Roasted cauliflower seasoned with Greek spices served with creamy dairy-free tzatziki, and fresh crisp veggies wrapped in warm flatbread – these vegan cauliflower gyros are easy, healthy and delicious! While the cauliflower marinates, prep the tzatziki and chop the veggies, so all you have to do is pop the cauliflower in the oven before serving.
Thank you to Stahlbush Island Farms for sponsoring this post. All opinions are my own.
This flavorful, healthy vegan cauliflower gyros recipe starts with a simple lemon herb marinade. Infusing the cauliflower with all those yummy Greek flavors which then get roasted is a fun and tasty twist on the classic gyro. This delicious meal is as great for weeknight meals as it is for gatherings. Everyone enjoys dressing their own gyros, just set everything out in bowls for guests to help themselves!
The literal meaning of the Greek word “gyro” (pronounced yee-roh) is “to turn”. Gyro is usually seasoned ground meat which is pressed like a massive meatloaf and cooked slowly as it turns on an upright rotisserie grill. Obviously this is not practical for home cooking nor is it vegan friendly. That doesn’t mean we have to miss out on gyro wraps, though! The gyro flavor is largely from the spices and garlic added to meat, so we just need to substitute the meat in this classic Greek sandwich. Enter: cauliflower.
How to Make Vegan Cauliflower Gyros Wraps:
These plant-based gyros are a breeze to make, with very little active time!
- Marinate the cauliflower
- Make the tzatziki and prep your veggie toppings
- Roast the cauliflower – 450°F for 20 minutes, flipping once
- Warm the flatbread, making it softer and easier to fold
- Top warm flatbread with the roasted cauliflower, veggies, and a generous smattering of tzatziki sauce. Enjoy!
Why Frozen Cauliflower?
I chose frozen cauliflower for this recipe because once it’s defrosted, it loses some of its water content and becomes more porous. In other words, it absorbs way more flavor. And lots of flavor is exactly what we want for our veggie gyros!
Roasting cauliflower also brings out some additional flavors – nuttiness and almost a buttery taste. The caramelized and charred bits are my favorite! Coupled with the Greek seasonings, it takes some self restrain not to eat it all off the pan before assembling the vegan cauliflower gyros sandwiches!
Tips for Perfectly Roasted Cauliflower:
We’re after crispy, almost charred bits on our cauliflower, no sogginess! Here’s how to get delicious results:
- completely defrost the cauliflower and drain it. This helps remove as much moisture as possible. We want the oil and heat to crisp the outsides, and for the marinade to really permeate and stick to the cauliflower. If it’s not properly thawed and drained, the water will continue to leach out during roasting, pushing the seasonings off and preventing caramelization. Pat dry on paper towel or a clean tea towel if necessary.
- cut up any florets that are much larger than the rest. For even roasting, the pieces need to be roughly the same size. Flat parts (where you’ve sliced a floret in half) will increase surface area, too which means more parts to caramelize
- don’t over crowd the pan. Use a nice big tray – it’s better to have a bit of empty space on the tray than to have the tray crowded which results in soggy cauliflower.
- preheat your oven before adding the cauliflower so it gets hit with that high heat right off the bat and can start roasting.
- flip half way during roasting. This encourages even baking and gets more parts of the cauliflower caramelizing.
- roast until the cauliflower is lightly browned. Especially for this recipe, I find over doing the roasting is a bit better than under-baking. We want all the flavor and texture!
Make Ahead and Storage Suggestions for Vegan Cauliflower Gyros
The cauliflower can marinate for up to 5 days before roasting – keep it sealed in the fridge. Leftovers (if there somehow manages to be any!) keep in the fridge for a few days. To reheat, I find it simplest to heat the roasted cauliflower in a bit of oil in a skillet on the stove-top. While reheating in the microwave is efficient, frying helps revive the roasted bits which the microwave softens. Roasting it a second time can dry it out.
Gyro sandwiches are best assembled just before eating. Store the components of the gyros wraps separately.
More Mediterranean-Inspired Vegan Recipes:
One-Skillet Baked Greek Lemon Chickpeas and Rice
Pesto Risotto, Roasted Tomatoes & Chickpeas
Herby Farro Salad with Grilled Vegetables and Hummus
If you make these Vegan Cauliflower Gyros please give them a rating in the recipe card and leave a comment below! Follow along on Instagram and can tag me in your creations using my recipes. I love seeing what you’re cooking! You can also follow me on Pinterest for vegan recipe inspiration and on Facebook. Thank you for joining me!
Vegan Cauliflower Gyros
Ingredients
- 849 g frozen cauliflower florets (3 bags of Stahlbush Island Farms), defrosted approximately 1 large head
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- juice of large lemon
- 3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 2 tbsp red wine vinegar
- 1 tbsp oregano
- 1 tsp onion powder
- 1 tsp ground cumin
- 1 tsp dried rosemary
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp ground black pepper
- 1/2 tsp smoked paprika
- 1/2 tsp ground coriander
- pinch cayenne pepper, optional
Gyro Fixings
- 6 flatbread (or naan)
- vegan tzatziki Sauce
- cherry tomatoes, sliced
- 1/2 cucumber, sliced
- 1/2 small red onion, finely sliced
- 1/4 cup flat parsley or dill, roughly chopped
- pitted kalamata olives
Instructions
For the Cauliflower:
- Defrost the cauliflower overnight in the fridge or a few hours at room temperature. Cut up any larger pieces so that the florets are all roughly the same size for even cooking. Drain the cauliflower and dry it as much as possible on paper towel or a clean tea towel if necessary. Place in a large bowl. In a small bowl, whisk together the ingredients for the marinade. Pour the marinade over the cauliflower and toss. Cover and marinate for a minimum of 30 minutes, but a few hours is best.
- Preheat the oven to 425°F. Lightly oil a large baking sheet, or line it with parchment paper. Spread the cauliflower out on baking sheet, ensuring there's space between each floret. Once the oven has preheated completely, place the cauliflower on a middle rack and roast for 25-35 minutes, tossing once half way through. Prepare your toppings and tzatziki.
Assembling the Gyro Wraps:
- Warm the flat-breads by wrapping them in foil and placing them in the oven during the last few minutes of roasting the cauliflower.
- Layer the cauliflower, tzatziki, veggies and olives down the middle of a warm flatbread. Fold the sides of the flatbread over the fillings. Wrap in parchment or foil to help make things less messy if desired. Store leftover cauliflower, toppings and flatbread separately – these wraps are best assembled just before serving.
Nutrition Info:
Notes:
The Nutrition Information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the Nutrition Information for any recipe on this site cannot be guaranteed.
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Can I Use fresh cauliflower
Hi Uma! Yes, fresh works, too. It doesn’t absorb as much of the spice flavor but is still delicious. Hope you love these gyros! ~Bronwyn
We made this last night and it was a HIT! Neither of us are vegan, but we’re always looking to eat meatless more often. We followed the recipe, but used fresh cauliflower and wrapped everything in homemade naan with avocado. I have been thinking about the leftovers since yesterday and can’t wait to eat them today! This recipe is definitely going into our regular rotation. So yummy!
Hi Colleen! Thanks so much for the thoughtful message! I’m so happy to hear you enjoyed the recipe so much! You made my day 🙂 ~Bronwyn
I never leave comments but these gyros were SO good that I had to come tell you. All my young kids licked their plates too! These are definitely going into our regular rotation!
Thank you for taking the time to let me know! I’m so happy you and your family enjoyed the gyros! ~Bronwyn
Delicious, thanks a bunch for sharing! I got this beautiful head of orange cauliflower that I wanted to make use of and this came through. 🙂
Hi Ida! So glad you enjoyed this recipe! I bet the wraps were beautiful with orange cauliflower! Thanks for the lovely comment 🙂 ~Bronwyn
We made these using fresh cauliflower and tzatziki made from Silk’s almond plain yogurt. It was such a great recipe. We’ll be making it again for sure!
Hi Kat! So happy you enjoyed these! Love Silk yogurt, great idea to use it in tzatziki. Thanks for the lovely feedback! ~Bronwyn
I rarely leave comments but this is the 2nd time my family had these so the first time was not a fluke! Everyone asked me to make double the amount this time. Even the boys who are not keen on veggies in general asked for this to be a repeat. It definitely has been placed on a family favorite list. Definitely rated 5 stars out of 5 in my family. Thank you for adding another delicious + healthy option to our rotation!
I’m so happy you and your family enjoyed these so much! Thank you for letting me know, and for the awesome review! 🙂 ~Bronwyn