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Grilled Turkey Meatball Gyros

Posted by in Step-by-Step Recipes

Tasty Kitchen Blog: Grilled Turkey Meatball Gyros. Guest post by Megan Keno of Wanna Be a Country Cleaver, recipe submitted by TK member Julie of The Gourmet RD.

It’s only a little embarrassing when you find yourself going to the same restaurant every Friday night, the guys behind the counter greeting you by name with your order memorized. Beef and lamb gyros with rice and hummus with a baklava for dessert, of course! But I realized I needed to take a break from take-out and try my hand at making my own gyros. Then I found Julie’s recipe for Grilled Lamb Meatball Gyros! It was fate, and I know you will revel in these as much as I did.

The ingredients list may seem long, but don’t let that deter you. If you want to substitute pre-made tzatziki sauce and pre-made pesto, I understand, but making it from scratch is pretty simple and will really elevate these gyros to a whole new level.

 
 
 
Tasty Kitchen Blog: Grilled Turkey Meatball Gyros. Guest post by Megan Keno of Wanna Be a Country Cleaver, recipe submitted by TK member Julie of The Gourmet RD.

For the tzatziki, gather plain Greek yogurt, sour cream, mayo, lemon, garlic, dill, sugar, cucumber, and salt and pepper.

Note: Julie says you can use either sour cream or coconut milk, and promises that the coconut milk version is amazing. I went the sour cream route, but do give the coconut milk version a try sometime!

 
 
 
Tasty Kitchen Blog: Grilled Turkey Meatball Gyros. Guest post by Megan Keno of Wanna Be a Country Cleaver, recipe submitted by TK member Julie of The Gourmet RD.

One of the best things about homemade tzatziki is that it’s a one-dish treat—simply combine all of the ingredients in a food processor and puree until smooth.

 
 
 
Tasty Kitchen Blog: Grilled Turkey Meatball Gyros. Guest post by Megan Keno of Wanna Be a Country Cleaver, recipe submitted by TK member Julie of The Gourmet RD.

Scrape down the sides once through the blending process to make sure it’s all blended evenly. Place it in the fridge until it’s ready for use.

 
 
 
Tasty Kitchen Blog: Grilled Turkey Meatball Gyros. Guest post by Megan Keno of Wanna Be a Country Cleaver, recipe submitted by TK member Julie of The Gourmet RD.

Next, gather all your ingredients for the mint pesto, including mint, spinach, nuts (I used walnuts), garlic, lemon and salt and pepper.

 
 
 
Tasty Kitchen Blog: Grilled Turkey Meatball Gyros. Guest post by Megan Keno of Wanna Be a Country Cleaver, recipe submitted by TK member Julie of The Gourmet RD.

Just like the tzatziki, combine all of the ingredients in a food processor and pulse to combine. Check the seasoning to suit your taste and add a little more salt and pepper if needed. Make sure it works for you!

 
 
 
Tasty Kitchen Blog: Grilled Turkey Meatball Gyros. Guest post by Megan Keno of Wanna Be a Country Cleaver, recipe submitted by TK member Julie of The Gourmet RD.

Set pesto aside to until gyros are ready.

 
 
 
Tasty Kitchen Blog: Grilled Turkey Meatball Gyros. Guest post by Megan Keno of Wanna Be a Country Cleaver, recipe submitted by TK member Julie of The Gourmet RD.

Now, preheat your grill to medium high heat and prepare all your ingredients for the meatballs. My store didn’t have lamb, so I used ground turkey instead. Don’t forget your Dijon, onion, more garlic (because you know that’s never a bad thing!), egg, breadcrumbs, ground coriander, cumin, ground cinnamon, and pepper. Grab the cooking spray too!

 
 
 
Tasty Kitchen Blog: Grilled Turkey Meatball Gyros. Guest post by Megan Keno of Wanna Be a Country Cleaver, recipe submitted by TK member Julie of The Gourmet RD.

In a bowl, combine the ground turkey, egg, breadcrumbs, cumin, and all the remaining ingredients into the bowl. Use your hands if you’re feeling daring, or a spatula.

 
 
 
Tasty Kitchen Blog: Grilled Turkey Meatball Gyros. Guest post by Megan Keno of Wanna Be a Country Cleaver, recipe submitted by TK member Julie of The Gourmet RD.

I used a large cookie scoop to form the meatballs to keep them uniform in size. Just scoop and roll.

 
 
 
Tasty Kitchen Blog: Grilled Turkey Meatball Gyros. Guest post by Megan Keno of Wanna Be a Country Cleaver, recipe submitted by TK member Julie of The Gourmet RD.

Then, onto the grill they go! Let them grill uninterrupted, until they released naturally from the grill to turn. Don’t force them to turn or they will fall apart. Grill until they reach safe cooking temperature, about 165ºF for ground turkey. Remove from the grill.

 
 
 
Tasty Kitchen Blog: Grilled Turkey Meatball Gyros. Guest post by Megan Keno of Wanna Be a Country Cleaver, recipe submitted by TK member Julie of The Gourmet RD.

To assemble these beauties, split the pitas and add a couple of meatballs inside, pouring the pesto and tzatziki over the top. Don’t forget the additional chopped up cucumber and feta! Devour these immediately. Then toss out that take-out menu because you won’t be needing it again any time soon!

Thanks for sharing your recipe, Julie! If you need more inspired creations, check out Julie’s TK recipe box.

What is your favorite take-out fake-out? Leave a comment below, or share a link for all to see!

 
 

Printable Recipe

Grilled Lamb Meatball Gyros

See post on Julie Andrews’s site!
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Difficulty: Easy

Servings: 4

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Description

Grilled lamb meatball gyros with mint pesto and coconut milk tzatziki.

Ingredients

  • FOR THE TZATZIKI SAUCE:
  • 6 ounces, fluid Plain Greek Yogurt
  • ¼ cups Unsweetened Coconut Milk Or Sour Cream
  • 2 Tablespoons Mayonnaise
  • 1 teaspoon Lemon Zest
  • 1 teaspoon Lemon Juice
  • 2 cloves Garlic
  • 2 teaspoons Fresh Dill
  • 1-½ teaspoon Granulated Sugar
  • 1 dash Coarse Salt And Ground Black Pepper
  • ½ whole English Cucumber, Diced
  • FOR THE MINT PESTO:
  • 2 cups Fresh Mint Leaves
  • 1 cup Fresh Spinach
  • ¼ cups Unsalted Nuts {almonds Or Walnuts}
  • 2 cloves Garlic
  • ½  Lemon, Zest And Juice
  • Dash Coarse Salt And Ground Black Pepper
  • ¼ cups Extra Virgin Olive Oil
  • FOR THE MEATBALLS:
  • 1 pound Ground Lamb (or Chicken If Preferred)
  • 1 teaspoon Dijon Mustard
  • ½ whole Yellow Onion, Finely Minced
  • 2 cloves Garlic, Finely Minced (or Sub 2 Teaspoons Garlic Powder For The 2 Cloves)
  • 1 whole Large Egg
  • ½ cups Breadcrumbs
  • 1 teaspoon Ground Coriander
  • 1 Tablespoon Ground Cumin
  • ½ teaspoons Coarse Salt
  • ¼ teaspoons Ground Cinnamon
  • ¼ teaspoons Ground Black Pepper
  • Cooking Spray
  • FOR THE ASSEMBLY:
  • 4 whole Whole Grain Pitas
  • ½ whole English Cucumber, Diced Or Sliced
  • ½ cups Crumbled Feta Cheese
  • Fresh Cilantro Leaves, For Garnish

Preparation Instructions

1. For the tzatziki sauce: Combine all of the tzatziki ingredients (yogurt through sugar) in a food processor. Season with a dash of salt and black pepper; pulse until smooth. Taste and adjust seasoning, if necessary. Add diced cucumber and fold with a spatula. Spoon into a bowl and refrigerate. Rinse food processor with water.
2. For the mint pesto: Combine ingredients (mint through lemon) in a food processor and add a dash of salt and pepper. Pulse while drizzling olive oil in through the vegetable shoot until you reach desired consistency. Taste and adjust seasonings, if necessary.
3. Preheat a grill to medium high heat. In a bowl, combine all the meatball ingredients (except cooking spray). Work with your hands until everything is thoroughly combined. Form meatballs using your hands and place them on a plate. Brush meatballs with canola oil or spritz with cooking spray. Place them on the grill and cook, rotating a few times, about 8-10 minutes or until cooked through.
4. To serve, place meatballs in toasted or grilled pita bread. Drizzle with tzatziki and mint pesto and top with cucumbers, feta and fresh cilantro leaves.

 
 
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Megan Keno is the writer and photographer of Country Cleaver, a food blog fueled by Nutella and images of June Cleaver—if June wore cowboy boots and flannel, that is. A self-proclaimed country bum, Megan creates from-scratch recipes that range from simple to sublime and how-to’s to build your cooking repertoire. But she couldn’t do it without the help of her trusty—and furry—sous chef, Huckleberry. He’s a world class floor cleaner.

 
 

One Comment

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Jeanne (NanaBread) on 7.15.2015

Wowza.
Beautifully photographed, Megan! I would eat these all day long (and twice on Sundays). Yum!