Banish boring sandwiches and give your lunchtime a flavourful Greek spin with our vegan jackfruit gyros. It's an easy plant-based variation of the famous wrap that will leave you happy and satisfied. And if you'll love it as much as we did it, make sure you prepare a big batch as you'll want to come back for more!
Jackfruit is a wonderful vegan meat replacement, and it's so versatile you can prepare it in many different ways. You can find jackfruit tinned in water or brine at the supermarket or your local Asian food store.
Unlike the ripe fruit, young green jackfruit is not sweet and has a mild flavour. And it's so "meaty" and fleshy!
You can chop the fruit into chunks and use it for burgers, nuggets, or stews. Or you can pull it into strips to make "pulled jackfruit" for sandwich rolls or a vegan "chicken" salad!
For this recipe, we wanted to use jackfruit to recreate the texture of the classic gyros meat.
Traditionally, pork or chicken meat is cooked on a vertical rotisserie and then sliced into thin and crispy shavings.
To get a similar result, we shredded jackfruit into thin strips which we seasoned with spices and herbs and roasted in the oven until crispy. It worked wonderfully!
The jackfruit seasoning includes all the classic gyros marinade ingredients: lemon juice, onions, garlic, cumin, oregano, and chilli powder. We also used tomato passata for colour and smoked paprika for a delicious smoky finish. The result is so tasty you won't believe it's made without any meat!
Once you've cooked the jackfruit, the gyros are practically done. All you have to do is whizz up our vegan tzatziki, bake the fries, and you're ready to stuff the wrap. We recommend using thick Greek-style flatbread, but you can also opt for pita pockets if you want.
One of these jackfruit gyros makes a satisfying vegan meal with just 400 calories. It covers 20% RDI of carbs, 30% RDI of proteins, and a whopping 50% of your RDI for fibres — all with very few little fats.
The great news is you can prepare the gyros days in advance and then warm them up later, which is perfect for meal prepping!
And for more healthy vegan sandiwch
Ingredients
| Jackfruit Marinade | |
| Canned Jackfruit | 480 g |
| Red Onions | 1/2 |
| Garlic Cloves | 4 |
| Ground Cumin (optional) | 1 tsp |
| Dried Oregano | 2 tsp |
| Smoked Paprika | 1 tsp |
| Chilli Podwer | 1/2 tsp |
| Extra Virgin Olive Oil | 1 tbsp |
| Tomato Passata | 4 tbsp |
| Lemon Juice | 2 tsp |
| Potato Fries | |
| Potatoes | 3 |
| Extra Virgin Olive Oil | 2 tsp |
| To Serve | |
| Greek-Style Flatbreads | 4 |
| Cherry Tomatoes | to taste |
| Red Onions | to taste |
| Lettuce | to taste |
| Vegan Tzatziki | |
| Cucumbers | 80 g |
| Soy Yogurt | 150 g |
| Garlic Cloves | 1 |
| Mint Leaves | 4 |
Step 1
First, let's get the jackfruit ready.
Drain the canned chunks, rinse them to remove the brine water, and squeeze them well, trying to squirt out as much water as possible.
Then, trim off the firm tip of each chunk so that you can easily pull the jackfruit strips apart, as you would do with shredded chicken.
You can keep the tips and chop them into small pieces, as shown in the picture. Alternatively, use them to make crispy vegan nuggets.
Step 2
Next, add the prepared jackfruit to a bowl, followed by finely chopped onions, minced garlic, cumin, oregano, smoked paprika, chilli powder, and salt to taste.
Then pour in the olive oil, tomato passata, lemon juice, and mix well until the jackfruit shreds are evenly coated.
At this point, you can optionally leave the jackfruit to marinate in the fridge for 2 to 12 hours, wrapped with cling film.
Step 3
Now, transfer the seasoned jackfruit to a baking tray lined with parchment paper, spreading it flat.
Roast it for 25 minutes at 200°C (400°F) until the jackfruit shreds are dry and slightly crispy.
Step 4
Meanwhile, prepare the chunky chips.
Keeping the skin on, cut the potatoes into thick sticks and season them with olive oil, salt, pepper, and some oregano.
Roast them on a baking tray for 30-35 minutes at 200°C (400°F).
Step 5
While the jackfruit and potatoes cook, let's get the vegan tzatziki ready.
Slice the cucumber in half lengthwise so that you can remove the seeds.
Now, chop the cucumber and add it to a blender, followed by soy yogurt, garlic, and mint. Blitz all until smooth.
Step 6
When the jackfruit and potatoes are almost ready, warm up the flatbreads in the oven until softened, quarter the cherry tomatoes and thinly slice the onions.
You can optionally cut some cucumber into thin slices to add extra crunch and freshness to the gyros filling.
Step 7
Finally, let's assemble the vegan gyros.
For each person, grab one flatbread and pile up two big leaves of lettuce in the centre, followed by tomatoes, thin cucumber slices, onions, roasted jackfruit, and chips.
Drizzle the filling with the tzatziki and roll all into a wrap, securing it with baking paper or foil.
Enjoy your jackfruit gyros warm!
Tips
You can add dried thyme or rosemary to the jackfruit seasoning for extra flavour.