Meatball Gyros
If you thought I had run out of meatball ideas already then you were wrong because I’m only just beginning! I recently shared these mole meatballs on the blog, and if you follow me on IG then you might’ve seen these bacon cheeseburger meatballs that I shared over the weekend (I can’t recommend those enough). I know that might be meatball overload for some, but for me there’s no such thing. I love meatballs so much! And I especially love thinking of new ways to reinvent them. They’re versatile and cook in no time at all. These Meatball Gyros are so good, but the best part is that the oven does all the work for you, so you don’t have to stress too much about dinner.
These Meatball Gyros can be made with ground turkey, chicken or lamb as well. Just keep in mind that if you use chicken or turkey, they’ll cook a bit faster. You don’t want to overcook them as those two tend to dry out faster.
Meatball Gyros
Equipment
- Mixing bowls
- Baking sheet
Ingredients
- 1 pound lean ground beef (90/10)
- 1 large egg
- 1/2 cup Panko or plain breadcrumbs
- 1/2 small red onion minced
- 2 garlic cloves minced
- 1 teaspoon Kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon coarse black pepper
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon dried marjoram
- 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
- 2 tablespoons fresh parsley chopped plus more for garnish
- 1 tablespoon fresh dill chopped plus more for garnish
- 6 pita breads
- 2 cups shredded Romaine lettuce
- 2 tomatoes sliced
- 2 small Persian cucumber thinly sliced
- 1/2 small red onion thinly sliced
Tzatziki Sauce:
- 1 cup plain Greek yogurt
- 1 small Persian cucumber chopped
- 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
- 2 tablespoons fresh parsley chopped
- 1 tablespoon fresh dill chopped
- 1 large garlic clove grated or minced
- 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
- Kosher salt and coarse black pepper
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425F. Grease a baking sheet and set aside.
- In a large bowl, gently mix together the ground beef, egg, breadcrumbs, red onion, garlic, salt, pepper, oregano, cumin, marjoram, red pepper flakes, parsley and dill until evenly combined. Optional: You can wrap this in plastic and chill for a few hours or overnight to marinate and deepen the flavor. If you don’t have the time, you can just use it right away with no problem. Shape into meatballs and place on baking sheet. Bake until golden and crispy, 20 to 25 minutes.
- In the meantime, to make the tzatziki, in a small bowl, stir together the yogurt, cucumber, lemon juice, parsley, dill, garlic, oregano, red pepper and a large pinch of salt and black pepper. Cover with plastic wrap or store in an airtight container until ready to use. You can make this a couple days ahead of time and keep it in the fridge for up to a week.
- To assemble the gyros, slice the meatballs in half, warm the pita breads and gather the rest of the toppings. Top each warm pita with tzatziki, lettuce, a few meatball halves, more tzatziki, tomatoes, cucumber, red onion, dill and parsley. Roll up and serve immediately or at room temperature. Enjoy!
