Chickpea gyros are delicious vegetarian gyros that incorporate all the things you love about Greek food: cucumbers, tomatoes, flat bread, feta cheese, and tzatziki sauce.

While I love having a vegetarian option, I also love meat! Check out these amazing lamb gyros and chicken gyros that taste better than any Greek restaurant I’ve been to!

Two Chickpea Gyros on a white plate topped with cucumber, tomatoes, and feta cheese.

If you are looking for a delicious meal that takes only minutes to make, here it is! It took me only 15 minutes to whip this up, and my entire family loved it. 

I’ve been fascinated by the idea of Meatless Monday and love the opportunity to make meals that are healthier options, by reducing meat and adding more vegetables and legumes. This recipe is a definite winner for that. It’s easy, it’s super flavorful, and it’s so quick to make! That’s what I call a win-win-win. 😏

My family used to live by a Greek place, and I really enjoyed their gyros. However, I thought it could be even better! So, I set out to find the perfect tzatziki sauce recipe (✔️) and realized chickpeas would be a great substitute for the gyros meat (✔️). 

If you don’t know what gyros meat is, I’m sure you’ve seen it before. It’s a big cylinder of meat that’s vertical and rotating on a rotisserie. You’ll see people use a big knife and shave some of that meat off for gyros sandwiches and wraps. 

I’m not really sure what’s in the meat, and part of me probably doesn’t want to know, 😂 — which is why we are sticking to chickpeas! Chickpeas are a clean protein option that are also high in fiber and essential vitamins and minerals.  

Overhead photo of two Chickpea Gyros on a white plate with a red striped napkin in the corner.

Ingredients

  • Olive oil
  • Canned chickpeas, drained
  • Yellow onion, diced
  • Oregano
  • Rosemary, ground or crushed 
  • Garlic powder
  • Kosher salt
  • Pepper

For Serving

  • Greek flat bread
  • Tzatziki sauce – this is an authentic recipe that you will absolutely love! I promise.
  • Fresh cucumbers
  • Crumbled feta
  • Grape or cherry tomatoes
Crispy chickpeas in a skillet.

How to Make Chickpea Gyros

  1. Place the drained chickpeas on a large paper towel. Do your best to dry them thoroughly. 
  2. Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium high heat. Once the oil is sizzling, add the chickpeas and the diced onion to the pan and season with salt and pepper. 
  3. Cook the chickpeas for 5-8 minutes, stirring frequently (to prevent them from burning). 
  4. Reduce heat to medium and add the oregano, rosemary, and garlic powder. Stir until the chickpeas are evenly covered. Continue cooking the chickpeas until they are crispy but not burned. 
  5. Remove from heat and serve the chickpeas on Greek flatbread topped with tzatziki sauce, cucumbers, chopped tomatoes and crumbled feta cheese. 

Tools Used For This Recipe

Skillet

Jar for Tzatziki sauce 

Chickpea Gyros topped with tomatoes, cucumbers, feta cheese, and tzatziki sauce.

Recipe Tips

If you prefer raw onions to cooked onions, you can leave out the diced onion when cooking the chickpeas and add raw onions for topping the vegetarian gyros. 

If you’re looking for a gluten-free option or don’t have any flatbread around, you can forgo the flatbread and do a chickpea gyro bowl with cooked barley topped with cucumbers, tomatoes, and tzatziki sauce.

FAQ

Are chickpeas good for you? 

Yes! Chickpeas are legumes, and legumes are a great, clean source of protein. They are also high in fiber and vitamin B.

How do you make homemade tzatziki sauce? 

That’s a great question! I have a separate post on how to make the best tzatziki sauce.

How do you pronounce gyros? 

Don’t worry, I had to look this up. It’s pronounced, yee-roh. And, another fun fact: gyros is the singular and gyri (yee-ree) is the plural! I know, I know.

More Delicious Recipes

If you make this recipe and love it, I would be so grateful if you come back to leave a rating and review. Thank you! ❤️ 

Stay up-to-date by following us on InstagramFacebook, and Pinterest.

Two Chickpea Gyros on a white plate topped with cucumber, tomatoes, and feta cheese.
Print Save Review
5 from 3 votes

Chickpea Gyros

A flavor-packed vegetarian gyro recipe.
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 15 minutes
Total Time: 20 minutes
Servings: 4 gyros

Ingredients
 

  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 15 oz can of chickpeas - drained
  • 1/2 cup yellow onion - diced (see notes)
  • 1 teaspoon dried oregano
  • 1/2 teaspoon dried rosemary
  • 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
  • kosher salt
  • fresh cracked black pepper

For Serving

  • Greek flat bread
  • Tzatziki sauce
  • fresh cucumbers - chopped
  • crumbled feta cheese
  • grape or cherry tomatoes - halved

Instructions
 

  • Place the drained chickpeas on a large paper towel. Do your best to dry them thoroughly. 
  • Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium high heat. Once the oil is sizzling add the chickpeas and the diced onion to the pan and season with salt and pepper. 
  • Cook the chickpeas for 5-8 minutes, stirring frequently (to prevent them from burning). 
  • Reduce heat to medium and add the oregano, rosemary, and garlic powder. Stir to combine until the chickpeas are evenly covered. Continue cooking the chickpeas until they are crispy but not burned. 
  • Remove from heat and serve the chickpeas on Greek flatbread topped with tzatziki sauce, cucumbers, chopped tomatoes and crumbled feta cheese. 

Notes

Alternatively, you can leave out the diced onion when cooking the chickpeas and add raw onions for topping the gyros. (But I’m not the biggest fan of raw onion, so I opted to cook them with the chickpeas). 
Nutrition facts based per serving. Nutrition facts does not include the “for serving” ingredients. 

Nutrition

Calories: 246kcal (12%)Carbohydrates: 32g (11%)Protein: 10g (20%)Fat: 10g (15%)Saturated Fat: 1g (5%)Sodium: 9mgPotassium: 339mg (10%)Fiber: 9g (36%)Sugar: 6g (7%)Vitamin A: 29IU (1%)Vitamin C: 3mg (4%)Calcium: 65mg (7%)Iron: 3mg (17%)
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: Mediterranean
Did you make this recipe?Leave a star rating and review on the blog post letting me know how you liked this recipe! Take a picture and tag @saltandbaker on Instagram and Facebook so I can see what you’re making!