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These roasted chickpea gyros are an easy protein-forward vegetarian dinner, perfect for feeding the whole family on busy weeknights. Originally created in 2015, this recipe has since been devoured by thousands of readers who love it. It’s a fan favorite!
Serve it with this Mediterranean quinoa kale salad or this tahini cucumber salad!
save this recipe!Best Veggie Gyros…Ever
As a seasoned gyro enthusiast and fanatic of chickpea recipes, I’m here to tell you this roasted chickpea gyro recipe is the BEST!
You get all the deliciousness of classic gyros with a feel-good, plant-based twist—roasted chickpeas, fresh veggies, and creamy tzatziki, all wrapped in pillowy-soft pitas.
Reader rating
“I made this recipe for dinner tonight and it was the absolute best. It is so incredibly simple and it tastes so good. This recipe will be a regular in my life from now on. I wish I had tried it sooner.” —Christina K
Key Ingredients
These chickpea gyro wraps are made with easy-to-find, budget-friendly ingredients. Jump to the recipe card for all the measurements – this is just an overview.
- Chickpeas: Chickpeas bring protein, fiber, and a satisfying texture to your gyros. You can use canned chickpeas for convenience or try cooking your own chickpeas from dry for the creamiest texture.
- Spices: To create a classic gyro taste, we’ll use paprika for smokiness and color, black pepper and cayenne for a kick, and salt.
- Pita Flatbreads: If you’re gluten-free, try using gluten-free wraps or lettuce leaves as an alternative.
- Tzatziki: This creamy, tangy sauce is a must for traditional gyros! Find it pre-made near the hummus and dips section, or easily make your own tzatziki. If you’re dairy-free, try vegan yogurt for a dairy-free tzatziki.
Making vegetarian gyros is So Easy
Jump to the recipe for the full printable recipe – this is just an overview.
- Prep the oven and pat the chickpeas dry before tossing them with spices.
- Roast the chickpeas on a greased-rimmed baking sheet.
- Assemble the pitas with chickpeas, veggies, and sauce!
roast Or Air Fry
You can roast the chickpeas in the oven at 400°F (204°C) for 20 minutes. Or, if you have one, you can also roast chickpeas in the air fryer. (It’s much quicker!)
Roasted Chickpea Gyros
Ingredients
- 1 15-oz can chickpeas, 425 g, 1 ½ cup soaked chickpeas if starting from dry, drained and rinsed
- 1 Tbsp olive oil, 15 mL
- 1 Tbsp paprika*
- 1 tsp ground black pepper
- ½ tsp cayenne pepper
- ¼ tsp salt
- 4 pita flatbreads
- 1 cup tzatziki (click for recipe), 250 g, use ⅓ recipe if you’re just making it for these gyros
- ¼ red onion, cut into strips
- 2 lettuce leaves, roughly chopped
- 1 tomato, sliced
Instructions
- Prep: Preheat oven to 400°F (204°C). Drain and pat dry 1 15-oz can chickpeas with paper towel, removing any skins that may come off.
- Flavor: In a medium bowl, toss chickpeas with 1 Tbsp olive oil, 1 Tbsp paprika*, 1 tsp ground black pepper, ½ tsp cayenne pepper, and ¼ tsp salt.
- Roast: Spread chickpeas on a greased rimmed baking sheet and roast for about 20 minutes until lightly browned but not hard.
- Assemble: Spread some tzatziki onto one side of the pita, then sprinkle in chickpeas and add veggies. Fold in half and enjoy!
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information calculated by Sarah Bond, degreed nutritionist.
did you make this?Leave a comment below and tag @liveeatlearn on social media! I love seeing what you’ve made!Mediterranean PAIRINGS
Vegetarian Portobello Mushroom Gyros
15 minutes
Vegan Shawarma (With Shaved Tofu)
32 minutes
Classic Tabbouleh Salad
30 minutes
P.S. For another vegetarian sandwich you’ll love, try my easy veggies wraps with hummus! Or make my infamous Marry Me Chickpeas recipe for another easy chickpea dinner.
Sooooo…how do you keep the chickpeas from exploding in the oven. Mine kept popping up and bursting open.
Hey Meredith! So weird that’s never happened to me, but after doing some research it looks like that is a common problem with chickpeas…who knew?! Everything I’m reading says it’s totally fine though. If you’re worried about them flying all over the place you can loosely cover them with aluminum foil.
I have a feeling the exploding has something to do with the skins though. If you didn’t remove all the chickpea skins this time, perhaps try that next time, and be sure to dry them well. And if it still happens, I’d reduce the heat of your oven. 🙂
These turned out delicious!! My husband was impressed by how filling they were and everyone cleared their plate. Definitely making them again.
Thanks for sharing!
So happy to hear, Casey!! I’m always so surprised by how filling the chickpeas are. I’ve made this probably a dozen times and still each time my eyes are bigger than my belly.
Hi. Gyros looks very good and i will make them very soon. I know i will like it. 🙂
Awesome recipe. I am a lover of chickpeas and I would love to try this recipe. Gyros have always been a quick filling meal. I haven;t come across a lot of people who haven’t enjoyed Gyros.
These look amazing, I am full on stalking your blog right now and going through so many posts! I love all your recipes!
These were so, so good! I used smoked paprika but everything else was as per the recipe. The tzatziki absolutely make the dish, and is the best tzatziki recipe I’ve ever tried. I stuck mostly to the recipe for that too, but d didn’t have white wine vinegar so I used red wine vinegar instead. Yum!
I’ve used smoked paprika a few times and it works just as well 🙂 So happy to hear you loved the tzatziki, I make it all the time in these summer months for slathering on EVERYTHING! 🙂
I’m so sorry please delete my previous post…I clearly have no sleep Mama brain and confused your yummy recipe with a homemade flat bread recipe that did not turn out well. I’m sorry for the trouble. Take care!
Hey Alaina! Haha no problem! Did you try out the gyros? As far as your flatbread fail, I think the problem was in swapping the flour. From my experience, whole wheat flour makes baked goods a good bit denser, so I usually mix it with all-purpose flour in recipes. Thanks for stopping by and get some sleep! 🙂
I just made these for lunch, and they are DELICIOUS! Would make a great packed lunch for work too, thank you for the awesome recipe!
I came across your blog a few days ago, and I honestly think it is fantastic. Keep doing what you are doing!
Thanks so much, Plamena, your comment means so much to me! I’m so happy to hear you liked the gyros! You could also throw the leftover chickpeas on a salad for lunch if you fear a messy sandwich at work 😉
The leftover chickpeas? What leftovers? 😀 I had to make a 2nd batch the same day, and there were no leftovers from that one either 🙂
I also made your Tropical Granola, Mozzarella Avocado Toast and Orange Dreamsicle Smoothie since then. All of those are copied in my recipe book now and your blog is in my favorites!
I will be making this again and I will definitely take your advice about halving the black pepper, cayenne, and paprika. I normally like my food spicy, but this had sweat pouring down my face. Aside from the heat, the taste and texture of the roasted chick peas were fantastic. I added a little hummus to the pita in addition to the tzatziki and subbed arugula for the lettuce. Thankyou for posting!
Yea they definitely have some heat, but I love that when combined with the cool cucumber tatziki 🙂 The hummus sounds like a really great addition! Thanks so much for dropping by and leaving a comment, Dominic!
This was delicious! Unfortunately, all my stores were out of pita bread so I chose Medeterrian Bread which was too thick and split when folded. Otherwise, this was delicious!