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!

A homemade beef gyro wrapped in a warm pita and topped with lettuce, cucumber, red onion, tomato, and homemade tzatziki sauce.

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.

The marinade made of olive oil, garlic powder, oregano, cumin, thyme, lemon juice, salt, and pepper for Beef Gyros in a small bowl.

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. 

Thinly sliced beef in the bottom of a slow cooker for Beef Gyros.

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.

Two images showing thinly sliced beef in a slow cooker then on a white plate.

Assemble: Add a lettuce to a pita. Top with tomatoes, cucumber, and onion. Top gyro sandwich with meat and drizzle with homemade tzatziki sauce.

Two images showing how to assemble a beef gyro with lettuce and toppings.

Serve: I like to add a little hot sauce as well, but that’s optional.

A close up image of a beef gyro with homemade tzatziki sauce and vegetables on top.

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.

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Recipe

A homemade beef gyro wrapped in a warm pita and topped with lettuce, cucumber, red onion, tomato, and homemade tzatziki sauce.
Prep 15 minutes
Cook 4 hours
Total 4 hours 15 minutes
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Ingredients
 
 

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:

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

Make Ahead Instructions: 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.
Freezing Instructions: The beef 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.

Nutrition

Calories: 798kcalCarbohydrates: 40gProtein: 63gFat: 44gSaturated Fat: 15gPolyunsaturated Fat: 4gMonounsaturated Fat: 24gTrans Fat: 2gCholesterol: 190mgSodium: 898mgPotassium: 1285mgFiber: 3gSugar: 4gVitamin A: 2062IUVitamin C: 17mgCalcium: 188mgIron: 8mg

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I originally shared this recipe April 2017. Updated January 2022.

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About The Author

Lauren Allen

Welcome! I’m Lauren, a mom of four and lover of good food. Here you’ll find easy recipes and weeknight meal ideas made with real ingredients, with step-by-step photos and videos.

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Comments

  1. 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?

  2. 5 stars
    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.

  3. 5 stars
    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!!

  4. Could I slide the beef after cooking? Just curious if I could save time without impacting the outcome too much. Thank you!

    1. 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!!

  5. 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.

  6. 5 stars
    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.

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