My husband spent some time in Greece, and when I asked him what recipe I should make that reminded him of Greece, he immediately said ‘Gyros!’ I was excited because I love gyros – how did I not think of that? I immediately got to work trying to figure out how to make a traditional Greek gyro, and then immediately found out I would need to make some modifications. Traditional Greek gyros are made with pieces of meat, which usually have a high fat content. The meat is placed on a tall vertical spit, which rotates on an electric broiler. The reason for cooking the meat vertically is so that the fat can drip down and keep the meat moist and flavorful. Then the outside of the meat is sliced thin, and it is generally served on a pita, rolled up with Tzatziki sauce, tomatoes, onions and fried potatoes.
I thought the traditional meat used in Greece was lamb, but it is actually pork or chicken. Lamb and beef are what are most commonly used in Greek-American gyros. As flavorful as fatty cuts of meat are, I decided to keep our Greek gyros a little leaner and amp up the flavor using herbs and spices. They turned out delicious! I can’t wait to share this Healthy Greek Gyro Recipe with you, so let’s get started!
Start with:
- 1 pound of ground turkey
- 10 ounces of frozen spinach, thawed and squeezed.
Add to your bowl:
- 1 tablespoon grill seasoning
- 2 teaspoons ground cumin
- 1 tablespoon chili powder
- 1 tablespoon coriander
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 2 pinches ground cinnamon
- 1/2 cup feta crumbles
Mix together and shape into a loaf. Bake at 425 F for about 25-30 minutes. You can use a meat thermometer and cook until the center is 165 F.
While your turkey is baking away, and smelling delicious, make your Tzatziki sauce. Mix the following together:
Then take your pitas, wrap them in foil and stick them in the oven with your baking turkey for a few minutes to warm them up.
Once your turkey is done, slice it up.
Then assemble. We garnished with fresh tomatoes and cucumbers, but if you want to be really traditional, you can use onions and potatoes also. I also think sprinkling a bit more feta and some crunchy green lettuce would be delicious.
It was fun to introduce a little Greek culture to our kids through eating a delicious and healthy meal!
Natalie Monson
I'm a registered dietitian, mom of 4, avid lover of food and strong promoter of healthy habits. Here you will find lots of delicious recipes full of fruits and veggies, tips for getting your kids to eat better and become intuitive eaters and lots of resources for feeding your family.
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Looks delicious! Do you know if you can freeze tzatiki? Would like to make for my freezer cooking club.
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I have never tried freezing it, but I have frozen other yogurt base sauces and they turn out fine. It may have a little more water content after you thaw, but you can always mix in more yogurt to thicken it up a bit. Good luck!
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That’s so weird – I was JUST (like 10 minutes ago…) wishing to myself that I had a recipe for homemade tzatziki! 🙂 Thanks!
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[…] Healthy Meals and food for Healthy Kids /* […]
I made these tonight and they were SO good! My husband is usually very anti-ground turkey, but he loved these and asked me to put them in our regular rotation.
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I made these tonight, we loved it! I did buy the tzatziki dip at Trader Joe’s, but I will definitely make it next time! Thanks for a great recipe!
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So glad you all like them!
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[…] Then, head over to Greece for lunch, where your kids will love this healthy version of a Gyro. […]
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Do you ever make your own whole wheat pitas? If so, could you post a recipe?
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[…] Você pode viajar até a Grécia e experimentar uma versão do Gyros (a famosa carne grega) recheada de saúde. […]
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For another good addition, tofurky instead of turkey, and home-made naan bread instead of a store-bought pita?
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Good suggestions!
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Sounds stupid but what exactly do you mean by grill seasoning? Like a Montreal steak seasoning?
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Not stupid at all – yes exactly like Montreal steak seasoning.
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Thank You! I will be making this for dinner tonight!
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Excellent goods from you, man. I have understand your stuff previous to and you’re just too fantastic.
I actually like what you have acquired here, certainly like what you’re saying and the way in which
you say it. You make it enjoyable and you still care for to keep it smart.
I can not wait to read far more from you. This is actually a tremendous website.
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I just tried these and thought they were awesome!! I have another recipe for Gyros that isn’t as healthy and liked this much better. They only thing was my kids still would not eat them. It was too different for them even though I tried to make it sound really fun.
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Don’t you hate that! Don’t give up – sometimes it just takes kids being hungry enough that they will try anything and then they love it! Sometimes that works for my kids 🙂
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can I use fresh spinach and just sauté it up before hand?
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How many serving is this? Sorry if I missed it 🙂
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This makes 6 servings.
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We made this tonight and loved it. The only complaint was from my vegetarian leaning teen who didn’t believe it wasn’t beef because there is so much flavor in it from all of the spices.
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That is awesome! And how funny 🙂
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I never comment on blogs, but I made these last night for the 3rd time in 3 weeks, they are that good! They fit into the 21 day fix program I’ve been following, and the hubs loooves them (he was the one who found your recipe). Thank you! : )
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Yay! Love the feedback and so glad you enjoy them!
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I don’t have ‘grill seasoning’ as I don’t use it and don’t want to buy it for one recipe…is there another good alternative?
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