A few weeks ago I went to our local Greek Festival and had ALL the amazing Greek foods. Chicken souvlaki, gyros, feta fries, baklava…yep, we ate everything. I’m sure you could guess what happened next. I was craving all the Greek food and decided I needed to try making my parent’s amazing turkey gyro recipe with some tzatziki.
We may not be Greek, but we’ve been eating gyros since I was a little kid. My dad has definitely perfected his turkey meatball kabob recipe. That paired with pita bread, pickled onions, veggies, and tzatziki create an amazing gyro that doesn’t take too long to make.
Scroll to the bottom for the full recipe!
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If you’ve never heard of a gyro, it’s essentially a Greek dish that’s served on pita bread or flatbread along with meat and topped with cucumbers, tomato, onion, and a tangy yogurt sauce. The tangy sauce, also known as tzatziki, is made of yogurt, cucumber, dill, garlic, lemon juice, and salt. The sauce is the bomb dot com, I always make extra and top everything with it until it’s all gone!!
We also like marinating some raw onions in red wine vinegar to use as a topping. Aside from marinating, everything can be ready in less than an hour! Simple enough right?
Turkey Gyro Recipe
So gyro’s are traditionally made with lamb that’s slow cooked in a special rotisserie and thinly shaved. I don’t know about you, but I don’t have the time or energy to slow cook lamb. So we opt for turkey instead.
The turkey meatball kabob recipe consists of ground turkey, minced garlic, minced ginger, chopped green chilis, diced onion, chopped cilantro, oregano, salt, and black pepper. Nothing too crazy, I promise.
The meat + tangy yogurt sauce = absolute perfection. The best part is, it’s fairly healthy! We typically get the leanest meat possible and top ours with a bunch of veggies, making it a very satisfying meal.
RELATED: EASY TACO RECIPE FOR YOUR NEXT FIESTA
Greek Turkey Gyro Recipe with Tzatziki
Ingredients
Turkey Kabob
- 1 lbs Lean Ground Turkey
- 3 Minced Garlic Cloves
- 1 tbsp Minced Ginger
- 2-3 Chopped Green Chilis (more if you like heat)
- 1/2 Small Diced Red Onion
- 1/4 cup Chopped Cilantro,
- 1 tsp Oregano,
- Salt and Black Pepper
- 2 tbsp Olive Oil
Tzatziki
- 1 cup Low Fat Greek Yogurt
- 1 Shredded Cucumber
- 1/2 tbsp Dill
- 1 minced Garlic Clove
- 1 tbsp Lemon Juice
- Salt and Pepper
- 4-5 Pita Bread or Flatbread
- Chopped Onions, Tomatoes, Cucumber
- Onion Soaked in Red Wine Vinegar (optional)
- Feta Cheese
- Wood or Metal Skewers
Instructions
- Soak wooden skewers in water to avoid burning.
- While the skewers soak, prepare the turkey meatball kabobs. Add the ground turkey, garlic, ginger, chilis, red onion, cilantro, oregano, olive oil, salt and pepper to a large bowl. Gently mix everything together until it is well combined. We use the Kitchenaid with the paddle attachment for this. Set mixture aside to marinate for at least 30 minutes, or longer if time permits.
- While the meat is marinating, you can prepare the tzatziki. Mix together the greek yogurt, grated cucumber, lemon juice, garlic, dill, salt and black pepper.
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Start wrapping the turkey meat around the skewers. Pro tip: wet you hands with water, grab a large chunk of meat and gently wrap it around the skewer until it forms a long log.
- Place the skewers on a non-stick baking sheet and make sure the skewers aren't touching. Bake for 12-15 minutes until the internal temperature is 165 degrees. We flipped the skewers halfway through, but this is messy and unnecessary!
- Time to assemble the gyros! Warm the pita bread so it bends easily, add a kabob and top with your favorite toppings and a large helping of tzatziki sauce. Enjoy!
