Vegan Carrot & Mushroom Gyro Filling.
Vegan Gyros Are Easy To Make At Home!
Say hello to your new favorite homemade gyros. These Vegan Carrot & Mushroom Gyros are easy, filling, and so addicting!
I adore gyro meat and gyro sandwiches. This Greek specialty is garlicky herb filled goodness! The only problem is I wanted to enjoy them at home, without the meat! So many recipes I found used chickpeas and to be honest I get tired of using beans as a meat substitute all the time! Chickpeas are great, but textually not always what I’m looking for. After a little trial and error, my Vegan Carrot & Mushroom Gyros were born!
The perfect meatless filling
Last year, my younger sister, Sierra, came into town for a visit. She was going to be staying with me for a few days so eating out every night wasn’t an option. I really wanted to impress her with exciting meals and her being a vegetarian meant I had to think outside the box. We went grocery shopping and I had the idea to make mushroom gyros!
When the day came for me to make this recipe it was a hit! Sierra, my boyfriend and myself all loved it! The only problem was, mushrooms shrink a lot when the cooked, resulting in not much filling. After cooking 24 ounces of pre-sliced mushrooms I had enough for 4 gyros, but that’s not really cost effective. My goal is to not only make mouthwatering plant-based recipes, but also recipes that are affordable. Since then I’ve been trying to find a solution to making these delicious gyros budget friendly. Carrots were the perfect solution!
Blanching makes all the difference
I really wanted the vegetables to have have that signature gyro flavor and as meaty of a texture as possible. Sure, you could just toss the vegetables in the marinate and bake them off. That won’t result in the infused flavor you get with blanching and then marinating. Blanching softens the vegetables just slightly so the marinate can really get inside and work it’s magic! This step may seem like a pain, but I swear it makes such a difference! I also always marinate overnight! I just prep this the night before while I make dinner and the next day I have dinner in less than 30 minutes because you just dump and bake the next day! The flavor is so good it’s worth the wait!
The toppings and how you serve it is all up to you! Gyro platters, wraps, salads, bowls, etc. You can do so many things with this meat substitute. No matter what you choose, I hope you make this recipe becomes a meatless favorite!
Looking for more plant-forward recipes? Try one of these!
Carrot & Mushroom Gyros
Ingredients
Marinate
- 2 garlic cloves minced
- 1/2 tsp dried oregano
- 1/2 tsp dried thyme
- 1/4 tsp paprika
- 1/4 tsp cumin
- 1/4 tsp rosemary
- Juice of half a lemon
- 1/2 cup vegetable broth
- Dash of cayenne
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 tbsp salt
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
Vegetables
- 4 large carrots
- 8 oz of whole baby Bella or white mushrooms
Tzatziki
- 1/2 large seedless cucumber or 2 full mini cucumbers
- 1 garlic clove finely minced
- Juice if half a lemon
- 1/2 cup Greek style yogurt non dairy, or regular.
- Salt just a pinch
- Pepper just a pinch
Toppings
- Chopped tomatoes
- Sliced onions
- Lettuce
- Tzatziki
- Hummus
Instructions
Make the Tzatziki
- Set a fine mesh strainer over a bowl to catch liquid. Using a grater, grate the cucumber the into the strainer. Once finished lightly sprinkle with salt and set aside for 5 minutes. See notes if you don't have a fine mesh strainer.
- With the back of the spoon or spatula press the grated cucumber against the strainer to release any remaining liquid. Discard liquid.
- In an airtight container, combine garlic, shredder cucumber, yogurt, lemon juice, salt and pepper. Taste and adjust if need.
- Cover and transfer to fridge. Let sit in refrigerator at least 30 minutes before serving.
Prep the veggies
- Wash and scrub carrots and mushrooms clean.
- Starting with the carrots, take one carrot and place it parallel to the bottom of the cutting board. Then take you knife and place it at a 45 degree angle. Cut the carrot on a bias into 1/2inch thick ovals. Then take the ovals and slice them in half. Repeat with remaining carrots. Set aside.
- Next, slice the mushrooms into 1/2 inch slices and set aside, keeping them separate from carrots.
- Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil.
Make the Marinade
- While waiting for the water to boil make the marinade.
- In a large bowl combine, vegetable broth, oil, salt, pepper, oregano, thyme, rosemary, cumin, paprika, lemon juice, and garlic. Whisk well to combined. Taste and adjust seasoning if needed.
- Remove 2 tablespoons of marinate, and set aside for later.
Blanch & Marinate Vegetables
- Once your pot of salted water has come to a boil drop in the carrots and set a timer for 3 minutes
- During the last minute, add mushrooms to the pot of boiling water.
- After the 3 minutes is up, drain vegetables and transfer the hot vegetables to the bowl of marinade
- Toss vegetables to coat evenly. Let vegetables sit in bowl of marinate for 15-20 minutes, tossing occasionally. The next step is optional, but highly recommended.
- For best flavor; once vegetables have cooled, cover bowl or transfer to a ziploc bag and place in the fridge. Marinate for at least 1 hour, up to over night. Make sure to toss vegetables at least once.
Time to cook
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Dump the vegetables and marinade on a foil or parchment lined baking sheet.
- Place in oven and cook for 20-25 minutes or until reached desired tenderness, flipping half way through.
- Remove pan from oven and preheat broiler.
- Place pan back in oven and broil for 2-3 minutes so veggies become slightly crispy.
- Remove from oven and drizzle vegetables with the reserved 2 tablespoons of marinade.
Serve!
- Let cool 2-3 minutes and serve with toppings of your choice.
- Can be served in warm pita, flatbread, or make a Greek bowl, platter, or salad!
- Enjoy!
Notes
- If you don’t have a fine mesh strainer you can just grate the cucumber into a bowl. After salting as instructed, wait the 5 minutes and wrapped in clean kitchen or paper towels. Squeeze out the moisture by hand and then your cucumber is ready to use.
- Carrot can just be cut into 1/2 inch strips if you prefer or have trouble cutting ovals.
- Mushroom pieces will seem very large, don’t worry they shrink down a ton in the oven.
- I understand some plant-based friends eat strictly oil-free! Simply omit the oil from the marinade and you’re all set!
- Feel free to transfer marinated vegetables into the oven after they’ve sat in the marinate for 15 minutes if you don’t want to wait and hour or overnight.