Chicken Pita Pockets with Tzatziki

Change up your burger game with this unique recipe and refreshing creamy sauce. Perfect for lunch or a light dinner, these Chicken Pita Pockets with Tzatziki are not only easy to prepare but also packed with proteins, vitamins, and a burst of Mediterranean flavors.

Why I Love This Recipe

It’s all about the tzatziki! Talk about a well-rounded condiment. This cool and tangy delight is great as a salad dressing, dip, or snack! Tzatziki is so incredibly tasty on these Chicken Pita Pockets.

Another thing I love about these chicken pita pockets is they are made differently than your typical burger. Once your ground chicken is seasoned and ready to go, stuff the raw chicken into pita pockets. When grilled to perfection they are juicy on the inside with a crispy pita on the outside.

If you like this Greek dish, you’ll love Mediterranean Artichoke Chicken.

What is Tzatziki?

How to Make Homemade Tzatziki Sauce

Tzatziki (pronounced: tuh·zee·kee) is my hands-down favorite condiment. It’s a mix of creamy yogurt, shredded cucumbers, lemon juice, and spices. It’s cool, refreshing, and everything you want on a warm Spring or Summer (or Fall, or Winter) day!

As I mentioned, the tzatziki makes this dish. Here are the Tzatziki ingredients you need to make your next favorite condiment and accompaniment for chicken pita pockets:

• Greek Yogurt
• Cucumber
• Garlic
• Lemon Juice
• Fresh Dill (or dried)
• White Vinegar
• Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• S&P
• Tea Towel

Tzatziki is the BEST. If you like it as much as I do, you’ll love this Tzatziki Chicken Salad.

Prepping the Cucumber for Tzatziki

I prefer to use English Cucumbers. They are longer, skinnier and usually wrapped in plastic at the store. English cucs don’t have that weird wax that is on the grocery store cucumbers. They also don’t have so many seeds. Oh, the seeds! (I’m not a fan.)

If regular cucumbers are the only option, peel off the waxy skin with a vegetable peeler and scoop out the seeds. To remove the seeds, cut them in half lengthwise. Using a spoon, scrap out the middle part where all the seeds are.

If you can, buy cucumbers from your local farmer. They won’t have the wax.

The Squeeze

Cucumbers are 95% water. You don’t want watery tzatziki. Squeeze the water out, it’s a good stress reliever. Here’s how:

• Take a veggie peeler, peel the skin off the cuc sporadically, or completely, if you don’t like the skin. The skin does hold most of the nutrients.

• Place a tea towel (tea towels have less lint that other towels) under a box grater. Start shredding the cucumber.
• Once the cuc is shredded, twist the tea towel up, encasing the cucumber shreds. Put a bowl underneath and squeeze. Work those biceps!
• Keep squeezing until you get most of the cucumber water out.

Don’t toss that green cucumber water down the drain. Make a cocktail (or mocktail)! The cook needs to stay hydrated. Cucumber water goes great with fresh mint and club soda. Add a shot of gin or vodka if you’re cocktailing.

Finishing Up the Tzatziki

To complete the tzatziki, add the rest of the ingredients to the cucumber shreds. Keep the tzatziki in the refrigerator once complete. The flavors will continue to blend together, making it better as it sits. This dip is tangy, light, creamy, and delicious.

Tzatziki goes so well with these stuffed and grilled Chicken Pita Pockets, as well as a salad dressing or veggie dip. Use tzatziki with left over grilled chicken for a Chicken Tzatziki Wrap. Or add some quinoa for a Greek Chicken Tzatziki Bowl.

No-bake Chunky Artichoke Dip makes the perfect appetizer for these Chicken Pita Pockets! Ready in less than 15 minutes.

Chicken in Pita Pockets

Now that your tzatziki is chilling in the fridge, it’s time for the chicken pita pockets. If you can’t find ground chicken at your local grocery store or butcher shop, ground turkey will work as well. So does ground beef or lamb.

You don’t want to over mix your burgers. The meat will get tough. To prevent that, using a big bowl, put all your ingredients in and mix 1 time.

First up: Seasoning.

I like to use a Greek seasoning blend on these chicken burgers in pita pockets. However, keep your eyes on the ingredients in spice blends. One that I used in the past has MSG in it. Yuck. I have recently bought spices from a local Kansas City kid that blends his own spices. Yousef Speaks Spices has a great story.

If you have a stocked spice cabinet, blend your own using all or some these spices:

• Oregano
• Garlic Powder
• Onion Powder
• Dill
• Basil
• Parsley
• Thyme
• Mint
• Salt & Pepper

Fresh Herbs also work great here. If you have them readily available use ’em!

Mix the Chicken Burgers

Once you have your spices picked out, it’s time to add some moisture and a bit more flavor. You don’t want dry hockey puck pitas! Adding in an egg and some extra virgin olive oil will do the trick. The egg helps it bind together, and the olive oil adds good fat to keep it juicy.

Throwing in some shallot and garlic will bring it all together. And if you dare…add in some feta crumbles. Mix all your flavorful ingredients together until just combined… don’t over mix.

Stuffing & Grilling the Chicken Pita Pockets

In this recipe, we stuff the raw chicken in the pita pocket. Trust me, this is so tasty. The pita gets crispy, and the chicken stays juicy. Whole wheat pita with the pocket can be found in the deli section of your grocery store. Make sure you look for the word pocket on the package. Otherwise, you will be sad when you buy flat bread instead of pocketed bread.

Prepping & Grilling the Pita Pockets

Once your chicken is seasoned, and your grill is started, prep the pita. Brush each side with extra virgin olive oil and sprinkle with a little bit of salt.

Don’t stuff the pitas too soon. If you do this too early, the pitas will get soggy. Wait until the grill is ready to stuff them.

When stuffing the pitas, eyeball about 1/4 cup to 1/3 cup of the ground chicken mixture into each pita. If you over stuff them they will take longer to grill. The longer they are on the grill, you risk charring. Don’t char the pita. Rotate often to prevent charring.

They are done with the internal temp of the chicken reaches 165 degrees Fahrenheit.

If you like this grilled recipe, you will love my Sweet and Tangy Glazed Grilled Salmon

Condiments for Chicken Pita Pockets

Toss the ketchup, mustard, and pickles. Think Greek! Bowl up some (or all) of these colorful accompaniments for you and your eaters to enjoy on the grilled stuffed pita pockets.

• Olives – sliced or halved
• Spinach
• Feta
• Cherry tomatoes – halved
• Red Onion – thinly sliced
• Cucumbers – sliced
• Tzatziki

Health Benefits of Chicken Pita Pockets with Tzatziki

Greek Yogurt

Typically, tzatziki sauce has sour cream in it as well as Greek yogurt. However, we are lightening things up around here, so this recipe calls for just Greek Yogurt. I use Fage Greek Yogurt 2% when I make this.

The 5% is creamier, richer, and velvetier (velvetier should be a word). It’s also higher in fat. Fage also has a 0% which is fat free. Use whichever you prefer.

According to David Heitz’s article, Health Benefits of Greek Yogurt at Healthline.com, Greek Yogurt provides you with:

• Protein
• Probiotics
• Calcium
• B-12
• Potassium.

According to David Heitz, “Probiotics are healthy bacteria that can help boost your immune system and decrease stomach issues.”

If you like this recipe with Greek Yogurt, you’ll love this Spicy Smoked Sweet Potato Salad.

Cucumbers

In Marissa Miller’s article, 10 Cucumbers Health Benefits You Shouldn’t Ignore, at Women’s Health Magazine, she states the following benefits:

• Cucumbers are super nutritious
• They contain antioxidants and micronutrients
• May help keep your blood pressure in check
• Cucumbers can help with digestion
• They help strengthen your bones

Looking for an easy healthy snack, try Cucumbers and Tajin.

WebMD.com’ article about cucumbers, says they are loaded with vitamin K and A. “Vitamin K helps your blood clot and keeps your bones healthy”. Vitamin A wears many hats in helping your body out:

• Helps with Vision
• Aids your Immune System
• Benefits in Reproduction
• Helps your heart, lungs, and kidney’s operate

The article also states, “Cucumbers may also have health benefits outside your body. Putting them on your skin may help ease sunburn pain, swelling, and damaged skin. That’s why people sometimes put a slice or two under their eyes, hoping to shrink bags and ease puffiness.”

As your freckled foodie, I found this interesting. Next time you forget to reapply sunscreen, and get fried a little too crispy, bust out your mandolin. Slice up some cucumbers and place them all over your burn. You know that will feel amazing. And you will be comic relief for your partner, friends, or kids.

Chicken

Do we really need to go through the health benefits of chicken too? Why yes, we do, really quick. Chicken is a leaner choice over beef and pork. It has less fat, which means less calories.

Don’t get me wrong, I like pork chops and steak like the next gal. However, consume the pork and beef in moderation. That is all. Now, let’s get to cooking these Chicken Pita Pockets with Tzatziki.

I hope you like this recipe as much as we do. Please leave us a comment below and let us know what you are putting tzatziki on, or how your stuffed & grilled chicken burgers in pita pockets turned out.

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