Vegan Gyros
These Vegan Gyros totally hit the spot! Savory Vegan Gyro Meat, Tangy Tzatziki, Fresh Veggies and Salty Fries are an unparalleled combo!
Gyros are ubiquitous here in Los Angeles, and I ate no shortage of them before going vegan! Unfortunately, I have no idea where to find a vegan gyro. Sure I love falafel as much as anybody else, but recently, I’ve been craving a meaty gyro!
And of course, like just about anything, we can make it vegan and, in my opinion, BETTER!
Oh, and if you are looking for the Tofu version, I separated them out into their own recipe. So here’s the TOFU GYROS RECIPE!
For this recipe, I’m using vegan meat like Impossible or Beyond Meat, but if you want to use something like Tofu, I have a Tofu Gyros recipe as well!
ingredients for vegan gyros
- Vegan Meat – For this recipe, I’m using vegan meat like Impossible or Beyond Meat, but if you want to use something like Tofu, I have a Tofu Gyros recipe as well!
- Seasonings – the rest of the seasonings are mostly pantry staples, but if there’s something you can’t find, don’t worry about it, you can leave it out, the recipe will still be good!
Fresh Veggies
For the fresh veggies, I just went with some tomato and marinated onions. You can slice up some onions and use them as is, or you can take a few minutes to jazz them up with some lemon and herbs. It’s a good move and one I highly recommend!
Feel free to add whatever veggies you like. Cucumber or bell peppers would be great too!
tzatziki
I highly recommend making my Tzatziki RECIPE to go along with this! I have two versions of that too, so you have options. But I think next to the gyro meat, the tzatziki is my favorite part of a gyro!
Pita Bread
Look, I’m lazy, so I just bought some Pita Bread from the store. It’s decent and it’s probably what a lot of the places I used to frequent also use. Obviously if you have the time and inclination, making some fresh pita bread would be a good move, but don’t sweat it!
You can also use a sturdy flour tortilla in a pinch as well!
Fries
Frozen Crinkle Cut fries. Season them well. Don’t over complicate this one! Yes you can make fresh fries, but I will die on the hill that all the extra work, clean up, etc is not worth it. At least in my book!
How to make Vegan gyros
All we gotta do is blend up the vegan meat and seasonings in a food processor until it’s nice and smooth.
Then we’ll bake it in a loaf pan and let it rest in the fridge overnight.
The next day we will slice it up and grill the slices to get them beautifully browned and flavorful!
Then just build your Gyro as you like and enjoy!
handy dandy video here!
storage
You can store leftover gyro meat in the fridge for 3 – 5 days. It reheats well, in fact my wife would just microwave it for a minute or so and whip up a quick pita with the leftovers for lunch! She’s smart too!
Other Recipes You Will Dig!
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Vegan Gyros
Ingredients
Gyros Seasoning
- 1 tsp Fresh Chopped Rosemary (or 1/2 tsp Dried)
- 2 tsp Dried Oregano
- 1 – 2 tsp Ground Cumin
- 1 tsp Smoked Paprika
- 1 tsp Ground Coriander
- 1 tsp Marjoram
- 1/8 tsp Cinnamon
- Salt & Pepper
Vegan Ground Beef Gyro
- 1 lb Vegan Meat (Impossible, Beyond, See Notes)
- Gyro Seasoning (all of it)
- 2 Shallots (chopped)
- 4 Garlic Cloves (chopped)
- 2 Tbsp Breadcrumbs
- 1 Tbsp Olive Oil
Marinated Onions
- 1/2 Medium Red Onion (thinly sliced)
- 1 Tbsp Lemon Juice
- 2 Tbsp Chopped Fresh Dill
- 2 Tbsp Chopped Fresh Parsley
- 1 – 2 tsp Olive Oil
- Salt & Pepper
For Serving
- Pita
- Vegan Tzatziki
- Tomatoes
- Cucumbers
Instructions
Gyro Seasoning
- To make the gyro seasoning, simply combine everything in a small bowl.
Marinated Onions
- Simply combine everything in a bowl and serve immediately! These will get pickled eventually and lose some of their crunch (after a few hours), but they are still good!
Vegan Gyros
- Add the shallots and garlic to a food processor and blend until finely diced / minced. Remove them and then combine them with everything else in a large bowl with clean hands.
- Then add half of the mixture to the food processor and blend until it's a relatively smooth paste. Remove and repeat with the other half of the mixture. (If you have a large food processor, you can just mince up the shallot and garlic and then dump everything else in to blend it up. My food processor was too small to do it all in a single batch.)
- Line a loaf pan with some parchment paper, and spray the paper with some cooking spray. Add the meat mixture to the loaf pan and spread it out so it's even. It should look like a thin meatloaf.
- Add to a preheated oven set to 350 F / 175 C for 30 minutes.
- Remove from the oven, and let it cool for 20 minutes. Then wrap it in foil and refrigerate for 6 hours / overnight. You can try slicing into it now, but it will be a lot more delicate.
- Unwrap the meatloaf, and slice into 1/4" strips. You can cut those in half so they aren't so long and easier to work with as well.
- Over medium high heat, in a bit of olive oil, fry up your sliced vegan gyro meat until browned, about 2-3 minutes per side.
- Your Vegan Gyros are done! Enjoy in a pita with tomatoes, the marinated onions, some tzatziki and fries!
Super Delicious, I made both versions — you know, for science. The meatloaf style falls apart very easily. Could be me since I used the soy curl dust at the bottom of the bag and rehydrated that? Either way, banging flavor! Lived in Greece for years and very happy to have this at home. Thank you
Awesome, glad you dug it!!
I made the version with tofu and was extremely happy with the results! Every component was incredibly flavorful and came together easily. I usually use soy curls whenever I make gyros, I’ll save them for another dish because I have to say that I enjoyed the tofu, more! Thank you so much for such a great recipe!
Nice, yeah I was curious about using Soy Curls, I think i’ll use them when I make some shawarma!
What an absolutely fantastic recipe! This was a big hit in our house! One of the things my husband will every so often say he misses is gyros. We’ve tried a couple veg gyro recipes that have been disappointing and have never found a recipe that comes this close to the real deal. I think even meat eaters would enjoy this! Thanks so much for sharing!
Awesome, glad you found a recipe that finally satisfied!! Thank you!
Excited to try this! Is there something I can sub for the marmite? I can’t find marmite or vegemite near me.
You can leave it out, maybe add some more worcester or steak sauce!
This recipe is so good, I made it two days in a row!
I couldn’t find Marmite near me and couldn’t wait for my order to ship, so I subbed some black strap molasses and a bit of vegan Worcestershire sauce. I’ll have to make a third batch once the marmite comes so I can compare and contrast.
Gyros are something I have missed dearly, and these definitely scratch the itch. I highly recommend doubling the tzatziki to make them extra sloppy! After all, you can’t say a gyro has done its job unless you are wearing some of it once you’re finished.
Awesome, and I agree about the sloppiness!!!
I make these at least once a month with tofu, super delicious!
🙌🙌🙌
The tofu version is absolutely amazing! We have once a week for dinner. I didn’t have marmite or gravy master, so I added Worcestershire and dab of miso paste. So delicious!!!
One of the best recipes you’ve put out! Absolutely in awe at how well these turned out.
I did the prep work of baking the tofu the night before, and while that was in the oven, I whipped together the tzatziki and marinated onions. The next day, all I had to do was rehydrate the baked tofu in a pan while some fries fried and dinner was ready in 15 minutes!
Nice, so glad you liked it! And prepping ahead is so smart, I try to do that when possible!
Made this with my partner twice in a week it was so good!
I prepared the tofu version of this recipe and it has good flavor, but not it’s not even close to a gyro. Also, be ready for a lot of work. I recommend preparing the tzatziki sauce the day before. If you want to save time on cooking day measure and mix all the gyro marinade ingredients a day ahead, except for the tofu.
Holy wow! Made the tofu version, following your instructions of using every umami I had, which was miso, mushroom powder, vegetable stock paste, tomato paste, red wine, tahini, soy sauce, sesame oil, and wakame flakes. I also added about half the remaining marinade to the water during the rehydration step. It came out super amazing and will be on my tofu sandwich rotation from now on!
Nice! Love these, glad you do too!
Best vegan gyros EVER!!
Thank you! So glad you like them!!
Love this recipe, the tofu is insanely tasty!
Just wanted to mention that in the written ingredients and instructions, it is not mentioned that you need the Black Strap Molasses. I only realized that because in the video, you mention adding that and I think it should be included.
Thanks for such yummy recipes!
Oh awesome! Thanks for pointing that out! I might just leave it as is since folks seem to enjoy the recipe as written though, it’s not totally necessary to the final dish!
Gyro has been my fav takeout of all time. I haven’t had it since going vegan. This recipe is MINDBLOWING! Perfect! It changed my life. Thank you. Now I want to do the same thing to tofu to get it close to juicy ham 🙂
Yay, so glad to hear that, thank you!
I made the tofu version tonight. My husband is definitely an enthusiastic meat-eater. I put the tofu over a Greek salad, and he said, “This is fantastic! I would eat it every week for at least a month!” Thank you!
Haha nice! Always love to hear that a non-vegan dug it, thank you!
Just the best! My go-to gyro recipe, I make the tofu version regularly. Even when I’m out of a couple of the ingredients and have to make subs, it still comes out so damn tasty. I defy even the most hesitant tofu eater to not absolutely love this!