Easy 20-minute chickpea gyros recipe! These vegetarian gyros are quick, delicious, and perfect for a weeknight dinner.
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Hi, Rhubarbarians! Another quick and easy weeknight meal comin atcha today: vegetarian chickpea gyros!
The chickpeas come together very quickly on the stove top, get wrapped in a warm pita, and then topped with tzatziki and veggies. Mmmmm....
These chickpea wraps are inspired by Greek gyros, but adapted for a vegetarian diet. We take all the flavors and toppings of your favorite Mediterranean gyro and make it a delicious vegetarian meal.
Why this recipe works: We spice the chickpeas with traditional gyro meat spices so they are super flavorful and then pile them in a warm pita with tzatziki, mint, tomato, onion, and feta cheese. The perfect vegetarian version of a gyro!
Jump to:
What is a vegetarian gyro?
The word gyro (pronounced YEE-roh) in Greek translates to circle or turn in english. A traditional gyro is a Greek sandwich made with meat that is cooked on a vertical rotisserie and served in pita bread.
Since vegetarians don't eat meat, we've adapted the traditional gyro into a vegetarian version by cooking chickpeas on the stove top in spices that are traditional used when cooking gyro meat.
We keep the flavors as close to traditional as possible by cooking the chickpeas in cumin, paprika, oregano, smoked paprika, garlic, and lemon. Then wrapping the chickpeas in a pita with tzatziki, tomato, red onion, feta cheese, mint leaves, and fresh parsley.
What's the difference between falafel and vegetarian gyro? A vegetarian gyro is a type of sandwich or pita wrap, while falafel is a fried patty or fritter consisting of a mixture of chickpeas and spices.
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Here's what you'll need
Ingredients:
- Cooked chickpeas: can be canned or cooked from dry. You'll need about 2 cans or 3 cups
- Oil: for cooking the chickpeas
- Water: for cooking the chickpeas
- Spices: cumin, sweet paprika, oregano, smoked paprika, salt, and pepper
- Fresh garlic
- Fresh lemon
- Pita bread: Flat bread or pocket bread. We prefer the flat bread as it's softer.
- Gyro toppings: Tzatziki, tomato, red onion, feta cheese, fresh mint leaves, and fresh parsley. All are optional and feel free to customize the toppings as you like!
Equipment:
- Strainer: only if using canned chickpeas. You'll need to strain and rinse the chickpeas
- Kitchen towel: for drying the chickpeas and removing the skins
- A large skillet or frying pan: for the chickpeas. We love our Green Pan!
- Measuring spoons
- Stirring utensil: for cooking the chickpeas. We love our OXO spoonula.
- Cutting board
- Sharp knife: for cutting the garlic, veggies, and herbs
- Spoon or knife: for spreading the tzatziki
Have you tried our 10-minute Greek salad wraps?
How to prep the chickpeas
The chickpeas are easy to prepare, but take a bit of prep before cooking. Full instructions are listed in the recipe card below.
You'll need about 3 cups of cooked chickpeas. You can either cook chickpeas from dry or open 2 cans of chickpeas.
If using canned, strain and rinse the chickpeas well, removing any black chickpeas or debris.
Place the chickpeas in the center of a kitchen towel and pat them dry.
Removing the skins: This step is optional, but will yield a better consistency once the chickpeas are cooked.
After patting the chickpeas dry, rub them with the towel gently and you will notice some of the skins coming off of the chickpeas. Remove those and discard them. No need to remove every skin, just the big pieces that come off. We recommend spending about 1-2 minutes removing the large pieces of skin and then moving on.
These spicy buffalo chickpea wraps are ready in just 10 minutes!
How to cook the chickpeas
The chickpeas only take about 10 minutes to cook from start to finish! Full instructions are listed in the recipe card below.
Start by heating up some olive oil in a skillet or frying pan. Get a small glass of water and keep that nearby for cooking.
Add the chickpeas, cumin, paprika, oregano, smoked paprika, salt, and pepper to the pan and stir to coat. Add a splash of water (about ¼ cup) to get everything coated well.
Cook until the chickpeas are heated through, adding more water as needed to keep the mixture from getting dry.
Add the garlic and cook just until fragrant and then stir in the lemon juice.
Have you tried our lemon chickpea orzo soup?
How to make the gyros
Once the chickpeas are cooked, you just need to make your chickpea gyros! We recommend slicing your veggies while the chickpeas are cooking. Full instructions are listed in the recipe card below.
Start by spreading tzatziki (or plain yogurt) on a soft, warm pita (we like pita flat bread, but you can use pocket pita too). Add your toppings on one side as shown in the photos and then spoon your desired amount of chickpeas into the center. Top with feta cheese, fresh parsley, and a squeeze of lemon juice.
Fold up the sides and enjoy!
Recipe tips
- The chickpeas can get dry while cooking, so you'll want to keep a glass of water nearby to add to the mixture. Don't worry, it won't become watery!
- We used plain yogurt in these photos, but normally use store bought tzatziki when making these chickpea gyros. If you'd like to make your own, here's a great homemade tzatziki recipe!
- Make sure to pat the chickpeas dry after rinsing them so that the big pieces of chickpea skins are removed. Pick them out of the chickpeas and discard. Again, no need to spend a lot of time on this, just spend 1-2 minutes removing the big pieces.
Ingredient substitutions
- The spices: we heavily spice the chickpeas, as we think it creates the most authentic flavor, but feel free to reduce the spice level as you wish! You can also add a teaspoon cayenne pepper to your spices to give it a spicy kick.
- The pita bread: If you can't find Mediterranean pita bread, use some mini naan breads or thick tortillas.
- The tzatziki: If tzatziki isn't your thing or you can't find it, go ahead and use plain greek yogurt!
- The toppings: go ahead and customize the toppings as you'd like.
How do I make this vegan? Replace the tzatziki with hummus or use tzatziki made with vegan yogurt and omit the feta or use vegan feta. Be sure to check the label on your pita bread to make it's vegan too!
Prep ahead, storing, and freezing
- Prep ahead: You can make the chickpeas ahead of time and reheat when ready to serve. These make great meal prep lunches!
- Storing: Store the leftover chickpea mixture separately in a tupperware in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. We recommend keeping the gyro components separate when storing.
- Freezing: You can freeze the chickpea mixture by itself for easy meals later! Freeze the mixture in an air tight container for up to 6 months. Reheat in the microwave or in a pan on the stove top.
FAQs
Replace the tzatziki with hummus or use tzatziki made with vegan yogurt and omit the feta or use vegan feta. Be sure to check the label on your pita bread to make it's vegan too!
Yes, you can. However, we find that roasting the chickpeas makes them too crispy for gyros.
Add a bit of water to the mixture while cooking to keep the chickpeas from drying out and burning in the pan.
Did you make this recipe? Leave us a review and star rating in the comments below! We read every single review and appreciate your feedback.
Recipe
Vegetarian chickpea gyros
Ingredients
- 3 cups cooked chickpeas*
- 3 tablespoon olive oil
- 2 tablespoon ground cumin
- 2 tablespoon sweet paprika
- 2 tablespoon dried oregano
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon pepper
- 1 cup water
- 2 teaspoon minced fresh garlic
- 1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
- 4 pieces pita flat bread
- 8 tablespoon tzatziki or plain yogurt
- thinly sliced tomato, thinly sliced red onion, crumbled feta cheese, mint leaves, fresh parsley, and lemon slices for serving.
Instructions
- If using canned chickpeas, rinse them well and remove any black chickpeas or debris. Place them in a kitchen towel and pat dry.
- Gently rub the chickpeas with the towel and start to remove the large chickpea skins that come off of the chickpeas. Spend about 1-2 minutes removing the large skins from the bunch.
- Heat the olive oil in a skillet or frying pan or medium heat. Keep a cup of water near you for cooking.
- Add the chickpeas, cumin, sweet paprika, oregano, smoked paprika, salt, and pepper. Add a small splash of water to the mixture and stir to combine.
- Cook the chickpeas until they are heated through and browned, about 8 minutes, adding splashes of water when the mixture gets dry.
- Add the garlic and cook, stirring constantly to prevent burning, until fragrant, about 2 minutes. Add the lemon juice and toss to coat. If the mixture is dry add another splash of water, stir to combine and then remove from the heat. The mixture shouldn't be saucy, but shouldn't be dry either.
- Spread about 2 tablespoon (however much you prefer) of tzatziki or yogurt onto your pita. Layer one side with your desired toppings and then pile some of the chickpea mixture into the middle. Top with feta cheese, fresh parsley, and a squeeze of fresh lemon. (See photos). Repeat for the remaining 3 pitas.
Notes
Nutrition
If you make this recipe, please let us know on social media or in the comments below! Leave a star rating in your comment or tag us on Instagram with #Rhubarbarians
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Sarah De la Cruz
Made these earlier this week—yum! I was a little hesitant to use such large quantities of spices, but they actually worked just right! Pleasantly surprised! Thanks for a yummy dinner!
Nora Crane
Haven't tried yet but am marking this recipe. I'm curious as to the chickpea spices - they seem more Mexican to me than Greek. Won't prevent me from trying this, or experimenting. Thx.