A lot of people seem to be under the impression that being a vegetarian is totally restrictive and boring and all about the things you can't eat. Untrue! Eating meatless opens up so many possibilities! Take gyros for example. If you're having standard gyros, your possibilities are meat and meat. You are bound by tradition. But not here. We can break rules.
Before grilling the veggies, it's good to marinate them in a tangy lemon-olive oil sauce. The veggies will soak up the sauce pretty quickly, so you can heat up your grill while they're marinating. We used an indoor grill that has ridges on it instead of grates so there's no need to worry about the veggies falling through, but if you're using an outdoor grill, you'll want to use a vegetable basket. They'll only take a few minutes to cook, although the exact time will vary depending on the type of grill you use.
Throw the pita bread on the grill after the veggies are done to warm it up a little bit so it's easily bendable. Pile the veggies on the bread, then top it with chopped tomatoes and romaine lettuce, and a drizzle of tzatziki or Creamy Cucumber Dill Sauce. Don't forget to wrap the bottom half of your Grilled Veggie Gyros with foil for that authentic restaurant-style experience—and also because these gyros are a little bit messy.
Ingredients
- ¼ cup light olive oil or grapeseed oil
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- Salt and pepper to taste
- 3 portabella mushrooms stemmed and sliced into thick strips
- 1 red pepper sliced into strips
- 1 large zucchini cut into half crosswise and sliced into thick strips
- 1 red onion cut into thick half moons
- 4 pocketless pitas or flatbread warmed
- Chopped tomatoes romaine lettuce, and Creamy Cucumber Dill Sauce for serving
Instructions
- Whisk together the olive oil, lemon juice, cumin, oregano, garlic, salt and pepper in a large baking dish. Place the vegetables in the dish and toss them with the marinade to coat. Let them sit at room temperature for about 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Heat an indoor grill to high or sear. Put the veggies on the grill in a single layer (you might have to do them in 2 batches, depending on the size of your grill). Cook them for 5-7 minutes, until just beginning to char, then flip them over and cook them on the other side until they're lightly charred and tender, about 5 minutes more.
- Divide the veggies onto the pita bread and top them with tomatoes, lettuce, and Creamy Cucumber Dill Sauce. Fold the bread over and wrap the bottom half tightly with foil.
Notes
Ingredients
- 1 cup diced peeled cucumber
- ½ cup raw cashews soaked in water for 2-4 hours
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 1 clove garlic
- 1 tablespoon minced fresh dill
- Salt to taste
Instructions
- Combine the cucumber, cashews, lemon juice, and garlic in a blender and blend until smooth. If the mixture is too thick, add water 1 tablespoon at a time—the sauce should have the consistency of a creamy salad dressing. Stir the dill into the sauce and season with salt to taste.
This looks absolutely delicious. Will be making this as soon as I can.
These look so good. I've been craving gyros but mostly the veggies and creamy cucumber sauce. Can't wait to try these!!
It's "Portobello," not "Portabella."
If you took a minute to Google it, you'd see that both spellings are acceptable. Thanks.
I am a meat person and I thought that there was no way that these could taste as good as a regular meat gyro. How wrong I was. These are fabulous. They became a quick favorite with me. I didn't know it was possible for veggies to taste so good.
Add some feta and it's perfect. They do have vegetarian gyros I thought. The Greek place in my town has ones with eggplant. It's the mashed up eggplant not hard. Although it would be good either way as an addition to this recipe.
How do you get the Nutritional info?
yumm that looks so delicious!!
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These look SO good! And, I'm making that cucumber dill sauce right now. YUM! 🙂
I love the sound of this cucumber dill sauce, and these gyros in general! "Wikipedia isn't the boss of me" -- love it! People definitely tend to think that things "should" be a certain way, i.e. certain dishes NEED to have meat as you said. But I do what I feel is right and best, and that never steers me wrong 🙂
We enjoyed these and will make again. Thanks for the recipe!
Thanks for your comment - I'm happy to hear it! 🙂
Oh. My. Goodness. These are astoundingly good. We just made them tonight, and will easily be adding them to our favourite recipes. That sauce! My word! It's too-die-for, and just perfect for the dish. It's a spot-on gyros sauce! After blending, I stirred through another cup of peeled, diced cucumber to it for some crunch, and was so happy with the flavour. The veggies were also incredible. Yum yum yum! You're a clever lady. Thanks so much for sharing 🙂
I don't like bell peppers, do you have any recommendations for a substitute? I was thinking of sweet potatoes, but I'm not sure if that would taste weird.
I'm not sure if sweet potatoes would fully cook by the time the rest of the veggies are done. Broccoli, cauliflower or asparagus could work, or you could even double up on the zucchini. Enjoy. 🙂