Frugal Finance: Frugal Healthy Recipe: Chicken Souvlaki w/ Tzatziki Sauce

Contributed by Christie O., author of Average Moms Wear Capes and owner of Christie O. Media.

We LOVE chicken souvlaki in our house. So.Much. With just the right pita it’s a light, delicious meal that even the kids love.

I fell in love with chicken pitas when I used to get them in college. Of course they slathered it in this white cheese and I love anything slathered in cheese, but this one is a much lighter version than that (and no cheese.)

Here’s the recipe:

Ingredients:

1 lb cooked boneless skinless chicken breast cut into 1 inch cubes
4 tbsp lemon juice
2 tsp olive oil
4 cloves of minced garlic
Whole wheat pita or flatbread*

Tzatziki Sauce:

1 cucumber, peeled, seeded & chopped
1 cup plain non-fat Chobani yogurt (a staple here)
1 tbsp lemon juice
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 cloves minced garlic
1 onion, chopped

Directions:

Put cooked, cut up chicken into large Ziplock bag and add the rest of the ingredients. Shake to coat, then put in fridge to marinate for 1 hour. Yeah that’s pretty much it.

To make tzatziki sauce:

Seed and peel cucumber then chop. Sidenote: I love to use my Slap Chop! I got it for Christmas one year and it makes things so much easier because I cannot chop to save my life. Ever watch those chefs on tv, even the ones on shows like “Hell’s Kitchen?” They can all chop. I cannot chop. I can cook but I cannot chop. So after chopping, put cucumber in strainer and drain the excess water by using a paper towel to help push the water out. You can even just put the cucumbers in a paper towel and squeeze till dry. Once mostly dry, add to bowl with chopped onions and the rest of the ingredients. (Note: You don’t have to drain the water out of the cucumber but the sauce is really watery if you don’t. It still tastes good, it’s just more watery.) Chill in fridge until the chicken is ready or for 45 minutes to an hour.

When ready to eat:

Add chicken to pita and top with sauce. We used this yummy 100% Whole Wheat with Flax Fold-It Pita from Flat Out (which I found in my deli department at Publix) which was only 90 calories! YUM. However, since going preservative-free in our house, I do not have an alternative and this does have preservatives in it. Either way, the recipe is delicious no matter what flat bread you use!

This is all great to make ahead and leave in the fridge until you’re ready for it, by the way, so you can make it the day before! Enjoy!