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.

 
 
 

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!

 
 
 

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.

 
 
 

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.

 
 
 

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

 
 
 

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!

 
 
 

Set pesto aside to until gyros are ready.

 
 
 

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!

 
 
 

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.

 
 
 

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

 
 
 

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.

 
 
 

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

 
 
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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.