This Beef Gyro recipe produces the most flavorful and tender beef, and can be made in a slow cooker or instant pot. Topped with fresh vegetables, and a homemade tzatziki sauce, this tasty dish couldn’t be easier to make from home!
Looking for more slow cooker recipes? Try Slow Cooker Ribs, Pot Roast, Pulled Pork, or Crock Pot Baked Ziti!
Why I love this recipe:
- Quick – Just dump it in and walk away! The slow cooker takes a few hours, but the Instant Pot is ready to eat in under an hour.
- Delicious – From the tender and flavorful beef, to the crisp fresh vegetables and the homemade tzatziki sauce, this meal really can’t be beat!
- Crowd Pleaser – This is one of my favorite meals to make for company. It’s made in one pot so my kitchen stays clean, and everyone can assemble their own! I always get so many compliments!
How to make Beef Gyros:
Make Tzatziki Sauce: Combine all ingredients and stir well. Refrigerate until ready to serve.
Prep Beef: Remove any large pieces of fat from the beef roast and then slice the meat into thin, 1/4 inch strips (You could ask your butcher to this for you). Place in the bottom of the slow cooker.
Make Marinade: In a small bowl combine the olive oil, garlic powder, oregano, cumin, thyme, lemon juice, salt, and pepper. Pour over meat.
Cook Beef Gyro Meat: Cover and cook on LOW for 6 hours or until beef is tender.
Assemble: Add a lettuce to a pita. Top with tomatoes, cucumber, and onion. Top gyro sandwich with meat and drizzle with homemade tzatziki sauce.
Serve: I like to add a little hot sauce as well, but that’s optional.
Make Ahead and Freezing Instructions:
To Make Ahead: The tzatziki sauce can be made and all the vegetables can be sliced and prepped ahead of time, just keep everything in separate containers in the fridge until ready to serve.
To Freeze: The gyro meat can be frozen in a freezer safe bag before or after cooking. My preference is to freeze before cooking. Thinly slice the beef and place in a freezer bag with the beef gyro marinade, then freeze. Let thaw completely in the fridge then dump and cook in the instant pot or slow cooker.
More Instant Pot Recipes:
- White Chicken Chili
- Beef Noodle Soup
- Instant Pot Corn on the Cob
- Instant Pot Mashed Potatoes
- Instant Pot Short Ribs
- Instant Pot Yogurt
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Recipe
Beef Gyros (Slow Cooker or Instant Pot)
Equipment
Ingredients
- 3 pounds beef chuck roast , sliced into thin quarter inch strips
- 3/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 3 Tablespoons olive oil
- 2 1/2 teaspoons garlic powder
- 2 teaspoons dried oregano leaves
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- 2 Tablespoons fresh lemon juice
For serving:
- 5 soft pitas
- 5 lettuce leaves
- 1 cup cherry tomatoes , halved
- 1/4 of a red onion thinly sliced
- 1 English cucumber , sliced, and then halved
Tzatziki Sauce:
- 1 cup plain Greek yogurt
- 1 clove garlic , finely minced
- 1 Tablespoon fresh lemon juice
- 1 Tablespoon olive oil
- 1 teaspoon red wine vinegar
- 1 teaspoon dried dill weed
- salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
Instructions
- For the Tzatziki Sauce: Combine all ingredients and stir well. Refrigerate until ready to serve.
For Slow Cooker:
- Remove any large pieces of fat from the beef roast and then slice the meat into thin, 1/4 inch strips. Place in the bottom of the slow cooker.
- In a small bowl combine the olive oil, garlic powder, oregano, cumin, thyme, lemon juice, salt, and pepper. Pour over meat. Cover and cook on LOW for 6 hours or until beef is tender.
- Add a lettuce leaf to a pita. Top with meat, tomatoes, cucumber, onion and tzatziki sauce.
For Instant Pot:
- Remove any large pieces of fat from the beef roast and then slice the meat into thin, 1/4 inch strips. Place in Instant pot.
- In a small bowl combine ⅓ cup of WATER, olive oil, garlic powder, oregano, cumin, thyme, lemon juice, and salt and pepper. Pour over meat.
- Cover and turn the valve to "sealing." Press "manual" or high pressure, and set the timer for 30 minutes.
- After the timer beeps allow the instant pot to rest for 15 minutes before releasing any of the pressure. Remove the lid, taste, and add additional seasonings if needed.
- Add a lettuce leaf to a pita. Top with meat, tomatoes, cucumber, onion and tzatziki sauce.
Notes
Nutrition
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I originally shared this recipe April 2017. Updated January 2022.
This post contains affiliate links.
This looks amazing and I plan on making it, but was wondering if you could come up with a recipe for chicken shawarma using a crockpot or instant pot?
Loved it! I did everything exactly according to the recipe and it came out exactly as expected. I have a photo, but I do not see anyway to include it. It is on my FB page.
I discovered this recipe recently and have tried it in the slow cooker and the instant pot and it is now my “go to” way to cook beef! I just served the beef over rice and roasted veggies last time I made it and it was so delicious!!
Could I slide the beef after cooking? Just curious if I could save time without impacting the outcome too much. Thank you!
I left my chuck roast whole and shredded after, is was sooo tender and juicy, fell right apart! The seasoning needed adjusting slightly, just to suit my families preferences and was a huge hit!!
I made this in my IP. The only thing I changed was I added diced cucumber to my sauce. It was delicious. Absolutely loved it. Had leftovers for lunch the next day, still delicious. The hardest part was slicing a semi frozen piece of meat, next time I will definitely let the butcher do that. 100% will make this again.
Could I use Chicken instead? I don’t want to eat much beef.
We have a chicken gyro recipe right here and it’s SUCH a good one! https://tastesbetterfromscratch.com/chicken-gyros/
Delicious! I used the Instant Pot and it turned out well. Trimming the meat is pretty time consuming, so opt for the butcher’s help if you can.
So tender and delicious!