This vegetarian version of gyros is packed with grilled mushrooms, peppers, zucchini, and onions. All served up with a delicious creamy cucumber dill sauce. Yum!
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.
Recipe
Ingredients
- ¼ cup 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
Creamy Cucumber Dill Sauce
- 1 cup cucumber peeled and diced
- ½ cup raw cashews soaked in water for 2-4 hours
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
- 1 clove garlic
- 1 tbsp fresh dill minced
- salt to taste
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.
- To make the sauce: 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.
- 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.
Abby @ The Frosted Vegan says
Yes to these! I haven't had a gyro is ages, but these look perfect!
Kiersten Frase says
Yeah, the last time I had one was when I was a kid! 🙂
Dixya @ Food, Pleasure, and Health says
you make everything look so delicious!
Kiersten Frase says
Thank you! 🙂
Shannon @ moveeatcreate.com says
These look (and sound) so so so good! I love the cucumber dill sauce made with cashews. I'm imagining serving these alongside some oven-baked fries. Yum.
Kiersten Frase says
I thought about making fries with them, but I'm horrible at multitasking on recipes when I have to take photos too! 🙂 But under normal circumstances, YES fries for sure!
Kristi @ Inspiration Kitchen says
This looks absolutely amazing! Pinned!
Laura (Tutti Dolci) says
I love grilled veggies, what a great idea to turn them into gyros!
JulieD says
I love grilled veggies...I love this so much!! Making this ASAP!
Courtney @ The Fig Tree says
Yummy! Looks fantastic. I cannot wait to try the cucumber sauce. I bet it would be yummy as a dip for veggies too! 🙂
Kiersten Frase says
It's definitely an awesome dip too! We used the leftovers with celery sticks. 🙂
Laura @ Raise Your Garden says
Hello!
What a pretty gyro (can a gyros be pretty?) But seriously, what a wonderful picture.
Just in time for all the summer vegetables that will be coming in soon. Grilled veggies are so so delicious and I need a break from steamed ones! Like the cashews, they really add I think.
Thanks for a really creative recipe!
Kiersten Frase says
Thank you! It took me a few tries to get the photos right. We ate a lot of gyros this month. 😉
Michelle Lahey says
I always forget about gyros, and I absolutely love dill this time of year. I will definitely have to give these a try!
dishing up the dirt says
These sound fantastic.
I've found my diet has gotten SO much more creative and tasty since giving up meat. It's such a misconception that vegetarians have a restrictive diet. Your recipes nail it!!
Kiersten Frase says
It's so true, right?! People concentrate too much on what they can't eat. 🙂
Hannah @ CleanEatingVeggieGirl says
Thank you for making the dill sauce recipe vegan! This sounds fantastic 🙂
Courtney says
This is actually my kind of gyros! Maybe hubby and I can finally enjoy one together 🙂
Anne Hewitt says
The cucumber dill sauce is the piece de resistance! I'll be firing up the grill this weekend!
Kiersten Frase says
Totally. You can't have gyros without a creamy sauce!
Meg@ Beard and Bonnet says
You have NO idea how badly I want these!!!
Ami@NaiveCookCooks says
Love your veggie take on so called gyros! 😉
Polly @ Tasty Food Project says
I enjoy eating gyros but never had a veggie one before. You make this look so yummy!
Jamie says
Those grilled veggies look delicious and the cucumber dill sauce sounds scrumptious!!
christy@sweetandsavoring says
I just love your attitude, we don't have a boss and we can prepare food any way we want! And man would I hate to miss out on Greek food 🙂 Sometimes I make a similar creamy sauce, but with tahini. SO good!
Kiersten Frase says
I love tahini! I think that would be delicious on these too. My favorite salad dressing is tahini, lemon, and garlic--so simple and tasty!
Nicole says
Oh yum. This looks so fresh and delicious. Can't wait to try the creamy dill dressing!
Anele @ Success Along the Weigh says
I'm not a gyro or mushroom fan but the Mr is. I'm gonna float this his way and see what he thinks. I know after vacation we'll need to detox and if he can get something that tastes like a regular gyro, I'm sure he'd be all for it!
Kiersten Frase says
Well, it doesn't really taste like a regular gyro. 😉 BUT! If he likes grilled veggies, I'm sure he'll like this!
Gretchen @ Two Healthy Kitchens says
Creamy CASHEW Cucumber Sauce??? I DIE!!! I love it!!! I cannot wait to make this! Seriously - I may just keep that on hand for everyday consumption!
I don't care for regular gyros so this looks fantastic! I cannot wait for it to be warm enough to grill!
And it is GYros? YEAR-os? GUYros? Oh who knows???
This post was totally hilarious by the way - Wikipedia isn't the boss of any of us!! 🙂 And the line about the baby and the bathwater - so funny!
Kiersten Frase says
YEAR-os! And I am sure of it because the first time I went to our local gyros place (they have falafel gyros!) and placed my order, the owner exclaimed "You pronounced it right!" 🙂 I was pretty darn proud of myself.
Joanne says
I totally agree and thing going veg is SUPER liberating!! I never think about the things I "can't" or "won't" have. Instead I think of all the possibilities that are at my fingertips. These crazy awesome gyros being a prime example.
Kiersten Frase says
Yeah, people seem to think that being a vegetarian is a really miserable experience, but it's totally not!
Sharon says
These gyros were fantastic! I love making a recipe that my non-vegetarian husband and children enjoy. I bought pocketless pitas and naan bread- and my vote goes for the naan bread. The cucumber dill sauce was amazing. We eat raw cashews every day, so it was super cool to see another use of them. I'll make this again, for sure!
Kiersten Frase says
We go through raw cashews like crazy around here--aren't they the best?! I'm so glad you enjoyed the recipe! 🙂
vegelove99s says
Hi, I made this last night, again it rocked, love your work
Kiersten Frase says
I'm glad you liked the recipe!
Susan says
I made these last night and they were outstanding! My husband and 18 yo son (both committed meat eaters) asked me to make them again. 🙂 The sauce tasted just like the yogurt based tzatzaki (sp?) sauce.
Kiersten Frase says
Thank you for your comment - I'm so happy to hear they were a hit! 🙂