20-Minute Greek Gyros with Tzatziki Sauce

Easy to make Greek gyros that take just 20 minutes from start to finish! We’re using a combination of lamb and beef to make these gyros patties tender and delicious. Wrapped inside of a pita and topped with dill tzatziki, this meal it totally weeknight friendly!

First, 20-MINUTE GREEK GYROS — that taste like you just got them hot and fresh off of a gyros cart in NYC. How I LOVE YOU.

Second, let me apologize for not showing up on you a few Fridays in a row now. Sometimes life happens and my sometimes not so put together self has too much on her plate all at once and proceeds to bite off way more than she can chew! Whamp. Whamp.

But let me make it up to you in the best way known to man — by feeding you Greek food that’s made in 20 minutes and tastes like a million and one bucks.

What I love MOST about this recipe is that it’s light on the waistline and the gyros can totally be eaten with a big salad that has EVERYTHING but the kitchen sink in it and is drizzled with tons of greek yogurt and dill tzatziki sauce. OR you could go the more traditional route and serve it up inside pitas with lots of lettuce and onions and tomatoes. I have a feeling the latter is going to make you Super Mom or Super Dad if you’ve got any picky eaters around the house.

You can hear that meat sizzle as soon as it hits the hot griddle.Crispy brown edges around the gyros patties — the flavor bits. Smell the sweet scent of garlic and onions sautéing. Yeasty, warm, pita bread. Crisp lettuce. All topped with cool and refreshing tzatziki.  You like them. NO, you LOVE them. Greek food hypnosis at it’s finest.

To be honest with you, I wasn’t really on board with LAMB before. Nope. I think I joined that team just a few years back when I discovered the most delicious Kabuli Palaw AKA Afghani food. I mean one bite and I was floating around some where up in heaven between the savory, tender lamp shank and the sweet raisins and matchstick carrots and that cardamom scented rice… HOLY WOW! I mean, please, drive to your closest Afghani restaurant and HAVE IT.

Back to Greek gyros though!

For all the Greek gyros police out there, let me just say that this is probably not the way the Greek make their gyros OR their tzatziki! I left the cucumbers out of the tzatziki sauce this time because I wanted to keep the ingredient list on the lighter side. If you’ve got cucumbers that you want to use up, just grate about 1/3 cup of them and squeeze out as much water and you can before adding them to the yogurt. With that said, I NEED you to try this recipe because you WILL love my 20-minute spin on the classic!

It’s flavorful but uses only a bit of all spice, garlic, and onions flavoring the meat. SIMPLE. You could easily make a larger batch of the gyros patties and just freeze them on a baking sheet and then keep them in a zip top bag and cook them up when you need dinner on the table in a hurry.

Dinner in a cinch.

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Yield: 4-5 servings

20-Minute Greek Gyros with Tzatziki Sauce

Prep Time 10 minutes

Cook Time 10 minutes

Total Time 20 minutes

 Easy to make Greek gyros that take just 20 minutes from start to finish! We're using a combination of lamb and beef to make these gyros patties tender and delicious. Wrapped inside of a pita and topped with dill tzatziki, this meal it totally weeknight friendly!

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Ingredients

GYROS MEAT:

• 1/2 lb.lean ground lamb
• 1/2 lb. lean ground beef
• 4 cloves garlic, grated
• 1/4 teaspoon all spice powder
• 1/4 cup grated onions (squeezed to remove liquid)
• 1 1/4 teaspoon salt + 1/2 teaspoon black pepper

TZATZIKI SAUCE:

• 1 cup Greek yogurt
• 1 clove garlic, grated
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 1 teaspoon dill weed (or more!)

TO SERVE:

• Pita bread, sliced onions, tomatoes, shredded lettuce

Instructions

1. In a large bowl combine the ground lamb, beef, garlic, all spice powder, onions, salt, and pepper. Mix to combine. Shape the meat into 12 small patties. Alternately, you could just shape them into 4-5 larger ones. Set aside.
2. In a small bowl, combine the ingredients for the tzatziki sauce. Add salt and pepper to taste. Set aside for serving.
3. In a large skillet, heat 1 tablespoon of oil and fry the patties for 3-4 minutes (smaller) and 6 minutes (larger) or until they are cooked to desired doneness.
4. to serve: Warm the pita bread, layer with meat patties, sliced onions, tomatoes, and lettuce. Top with tzatziki sauce and serve immediately.

Notes

1. If you'd like to add cucumbers to the tzatziki sauce, use a large grater to grate about 1/3 of a cup. Squeeze out as much water from the cucumbers as possible before adding it to the yogurt.

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