Greek-inspired vegan gyros are filled with juicy homemade seitan gyro meat, creamy vegan tzatziki, and fresh vegetables. A filling and healthy sandwich that will impress even non-vegans!
Homemade meat substitutes not only taste better but are also more budget-friendly. In addition to this recipe, we love making seitan steak, vegan Italian sausages, and vegan ribs!
It's hard to find Greek food, let alone vegan Greek food, especially since my move from KL to a smaller city. After multiple batches, I have successfully made vegan gyros that resemble the traditional recipe!
Most vegan gyros use mushrooms and jackfruit, but those lower-protein fillings do not really fill me up. This is where seitan truly shines as a meat substitute, providing that meaty texture with a substantial amount of protein.
💚Why you will love vegan gyros
- A satisfying, flavorful sandwich packed with protein and veggies
- Closely resembles the traditional recipe with homemade tzatziki and well-seasoned vegan gyro meat
- Highly customizable - swap or add in other fillings
- Great meal prep recipe with freezable seitan gyro meat
🧅What you will need
For seitan
For tzatziki sauce
- Vital wheat gluten - Or gluten flour, made from mostly gluten (the main protein found in wheat), check out my "What is seitan" post to learn more. There are NO substitutes for this ingredient.
- Tofu - Extra-firm or firm tofu will work.
- Vegan tzatziki - We are making our own with silken tofu, but feel free to use store-bought ones.
- To serve
- Pita bread, wraps, or even tortillas (try my chickpea tortillas or red lentil tortillas)
- Chopped fresh veggies - lettuce, red onion, cucumber, tomatoes, green bell pepper, pitted olives
- Fresh herbs - chopped cilantro, parsley, green onion, dill
- Other fillings - vegan feta, hummus (like my paprika hummus), fries
🔪How to make
Making seitan gyro meat
Saute onion until translucent, then add garlic and fry for a minute (1,2). Add all ingredients (except wheat gluten) and blend until smooth. (3) Add wheat gluten and blend until a dough forms (4).
Knead seitan dough for 1-2 minutes (5). Shape it into a loaf and wrap with foil (6). Steam for an hour or cook in an Instant Pot at high pressure for 40 minutes (7). Let it cool for an hour before slicing (8).
Making tzatziki sauce
While seitan is cooking, make vegan tzatziki.
Shred cucumber with a box grater, then mix in ½ teaspoon salt. Let it sit for 5 minutes, then transfer it to a cheesecloth to squeeze out water. Set aside (9).
Add the rest of the ingredients (except cucumber) to a food processor or blender, blending until smooth (10). Mix in grated cucumber, then chill in the fridge until ready to use (11)
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Assemble the sandwich
Warm pita in a skillet for 20-30 seconds on both sides (12). Then, layer on vegetables, seitan gyro meat, and vegan tzatziki (13). Vegan gyros are ready to be served!
✅Helpful tips
- Do not overknead seitan - Overkneading will result in tough and rubbery seitan. I find 1-2 minutes to be the sweet spot.
- Allow seitan to cool completely- Seitan cooled to room temperature will turn firmer with a meatier consistency.
- Assemble sandwich only before serving - The sandwich is best served immediately, or the pita might soak up moisture from the veggies and tzatziki and turn soggy.
- Side dishes - Accompany your vegan gyros with sides like romaine avocado salad, fries, or my air fryer potato slices!
🥗Other ways to serve seitan gyro meat
Here are more ways to use vegan gyro meat (that are not sandwiches):
- Topping for avocado toasts
- Make a platter with hummus, tzatziki, grilled veggies, fries, fresh veggies, and pita
- Add to salads - Greek salads, protein pasta salad, or my tomato cucumber corn salad
- Shred and use them as a filling for tacos or my eggless crepes
❄️Storing suggestions
I recommend storing the sandwich components separately and assembling only when ready to serve.
- Seitan gyro meat - Can be refrigerated for 5 days, or frozen for 3 months. Slice and portion them using freezer bags before storing.
- Vegan tzatziki - Can be refrigerated for 5 days in a glass jar.
- Veggies - You can slice them in batches and refrigerate for up to 5 days.
- To serve - Allow frozen gyro meat to thaw overnight in the fridge, then reheat in the microwave or on a skillet. Warm the pita and layer on the filling; it is ready to be served!
📖 Recipe
Vegan Gyros (with seitan gyro meat)
Ingredients
For seitan gyro meat
- 1 medium onion diced
- 4 cloves garlic minced
- ½ block extra-firm tofu around 7oz/200g
- ½ cup water
- 2 teaspoons dried oregano
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1 ½ teaspoons salt
- 2 teaspoons marjoram (optional)
- 11/2 cup vital wheat gluten
For tzatziki sauce
- 1 block silken tofu around 12oz/340g
- 3 cloves garlic chopped
- ½ English cucumber
- 1 tablespoon white vinegar
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 2 tablespoons chopped dill (optional)
- 1 teaspoon salt
For the sandwich
- 6 pita bread or wrap
- 1 medium red onion sliced
- 2 medium tomatoes sliced
- 1 cucumber sliced
Instructions
Making seitan
- Heat ½ tablespoon of oil in a non-stick pan over medium-high. Add onion, and saute until translucent. Add garlic next and fry for another minute.
- In a food processor, add all ingredients for gyro meat, except wheat gluten, and blend until smooth.
- Next, add vital wheat gluten and pulse until a dough forms.
- Transfer the dough to a smooth surface, and knead for 1-2 minutes. Be careful not to overknead as it will yield tough seitan.
- Shape it into a loaf, and wrap it with aluminum foil. You can now proceed with steaming the seitan or cooking it in an Instant pot.
- Steaming - Bring 1-2 inches of water to a boil in a pot with a steamer basket fitted. Once the water starts to boil, place in seitan, and steam for an hour.Instant pot - Place 1 cup of water into the inner pot, then fit in a suitable steamer basket. Cook seitan at high pressure for 40 minutes. Let the steam release naturally for 15 minutes before quickly releasing the remaining pressure.
- Let the seitan cool down to room temperature before slicing. Optionally, you can pan-fry seitan strips before serving.
For tzatziki sauce
- While seitan is cooking, proceed with making your vegan tzatziki.
- Grate cucumber using a box grater. Mix ½ teaspoon of salt with cucumber in a bowl, and let it sit for 5 minutes to allow the cucumber to release water.
- Then, place the cucumber in a towel/cheesecloth, and gently squeeze to remove excess water. Set aside.
- Place the rest of the ingredients (except cucumber) into a food processor or blender and blend until smooth.
- Transfer the tofu mixture to a bowl, and add grated cucumber. Mix until the cucumber is well incorporated. Chill it in the fridge until ready to use.
Assembling the sandwich
- Warm your pita in a skillet for 20-30 seconds on both sides.
- On your pita, layer on vegetables and seitan gyro meat, then spoon on a generous amount of tzatziki. Your gyro is ready to be served!
Notes
- Do not overknead seitan - Overkneading will result in tough and rubbery seitan. I find 1-2 minutes to be the sweet spot.
- Allow seitan to cool completely- Seitan cooled to room temperature will turn firmer with a meatier consistency.
- Assemble sandwich only before serving - The sandwich is best served immediately, or the pita might soak up moisture from the veggies and tzatziki and turn soggy.
- Other fillings - Feel free to add other fillings to your sandwiches. Some of my go-tos include green peppers, pitted olives, chopped parsley, vegan feta, and my homemade paprika hummus!
- Vegan gyro meat - Can be refrigerated for up to 5 days or frozen for 3 months. I recommend slicing and portioning them using freezer bags before storing them so you will only take out what you need.
- Tzatziki sauce - Store it in a sealed container or a glass jar. It can be refrigerated for up to 5 days.
- Seitan gyros - I recommend storing individual components of this sandwich in separate containers and assembling them right before serving. You can chop your veggies beforehand, which will stay fresh in the fridge for up to 5 days.
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Nutrition
Nutrition info calculated is just a rough estimate and is provided as a courtesy. Bear in mind that value will vary based on variables like specific brand or type of product used. To obtain the most accurate representation, it is highly recommended that you calculate it on your own with the actual amount and type of ingredient used.
Anne says
I miss gyros so much since going wfpb . I am making the recipe right now and waiting on my instantpot.
I did add a little more seasoning which I do with every recipe that inspires me.
Thank you so much for posting this!