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Flank steak stars in this street cart-inspired pita wrap recipe. Tuck the Greek-marinated Beef Gyros inside a fluffy pita bread, and top with homemade tzatziki sauce.
I love to cook everything I possibly can at home, but for YEARS Greek gyros felt out of reach. I didn’t have gyro machine or the “Gyro meat cone” (that cone-shaped blend of beef and lamb spinning on an upright rotisserie at your local Greek establishment).
After dabbling in Chicken gyros, I decided to make a straight beef version. It tastes MUCH closer to the real thing and you don’t even have to shave meat off a cone.
Table of Contents
Recipe ingredients
At a Glance: Here is a quick snapshot of what ingredients are in this recipe.
Please see the recipe card below for specific quantities.
Ingredient notes
- Plain Greek yogurt: Any fat percentage will do, but I adore the richness that you can only find in a 2 to 5 percent variety (translation: 0% yogurt is not my top choice; proceed with caution).
- Beef flank steak: While traditional gyros are made with lamb, beef is a wonderful, crowd-pleasing alternative. Flank steak is widely available and budget-friendly. If desired, swap in skirt steak, hanger steak, or flat iron steak.
- Cucumber: Peel, grate, and strain this before incorporating into your tzatziki sauce so the condiment doesn’t get too watery.
Step-by-step instructions
- In a large bowl, combine the garlic, lemon juice, red wine vinegar, olive oil, yogurt, oregano, salt and pepper in a medium bowl and whisk well. Add the beef pieces to the bowl and mix well to coat. Cover bowl or transfer into zip-top bag and refrigerate for about 1 hour.
- While the beef is marinating, shred the cucumber or chop in food processor. Toss with ½ teaspoon salt and set over a strainer or paper towels (a coffee filter also works well) and let sit for 20 to 30 minutes. Squeeze cucumber to remove as much liquid as possible.
- In a medium bowl, combine yogurt, cucumber, lemon juice, dill, garlic, and white wine vinegar. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Drizzle lightly with olive oil. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Coat a baking dish with oil or nonstick spray and arrange beef in a single layer. Cover with parchment paper, tucking the paper around the beef so it is completely covered.
- Bake for 12 to 18 minutes, until the beef reaches 140 degrees when tested with an internal thermometer. Remove from oven and let rest for 5 minutes. Slice or chop into pieces.
- Serve on pita bread with feta cheese, tomatoes, red onion, tzatziki sauce, and fresh dill.
Recipe tips and variations
- Yield: This recipe makes enough to build 4 generous gyros with approximately 4 ounces of beef per gyro.
- Storage: Store leftovers covered in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.
- Make ahead: Make the tzatziki up to 4 days in advance. Marinate the beef one day in advance.
- Greek omelet: Put leftover gyro meat to work in an omelet with feta cheese, tomatoes, and fresh spinach. Just sauté all your filling ingredients together until hot before adding to the omelet.
- Think outside of the pita: A gyro wrap is my favorite way to serve Beef Gyros, but feel free to try this same beef recipe and tzatziki sauce as part of a grain bowl, salad, or even piled atop pita chips for a Mediterranean twist on nachos.
- Pick a different protein: If red meat isn’t your favorite, try my Chicken Gyros instead.
- Favorite sides: I love to eat Gyros with a huge pile of French fries, but Lemon Rice Pilaf and Greek Salad make a delicious platter, too.
Recipe FAQs
Gyro meat from American restaurants is typically made of a blend of beef and lamb. It is sold as an uncooked “cone,” skewered, and roasted on a rotisserie or gyro machine, then sliced as needed.
That gyro has two main pronunciations: /YEE-roh/ and /ZHIHR-oh/. (Source: Merriam-Webster).
The flavors are similar, but soulvaki is cut into chunks and grilled kebab-style, while gyro meat is sliced off a rotisserie. Soulvaki is often pork or chicken but can be beef or lamb as well.
Chicken Gyros
Whatever you’re throwing on the grill this weekend, there’s room for Chicken Gyros. The tender, yogurt-marinated chicken tastes incredible tucked into pita with fresh veggies and slathered with an easy, homemade tzatziki sauce. Making Chicken…
View Recipe
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Beef Gyros
Ingredients
For the beef:
- 2 teaspoons garlic minced
- 2-3 tablespoons lemon juice freshly squeezed (from 2 lemons)
- 2 teaspoons red wine vinegar
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 3 tablespoons plain Greek yogurt (see note 1)
- 1 tablespoon dried oregano
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
- 1 1/4 pounds beef flank steak (see note 2)
For the tzatziki sauce:
- 1 medium cucumber peeled (see note 3)
- 1 cup plain Greek yogurt
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
- 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon fresh dill plus more, for garnish
- 1 teaspoon garlic minced
- 1 teaspoon white wine vinegar
- Olive oil
For serving:
- Pita bread
- Feta cheese cubed
- tomatoes chopped
- red onion thinly sliced
Instructions
To marinate the beef:
- In a large bowl, combine the garlic, lemon juice, red wine vinegar, olive oil, yogurt, oregano, salt and pepper in a medium bowl and whisk well. Add the beef pieces to the bowl and mix well to coat. Cover bowl or transfer into ziploc bag and refrigerate for about 1 hour.
To make the tzatziki sauce:
- While the beef is marinating, shred the cucumber or chop in food processor. Toss with ½ teaspoon salt and set over a strainer or paper towels (a coffee filter also works well) and let sit for 20 to 30 minutes. Squeeze cucumber to remove as much liquid as possible.
- In a medium bowl, combine yogurt, cucumber, lemon juice, dill, garlic, and white wine vinegar. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Drizzle lightly with olive oil. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.
To cook the beef in the oven:
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Coat a baking dish with oil or nonstick spray and arrange beef in a single layer. Cover with parchment paper, tucking the paper around the beef so it is completely covered.
- Bake for 12 to 18 minutes, until the beef reaches 140 degrees when tested with an internal thermometer. Remove from oven and let rest for 5 minutes. Slice or chop into pieces.
- Serve on pita bread with fresh dill, feta cheese, tomatoes, red onion, tzatziki sauce, and fresh dill.
To cook the beef on the grill:
- Preheat grill on medium-high heat. Grill the beef turning occasionally until the internal temperature reaches 140 degrees on a thermometer, about 8 to 10 minutes.
- Remove from grill and let rest for 5 minutes. Slice or chop into pieces. Serve on pita bread with feta cheese, tomatoes, red onion, and tzatziki sauce.
Recipe Video
Notes
- Plain Greek yogurt: Any fat percentage will do, but I adore the richness that you can only find in a 2 to 5 percent variety. (Translation: Use the 0 percent kind with caution.)
- Beef flank steak: While traditional gyros are made with lamb, beef is a wonderful, crowd-pleasing alternative. Flank steak is widely available and budget-friendly. If desired, swap in skirt steak, hanger steak, or flat iron steak.
- Cucumber: Peel, grate, and strain this before incorporating into your tzatziki sauce so the condiment doesn’t get too watery.
- Yield: This recipe makes enough to build 4 generous gyros with approximately 4 ounces of beef per gyro.
- Storage: Store leftovers covered in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.
Nutrition
Meggan Hill is a classically-trained chef and professional writer. Her meticulously-tested recipes and detailed tutorials bring confidence and success to home cooks everywhere. Meggan has been featured on NPR, HuffPost, FoxNews, LA Times, and more.
I used a chuck roast that I cooked 7 hours in a slow cooker.
This was a big hit with my family for dinner.
I could have done more, however, I just added basmati rice and gravy from the roast, and it tasted amazing.
The tzatziki sauce was fantastic, and it tasted authentic.
Thank you so much for sharing this recipe! I’m sure tomatoes and red onions would have been great too, but the kids don’t like them.
Even without, I will save this recipe!
Thank you, again!
Ariel Joy
You’re so welcome, Ariel Joy! I’m so glad it was a hit and you loved it! – Meggan