One of my all-time favorite recipes is Oven Fajitas. It’s easy, flavorful, and healthy. So, I decided to try the same concept with different flavors. For this version, I chose Greek inspired vegetables (bell pepper, eggplant, tomato, and red onion), drenched them in a lemon-garlic marinade, then topped the whole thing with feta and fresh parsley after roasting. I added one thinly sliced chicken breast for a little belly-filling power, but this could easily be made vegetarian (add mushrooms, asparagus, or artichokes maybe?).
Although the mix needs about an hour to roast in the oven, the hands-on preparation is very quick. I’ve kept the leftover mix in the refrigerator all week and have really enjoyed eating the pitas every day for lunch. I package the filling in a separate container, heat it quickly in the microwave, and then stuff it into a pita just before eating. …and sometimes I just ate the filling with a fork, because why not? :)
I set the serving size to a half-round pita pocket. Each one of those servings came out to just $1.37, but even if I was so hungry that I ate two (which may or may not have happened…) it’s still less than $3! Win!
Oven Roasted Greek Stuffed Pitas
Oven Roasted Greek Stuffed Pitas
Servings 8 1/2 round pocket eachIngredients
- 1 medium red onion ($0.95)
- 1 small eggplant ($1.71)
- 2 Roma tomatoes ($0.55)
- 2 medium green bell peppers ($1.58)
- 1 boneless, skinless chicken breast (about ¾ lb.)* ($1.75)
- 4 cloves garlic ($0.32)
- 3 Tbsp olive oil ($0.48)
- 3 Tbsp lemon juice ($0.13)
- 1/2 Tbsp dried oregano ($0.15)
- 1 tsp salt ($0.02)
- 1/8 tsp Freshly cracked pepper ($0.05)
- 4 oz. feta cheese ($1.74)
- 1/4 bunch fresh parsley ($0.19)
- 4 whole pita breads (8 half round pockets) ($1.33)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400ºF. Slice the red onion and bell pepper. Cut the eggplant and tomatoes into one-inch chunks. Place the red onion, bell pepper, eggplant, and tomatoes into a large 9x13 inch casserole dish. Slice the chicken into very thin strips and then add to the casserole dish with the vegetables.
- Mince the garlic and add it to a small bowl along with the olive oil, lemon juice, oregano, salt, and a generous helping of freshly cracked pepper (20-30 cranks of a pepper mill). Stir to combine then pour over the chicken and vegetables. Toss until everything is well coated in the dressing.
- Roast the chicken and vegetables in the preheated oven for 60 minutes, stirring once every 20 minutes. After roasting, top with crumbled feta and roughly chopped fresh parsley. Stuff the mixture into the pita pockets and enjoy warm.
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Notes
Nutrition
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Step by Step Photos
I know, I know… there are four tomatoes in the picture. I intended to use four, but quickly realized that would be WAY too much, so I only used two. I also used one red onion, two green bell peppers, and one eggplant.
I sliced the onion and bell pepper into strips, and the tomato and eggplant into one-inch cubes. Place them all into a large 9×13 inch casserole dish. Oh yes, start preheating the oven to 400 degrees. It needs to be HOT.
Slice the chicken breast into very thin strips. Remember, the smaller the pieces, the more pieces you’ll have, and the more chicken will be in every bite (instead of one big piece every now and then). And yes, my price for chicken is extremely good. I only buy chicken breast when they’re on sale (usually for about $2/lb) and freeze it for later.
Mince the garlic and stir it together with the olive oil, lemon juice, oregano, salt, and a bunch of freshly cracked pepper. Red wine vinegar would also be super good in this if you don’t have lemon juice.
Pour the marinade over the chicken and vegetables, then toss it all together until everything is very well coated. Transfer the whole thing into the oven and come back 20 minutes later…
Give everything a good stir after 20 minutes to redistribute the juices and help some of the moisture evaporate off, then put it back in the oven.
Give it another good stir at the 40 minute mark, then back in the oven it goes…
And then after a total of 60 minutes you’ve got some nice brown roasting action. Yummm….
Let it sit for just a minute as you roughly chop some parsley and crumble the feta cheese. Add it to the meat and vegetables and then give it quick stir.
And now it’s ready to stuff into pitas and devour!
Ohhhh yessss….
This is really quite nice. It’s healthy and the dressing is subtle enough to let you taste the vegetables properly. My only problem was that I still ended up with loads of liquid.
Made a version of this today with Asian stir-fry vegetables and chicken and a basic teriyaki sauce with garlic and ginger. Thanks for posting the technique, we love the fajitas and I want to try the pitas too–so much easier than stove-top cooking!
I made this for dinner tonight. It was satisfying if not particularly thrilling. The meal made enough to feed two adults and three kids with plenty left over. The kids ate it without too much fuss, but no one asked for seconds. I used fresh oregano and mixed parsley into the mix as well as sprinkling it on top. I used bottled lemon juice since the recipe didn’t specify the need for fresh. In my area, the cheese and eggplant were pretty expensive, so the meal cost more than I’d prefer to spend on a solid-but-not-stellar meal. If you have a particular affinity for the flavors and ingredients in this dish, you may love it. Otherwise, it will satisfy but not wow you.
This looks so delicious and easy! I am putting this on next weeks menu plan :)
Lovely recipe. Looks quite delicious and simple.
Beth! I made this for dinner tonight and it was excellent. I used halved grape tomatoes because it’s what I had on hand. Also, I added rinsed canned garbanzo beans to bulk it out even more and everything was so delicious! Thanks for yet another winning recipe.
Anyone happen to know if this keeps well frozen?
Hi Beth!
I discovered your website about a month ago, and I LOVE it! Thank you for posting delicious recipes that don’t cost a fortune to make. :)
I can’t wait to make these Greek stuffed pitas!! I go to a local Greek restaurant on my lunch break at least once a week for their amazing pitas & lemon chicken salad, and this recipe might very well save me some cold hard cash! Thanks again & keep up the great work.
This sounds like roughly the easiest dinner on the planet. I bet it would be great over rice too!
Looks awesome. I may try with some Balsamic Vinegar and serve over some couscous instead of in pitas. Thanks for the recipe!
It’s 16.47. I haven’t had lunch yet. All I could manage to gulp down was a mandarine and half a raw date/chia energy bar. I want warm, conforting food like that!! These stupid work shifts are doing me in. I had breakfast at 05.30 AM. Listen to me whining, and still a two hour train ride to come..
This sounds amazing! I think I will try it as written the first time and perhaps the second time with shrimp instead! Thank you!
Shrimp sounds yummy, but if I were you I’d wait until the last 10-15 minutes of cooking to add the shrimp so they don’t get all dried out and rubbery. The oven fajitas are a staple in my household, but I find that I don’t like how dried out the chicken gets if it cooks with the veggies the whole time. I do 20-25 min with just veggies and then add the chicken and cook for 20 minutes more.
I cooked this tonight. I marinated the chicken with Greek yogurt, left out the feta cheese and used sour cream instead. It was incredibly delicious! I used a spinach tortillas instead of pita bread. Thanks for the recipie :) yummy!
I’m making this for dinner tonight! Was looking for a veggie packed recipe to pack for lunches this week. You read my mind. Perfect!!
This looks dynamite! I make a greek salad to stuff into pitas that uses the exact same marinade as the dressing, except with a tiny touch of sugar. I bet the sugar would be good here too, for caramelization purposes. Can’t wait to try this!