These vegan gyros are flavorful and fun and made with shredded mushrooms and artichokes for the ‘meat’. Served with vegan tzatziki and salad in pita breads!
A gyro is a Greek dish that is traditionally meat based so for these vegan gyros we decided to use a fabulous mushroom and artichoke mix as the ‘meat’ part of the recipe.
Served in pita bread with shredded lettuce, sliced cherry tomato, sliced radishes and cucumbers and the crucial element, vegan tzatiziki, this is an easy and delicious meal with the power to put a big satisfied smile on your face.
The mushrooms and artichokes are fried up with onions, garlic and spices along with soy sauce, tomato paste, maple syrup and liquid smoke and then baked to perfection.
It has a wonderful smoky flavor that combines with the tzatziki and crisp veggies to create a perfect contrast of flavors and textures.
How To Make Vegan Gyros
You will find full instructions and measurements in the recipe card at the bottom of the post. This is a summary of the process to go along with the process photos.
We used a mix of exotic mushrooms, king oyster, shiitake (stems removed) and shimeji and shredded them with a fork, and this along with marinated artichokes (from a jar) make up the core ingredients of our vegan ‘meat’ for the gyros.
- Add olive oil and sliced red onion to an oven-proof frying pan or skillet and sauté until the onions are softened.
- Then add in crushed garlic, cumin, cinnamon, ground cloves, black pepper and dried oregano and sauté for a minute until the spices are well mixed with the onions.
- Add in some tomato paste and mix in until well mixed.
- Now add shredded mushrooms and artichokes and fry until softened.
- Add liquid smoke, dark soy sauce and maple syrup and fry until all the liquid has cooked off and the sauce is sticky.
- Then place your whole pan into the oven and bake for 25 minutes at 400°F.
- While the mushrooms and artichokes are baking, you can prepare your other ingredients: pita breads, shredded lettuce, sliced cucumbers, sliced radishes and sliced cherry tomatoes.
- And of course you need to make up a batch of vegan tzatziki which is the most delicious thing ever drizzled over your gyros!
- When the mushrooms/artichokes are baked, all you need to do is assemble your gyros.
- Lay a pita bread flat and spread the middle with tzatziki. Then add some lettuce, cucumber, radish and cherry tomatoes. Then add your mushroom mix on top of that and top with more tzatziki.
- Fold up the edges of the pita bread around your filling and enjoy!
Ready In Just Over An Hour…
The main time consuming element in this recipe is making your mushroom and artichoke mix and letting that bake in the oven.
But, while that’s cooking and then baking, you’re making your tzatziki, shredding lettuce and slicing the tomatoes, radishes and cucumbers, so by the time the mushrooms/artichoke mix is ready, everything else is ready to go and the whole thing comes together.
So this is a meal that you can get together in just over an hour. And if you have someone to help you with chopping things etc then it can go even faster.
Chef’s Tips
The Mushrooms: We used a mix of king oyster, shiitake and shimeji that was conveniently sold as an ‘exotic mushroom mix’ but you can use any mix of these or only king oyster or only shiitake or whatever is easiest.
The Artichokes: These should be marinated artichokes that you buy in a jar. These are the most flavorful.
Pita breads or wraps: Either work great for this. You can just hold it all together with your hands, or you can wrap them in paper or foil at the bottom to hold it all together.
Oven proof frying pan/skillet. If you don’t have an oven proof frying pan or skillet then you can just use whatever pan you have and then transfer your mushroom/artichoke mix to an oven safe dish before baking.
Make Ahead and Storing
Make Ahead: If you want to make some of this up ahead of time, then you can make your mushroom/artichoke mix up to the point that it would have gone into the oven to bake and instead of baking right away, let it cool, cover and refrigerate and then bake it the next day. The tzatziki can also be made ahead of time. Then you just need to bake the mushrooms/artichokes, toast your pita breads and assemble the salad ingredients on the day.
Storing: If you have leftovers then keep the ingredients in separate containers in the fridge and then assemble the next day. Leftovers will last for up to 3 days in the fridge.
More Delicious Vegan Wraps/Dinners
Did you make this recipe? Be sure to leave a comment and rating below!
Vegan Gyros
Ingredients
For the Mushrooms/Artichoke Filling:
- 2 Tablespoons Olive Oil
- 1 Medium Red Onion Sliced
- 1 Tablespoon Crushed Garlic
- ¼ teaspoon Cumin
- ¼ teaspoon Ground Cinnamon
- ⅛ teaspoon Ground Cloves
- ¼ teaspoon Ground Black Pepper
- ½ Tablespoon Dried Oregano
- 2 Tablespoons Tomato Paste
- 14 ounces Mushrooms (400g) Mix of King Oyster, Shiitake (stems removed), Shimeji Mushrooms (Shredded with a fork)*
- 1 ⅓ cups Marinated Artichokes (7oz/200g) Drained/Quartered
- ¼ teaspoon Liquid Smoke
- 2 Tablespoons Dark Soy Sauce
- 2 Tablespoons Maple Syrup
For Serving:
- 6 Pita Breads Toasted
- Shredded Lettuce
- Sliced Cucumber
- Sliced Radishes
- Sliced Cherry Tomatoes
- 1 Recipe Vegan Tzatziki
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 400°F (200°C)
- Add the olive oil and sliced red onion to an oven-proof frying pan or skillet and sauté until the onions are softened.
- Then add the crushed garlic, cumin, cinnamon, ground cloves, black pepper and dried oregano and sauté for a minute until the spices are well mixed with the onions.
- Add the tomato paste and mix in until well mixed.
- Add the shredded mushrooms and artichokes and fry until softened.
- Add liquid smoke, dark soy sauce and maple syrup and fry until all the liquid has cooked off and the sauce is sticky.
- Then place your whole pan into the oven and bake for 25 minutes at 400°F.
- While the mushrooms/artichokes are baking, prepare the other ingredients: pita breads, shredded lettuce, sliced cucumbers, sliced radishes and sliced cherry tomatoes and make up a batch of vegan tzatziki.
- When the mushrooms/artichokes are baked, assemble your gyros.
- Lay a pita bread flat and spread the middle with tzatziki. Then add lettuce, cucumber, radish and cherry tomatoes. Then add your mushroom/artichoke mix on top of that and top it with more tzatziki.
- Fold up the edges of the pita bread around your filling and enjoy!
Notes
- Mushrooms. We used a mix of king oyster, shiitake and shimeji that was conveniently sold as an ‘exotic mushroom mix’ but you can use any mix of these or only king oyster or only shiitake or whatever is easiest. Shiitake mushrooms should have their stems removed.
- Artichokes. The artichokes should be marinated artichokes that you buy in a jar.
- Skillet. If you don’t have an oven proof frying pan or skillet then you can just use whatever pan you have and then transfer your mushroom/artichoke mix to an oven safe dish before baking.
- Prep time. Quite a bit of the prep for the serving of this recipe will be done while the mushrooms are cooking and then baking, so the prep time listed is just for the preparation of the ingredients for the mushroom/artichoke mix and the assembling of the gyros.
- Storing: If you have leftovers then keep the ingredients in separate containers in the fridge and then assemble the next day. Leftovers will last for up to 3 days in the fridge.
- Nutritional information excludes the vegan tzatziki. Nutritional information for that can be found at that separate linked recipe.
I like it. But I made a few changes. I left out the smoke and tomato sauce. And I like it better
Made the Vegan Gyros with your recipe for the Vegan tzatziki earlier, wow if anyone is thinking about making it, you won’t be disappointed. This is very delish. I have been vegan for going on two years, my partner will try vegan foods and our Grandson who is 12 yrs old also tries at times. He is not a fan of mushrooms at all. I asked him just to try a small bite of the mushroom mixture from the oven and he did. He said he thought it was a meat dish and he said it was good and that it didn’t taste like mushrooms. Thank you for sharing your delicious vegan recipes. My reaction seriously was Yum!
Thanks so much Lees!
I’ve made this recipe several times now – we absolutely love it! Definitely a monthly staple. We also add cubed firm tofu to the mix and double the sauce.
Fantastic! Thanks so much Claudine!
I LOVE gyros and these look so good!
This is so good! The flavors are amazing! Thank you very much!
Thanks so much Kellie!
Very delish vegan alternative!!! Directions were easy to follow. Thank you for sharing!!!!
Perfect! Thanks so much Chris!
So yummy!
I made this for my family and we all really liked it. Even my fussy little sister!
is this good without soy sauce??
I think it would be yes.
This recipe was OUTSTANDING!!!! I used baby portobellos because we don’t have “fancy” mushrooms in these parts (ha ha!) and sliced them thin. The caramelization of the filling after 25 minutes in the oven was incredible! I made the tzatziki sauce too – I had half a container of plain vegan yogurt I needed to use up so I threw that in in place of the cashews. Was sooooo delicious!
Awesome! Thank you so much Erin! 🙂
Awesome food…a huge family success. One of those recipes to cook frequently.
So glad to hear that Bruce! Thanks for posting!
This was so delicious! Even my daughter who is not a fan of mushrooms, enjoyed this and even had seconds! The spices and the texture, along with the vegan tzatziki sauce was reminiscent of gyros from the Greek Isles! Lol. I didn’t have any liquid smoke so I omitted that and used shiitake and regular button mushrooms. The tzatziki sauce was so good; the teenagers were dipping corn chips into it prior to dinner! A big hit all around.
Yay! I’m SO pleased to hear that Jenny! Thanks a million.
My kids and I think this looks and sounds Amazing! My wife however does not like mushrooms, can you imagine a substitute for mushrooms so she could enjoy this with us?
Hi Richard, I have to say it doesn’t taste like mushrooms in the end. So maybe she would eat it anyway? I’m not sure of a replacement. I don’t know if artichokes on their own would do the job, eggplant could be something to try, but it won’t be the same in terms of texture. 🙂
Hey Richard…..maybe jackfruit?
How long will this keep in the fridge?
Up to 3 days. There is more info about storing under the ‘recipe tips’ section.
Is jackfruit a suitable replacement for the artichokes because I really don’t like them or can I just use mushrooms?
Hi Celia, you can just leave out the artichokes and add in some extra mushrooms. 🙂
Far better than a hamburger and way healthier!
Sure! True that! Unless we’re talking about a vegan hamburger of course. ??