Ever had Vegan Gyros?!
(by the way – they’re pronounced (yē-ˌrōs)…….not JIROS …and that sauce? It’s pronounced zat-ZEE-kee)
However you pronounce it, they really are simple to make, SUPER delicious, and rest assured you’ll be getting your helping of fresh veggies for the day!
After all …. it’s mostly a Greek Veggie Salad Sandwich anyway, just drizzled with that hard to pronounce cucumber sauce that is totally easy to make in your blender.
All I had to do was figure out how to replace the meat – and these smokey Portable Mushrooms I come up with do the job nicely.
Mmmm……
Fresh Pita Bread
Hummus
Garden Fresh Veggies
Smokey Marinated Mushrooms
And homemade Tzatziki Sauce..?
I guarantee when all those ingredients come together to party… it’s gonna make one TASTY sandwich.
Enjoy!
Vegan Gyros with Tzatziki Sauce
Vegan Gyros with homemade Tzatziki | Brand New Vegan
Let’s start with the Tzatziki Sauce...
For my version, I used a 12oz block of Extra Firm Tofu. If you’re allergic to Tofu – there may be Cashew based versions on the web, but that adds a lot of fat – so your choice.
Make sure you pat the Tofu dry and then cube it up for your blender.
Now we simply add 3 Tbs Lemon Juice, 1 Tbs Apple Cider Vinegar, 2 cloves Garlic, 1 peeled English Cucumber, a heaping Tablespoon of fresh Dill, and ½ tsp Salt.
Blend until smooth stopping to scrape down the sides if necessary.
You may like more Lemon Juice or Dill – so adjust as necessary.
Store this in the fridge until we’re ready for it later.
Now the Gyro Meat…
I used two 8oz Packages of pre-sliced Portabello Mushrooms. Arrange these as best you can in a large skillet.
In a small measuring cup, add ¼ cup Low Sodium Soy Sauce, 2 Tbs Maple Syrup, 2 Tbs Water, 1 tsp Oregano, ½ tsp Garlic Powder, ½ tsp Onion Powder, ½ tsp Ground Cumin, ½ tsp Liquid Smoke, ¼ tsp Black Pepper, ¼ tsp Rosemary, and 1/8 tsp Ground Cloves.
Whisk this together until it’s smooth and then pour over the mushrooms and turn on the heat. Cook the mushroom on medium heat, moving them around occasionally so they all eventually spend time in the sauce.
The mushrooms are down when they are reduced in size and most of the sauce has cooked off.
(Optional – if you like your ‘meat’ a little more crispy – arrange the finished mushrooms on a parchment lined baking pan and broil them for 5 minutes or so…until they begin to crisp up…. I used my Toaster Oven which worked perfectly)
And Hummus…
Everyone seems to have a favorite Hummus Recipe now so I won’t dwell on this too much…..
I make a very easy Hummus consisting of 1 can (15oz) Garbanzo Beans, and 1 can (15oz) White Beans….use the LOW SODIUM or NO SALT ADDED variety whenever you can.
Drain the beans and save the juice….. add the beans to your blender with at least 2 Tbs lemon juice, 2-3 cloves garlic, and maybe ¼ to ½ tsp ground cumin. Use a few tablespoons of bean liquid to thin it out if it’s too thick. I don’t really have set amounts …as I just add a little of this – taste, add a little more…… etc.
Just be careful if you buy a store brand of Hummus, as it usually contains a LOT of oil and sometimes sodium.
About Those Pitas…..
I KNOW I’m going to get a lot of questions on the Pitas.
Where do I buy Oil Free Pitas?
I don’t know. Really. I don’t.
Just like hamburger and hot dog buns – any store bought brand is probably going to have oil. That’s not to say they don’t exist at all….I just don’t know. And I don’t make the trip all the way to Whole Foods every time I cook a new recipe, but if there IS such a creature….Whole Foods is probably where you’d find it.
I DO know Ezekiel Brand makes a wrap…so you could always use those.
Or…you could make your own….. a bit more work – but guaranteed to be oil-free.
The Assembly….
To make the sandwich, take your favorite Pita, (wrap, whatever), and slather a good amount of Hummus right down the middle…..
Now pile on the mushrooms and veggies. I used sliced Red Onion, sliced English Cucumbers, Red Cherry Tomatoes, and Romaine Lettuce. Feel free to add your own favorites.
Wrap your Gyro in some parchment paper (I also used foil on the outside just to hold it together for the photo), and pour on the Tzatziki……
Hope you enjoy and please let me know how you like them in the comments!
Ever had Vegan Gyros? However you pronounce it, they're simple to make, SUPER delicious, and you'll be getting your helping of fresh veggies for the day!
- 12 oz Extra Firm Tofu (drained and patted dry)
- 2-3 cloves Garlic
- 1 English Cucumber (peeled)
- 3 Tbs Lemon Juice
- 1 Tbs Apple Cider Vinegar
- 1 Tbs Fresh Dill
- 1/2 tsp Salt
- 16 oz Portabello Mushrooms (sliced)
- 1/4 cup Soy Sauce (low sodium)
- 2 Tbs Maple Syrup
- 2 Tbs Water
- 1 tsp Oregano
- 1/2 tsp Garlic Powder
- 1/2 tsp Onion Powder
- 1/2 tsp Ground Cumin
- 1/2 tsp Liquid Smoke
- 1/4 tsp Rosemary
- 1/4 tsp Black Pepper
- 1/8 tsp Ground Cloves
- English Cucumber (sliced)
- Cherry Tomatoes (sliced)
- Red Onion (sliced)
- Romaine Lettuce
- 4-5 Pitas (or use Wraps)
- Hummus
Drain Tofu and pat dry, slice into smaller cubes and add to blender.
Add remaining sauce ingredients to blender and process until smooth, stopping to scrape down the sides if necessary
Pour into bowl and set in fridge until ready to serve.
Place mushrooms in large skillet.
Whisk remaining marinade ingredients together in a small cup (bowl) until smooth and pour over mushrooms.
Cook mushroom over medium heat until reduced in size and most of marinade has cooked off.
(Optional: Place mushrooms under broiler for extra crispness)
Using your favorite Pita (or wrap) spread some of your favorite Hummus down the middle of each Pita and layer on fresh Veggies and Mushrooms. Drizzle with Tzatziki Sauce. Wrap and enjoy!
M Kay Caulk Hill
You are right-on with the pronunciation of gyros and tzatziki. I haven’t heard anyone say it correctly since I moved away from the Chicago area. I like your easy recipe for oil-free hummus too. The whole wheat pita I found has no added oil but has plenty of sodium. The brand is Toufayan and I bought it at Kroger. I just love this vegan version-thanks Chuck!
Pauline Kutsch
Chuck, Thank you for the gyros! I have had some Greek food with my daughter in Vancouver, WA. Since leaving there, I have wondered how I could recreate the taste! I think I have found it!!!!! Thanks again.
Judith Foley
Sounds like a dinner for this week. Love the Tofu base for the sauce…. Always looking for a lower fat version of any sauce – i.e. remove the cashews – very expensive in both $$ and calories. Thanks again for your wonderful recipes.
Malene Steffensen
Sounds delicious, though I am wondering about using extra firm tofu in the tzatziki. Would it not be easier to use silken tofu?
Chuck Underwood
I bet it would! Unfortunately my grocery store (my close one anyway) only carries Firm and Extra Firm. Try it – I bet it will be better!
Melissa
Whole foods brand and Trader Joes brand have a fat free pita (Ive only bought the whole wheat). They are great for mini pizza’s too! Can’t wait to try this!! Yum!!!
Richard Oropeza
What brand name of tofu do you use?
Chuck Underwood
Any good Organic Tofu will do. I usually buy Extra Firm
Susanna
Thank you for the outstanding recipe!. Great idea to blend the cucumber in the sauce. I also added some homemade soy yogurt to the sauce. I often sauté mushrooms with onions, garlic, and soy sauce for my salads, but never thought about eating them like this! So simple and so yummy!
Jen
Yet another recipe of yours that I LOVE! Have made this several times it’s so good. The sauce makes a lot so I always double the recipe of the mushrooms and marinade so I can use the sauce as leftovers the next day. I’d rate this more stars if I could!
Randy
I am thinking I will use the Naan bread recipe from Pure Plant Nation Cookbook (WFPB as well)
for the pita bread. This looks like what’s for lunch in my house tomorrow.
Thanks Chuck!
Judy
This is the second Brand New Vegan recipe we tried this week. Like the Instant Pot veggie stew, this one is also a home run. We didn’t have onion powder or liquid smoke in the house and the mushrooms still came out delicious. The tzatziki sauce was awesome too. I’m going to use the extra sauce as salad dressing. For those looking for pitas, we used oil-free Ezekiel pitas and they worked well.
Russ
I am so intrigued, I will try these tonight.
One concern: even low sodium soy sauce is loaded, just loaded with sodium.
¼ cup of it is going to be 4-5 times my entire daily allowance.
“low sodium” generally only means “compared to the full sodium version” is what I learned, and a compulsive label reader, I saw that a teaspoon of TJ’s low sodium is still a high sodium food, like ½ a day’s worth, if you need to limit sodium to the maximum daily allowance, which is still considered a generous amount by many nutritionists. Just wanted to alert people to really check the sodium content of ¼ cup, it may surprise you.
My solution is easy: use less! and leave salt out of the tzatziki as well.
Thanks so much for this recipe!
Russ
It’s me Russ, I overestimated! TJ’s low sodium, ¼ cup (4 TBS) is is 80% of the recommended daily sodium, which for me is 100% of my allowance. But I’m not going to be eating all the mushrooms in one day likely, probably ½.. So yippee, if I watch my other salt that day, and check the pita bread (one TJ’s pita is 14% of the daily limit) it’s a reasonable meal for me! I’ll rate it after I make it, but I’m sure it’s great.
Susan
I just had these for lunch. I followed the recipe except I used cashews rather than tofu for the tzatziki, and I added a little cilantro as a veggie (I guess I was thinking Mexican rather than Greek–lol). They were delicious, and I would recommend them to anyone–even meat eaters. Thank you Chuck.
Morga
Can I freeze the sauce? It makes a lot!
Becky
Hi Morga 🙂
If I want to know if something can survive freezing, I take a small portion to freeze and see how it works. I hope this helps as I haven’t tried this recipe yet since I came across it. 🙂
Cheryl
This tzatziki sauce is phenomenal. I made a big batch and used it in grilled veggie pitas, too. It’s good on anything. I took the seeds out of my cukes and cut some up fine and added to the sauce after it was blended.
Kimberly Tonjes
Love this one!
S
Great pointers, especially the liquid smoke+maple syrup+soy sauce trinity, very important in vegan cooking for that extra depth in flavor when trying to imitate (grilled) meats!
I have been making mine w/ mushrooms (shiitake and portabella) but also with firm tofu, cut into 2mm slices and fried until light brown in sesame oil (which loses its intense aromatic flavor when overheated, and gives the gyro an animal-grease/protein-like texture and flavor). Adding fresh garlic into the pan right at the end adds a lot to the game.
Three more things which I find essential in mine, and I didn’t see in your recipe so I can recommend are: finely chopped olives and black raisins slow cooked w/ the mushrooms and tofu. And onions, please onions! Just brown them with everything else. Onion is responsible for so much we like about meat — keep honoring that noble vegetable!
Thanks for all the recipes, much love!
S
Diane Valentine
Perfect except I need kalamata olives in that Greek salad and pepperoncini on the side, love, love
Kelly A
I think I died and went to fast-food heaven. This tastes so decadent. My taste buds haven’t been this happy since having your brownies! But I think this is kinda healthy! Mmmm
Tasha
These were phenomenal!!
How long will the tzatziki sauce keep in the refrigerator?
Chuck Underwood
Probably 3-5 days. I don’t trust anything after that.