Vegan, Greek Gyros & Falafels

Prep Time: 1 hour
Cooking Time: 30 minutes
Total Time: 1.5 hours
Method: Oven or Stovetop
Category: Mediterranean
Serving Size: 4 servings
Equipment: Mixing bowl, baking sheet (if baking falafels), frying pan (if frying falafels)

Ingredients

Falafels (makes about 8-10)

(1) 15oz can of chickpeas, drained
(6) cloves of garlic
(1) shallot
(4) tablespoon of fresh chopped parsley
(1/4) cup of water
(1) tablespoon of ground cumin
(1) tablespoon of ground coriander
(2) tablespoon of all-purpose flour
(2) tablespoons of salt
(1) teaspoon of ground black pepper
(1) cup of olive oil (for frying method only)

Gyro filling (to serve 4)

(2) cups of chopped lettuce
(1) cup of halved cherry tomatoes (chopped in half)
(1) cup of chopped cucumbers
(1) tablespoon of dried parsley
(4) Large pita bread peices
(2) tablespoons of original hummus (optional spread for pita bread)

Yogurt sauce

(1/2) cup of plant based plain greek yogurt
(1) lemon, juice squeezed
(1) tablespoon of olive oil
(1) tablespoon of freshly chopped dill
(1) teaspoon of salt
(1) teaspoon of ground black pepper

Cooking Instructions

Begin by making your falafels. In a food processor, combine drained chickpeas, garlic, shallots, parsley, cumin, coriander, flour, salt, pepper, and water. Pulse for about 1 minute, or until the main ingredients have been pulsed into smaller pieces, but making sure this does not turn into a stew.
Transfer the mixture in the food processor to a mixing bowl to ensure the contents are thoroughly combined.
Using this mixture, create falafel balls with about 2″ diameter (I recommend using an ice cream scooper to get a size gauge of the falafel balls and to help scoop and create the falafel balls). Once all falafels are created, transfer to chill in refrigerator briefly until either frying or baking falafels.
If you will bake your falafels and avoid frying, please skip to step 5. If you are frying your falafels – grab a pot, turn stovetop to medium high heat, and fill pot with 1″ of olive oil. Wait for oil to heat up, or roughly about 2 minutes, then carefully place each falafel into pot with a spatula. Flip falafels after roughly 2 minutes of frying on one end, or until golden all around surface. Once falafels have been cooked thoroughly, transfer to a paper towel lined plate and let falafels cool down.
If you are baking your falafels, preheat oven to 400 degrees. When oven is at optimal temperature, grab falafels from refrigerator and transfer to a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Bake falafels in oven for 20 minutes, or until golden brown.
To make yogurt sauce: Grab mixing bowl, add yogurt, lemon, oil, dill, salt, and pepper. Whisk ingredients together thoroughly.
Serve falafels on pita bread, with lettuce, cherry tomatoes, cucumbers, and a drizzle of yogurt sauce.
Enjoy!

Tips

If falafels will be fried, make sure that olive oil immerses half of the falafels’ surface area, that is to say – if falafels are made bigger than 2″ diameter, adjust with more olive oil to ensure it is cooked thoroughly inside.
If falafels will be baked, please ensure to flip falafels at halfway point to ensure all surface of falafels are cooked thoroughly.
I personally prefer to spread original hummus on pita bread before adding falafels and other garnishes, optional but adds authentic flavor.

Summary

Transport yourself to the warm, Mediterranean coast of Greece while enjoying these homemade gyros! The falafels are the center of this dish, along with flavorful stimulators such as grape tomatoes, lettuce, cucumbers, and last but not least – the yogurt sauce to combine it all together!

Falafels

The falafels are necessary in making this dish come true, without the falafels there are no gyros! These falafels can either be homemade through this recipe or store bought and added in to the recipe. As seen above, the falafels are pretty straightforward and mostly require mixing and then frying or baking to obtain the final product. If falafels are fried rather than baked, the texture of the falafels will be more crunchy and oily; and vice versa when baked they will be softer outside and inside.

Pita Bread

Make sure to use the largest available pita bread to successfully wrap all ingredients inside. I recommend slightly warming up bread in a mini oven for just a couple minutes at around 200 degrees, to soften the bread and allow the infusion of hummus and the yogurt sauce slightly into the bread.

Yogurt Sauce

The yogurt sauce really helps combine all the vegetable inside the wrap beautifully and deliciously. Yogurt sauce can be added as the last step into gyro to allow it to lather all ingredients inside the wrap. Yogurt sauce can be made in plenty serving size.