Homemade Gyros

Homemade gyros are a copycat version of the kind of pita sandwich you’d find in American sandwich shop. Perfectly cooked meat gets sliced and piled on pita bread and loaded with all the best toppings.

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Gyros are one of my favorite ways to switch up our lunch and dinner situation.

You might think that you can only get them in a sandwich shop or maybe in a Greek restaurant.

With my recipe you can get a Greek-American style gyro that tastes almost exactly like the kind you’d get in a sandwich shop.

What is a gyro?

Gyros, or gyro, came from Greece.

The traditional Greek version has meat that’s been cooked on a rotisserie, wrapped or stuffed, in pita bread.

Greek gyros might have other ingredients as well like tomato, onion, potatoes, and tzatziki.

My version is not the Greek style gyros you would find abroad, but instead for the popular Americanized version.

Ingredients

You’ll need two sets of ingredients for these homemade gyros: a set of the meat and a set to build the sandwich.

For the gyro meat you’ll need:

• Meat– My recipe uses a mix of ground veal and ground lamb. You can use all lamb or all veal if you prefer, or even all ground beef.
• Onion– A yellow onion quartered
• Garlic– Fresh garlic cloves
• Spices– Salt, pepper. oregano, cumin, rosemary, and crushed red pepper flakes

For the gyros themselves you’ll need:

• Pita bread– White or wheat. Doesn’t matter.
• Toppings– Sliced red onion, thinly sliced tomato, lettuce, and feta cheese
• Tzatziki sauce- Your favorite brand or you can try this homemade Greek Tzatziki Sauce

How to Make the Gyro Meat

To make the gyro meat, add the garlic cloves to the bowl of a food processor fitted with the blade attachment.

Pulse the garlic until it’s very finely chopped.

Then add the quartered onion and pulse again until smooth.

At this point, add the meats and spices to the food processor and pulse until the mixture becomes a paste.

Scrape down the sides of the bowl with a spatula every couple pulses.

Transfer the mixture to a 9×5″ metal loaf pan.

Using a spatula, or a clean hand, press the mixture into the loaf pan to make sure it both fills the whole pan and that there are no air pockets are left.

Bake the gyro meat loaf at 350° for 45 minutes – 1 hour, until cooked through and the internal temperature reads 165°F.

Carefully remove the hot pan from the oven, and let it rest until the meat’s cooled completely to room temperature.

At this point, refrigerate and chill the meat loaf for at least 2 hours.

After the meat has cooled, remove the pan from the fridge, and run a knife around the edges of the loaf to release it from the pan.

Then transfer the meat loaf to a clean cutting board.

Using a serrated knife thinly slice the meat.

Pour all of the juices from the dish evenly out over the meat.

You can now freeze the meat or continue on to fry it and make homemade gyros.

How to Make Homemade Gyros

If you are planning to make the gyros immediately after making the meat, just heat a heavy bottomed skillet over medium heat.

When it’s hot, cook your desired amount of gyros slices  until browned on both sides.

Add the seared meat slices to warm pita bread and top with your desired toppings.

Serve and enjoy!

How to Freeze Gyro Meat

Gyro meat freezes so well!

To freeze it, let it cool as described above and then slice it up.

Once you slice it, transfer it to freezer safe bags and freeze it.

It will stay good in the freezer for about 3 months.

Storing leftovers

If you’re not wanting to freeze it, you can refrigerate any leftover meat in an airtight container for up to 3 days.

How many gyros does this make?

1 sliced gyro loaf yields roughly 6 very large sandwiches.

The sandwiches are big enough that we enjoy them for a stand alone dinner.

You could pair them with chips or french fries for a larger meal.

Tips and Tricks

• The gyro meat is actually similar to a meatloaf baked in the oven, except this version is very thinly sliced with no really discernable chunks in the finished product.
• Using all ground beef? Your gyro loaf may yield more fat when cooked.
• If the loaf still looks slightly pink when cooked, even though the temp reads 165, it’s OK.
• DO NOT skip the chill time! This step is crucial because it allows the juices to firm up. This prevents them from running out when sliced and leaving behind dried out meat.
• Don’t worry about the congealed fat when slicing the loaf. That will melt and allow the slices to crisp up perfectly when fried without the need for any additional fats or oils.
• You can serve this as a sandwich on pita bread, as suggested, or over a bed of white rice, or even in a salad.

Other Greek Recipes

Homemade gyros are a favorite way to enjoy some Greek American flavors at home. Make it and enjoy!

Looking for other Greek recipes? Try these:

• Greek Chicken Kabobs
• Seasoned Greek Lemon Rice
• Ellinikos Lemoni Patatas (Greek Lemon Potatoes)
• Greek Quiche
• Greek Lemon Chicken Soup with Rice

If you’ve tried these HOMEMADE GYROS, or any other recipe on the site, let me know in the comment section how it turned out, we love hearing from our readers! You can also follow along with me on PINTEREST, FACEBOOK, and INSTAGRAM to see more amazing recipes and whatever else we’ve got going on!

This post may contain affiliate links. As an amazon associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. See my full Disclosure Policy for details.