitas with rotisserie chicken, veggies, and tzatziki-inspired dressing for a delicious meal.
Greek Chicken Wrap
There is no shortage of love for chicken salad on this website. I’ve reimagined it in countless ways, like these Pesto Chicken Salad sandwiches, this Curry Chicken Salad, or these Pineapple Chicken Salad sandwiches to name a few.
A Greek-inspired version was definitely in order. And today, that’s exactly what you’ll get. The dressing is inspired by tzatziki sauce, the chicken salad is loaded with traditional Greek salad veggies, and everything is loaded into pita bread. And, if that’s not enough, we’re finishing things off with a hearty dose of feta and a good drizzle of lemon juice!
There are four components to these wraps — the pita bread, the actual chicken salad, the dressing, and the wrap toppings; I’ll discuss each of these components below.
Pita Bread
To help make the pita bread more pliable and not tear as we fold it, warm it up. I like to slightly char the pita bread– it adds such a nice flavor and contrasting texture to the cool chicken and veggies.
To char pita bread: Spray both sides of the pita bread with olive oil cooking spray and “grill” the bread on the stovetop over the open flame (medium-low heat) until slightly charred, flipping with tongs as needed, about 10-15 seconds per side. Those of you with electric ranges can warm it (covered with a damp paper towel) in the microwave. It won’t char the bread, but it will keep it much more pliable.
Greek Chicken Wrap Filling
The secret to making these Greek Chicken Wraps is using rotisserie chicken! If you can find a lemon-herb seasoned rotisserie chicken, even better — that rotisserie chicken adds such a nice complementary flavor. Here are a few of my short-cut ideas:
- For the fastest possible prep time, I recommend buying rotisserie chicken meat that has already been pulled from the bones and shredded. I’ve seen pre-shredded rotisserie chicken meat at Costco®, Smith’s® (Kroger), Trader Joe’s®, and Walmart®. Grocers recognize a valuable service when they see it!
- Use flat-leaf Italian parsley, as opposed to curly for this salad. Flat-leaf parsley has a more robust flavor and curly parsley is used more commonly as a garnish.
- I like to get the sun-dried julienne-cut tomatoes with herbs. The herbs in the tomatoes add lots of flavor (so we don’t need additional ingredients) and the julienne-cut tomatoes save chopping time.
- A lot of stores sell pre-diced red onion in the produce section. If you’re in a hurry, that can save a bit of time.
Tzatziki-Inspired Dressing
The dressing on these Greek Chicken Wraps is inspired by Greek Tzatziki sauce with grated cucumber and a little bit of Greek yogurt. I tested this dressing a few times (once with all Greek yogurt) and it was a bit overpowering. So, although there isn’t a lot of Greek yogurt in the dressing, we found it to be the perfect amount to infuse the dressing with a nice tzatziki-like flavor without being too strong.
A few quick dressing tips:
- Make sure to use good full-fat, plain Greek yogurt. We love Greek God’s® plain Greek yogurt in the sauce.
- Use a flavorful mayo. The mayonnaise offsets the tang of the Greek yogurt and adds a nice creaminess. We love Hellman’s/Best Foods® in these Greek Chicken Wraps.
- Squeeze liquid out of the cucumber. Cucumber has a very high moisture level and will water down the dressing, making it less flavorful. Before adding the grated cucumber to the dressing, wring out excess liquid a few times with paper towels or cheesecloth.
- When zesting the lemon, avoid the white pith of the lemon — this is very bitter. Using a microplane (like this one), zest only the very outside yellow part of the lemon. Use a citrus reamer or this citrus juicer to have fresh lemon juice in a hurry!
- Save some prep time by using a garlic press or pre-minced garlic. Even garlic powder can be used in the dressing in a pinch!
- Regular cucumbers don’t work as well. They don’t have enough flavor and are too watery. Use an English cucumber or Persian cucumbers. (Persian cucumbers are sometimes labeled as mini/salad cucumbers.)
Greek Chicken Wrap Toppings
Greek Chicken Wraps reach new heights with these delicious toppings:
- Thinly sliced or smashed avocado. I like to jazz the smashed avocado up just a bit by adding a quick squeeze of lemon, a pinch of salt and pepper, plus just a touch of garlic powder.
- Lettuce. I like green leaf lettuce; using packaged, pre-washed salad greens makes this addition even easier.
- Thinly sliced cherry tomatoes. Any tomatoes work, but we love cherry tomatoes best.
- Feta cheese. This adds the perfect finishing salty seasoning and a good savory flavor to the Greek chicken wraps.
- A drizzle of lemon juice. If you love lemon, finish things off with a squeeze of fresh lemon before folding the pita and enjoying it.
Some other topping ideas: thinly sliced kalamata olives, additional fresh parsley or fresh dill, thinly sliced red onions
Quick Tip
A ripe avocado adds immense creaminess to these Greek Chicken Wraps. To make sure an avocado is ripe, press gently around the stem and if it gives, the avocado is ripe. (The “give” should feel like pressing the tip of your nose.)
More rotisserie chicken recipes
- Chicken Melts on French bread with melted Cheddar cheese
- Rotisserie Chicken Tacos with crispy taco shells
- Quinoa Pilaf with an herb infusion sauce
- Asian Chicken Tacos with a lime Sriracha sauce
- Chicken Shawarma Wraps with a cucumber, tomato, and red onion topping
Greek Chicken Wrap
Ingredients
Chicken Salad
- 2 cups diced chicken (rotisserie chicken or leftover grilled chicken) Note 1
- 1/2 cup diced English or Persian cucumber
- 1/4 cup diced red onion
- 3 tablespoons finely chopped flat-leaf Italian parsley
- 1/3 cup sun-dried tomatoes (packed in oil with herbs)
Dressing
- 1/4 cup mayonnaise (we love Hellman's/Best Foods)
- 2 tablespoons plain Greek yogurt (we love Greek Gods)
- 1/2 cup grated English or Persian cucumber
- 1/4 teaspoon EACH fine sea salt and cracked pepper
- 1 tablespoon honey
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 large lemon (1 tablespoon lemon juice + 1/2 teaspoon zest)
- 1/2 teaspoon minced garlic
- 1 and 1/2 teaspoons EACH: red wine vinegar and Dijon mustard
- 1 and 1/2 tablespoons olive oil
Toppings/Assembly
- 4 pita breads
- Optional: Smashed avocado topping: 1 large ripe avocado, 1/8 teaspoon salt, pepper, and garlic powder, 1 teaspoon lemon juice
- Lettuce, thinly sliced cherry tomatoes, feta cheese, additional lemon wedges
Instructions
- DRESSING: I like to prepare the dressing first so the flavors have a chance to blend. Grate a cucumber with the large holes of a cheese grater. Line a small bowl with a few paper towels (or a clean kitchen towel) and place the grated cucumber on top. Squeeze out as much extra moisture as you can from the cucumber this keeps the sauce from being watery). Once it's drained, add to a medium-sized bowl. Add in the remaining dressing ingredients and stir to combine. Cover the bowl and place in the fridge until ready to eat.
- CHICKEN SALAD: Add all of the chicken salad ingredients to a large bowl and mix gently but thoroughly. Using a spatula, add the dressing to the chicken salad. Stir gently to combine.
- PITA BREAD: "Grill" the pita bread on the stovetop over an open flame (on medium heat) until slightly charred, about 10-15 seconds per side (flipping with tongs). Immediately fold in half after being charred and cover with a clean towel until ready to serve. Alternatively, warm (covered with a damp paper towel) in the microwave.
- OPTIONAL SMASHED AVOCADO TOPPING: If using avocado, either slice a ripe avocado and add to the pita bread or make this quick smashed avocado blend: Halve the avocado and use a spoon to scoop out all the flesh into a medium-sized bowl. Mash the avocado with a fork. Once mashed, add in the lemon juice, salt, garlic powder, and pepper. Mash again to combine the ingredients. Spread over warmed/charred pita bread.
- SERVE: Add lettuce on top of the avocado (if using). Spoon 1/4th of the chicken salad mixture on top of the lettuce. Add a few thinly sliced cherry tomatoes and sprinkle about 1 tablespoon of feta cheese on top. If desired, drizzle a lemon over everything. Fold in half and enjoy immediately.
Video
Recipe Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
FILLERS FOR TACO BOWLS.
Why would fat free yogurt not work?
Thank you 😊
It will end up a bit bland and watery!
Looking forward to your luscious looking meals.
Thanks Darlene! 🙂