Portobello Mushroom Gyro Recipe

Every culture has its version of a sandwich and in Greece, it's a gyro. The gyro which is pronounced "yee-roh" or "gee-roh" is typically made with slices of seasoned meat that are stacked on a vertical rotisserie. It's often marinated with a mixture of garlic and spices. If you don't include meat in your diet, you may think you're out of luck when it comes to enjoying a delicious gyro, but luckily the "meaty" portobello comes to the rescue.

Wellness coach and recipe developer Miriam Hahn brings us this recipe for portobello mushroom gyro and says, "Mushrooms are one of the most versatile produce items and are known for mimicking meat. I use them to make pulled mushroom sandwiches, pot roast, and mushroom jerky, just to name a few. Pairing the gyros with freshly made tzatziki gives you a mouthwatering meal in under 30 minutes."

Read on to learn how to make the gyro of your dreams. It's easier than you might think.

To make this recipe, you can start in the produce aisle and pick up some portobello mushrooms, garlic, lemon, English cucumber, tomato, fresh dill, and red onion. "I like using English cucumber here because standard cucumbers tend to water down the tzatziki sauce," Hahn shares. 

Then check your spice cabinet for oregano, salt, garlic powder, onion powder, dried dill, marjoram, and black pepper. This combination of spices will add earthy Greek flavors to the mushrooms.

To finish things off, you'll need some olive oil, red wine vinegar, Greek yogurt, and feta cheese. "If you have dietary restrictions and want to make this dish dairy-free and vegan, you can substitute non-dairy yogurt and non-dairy feta," Hahn remarks.

We'll be working with the mushroom caps for this recipe, so after wiping the caps clean with a damp paper towel, remove the stems and with a spoon scrape the gills from the underside of the mushroom caps and discard. "I like to use a grapefruit spoon to remove the gills but a regular spoon will work fine," Hahn mentions.

Next, slice the mushrooms into ½-inch slices and mince 2 of the garlic cloves. You'll be putting the third garlic clove through a garlic press, so set that one aside for now.

Put the sliced mushrooms into a large bowl and toss with 2 tablespoons of oil, the chopped garlic cloves, the juice of ½ a lemon, ½ teaspoon salt, garlic powder, onion powder, dried dill, marjoram, and ⅛ teaspoon of pepper. "This will coat the mushrooms in all of the spices, so they are ready to soften up in the pan," Hahn explains. 

Add the mushrooms to a large frying pan and cook for about 10 minutes stirring frequently. "After cooking you want the mushrooms soft and reduced in size," Hahn shares.

We're getting close to putting the gyros together, so preheat the oven to 350 F so it's ready to warm up the pita rounds in a few minutes. A microwave will also work here.

To make the tzatziki grab a handheld grater and grate the cucumber using the largest hole. You'll need 1 cup of the grated cucumber. You can slice up the remaining cucumber to add to the finished gyro.

Add the grated cucumber to a mesh bag or nut milk bag and squeeze out the extra water. "If you don't have a mesh bag, place the grated cucumber into a colander and press down against the side of the colander with a wooden spoon to extract as much water as possible from the cucumber," Hahn explains.

Using a garlic press, crush the remaining garlic clove. Add the cucumber pulp to a bowl, along with the crushed garlic, remaining oil, Greek yogurt, fresh dill, remaining salt, remaining pepper, remaining lemon juice, and red wine vinegar.

Now that all the pieces and parts are ready, pop the pita rounds into the oven or microwave for a quick warm-up. Then start by adding some of the cooked and seasoned portobello mushrooms, tomatoes, red onion, feta, and cucumber slices, and top with the fresh tzatziki sauce. 

The gyros pair nicely with tabbouleh, Greek salad, or Greek fries. "If you have leftovers, you can store the components of the gyros in separate containers in the fridge and assemble them before eating," says Hahn. "The tzatziki is also great on sandwiches or it can be used as a salad dressing." You just may have another recipe to add to the meatless Monday list!