Vegan Eggplant Gyros! Za’atar seasoned eggplant stuffed into warm pita and topped with juicy tomatoes, crisp cucumbers, and the BEST hummus-dill sauce. You’ve gotta try these! 
I’m bringing back this eggplant gyro recipe that I originally shared in 2015. Life was a little bit crazier then; I was living in Stockton, CA in a tiny studio apartment while BL was already in St. Louis. I was finishing up my job at University of the Pacific, getting ready to embark on this- taking on this blog and my services full-time.
Flash forward three years and I’m a mama to the most cuddly baby boy and happy in the midwest. Crazy how things can change so quickly. Anyways, we made these gyros this weekend and I loved them so much, I wanted to put them back on your radar.
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Move over meat, eggplant has taken center stage. As a long-time vegetarian, I am always looking for plant-based alternatives that mimic the same meaty, savory texture that meat provides. While I love the usual suspects: lentils, beans, and tofu, my favorite meat substitutes are actually vegetables.
These eggplant gyros are a vegetarian’s everyone’s dream. You don’t have to be a meatless eater to love these babies. Lightly fried za’atar eggplant stuffed into warm pita pillows and topped with juicy tomatoes, crisp cucumber, pickled red onions and parsley. Even folks who typically turn their nose up at eggplant will salivate.
The inspiration for these sandwiches came a few years back when I was visiting a friend at the Lodi Farmers Market. In addition to Lodi being one of the cutest towns, it sure knows how to throw a street party. Every Thursday evening throughout the summer, Lodi’s downtown streets are converted to endless rows of vendors selling everything from wine, olive oil, berries and vegetables. Throw in a variety of food trucks alongside beer tents and acoustic music, and it’s a fun way to socialize while also stocking up on just-picked produce.
In other words, I never want to leave.
Drawn in by the garlic-on-everything aroma, we decided to grab a bite to eat from the local Greek food truck. Crispy Falafel, freshly-made hummus, warm pita. Drool. Since I put hummus on my hummus, there really wasn’t any doubt on where I would be sourcing my dinner.
Half-way through stuffing my face with falafel while watching my friend go to town on her gyro, I realized that I have never had a gyro. Like, ever. Since my mission in life is to make vegetables just as appealing (if not more so) than their non-veg counterparts, I ran back to a vendor stall to pick up a few more ingredients: eggplants, tomatoes and cucumber. After all, we had a vegetarian gyro that needed to be made.
Maybe it’s because I don’t have anything to compare it to, but this gyro completely blew me away. It’s packed with incredible flavor, texture, and ALL the vegetables (again). It’s not your traditional gyro, but what’s not to love?
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You’d never guess this was vegan! Meaty eggplant gyros stuffed with vegetables, herbs and the best hummus sauce.
Ingredients
- 2 eggplants, cubed (about 4 cups uncooked, it will shrink down significantly when cooked)
- 1 tbsp. oil
- 2 tbsp. za’atar
- 1 tsp. oregano
- salt/pepper
- 1 large tomato, sliced
- 1/2 cup red onions, very thinly sliced
- 2 tbsp. red wine vinegar
- 1/2 cup cucumber, thinly sliced
- 1/3 cup parsley, chopped
- 4 pita flatbreads
- Hummus Sauce:
- 1/3 cup hummus
- 1 large lemon, juiced
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 tsp. dried dill
Instructions
- Place the eggplant in a large bowl and rub with olive oil, za’atar seasoning and oregano until well coated.
- You can either roast or use the skillet to cook, both work! If you are doubling the recipe, then I recommend roasting.
- To roast: Place the eggplant in a baking dish and roast at 400 degrees for 30 minutes until very soft.
- To saute: heat a bit more oil in a large cast iron skillet (or other non-stick skillet) over medium heat. Add eggplant and cook for 10-15 minutes until very tender.
- Combine the very thinly sliced onion and vinegar in a bowl. Let sit while you cook the eggplant and make the hummus sauce. Drain before serving.
- Combine the ingredients for the sauce: hummus, lemon juice, garlic, dill and a pinch salt/pepper. Set aside.
- Make the gyros: pile the onions, cucumber, tomato, cucumber and cooked eggplant on the flatbreads. Drizzle with hummus sauce and eat immediately.
Originally published July 20th, 2015. Updated August 7, 2018.
YUMMM!!! What a unique and AWESOME idea. Don’t worry, if you plan your harvest right, you’ll have a plentiful garden in no time in St. Louis… I may know a farmer or two in town if you need any help out there :)
Ha! Might need that ;)
gyros are solo good, love that you made a vegan eggplant gyros, eggplant is my fav veggie :D
Wow wow wow. You had me at the description and then I saw the photos! I’m sure hoping there’s some eggplant in my CSA share today :) (And can’t wait to be in Lodi with ya next month!!
YES! Lodi in just a few short weeks! It’s going to be awesome!
Mmmm these look so tasty! Gyros are one of my favorite foods but I’ve never thought to make them vegetarian!
This looks absolutely delicious! Anything that has hummus on it is a win for me.
Thanks Fiona! Me too!
I think you’re a genius to make gyros with eggplant, and I’m not even a vegetarian! I sure do love my vegetables and can’t wait to give this a try.
Awesome! Hope you like them!
I love this meatless version! Plus, gyros are all about the sauce for me anyway and this hummus one sounds epic!
I LOVE eggplant and this is such a creative way to use it. Beautiful photos and presentation too!
Thanks!
The best part of the gyro is the sauce and the tomatoes. I’ll definitely give these a try with eggplant…it’s right up my alley.
I hope you do! This sauce is a little different than traditional tzatziki but I think it pairs perfectly with the eggplant!
This is the gyro of my dreams!! Give me eggplant over meat, any day. I feel like I’m meant to live at the Lodi Farmers Market ;)
Ha! That’s how I feel as well :)
Alex, I could eat this gyro for dinner every single night. Loving that roasted eggplant. To die for.
Thanks Allie! The filling is so easy- and extras taste amazing in a salad!
Yum! I want one for dinner tonight!
What brand of pita did you use? These look awesome!
Hi Jennifer, I bought these at Trader Joes. Thanks! Alex
Whoa, these vegan eggplant gyros look incredible, Alex! There’s a Greek place next to my job that serves vegetarian gyros made with eggplant. They are good but to tell you the truth, yours looks much better! I love that you used hummus sauce in place of the traditional tzatziki sauce. This is a winning meal for sure!
Just made this for dinner tonight, and I can testify it was wonderful! I love aubergines (eggplant) and I’ve had zaatar in the cupboard for a couple of months but not got round to using it, having read about it and wanted to try it. I tossed in a few pine nuts and apricots to the pan at the end of the cooking. We had the aubergine with wraps, red pepper salsa, lemony hummus and salad.
I have a couple of meat eaters in the house, so they had left over meat as well, an all round success. Thanks for the recipe, I’ll be back to try some more. X Sarah
Glad you liked it!
Followed recipe and made my family and I sick.
I followed the sauteed eggplant instructions (for over 15 minutes) and I think it was under cooked (I am not that familiar with eggplant). Followed the rest of the recipe and did not enjoy the overall taste as much as I would’ve liked (the recipe is missing something), but my stomach absolutely refused the meal and flushed out my intestines.
My whole family loved this recipe (5year girl and 3year boy included) and it was perfect to use the zaatar I had on my pantry. Thank you very much for sharing this wonderful recipe. I followed the recipe exactly. About the eggplant I cooked them 15 mins on a cast iron skillet as suggested.
★★★★★
Glad you liked it! Thanks so much for sharing your feedback!
Glad you liked it!
It’s amazing how you made a pita gyros with aubergines. I love the idea! The only thing I would change is to deep fry the aubergines to add some greasiness to them so they would remind gyros a bit more. Thank you for posting this recipe!
Great idea! Thanks for the comment.
Oh, that sounds like a fantastic recipe! Will definitely try that this Summer!
The pictures look amazing and I recently bought an eggplant so I was looking for a maiden recipe to try it on. I suspect that maybe the eggplant wasn’t fresh enough or something. The flesh become soft but the skin remained almost unchewable. I live in Mexico and our produce quality, sadly, is not what we are used to up North. It looked fine but then, I’ve never bought an eggplant before. On a positive note, I made homemade pitas which were fantastic!! I’m going to serve the leftover pitas with some of my lentil/spinach burger “meat” so it’s not a total loss. Sauce is delish!! I’ll be back to check out other recipes.
Your descriptions alone were enough to make me drool. The gyros look and sound delicious for sure! I love eggplant whether it’s the roasted or pureed avatar. And I love zaatar just as much. Of late, I find myself adding it to most dishes I cook at home. Good quality Za’atar does add a punch to any dish, but only if it is a quality zaatar. Some brands add ground wheat or peanuts for weight. Few people realize that best flavor comes from pure mixes with real zaatar herb, sumac, and sesame, and little of sea salt. That’s why I get mine from https://www.eatzaatar.com which offers blends directly from a zaatar farm in Lebanon.
I made this tonight, and though I rushed and some parts due to two little ones under my feet it was soooooo good. I added roasted red pepper and that helped since I didn’t have time to do the vinegar and onion since I cooked the eggplant in the morning when the house was cool. Thank you!!
This looks amazing, Alex! What a great (and unique) way to use eggplants. Can’t wait to try this – added it tour plant based pinterest board.
Thanks Nicole, hope you try it- it’s a great one!