Gyro Bowl with Tzatziki
Homemade gyro meat — lamb and beef seasoned with oregano, garlic and rosemary, baked as a loaf, sliced thin and seared crisp — piled over crunchy lettuce with tomato, cucumber, feta, olives and garlicky tzatziki.
Nutrition per serving
1 loaded bowl- Net carbs
- 9.3g
- Calories
- 639kcal
- Protein
- 37g
- Fat
- 49g
- Total carbs
- 12 g
- Fiber
- 2.6 g
Calculated from USDA FoodData Central values for each ingredient (optional ingredients excluded). Brands vary — check your labels if you track closely.
Ingredients
Chicken gyro: Chicken thighs marinated in the same herbs and garlic with lemon, then grilled and sliced — quicker than baking a loaf.
- Skip the food processor and loaf. Mix the grated onion, garlic, herbs, spices, salt, pepper, lemon juice and olive oil, toss with the chicken and marinate 30 minutes to overnight.
- Grill or sear over medium-high heat 5–6 minutes per side, until 165°F (74°C) in the thickest part. Rest 5 minutes, slice thinly and build the bowls as written.
Dairy-free (tahini sauce): A lemony tahini sauce replaces the yogurt tzatziki, and the feta is left off.
- Whisk the tahini with the lemon juice, garlic and salt, then whisk in the water a tablespoon at a time until pourable. Scatter the grated cucumber over the bowls instead of stirring it into a sauce.
- Gyro meat
- Tzatziki
- Bowls
- Gyro meat
-
½ lb ground beef (80/20)leave out - Tzatziki
- Bowls
- Also add
- Gyro meat
- Tzatziki
-
2 tbsp fresh dillleave out - Bowls
-
½ cup fetaleave out - Also add
Estimated cost $20.45 for 4 servings ($5.11 each) · how we estimate
Instructions
-
Heat the oven to 325°F (165°C) and line a small loaf pan with parchment.
-
Put the squeezed onion, garlic, oregano, thyme, rosemary, cumin, salt and pepper in a food processor and pulse to a paste. Add the lamb and beef and process 1–2 minutes, scraping down once, until the mixture is smooth and tacky. This fine, dense texture is what lets gyro meat slice like the real thing.
-
Press the mixture firmly into the loaf pan, smoothing the top. Bake 40–50 minutes, until the center reaches 160°F (71°C). Pour off the fat and let the loaf rest 10 minutes.
-
Meanwhile, make the tzatziki: stir together the yogurt, squeezed cucumber, garlic, dill, lemon juice and salt and chill until serving (more detail in our tzatziki recipe).
-
Slice the loaf as thinly as you can. Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat and sear the slices 1–2 minutes per side, until crisp at the edges.
-
Divide the lettuce among bowls and top with the gyro slices, tomatoes, cucumber, red onion, olives and feta. Spoon tzatziki over the top.
Tips for success
-
Don't skip the food processor. Blending the meat to a paste is what gives gyro meat its tight, sliceable texture instead of a crumbly meatloaf. - A weight on top of the baked loaf while it rests (a foil-wrapped brick or a couple of cans) makes it even denser and easier to slice thinly.
- Wrap the meat and toppings in flaxseed wraps for a handheld gyro.
Nice to have, not needed
- A sprinkle of sumac or a squeeze of lemon over the finished bowl adds a bright finish — optional.
Storage & meal prepMeal-prep friendly
- Keeps 3 days in the fridge
- Freezes up to 3 months
Reheat: Sear the sliced meat in a hot skillet 1–2 minutes per side to re-crisp; keep the tzatziki and bowl toppings cold.
Prep tip: Freeze the gyro meat in slices with parchment between them, so you can crisp a portion straight from the freezer.
Refrigerate the sliced meat up to 4 days and the tzatziki up to 3 days, with the bowl toppings stored separately. Sliced gyro meat freezes well for up to 3 months.
Variations
2 variations, each with its own ingredients and macrosChicken gyro
ProteinChicken thighs marinated in the same herbs and garlic with lemon, then grilled and sliced — quicker than baking a loaf.
- ground lamb → boneless, skinless chicken thighs
- + 1 tbsp lemon juice
- no ground beef (80/20)
9.5 g net · 381 kcal · 42 g protein · 18 g fat · ≈$3.51 per serving (+0.2 g net carbs vs the original)
Dairy-free (tahini sauce)
DietA lemony tahini sauce replaces the yogurt tzatziki, and the feta is left off.
- full-fat Greek yogurt → tahini
- + 3 tbsp cold water
- no feta
- no fresh dill
8.1 g net · 615 kcal · 32 g protein · 49 g fat · ≈$4.39 per serving (−1.2 g net carbs vs the original)
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