Preconception · Lunch

Greek Chicken Pitas with Tzatziki

Name: Greek Chicken Pitas with Tzatziki
Total time: 31 min
Yield: 2 servings
Ingredients: 2 chicken breasts, in strips; 1 tbsp olive oil; 2 tsp dried oregano; 1 lemon, half juiced, half in wedges; 4 whole-wheat pitas; 200 g Greek yogurt; ½ cucumber, grated and squeezed; 1 garlic clove, grated; 2 tomatoes, sliced; ¼ red onion, sliced; ¼ tsp salt

Oregano-lemon chicken stuffed into warm pitas with homemade tzatziki and crunchy salad - a street-food lunch done properly at home.

Marinating happens while you stir the sauce together, a hot pan does the rest, and everything lands on the table for people to build their own. For the trying-to-conceive stretch this is the useful kind of cooking: fresh food with takeout energy, easy enough to become a habit rather than an occasion.

Greek Chicken Pitas with Tzatziki - Oregano-lemon chicken stuffed into warm pitas with homemade tzatziki and crunchy salad

Medium

Omnivore ProteinCalciumAntioxidantsFiber

Ingredients

for 2 people

2chicken breasts, in strips
1 tbspolive oil
2 tspdried oregano
1lemon, half juiced, half in wedges
4whole-wheat pitas
200 gGreek yogurt
½cucumber, grated and squeezed
1garlic clove, grated
2tomatoes, sliced
¼red onion, sliced
¼ tspsalt

Open this recipe in the interactive app to scale servings, switch to oz and cups, and tick ingredients off as you cook.

Per serving (approx.): 550 calories · 40 g protein · 52 g carbs · 20 g fat · 7 g fiber

Method

Marinate. Toss the chicken strips in a bowl with the olive oil, dried oregano, half the salt and the juice from half the lemon. Leave for 10 minutes at room temperature while you make the tzatziki.
Tzatziki. Squeeze the grated cucumber hard over the sink to get rid of the water, then stir it into the Greek yogurt with the grated garlic and the remaining salt. Keep it in the fridge until the chicken is done.
Cook. Sear the chicken strips in a hot skillet over high heat for 5 to 6 minutes, turning once, until browned outside and cooked through to 165°F (74°C) with no pink at the center.
Warm. Warm the pitas in the empty skillet over medium heat for about 30 seconds a side, until soft and puffed. Do this after the chicken so the pan is free and still hot.
Fill. Load each pita with chicken, sliced tomatoes, red onion and a generous spoonful of tzatziki. Squeeze a lemon wedge over the filling just before you fold it over and eat.

Worth knowingReal tzatziki adds calcium where shop garlic mayo adds nothing - a small swap that compounds over a year of lunches.

Is this safe when trying to conceive?

Yes - nothing here needs avoiding while trying to conceive: the chicken is cooked through until no pink remains and the yogurt is pasteurized as standard. It also fits the pattern fertility research keeps circling - Mediterranean-style eating built on lean protein, yogurt, vegetables and olive oil is linked in observational studies to better fertility outcomes in women. The plate still works for both partners - no separate menu required.

Substitutions & allergens

Gluten-free pitas work, or skip bread and pile everything into lettuce wraps - removes gluten.
A thick plain coconut or oat yogurt makes a workable tzatziki - removes dairy, though it gives up the calcium the note credits to the real thing.
Chicken thighs swap in for breasts and forgive an extra minute in the pan.
Red onion too sharp? Soak the slices in cold water while the chicken marinates, or leave them out.

Storage & reheating

Store the parts, never the loaded pita. Cooked chicken goes into the fridge within 1-2 hours, keeps for 48 hours and reheats once until steaming hot - or is eaten cold - and it freezes well on cooking day, defrosted in the fridge and used within 24 hours, all per FSA chilling guidance. Tzatziki keeps covered for the same 48 hours but does not freeze, and assembled pitas go soggy, so load them fresh.

Checked against the public guidance we follow - see our sources & editorial standards.