Vegan Gyros

If you've tried gyros before, you'll know well how flavorsome the meat version is! It's flavored with a number of herbs and spices to give it that defining taste.

I personally used to love eating Greek food! There were plenty of greek restaurants in my hometown in Germany and my family would visit for a meal out every now and then. Gyros was always one of my favorite things to order there - sometimes as a pitta wrap, sometimes loaded onto french fries and with a generous amount of tzatziki sauce over the top... this food truly brings back memories!

What is Gyros?

Gyro is a seasoned meat of Greek origin, which is typically cooked on a vertical rotisserie grill and served shaved or thinly sliced. It's often stuffed and served in soft pitta bread alongside tomatoes, onions, potato chips/French fries, and a drizzly tzatziki sauce.

Traditionally, it's made with pork but also sometimes with chicken. Beef and lamb are often used as a base in other countries

Where does Gyros come from?

Whilst gyros is considered to have come from Greece, there are many similar cooking techniques that are thought to have originated in the Middle East, so it's difficult to be certain. Grilling on a vertical rotisserie was developed in Bursa around the 19th century during the Ottoman empire and called 'Doner Kebab'. Traditional Gyros uses the same technique of stacking meat in a vertical rotisserie. It is thought that immigration and population exchanges between Greece and Turkey have made the cooking technique popular around the globe after World War 2.

What is this vegan gyros made of?

This vegan gyros "meat" is made out of seitan, using the flour washing technique for the best taste and texture.

What is Seitan?

Seitan is made from wheat gluten, which is a protein found in wheat flour. It's often used in vegetarian dishes because it has a chewy texture similar to meat. Seitan has been around for thousands of years. First detected in Asian cuisines, it was used by Buddhist monks as a protein source.

How to Make Seitan

There are 2 main techniques for making Seitan: Flour-washing and using store-bought Vital Wheat Gluten. Both techniques result in different Seitan flavors and textures, you can read a little more in depth about the differences in my Vegan Steak Recipe.

For this vegan kabob recipe, we're using the flour washing technique. It is based on creating a flour & water dough ball and then washing out the starches. Please read the instructions below in detail.

Ingredients & Ingredient Notes

Here's everything you need for this recipe:

Seitan Base

Equipment

• 1 large mixing bowl
• 1 small bowl
• 1 food processor
• 1 grill or griddle pan
• parchment paper
• aluminum foil

Instructions (Step-by-Step)

Flour washing

In a large bowl, combine the water and flour into a dough ball.

Knead the dough ball on a lightly floured surface.

Place the dough ball back into the mixing bowl and covered it with water. Set aside for 30 minutes.

Start kneading the dough ball under water to soften. Once the water gets white and creamy, drain, add fresh water and repeat 4-5 times or until the water gets only cloudy.

Rinse the dough ball and place it into a colander to drain excess water. This is what the ball texture should look like.

Flavoring the Seitan

Combine all ingredients for the flavor paste.

Add the Seitan dough and the flavor paste to a food processor.

Pulse 5-10 times or until the Seitan and flavorings are well combined.

Place in a small bowl and store in the fridge for at least 2 hours or ideally over night. The texture will firm up.

Shaping & Grilling

Tightly wrap the Seitan in parchment paper and aluminum foil.

Steam the Seitan for 1 hour on medium heat.

Allow for the Seitan to cool down before carefully unwrapping.

Brush with oil and tamari soya sauce and grill or pan fry the Seitan log

Once the outside is lightly crisp and caramelized, secure the log with a fork and shave off vegan gyro pieces with a sharp knife.

Heat or grill the gyro pieces until you get the desired texture and you're ready to serve.

Serving

This vegan gyro meat is perfect served in a warm pitta, lettuce, tomatoes, red onion, fried potatoes (aka french fries / potato chips) and drizzled with a delicious vegan homemade tzatziki sauce!

A few things you can serve with vegan and vegetarian gyros:

• fresh veggies - simply roast them on a baking sheet and serve them alongside the gyro and drizzle with vegan tzatziki sauce
• romaine lettuce - as a gyros salad bowl or in a pitta wrap
• fluffy pitta bread - homemade is always best!
• smoky roasted chickpeas - with lots of mediterranean seasonings

How to make a quick vegan tzatziki

A vegan tzatziki is super quick and easy to make! Let me show you how, in just a few simple steps.

Here's what you need:

• 1 large grated cucumber
• 2 teaspoon salt
• 350g coconut yogurt
• Juice of 1 lemon
• 2 garlic cloves, crushed
• 1 tablespoon fresh dill

To prepare the dairy-free tzatziki dip, finely shred the cucumber with a grater or a food processor, then transfer the shreds to a nut milk bag or a clean kitchen towel and squeeze out as much of the water as you can. 

Transfer the cucumber shreds to a large bowl and stir in the salt, then allow it to rest for 10 minutes and squeeze out any releasing liquid again. Mix the cucumber & salt with the dairy-free yoghurt, lemon juice, garlic and fresh dill. 

Storage

You can store the fried vegan gyro meat in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days.

Home Freezing

Place the vegan gyro pieces into a freezer bag and store them in the freezer for up to 3 months.

Reheating

To reheat, simply defrost and briefly pan-fry the gyro pieces until the edges are lightly crispy.

Making ahead of time

If you're preparing the Seitan ahead of time, store the seasoned dough in the fridge - covered - for up to 3 days. For best results, use an air-tight container to prevent the Seitan from becoming dry. You can also store the Seitan after the steaming process for up to 3 days but what's important is to not exceed 3 days in total when making this seitan recipe.

Substitutions

To give this vegan gyro recipe the full flavor, I don't recommend making any substitutions. But here are some recommendations if you're missing an ingredient or two:

• tamari - replace tamari with dark soya sauce or coconut aminos
• black pepper - you can swap the black pepper for white pepper to create a milder version
• herbs - the herbs are important in creating the distinct flavor for the gyro. If you're missing one of them, simply leave it out, the flavor will be slightly different but still delicious.
• mushroom powder - I make my own mushroom powder by grinding dried mushrooms in a spice grinder. It's a wonderful flavor booster for all kinds of recipes, such as sauces and marinades! If you don't have dried mushrooms or powder to hand, you can also use fresh mushrooms. Simply cook 200g of chestnut or shiitake mushrooms in a dry pan until the water they release has evaporated and the mushrooms caramelized. Try to remove as much liquid as you then, then blend the mushrooms into a flavor paste with the rest of the seasonings.

Variations

• maple syrup - for deliciously caramelized edges, you can brush the pieces of gyro Seitan with a little maple syrup when pan frying. Do this towards when the gyro is almost ready to avoid the maple syrup burning.
• liquid smoke - adds a smoky flavor to the gyro, best blend ½-1 teaspoon into the flavor paste before mixing
• tomato paste - you can blend 1 tablespoon of tomato paste into the flavor paste to give the gyro a sweet tomato note

Frequently Asked Questions

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