Healthy and Delicious Gyro {Ground Turkey}

Tasty and Delicious, our version of the traditional Greek Gyro is Healthy and kid-friendly. Using ground turkey instead of lamb or beef, and combined with a healthy homemade tzatziki sauce, this is an incredibly flavorful dish that you can feel great about serving your family.

Our family loves eating Greek food. For those of us who do not have a vertical rotisserie, we developed a simple and easy way to enjoy this Greek restaurant staple at home. The crunchy texture of the sliced ground turkey combined with the homemade tzatziki dressing in a delightful pita wrap is our favorite way to eat this healthy dinner.

Why This Recipe Works?

• Healthy and Flavorful.
• Amazing Greek food in your home.
• Easy to make, uses just a few ingredients plus spices.
• Creamy and Delicious homemade Tzatziki sauce.
• Kid Friendly.
• High in protein, low in fat.
• Great for leftovers, just store in an airtight container.
• The Best Turkey Gyro Recipe ever!!!

Main Ingredients

This recipe uses super easy ingredients that can be purchased from a local grocery store if they are not already in your kitchen. Read the Recipe Card for the measurements.

• Ground Turkey – This recipe uses lean ground turkey (93%) because it is a healthier option than beef or lamb. When combined with the onion, garlic, and flavorful spices, this lean protein has amazing flavor and texture.
• Onions – We use a yellow onion when preparing the ground turkey meat and enhancing its flavor, and a red onion is used when adding condiments to the gyro as we love their color, crispness and mild flavor.
• Garlic – Fresh garlic combines perfectly with the ground turkey, onion and spices to create a truly delicious meal.
• Spices – We use a nice variety of spices that enhance the flavor tremendously: Rosemary, oregano, thyme, cumin, allspice, salt and pepper.

How to make Healthy and Delicious Gyro:

Step 1:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line a baking pan with foil and spray with cooking spray; set aside.

Step 2: Mince It

• In a food processor, add the quartered yellow onion and process for a few seconds until finely minced, stopping and scraping down the sides as you go.
• Turn out the onion onto a tea towel or paper towel, gather the ends and squeeze until all of the onion juices are removed.
• Discard the juice and return the onion to the food processor. Add the garlic and process until finely minced.

Step 3: Blend It

• Next, add the remaining ingredients and spices to the food processor: Ground turkey, oregano, rosemary, thyme, cumin, allspice, kosher salt and black pepper.

• Let the food processor run for about 1 to 2 minutes until well combined, stopping and scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed. Alternatively, you can mix the meat by hand. However, this will take 10-15 minutes to achieve the correct consistency. (The key is to get the correct texture. We’re melting the fat into the meat so that there is a nice smooth paste-like texture in the end).

Step 4: Shape and Bake It

• Once complete, transfer the meat mixture to the prepared baking sheet and form into a rectangular shaped loaf. Flatten the meat into a 1″ high rectangular slab. (Alternatively, you can use a nonstick loaf pan to bake the gyro meat.)

• Bake the loaf in the preheated 350 degree oven for 45 minutes to an hour. The loaf is done when a meat thermometer inserted into the center shows an internal temperature of 165 degrees F.
• Allow to cool for at least 10 minutes before thinly slicing.

Step 5: Crisp It

• For additional flavor and a crunchy texture, fry a portion of the thinly sliced pieces of meat in a cast iron skillet over medium-high heat with a tablespoon of olive oil until brown and crisp around the edges.

Serve with tzatziki sauce, on warm pita bread with tomatoes, cucumbers, lettuce, red onion and crumbled feta cheese. Add a splash of fresh lemon juice as well if you desire.

To make this delicious meal even more authentic, feel free to serve it with kalamata olives and a refreshing cucumber salad!