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These gyro bowls are loaded and delicious. Lamb or beef meatballs spiced to taste just like roasted gyro meat on a bed of tender lemon rice, topped with creamy tzatziki and a quick tomato and cucumber salad. One of my personal favorite recipes, I could go for this Greek dinner anytime! Better yet, even my kids love them.

Overhead view of a gyro bowl with tender lemon rice and a creamy tzatziki sauce.

What Makes This Recipe So Good

  • There’s so much incredible flavor! Seasoned lamb (or beef, or pork) meatballs. Lemony rice. Rich, tangy tzatziki. Fresh cucumber and tomato with olive oil. Then you serve it with hummus, olives, and pita?? I’m drooling just thinking about it.
  • The recipe card below looks a little overwhelming, but I promise you, this recipe is really so simple. The instructions for each component of the gyro bowl are basically just “mix together”, and then you just put a little of each component in a big bowl! Even the meatballs are just “mix and bake”.
  • This is a great option for you meal-preppers. Each component can be prepared ahead of time, refrigerated individually, and then assembled into a bowl when you’re ready to eat. Or, if you’re more of a grab-and-go type person, you can prepare the full bowl ahead of time. If you’ll want to enjoy the meatballs and rice warm, though, keep that in mind if you’re putting everything in the same meal prep container.

Chef’s Tips

  • If you follow the recipe as written, you should get 14-20 meatballs from the gyro meatball mixture. It just depends on the size of meatballs you make. Depending on your preferred portions, this recipe will yield 3 to 5 gyro bowls easily.
  • Don’t overwork the meat mixture or you’ll end up with tough, unpleasant meatballs. Stop mixing when all the ingredients are just combined, and be gentle when you’re forming the scoops into meatballs.
  • For even more flavor (or if you’re looking to cut costs a little), mix together ½ pound of ground lamb with ½ pound of ground beef. The two pair well together and give the meatballs a little something extra. You can also use 1 pound of each, making twice the meatballs, and save the extras for later. They freeze well – just keep them in an airtight container in the freezer for 1-2 months.
Side view of a gyro bowl with a fork piercing a lamb meatball.

More Incredible “Bowl” Recipes

Close-up view of a bowl of cucumber salsa, gyro meatballs, lemon rice, tzatziki sauce, and naan.
Recipe By: Cheryl Malik
5 from 22 votes

Gyro Bowls (Meatballs with Tzatziki, Lemon Rice, and Cucumber Salad)

Prep 15 minutes
Cook 20 minutes
Total 35 minutes
Delicious lamb or beef meatballs, cucumber salad, lemony rice, and creamy tzatziki sauce combine incredible Greek flavors into one delectable bowl.
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4 bowls

Equipment

  • Oven
  • large baking sheet
  • aluminum foil or parchment paper
  • Cooking spray
  • large mixing bowl
  • scoop with release handle (optional)
  • Cutting board
  • Fork
  • Paper towels
  • 2 medium mixing bowls
  • small mixing bowl

Ingredients

For the Meatballs

  • 1 pound ground lamb, beef, or pork lamb preferred
  • ¼ cup minced onion
  • 3 cloves garlic minced
  • 1 large egg
  • ½ cup finely crumbled feta cheese
  • 1 teaspoon Greek seasoning
  • ½ teaspoon salt

For the Tzatziki

  • 1-2 cloves garlic minced or pressed
  • ¼ teaspoon salt to taste
  • half of one European cucumber peeled, grated, drained (see Notes)
  • 1 cup plain yogurt drained
  • 1 tablespoon chopped fresh mint plus more to taste, see Notes
  • 1 tablespoon chopped fresh dill see Notes
  • freshly ground black pepper to taste
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil

For the Lemon Rice

  • 2 cups cooked rice white or brown
  • juice of one half lemon roughly 1 tablespoon
  • ¼ teaspoon salt to taste

For the Cucumber & Tomato Salad

  • 1 cup tomatoes diced, halved, or chopped
  • 1 cup diced cucumber drained, see Notes
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • ½ teaspoon salt to taste

Recommended Garnishes (All Optional)

Instructions

For the Meatballs

  • Preheat oven to 425° Fahrenheit. Line baking sheet with aluminum foil or parchment paper. Spray foil or parchment paper lightly with cooking spray and set baking sheet aside.
  • Add all meatball ingredients to large mixing bowl. Using your hands, gently mix together ingredients until uniformly combined.
    Overhead view of ingredients for gyro bowl meatballs in a large white mixing bowl.
  • Divide mixture into even portions using scoop with release handle. Roll each scoop between palms of hands to form meatball, then place on lined baking sheet. Repeat until all mixture has been formed into meatballs. Mixture should yield 14 to 20 meatballs depending on size of scoop. Note: if not using scoop, divide entire mixture into 4 equal parts, then divide each part into 5 equal meatballs.
  • Place baking sheet in preheated oven. Bake 10 to 14 minutes or until meatballs are nicely browned and cooked through. Prepare remaining components of gyro bowl while meatballs bake.

For the Tzatziki

  • Place garlic on cutting board. Sprinkle salt over garlic then use back of fork to mash garlic into paste.
  • Add garlic paste, drained cucumber (see Notes), drained yogurt, mint and/or dill, black pepper, and olive oil to medium bowl. Stir well to combine all ingredients, then taste and adjust salt as needed. Set aside.

For the Lemon Rice

  • Add 2 cups cooked rice, juice of one half lemon, and salt to medium mixing bowl. Stir well to thoroughly incorporate ingredients, then taste and adjust lemon juice and salt as needed. Set aside.

For the Cucumber & Tomato Salad

  • Add all components to small mixing bowl. Gently stir to distribute ingredients, then taste and adjust salt as needed. Set aside.

To Assemble the Bowls

  • Divide rice evenly into serving bowls. Top rice with meatballs, tzatziki, cucumber & tomato salad, and any other desired garnishes. Serve immediately.
  • Tzatziki: You can use fresh mint AND fresh dill, or choose just one.
 

To Drain Water from Cucumbers

  1. Peel and grate/dice cucumbers.
  2. With paper towels, squeeze as much water as possible out of cucumber.
  3. Place cucumber in colander. Set colander over bowl to catch liquid. Liberally sprinkle salt over cucumbers, tossing or moving cucumbers as needed to salt entirely.
  4. Let cucumbers rest 20 minutes.
  5. Transfer drained cucumbers to fresh paper towels. Press or blot to remove any remaining liquid. If desired, you can quickly rinse the drained cucumbers in cold water to remove excess salt, then press or blot with paper towels.

Approximate Information for One Serving

Serving Size: 1gyro bowlCalories: 615calProtein: 28gFat: 41gSaturated Fat: 17gTrans Fat: 0.01gCholesterol: 154mgSodium: 1246mgPotassium: 568mgTotal Carbs: 31gFiber: 2gSugar: 5gNet Carbs: 29gVitamin A: 314IUVitamin C: 5mgCalcium: 246mgIron: 3mg
Nutrition Disclaimers
Number of total servings shown is approximate. Actual number of servings will depend on your preferred portion sizes.
Nutritional values shown are general guidelines and reflect information for 1 serving using the ingredients listed, not including any optional ingredients. Actual macros may vary slightly depending on specific brands and types of ingredients used.
To determine the weight of one serving, prepare the recipe as instructed. Weigh the finished recipe, then divide the weight of the finished recipe (not including the weight of the container the food is in) by the desired number of servings. Result will be the weight of one serving.

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Cheryl Malik

In addition to being a certified health coach, certified yoga instructor, and mom of 3, Cheryl is also the recipe developer, editor-in-chief, food photographer, and passionate foodie behind 40 Aprons. Having spent the last 10+ years as a food blogger, she's become known for her flavorful recipes, detailed instructions, gorgeous photography, and down-to-earth approach to food and cooking in general.

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66 Comments

  1. I’m quite confused about putting this bowl together. Suppose I’m preparing this for my son’s lunchbox. If the rice and meatballs are to be eaten warm; can I still put it together in the lunchbox with the cold salad and tzatziki sauce?5 stars

    Reply

    1. You can, yes! I would put the cold salad and tzatziki sauce in separate containers so they can be removed before reheating the rice and meatballs.

      Reply

  5. Hello. Oh we loved this recipe. I did however make two changes. Did not make the sauce (hubby does not like it) & used ground turkey as I can’t eat beef. We will definitely be making this again. Thank you for posting it.

    Reply

  7. This was an absolute hit with my family! I doubled the recipe thinking we might have leftovers – nope! They ate it all.5 stars

    Reply

    1. It’s a seasoning blend, like Italian seasoning. If you Google “Greek Seasoning“, you’ll find several options for store-bought brands and homemade blends.

      Reply

    1. You can freeze them cooked or uncooked. If cooked, let them cool completely before freezing them. Either way, I recommend spreading them out on a baking sheet and freezing them for 30 minutes, then transfer them to a Ziploc or freezer-safe container. That way they don’t freeze into a big clump.

      Reply

        1. The oven might be the best bet! Preheat your oven to 400°F, and bake for 10-15 minutes until heated through. Hope this helps! 😊

          Reply

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