Chicken Souvlaki Pita Recipe: Easy Grilled Greek Sandwiches
One of the best things about making camping grill recipes is how fast they cook! With a little prep at home, this Chicken Souvlaki Pita Recipe will have a scrumptious dinner on your camp table in about 30 minutes!
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Prep And Make Ahead Sandwiches For Camping
There are three main parts of this recipe that you can make at home, eliminating the time you need to devote to this meal at camp:
- Marinate the chicken.
- Make the Tzatziki sauce.
- Chop a few veggies for toppings.
Doing all of these steps in advance actually makes the sandwich taste even better because the flavors have time to marry!
Methods Of Cooking Grilled Greek Camping Sandwiches
The main difference between a souvlaki and a gyro sandwich has to do with how the meat is cooked. The word souvlaki refers to meat that is cooked on skewers while the meat for gyro sandwiches is cooked on a vertical rotisserie.
The only thing you are cooking in this meal is the chicken which can be grilled many different ways:
For camping grill recipes, you can use a charcoal or propane outdoor grill.
For campfire recipes you can cook right on the rack of a campfire ring, or place a separate campfire grill grate over your campfire coals. You can use a grate that sits on the ground or the type that hangs from a tripod.
For camp stove recipes you can use a cast iron grill pan to cook over a propane camp stove.
You’ll need a “medium” hot grill to cook the pieces of chicken. If you don’t have a thermometer, just use the hand test to achieve the proper grill temperature. Medium heat = 5-6 seconds using the hand test.
Hand Test For Cooking Temperatures
You don’t need a thermometer to determine the temperature of your heat source for cooking. Here are steps for the “hand test”.
- Hold the palm of your hand about 5 inches above the heat source (campfire coals, charcoal briquettes, propane grill etc.) you’re using for cooking. (Make sure nothing is flammable, like clothing or jewelry.)
- Pull your hand away from the heat before it hurts and note how many seconds have passed. Example: 6-7 seconds = medium heat.
| Heat Level | Temperature Range | Time |
| High Heat | 450-550°F (230-290C) | 2-4 seconds |
| Medium-High | 375-450°F (190-230C) | 5 seconds |
| Medium Heat | 350-375°F (175-190C) | 6-7 seconds |
| Low-Medium | 325-350°F (160-175C) | 8 seconds |
| Low Heat | 250-325°F (120-160C) | 9-10 seconds |
Grilled Greek Pita Sandwich Campsite Assembly
When you are ready to eat, you’ll just grill the chicken, toast the pitas and assemble the toppings. You can see why this is one of the fastest camping dinner recipes you can make at camp!
You’ll want to serve these chicken gyros immediately. The warm chicken souvlaki pitas contrast nicely with the cold sauce and veggies.
Pairings For Campfire Greek Chicken Pitas
This flavorful chicken dish is a Greek classic and pairs well with a simple Greek salad.
When I want to bulk up the meal, I like to choose one of my camping side dishes that carries the same tastes. One of my favorite things to do is add this Greek Tomato And Feta Pasta Salad to my menu. It has similar flavors, uses simple ingredients and tastes better after the flavors meld together for a day or two so it’s the perfect make-ahead to pair with Greek food.
Similar Recipes
If you like a Greek souvlaki recipe for dinner, you gotta try this yummy Breakfast Pita Sandwich Camping Recipe! It makes a fabulously filling breakfast/brunch meal. Check out all of our camping sandwich ideas before planning your next trip!
Try this Dutch Oven Lemon Chicken if you want an easy one-pot dinner. Chicken thighs are seared in olive oil to give the skin a nice crispy texture. Then, the meat is cooked with petite potatoes, lots of garlic, rosemary (fresh herbs are always worth it) onion and lemon slices. This chicken dish would make a Greek restaurant owner proud!
My Middle Eastern Chicken recipe can be described from this reader’s comment:
- Carla said: I gotta tell ya…this is my go-to chicken dish when I have company. It is phenomenal. I cook it all day so that the chicken gets nice and sticky. It is great to make the day ahead and even better as left-overs. I had people over for a Middle Eastern feast and they kept going back for seconds (and thirds) of this dish. I know some people are wary of cooking with fruit, but, one of the guys at my dinner absolutely hates fruit in meals. In fact, he was telling us, while he was eating this dish, how much he hates fruit. I waited until he was finished and said, “Weird. Cuz there’s both dates and apricots in that third helping you’re going for.” HAH! Thanks for this recipe – it has a permanent home in my ‘winner’s cookbook.
Meal Planning
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Chicken Souvlaki Pita Recipe
Equipment
- Metal or Wooden Skewers
- Lodge Pre-Seasoned Cast Iron Reversible Grill-Griddle (for campfire grilling)
- Weber Smokey Joe Portable Grill (for charcoal grilling)
Ingredients
Souvlaki Marinade For Chicken
- 1/2 cup balsamic vinaigrette prepared salad dressing
- 1/2 lemon juiced
- 1 tablespoon dried oregano
- 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 3 boneless skinless chicken breasts
Homemade Tzatziki Sauce (see * Note)
- 1/2 small cucumber seeded, peeled, shredded (use box grater)
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup plain Greek yogurt
- 1/8 cup sour cream
- 1 1/2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
- 1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1/2 teaspoon rice vinegar
- 1 small clove garlic minced (Camp Cooking Tip: If the garlic clove is large, only use half of it. This is a raw preparation and the garlic will be strong.)
- 1 1/2 teaspoon fresh dill weed chopped
- 1/4 teaspoon Greek seasoning
- Dash black pepper to taste
Toppings And Assembly
- 4 pita wraps we like the pocket style
- 4 leaves romaine lettuce sliced into ribbons
- 1/2 red onion diced
- 2 Roma fresh tomatoes diced
- 1/2 cup Kalamata olives
- 1 cup crumbled feta cheese
Instructions
- Trim fat off each piece of chicken and cut into bite-sized pieces. (see ** Note)
- Combine the marinade and the chicken in a large zip top bag, work out excess air, seal it then toss the bag to coat the chicken (or use a non-reactive large bowl). Then place it in a refrigerator or cooler at least a few hours or overnight (overnight is best).
- Make the Tzatziki Sauce by putting the cucumber and salt in a bowl. Let it stand for at least 20 minutes (this will draw out the water.) Squeeze out the excess water so the cucumber is as dry as possible.
- Now, mix all of the Tzatziki Sauce ingredients (including the drained cucumber), cover and refrigerate in airtight container until ready to use.
- Place chicken skewers on preheated grill over medium heat of a campfire, propane grill or charcoal grill (see *** Note). (If using wooden skewers, soak them in water about 30 minutes prior to grilling so they don't catch on fire during the grilling process.) The chicken should be grilled until the juices run clear or the meat reaches an internal temperature of 165 F degrees. The cook time depends on your altitude and thickness of chicken but it usually takes about 10-20 minutes to finish cooking on skewers.
- Warm pita bread by placing it on the grill, about 30 seconds per side to heat pita and provide a little crunch to the fluffy pita bread.
- Remove the chicken from the grill (slice it into bite sized pieces if it was cooked in whole pieces.)
- Assemble the pitas with your favorite toppings and yogurt sauce, then serve immediately.
Notes
Nutrition
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Yum, yum, yum!! These are soooo good.
Hi Linda! I’m so happy to hear you like these chicken pitas! Personally, I love adding different flavor combinations to my camping meal plans. Happy Camping, Kim