Make this classic restaurant-style gyro meat at home. Gyros are the most popular Greek sandwich and it is very easy to make. In Greece, layers of meat are roasted on a spit then sliced and served in a pita with tzatziki sauce. The Greek-American version is made with thinly sliced meatloaf made with beef and lamb. Follow this recipe and make a few extra batches for those busy weeknights.
In this recipe, I use a combination of ground beef and lamb to get that authentic flavor that is served at local Greek restaurants. Feel free to use all lamb or all-beef to make your gyro meat. To get that nice crispy texture on some of the meat slices, pan fry them before serving them in the pita or on a platter.
Here are some spices that can be added to make the meat even more flavorful:
- finely chopped rosemary
- ground coriander
- thyme
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The tzatziki sauce is a must! You may print the recipe here.
- 1 English cucumber, peeled
- 1 and 1/2 cups Greek yogurt
- 1/2 cup sour cream
- 1-2 garlic cloves minced
- 1/2 teaspoon of salt, or to taste
- freshly ground black pepper
- 1 teaspoon chopped dill
- olive oil for drizzling
- pita bread for dipping
INSTRUCTIONS
Grate the cucumber and sprinkle with some salt. Set aside in a bowl to release excess liquid.
In the meantime, combine the yogurt, sour cream, garlic, salt, and pepper in another bowl and mix well.
Squeeze the cucumber with your hands or in a clean kitchen towel and discard the liquid it releases.
Add the shredded cucumber to the dip and stir to incorporate. Add dill and mix well.
Drizzle with olive oil and your creamy sauce is ready!
Homemade Greek-American Style Gyro Meat
Make this classic restaurant-style gyro meat at home. Gyros are the most popular Greek sandwich and it is very easy to make. In Greece, layers of meat are roasted on a spit then sliced and served in a pita with tzatziki sauce. The Greek-American version is made with thinly sliced meatloaf made with beef and lamb. Follow this recipe and make a few extra batches for those busy weeknights.
Ingredients
- 1 medium onion, quartered
- 1 pound ground lamb
- 1 pound ground beef
- 4-5 garlic cloves
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 teaspoon cumin powder
- ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
Equipment:
- 9 x 5 inch loaf pan
For the Sandwiches:
- Pita bread
- Onion slices
- Tomato slices
- Tzaztiki Sauce
- Lettuce
- Crumbled feta cheese
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit, 163 degrees Celsius.
- Place the garlic cloves in a food processor and pulse until very finely chopped.
- Add onion and puree until smooth.
- Add ground meat with all of the spices. Pulse until the mixture becomes like a paste. Scrape down the sides of the bowl in between pulses.
- Place the mixture in a loaf pan. Compact it as much as possible.
- Bake for 45 minutes till 1 hour.
- Allow the pan to cool at room temperature completely. Refrigerate at least 2 hours before removing from the pan.
- Remove from pan onto a cutting board. Using a sharp serrated knife, slice it thinly. Pour all of the pan juices over the slices along with any of the fat that has gelatinized. It adds so much flavor when heating it up for the sandwiches.
- At this point, the gyro slices can be placed in a freezer-safe bag and frozen for future use.
- To make the Gyro sandwiches, place a cast iron pan over medium heat and cook the gyro slices until they are browned on both sides.
- Warm the pita bread slightly. Place some chopped lettuce, onion and tomato slices over the pita, the warm gyro slices and tzatziki sauce with crumbled feta. Serve immediately.
- Enjoy!
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All the Greek restaurants near us are closed, and we miss our favorite gyros. This is an incredible recipe, and satisfies our yearning for authentic Greek gyros! I did end up buying the the Cuisinart that she uses because my Kitchenaid mixer doesn’t make the pasty mixture that cooks and slices perfectly. it’s important to slice the cooked gyro meat quite thin, and then fry/grill the slices until they are browned. That’s when they taste like they just got sliced off a huge slab of gyro meat.Our family gobbles this up, so I usually make a double or triple batch.
When do you add the lamb?
When do you add the lamb? Nevermind, you merely said beef instead of ground meat. Delicious and quick recipe, thank you.
I can eat gyros all the time! I think the feta cheese is nice addition and a cool change from the onions. It’s such a great meal.
I can’t wait to try your gyros meat! My lamb is already out and ready for spicing and we plan on eating these tonight.
That said, I LOVE people like you who have authentic recipes and having grown up in the culture, you are Proud and Generous to share your beautiful life with us, who have other backgrounds. We traveled a LOT and most of our memories include FOOD! Love you and Thanks!
I made this and it was amazing!!!!! I will definitely make it again thank you so much for this recipe!
I made this and it was amazing!!!! I will definitely make it again. Thank you so much for this recipe.
Do you still have the restaurant?☺️
This channel is amazing!
Thank you.
Awesome! Haven’t had my food processor out in years and was thinking about selling it. I was a bit concerned about the paste consistency, but not to worry, it baked beautifully. I used 10 percent fat ground sirloin for the beef. And after it was chilled it sliced like a dream. Wonderfully flavorful sandwiches! The tzatziki sauce was perfect too. My previous recipe called for finely diced seeded cucumber, but the shredded worked a lot better, and squeezing out the water was certainly better than paper towels. Next time I will make my own pitas!
Dear Dimitra
I made the gyro meat exactly as written except I used beef only. Everyone said it was too dry. What did I do wrong?
I understand it’s been awhile since this recipe was posted, but can you please clarify an ingredient?
In the type explaining the recipe it’s says coriander, but in the listed ingredients it says cumin?
I have already made the mixture. I am just stressing this isn’t going to taste right.
I appreciate your help!
Sorry about that!! You can add both cumin and coriander 🙂
I just made this exactly as the recipe was written and I can’t believe how easy it was. I was really impressed by how it tastes just like the gyro meat at a Greek dinner/restaurant. To be honest, I think it tastes better! I will be making this all the time and freezing it so I always have gyro meat on hand. Also, I’ve been watching all your videos on YouTube and have learned so much. I’m half Greek but since my mother isn’t, I never had the opportunity to learn to cook traditional Greek recipes or speak the language. So, thanks for these great recipes and videos!
So excited to try this recipe. It is the 1st one I have found to make Gyro meat at home. Thank you very much!
Dear Dimitras,
Your authentic Greek/American Gyro and Tzaztiki recipe is amazing! I had 5 people feasting on it and everyone raved about it. I am so glad I found your site and thank you for your generosity in sharing your amazing Greek dish recipes!
Absolutely wonderful! Love this recipe so much!