Vegan Gyros! marinated grilled tofu, fresh veggies, topped with 10 minute tzatziki sauce and wrapped in a warm pita! Delicious and easy greek wrap!
Wait until you get a hold of my Gyro recipe!! Full of vegetables and tofu making it vegan, scrumptious and healthy! Yummy street style greek food right at home made with whole food ingredients!
What is a Gyro (pronounced “yee-ros”):
A gyro is essentially a greek sandwich that derived from the lamb-based doner kebab, it usually consists of grilled or rotisserie style meat like pork or chicken and vegetables like cucumbers, tomatoes and onions stuffed in a flatbread (pita bread or naan) and topped with a yogurt sauce (tzatziki).
There are a lot of vegetarian options to replace the meat in gyros: like portabella mushrooms, seitan, chickpeas, tempeh, jackfruit or tofu.
For my vegan gyros recipe I’m using marinated grilled tofu to replace the meat, which kind of mimics a chicken Gyro. An it’s seriously good with authentic flavours. You’ll eat the tofu all by itself, that’s how tasty it is! And totally plant based. You certainly won’t find this at any greek restaurants around my area!
What is the difference between Gyros and Shawarma?
Gyros are Greek in origin. Shawarma is Middle Eastern in origin. In Greece gyros are usually made with pork or chicken while in north America they can consist of beef, lamb or chicken. Shwarmas don’t usually contain pork, instead it’s beef, lamb or chicken, and more diverse toppings like tabouli, fattoush can be added. The sauce is usually a tahini garlic sauce or hummus and not tzatziki like a greek gyro. Spices vary slightly also.
How to make Vegan Gyros:
- First press the tofu then slice the tofu lengthwise so you have 2 thinner slabs cut each slab in half for a total of four pieces. Lay flat in a large freezer bag and pour over the marinade. Marinade for minimum 1 hour, overnight or up to a couple of days.
- While the tofu is pressing make the marinade: add ingredients to a bowl and whisk until the sugar has dissolved,
- While the tofu is marinading prep the vegetables: shred lettuce, slice cucumbers, tomatoes and red onions, set aside
- Make one recipe of vegan tzatziki and set aside in the fridge until needed (or prepare a day ahead)
- To grill the tofu: remove from marinade, oil both sides of tofu, I use a pastry brush and grill over medium heat on your preheated and oiled grill pan or bbq. (if using bbq make sure the grates are clean and oiled) Cook for 3-4 minutes per side or until you get some good char marks for extra flavour! Remove to plate and drizzle on more marinade (it’s so fabulous) Cut each tofu steak into 4 pieces.
- To assemble the gyros: lay a pita on a piece of tin foil or parchment paper. Add some shredded lettuce down the middle followed by some grilled tofu, veggies and tzaziki sauce and a twist of cracked black pepper and salt or seasoning salt. Wrap up in the foil, twisting and folding up the end. Enjoy! For full recipe ingredients and instructions see recipe card below.
These are the best enjoyed a long side of crispy French fries, or feel free to add some fries right in your gyro if desired, that’s what they do for street style gyros in the food trucks -super yum!! Add a side of tzaziki and or hummus to your plate and your good to go!
I use store bought frozen french fries, any variety, cooked up crispy then season with a little seasoning salt and celery salt, mmm!
OK GUYS LET'S MAKE VEGAN GYROS, THEY'RE:
simple
healthy
satisfying
a tasty mediterranean meal
full of flavour
little garlicy
fresh
Enjoy guys! Happy day to you! feel free to leave a comment and a rating below. I would love to hear from you.
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Vegan Gyros With Grilled Tofu And Tzatziki Sauce
- Total Time: 40 minutes
- Yield: 4 Gyros 1x
- Diet: Vegan
Description
Vegan Gyros! marinated grilled tofu, fresh veggies, topped with 10 minute tzatziki sauce and wrapped in a warm pita! Delicious and easy greek wrap!
Ingredients
For the tofu and marinade:
- 1 package extra firm tofu, pressed*
- 2 tablespoons oil, I use grapeseed oil
- 3 tablespoons tamari
- 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
- 2 tablespoons brown sugar, packed
- 1 tablespoon tomato paste
- ½ teaspoon granulated garlic
- 1 teaspoon salt
- pinch of pepper
- ½ teaspoon dried dill
- ½ teaspoon ground coriander
- ½ teaspoon dried oregano
- ¼ teaspoon cumin
- ⅛ teaspoon cinnamon
For the rest:
- 1 recipe 1o Minute Tzatziki Sauce
- 4 pitas, naan or your favourite flatbread, warmed or slightly grilled
- 1 -2 tomatoes, sliced
- about half English cucumber, cut into slices lengthwise
- 3 cups or so, shredded lettuce, romaine or iceberg
- ½ small red onion, thinly sliced in half moon shapes
Optional add ins:
- hummus
- black olives
- French fries
- Chopped fresh herbs like dill, mint, parsley, or even cilantro
Instructions
- First press the tofu (see notes) for 15-20 minutes then slice the tofu lengthwise so you have 2 thinner slabs cut each slab in half for a total of four pieces. Lay flat in a large freezer bag and pour over the marinade. Marinade for minimum 1 hour, overnight or up to a couple of days in the fridge.
- While the tofu is pressing make the marinade: add ingredients to a bowl and whisk until the sugar has dissolved,
- While the tofu is marinading prep the vegetables, set aside
- Make one recipe of vegan tzatziki and set aside in the fridge until needed (or prepare a day ahead)
- To grill the tofu: remove from marinade, oil both sides of tofu, I use a pastry brush and grill over medium heat on your preheated and oiled grill pan or bbq. (if using bbq make sure the grates are clean and oiled) Cook for 3-4 minutes per side or until you get some good char marks for extra flavour! Remove to plate and drizzle on more marinade (it’s so fabulous) Cut each tofu steak into 4 pieces.
- To assemble the gyros: lay a pita on a piece of tin foil or parchment paper. Add some shredded lettuce down the middle followed by some grilled tofu, sliced tomatoes, cucumbers, onions and tzatziki sauce and a twist of cracked black pepper and salt or seasoning salt. Wrap up in the foil, twisting and folding up the end. Enjoy! Makes 4 Gyros. For step by step photos see above post.
These are the best enjoyed a long side of crispy French fries, or feel free to add some fries right in your gyro if desired, that’s what they do for street style gyros in the food trucks -super yum!! Add a side of tzaziki and or hummus to your plate and your good to go! I use store bought frozen french fries, any variety, cooked up crispy then season with a little seasoning salt and celery salt, mmm!
Notes
- To press tofu: wrap tofu in layers of paper towel and place a heavy object on top. I usually use my cast iron frying pan
- prep time doesn't include marinating time
- You don’t need to wipe off the marinade before grilling tofu just oil over it
- tofu can marinade up to 2 days
- tzatziki can be made a day or 2 ahead
- Prep Time: 30 Minutes
- Cook Time: 10 Minutes
- Category: Mains
- Method: stovetop
- Cuisine: Greek
Gail
OMG -this was delicious and so easy to prepare. My husband & I loved it.
The marinade was superb. Will definitely make again, Thanx for the recipe and look forward to making more.
Megan
Just made these tonight and fell in love! The tofu is top notch on its own, when you add that tzatziki it takes it to the next level. A great flavorful meal I felt great about eating. I didn't have tomato paste and didn't want to add the sugar so I used 1 tbsp ketchup instead. Also cut the tofu into thinner slices, just my preference, they came out crispy and chewy and so flavorful. Definitely making this again. Also thinking the tofu would be awesome in a Greek salad
Verna Rindler
So glad you enjoyed it Megan, thanks so much for the wonderful feedback 🙂
Krystal
This was wonderful, gyros and tzatziki both! We were thinking that we would like to try this marinade on seitan steaks, then cook them on the grill!
Verna
So glad you enjoyed the recipe! That is an excellent idea -it would make a fabulous seitan marinade!! Thanks for your wonderful feedback Krystal it is so helpful 🙂
Ellen
This recipe is exceptional! All the components work together perfectly. The tofu- wow! That's a winner. Thank you for sharing
Verna
Thank you so much for your wonderful review!
Shaun
Deliciousness!
Verna
Thank you so much!
Brielle C
We have made this recipe numerous times, absolutley love it the tofu is amazing!
Verna
thank you so much!
Midge
We really enjoyed preparing these and devouring them . We will be definitely be a hit this summer ,
Verna
Thank you so much Midge! Glad you all enjoyed the Gyro recipe!
Sunny
Thank you, Verna. I've been missing gyros and this recipe looks delicious. I appreciate the time, effort and expertise you put into your posts. Your photos are helpful and mouth-watering. ☺
Verna
Aww thank you so much Sunny! That's so nice of you to say, I appreciate it! Enjoy the recipe😊