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Ground Beef Gyro Meatball Lettuce Wraps have all the flavors of Gyros without the pita bread, and these are delicious with Tzatziki Sauce! And of course you can eat the Gyro meatballs in Pita bread or Low-Carb Pita Bread if you prefer!

PIN Ground Beef Gyro Meatball Lettuce Wraps to try some later!

Ground Beef Gyro Meatball Lettuce Wraps finished lettuce wraps in serving dish

This recipe for Ground Beef Gyro Meatball Lettuce Wraps is for everyone who loves the complex flavors of Greek Gyros, but it’s especially for my brother Mark who’s such a lover of Greek food. It took me quite a few tries to get the seasoning for the Gyro meatballs just right, but since then I’ve made this regularly, so it’s definitely worthy of recommending for a Friday Favorites pick this week!

It was the Homemade Gyro Meat recipe from The Spice House that helped us get these meatballs perfectly seasoned. We used slightly less Greek seasoning than that recipe called for, since it’s salty, but the combination of flavors was fantastic.

What ingredients do you need for this recipe?

(This is only a list of ingredients; please scroll down for complete printable recipe. Or if you use the JUMP TO RECIPE link at the top of the page, it will take you directly to the complete recipe.)

Can you make the Gyro Meatballs without Greek Seasoning?

Greek Seasoning is an herb and spice blend that’s available in most stores. But if you don’t want to buy it, is usually contains salt, garlic powder, Oregano (preferably Greek oregano), Marjoram, and dried lemon peel. Some brands also contain onion, parsley and black pepper. The most essential ingredient is Oregano; if you have that just add a pinch of the other ingredients you do have.

Want Gyro Meatball Lettuce Wraps that are easier to make?

If making meatballs seems labor intensive, you can also just brown the ground beef and season it with the spices used in the meatballs. And feel free to use purchased Tzatziki Sauce too if that will help you get this on the table. (Or remember my trick that I shared when I posted Greek Salmon with Tzatziki Sauce and ask your favorite Greek restaurant if you can buy some Tzatziki!)

Gyro Meatball Lettuce Wraps process shots collage

How to make Gyro Meatball Lettuce Wraps:

(This is only a summary of the steps for the recipe; please scroll down for complete printable recipe. Or if you use the JUMP TO RECIPE link at the top of the page, it will take you directly to the complete recipe.)

  1. Coarsely chop 1/2 of an onion and then chop it in the food processor until it’s finely chopped.
  2. Add the Greek Seasoning, ground cumin, and garlic powder and buzz a couple more times so the seasonings are well combined.
  3. Mix the onion-spice mixture into the lean ground beef.
  4. We used a plastic tablespoon to scoop out the meat and rolled it into 20 smallish meatballs.
  5. We cooked the meatballs in a stove-top grill pan over medium-high heat.
  6. While meatballs cook, chop up some cherry tomatoes to go in the lettuce wraps.
  7. You’ll also need Tzatziki sauce, which you can buy (or use my recipe and make the Worlds Greatest Tzatziki Sauce.)
  8. We used iceberg lettuce, two leaves together for each wrap, and put three meatballs into each one.
  9. Then put a generous amount of Tzatziki sauce and some chopped tomatoes over the meatballs, fold over the lettuce and eat!
  10. The Gyro meatballs will keep in the fridge for a few days, so if you have extras save them and reheat to make lettuce wraps another day.

Gyro Meatballs made into lettuce wraps, shown in serving dish with Tzatziki in back.

Want More Lettuce Wrap Dinner Ideas?

If you’re a fan of lettuce wraps for an easy low-carb dinner, check out my collection of Low-Carb Lettuce Wraps!

More Recipes with Greek Flavors:

Ground Beef Gyro Meatball Lettuce Wraps
Yield: 7 lettuce wraps

Ground Beef Gyro Meatball Lettuce Wraps

Prep Time 25 minutes
Cook Time 12 minutes
Total Time 37 minutes

Ground Beef Gyro Meatball Lettuce Wraps have all the amazing flavors found in Gyros, without the pita bread.

Ingredients

  • 1 lb. ground beef
  • 1/2 onion, finely chopped in food processor
  • 1 T Greek seasoning (see notes)
  • 1/2 tsp. ground cumin
  • 1/2 tsp. garlic powder
  • 1 tsp. olive oil, for brushing grill pan
  • 1 large head iceberg lettuce
  • 3/4 cup Tzatziki Sauce (see notes)
  • 1/2 cup chopped cherry tomatoes

Instructions

  1. Coarsely chop the onion; then put it in the food processor and pulse until onion is finely chopped.
  2. Add the Greek Seasoning (affiliate link), ground cumin (affiliate link), and garlic powder and pulse a few more times until the seasonings are well blended with the onion. (You can also do this by hand, but it’s easier in the food processor.)
  3. Put the ground beef into a bowl, add the onion-spice mixture, and use your clean hands to mix the spices into the meat.
  4. Then use a tablespoon-sized measuring spoon to scoop out the meat and form into meatballs. (I got 20 meatballs.)
  5. Brush a stove-top grill pan or frying pan with olive oil, then heat the pan over medium high heat and cook the meatballs, turning often, until they are well browned and completely cooked through (about 10-12 minutes.)
  6. Cut out the core of the lettuce and cut the lettuce head into two halves, then break the leaves apart, making each lettuce cup out of two leaves.
  7. Put three meatballs into each lettuce cup, top with Tzatziki sauce, and sprinkle over chopped tomatoes.
  8. The Gyro meatballs were great after they had been in the fridge overnight.
  9. I wouldn’t recommend microwaving them; I just heated them in a mini-frying pan on the stove.

Notes

Greek Seasoning Note: The Spice House Greektown Billygoat Seasoning contains “coarse flake salt, granulated garlic powder, Tellicherry black pepper, onion powder, Greek fancy oregano and powdered lemon peel.” I particularly love this blend, but I think most brands of Greek Seasoning (affiliate link) have similar ingredients.

I love my homemade Tzatziki but purchased Tzatziki Sauce is also fine.

This recipe for the meatballs adapted from the Gyro Meat recipe from The Spice House.

Nutrition Information

Yield

7

Serving Size

1
Amount Per Serving Calories 220Total Fat 14gSaturated Fat 5gUnsaturated Fat 7gCholesterol 60mgSodium 764mgCarbohydrates 4gFiber 1gSugar 3gProtein 19g

Nutrition information is automatically calculated by the Recipe Plug-In I am using. I am not a nutritionist and cannot guarantee 100% accuracy, since many variables affect those calculations.

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© Kalyn Denny
Category: Lettuce Wraps
Ground Beef Gyro Meatball Lettuce Wraps shown with two lettuce wraps in serving dish.

Low-Carb Diet / Low-Glycemic Diet / South Beach Diet Suggestions:
When the Gyro meatballs are made with lean ground beef, this is suitable for any phase of the original South Beach Diet. It’s also suitable for other low-carb eating plans, which would prefer beef with more fat and maybe slightly fewer tomatoes.

Find More Recipes Like This One:
Use Lettuce Wraps to see more recipes like this one! Use the Diet Type Index to find more recipes suitable for a specific eating plan. You might also like to follow Kalyn’s Kitchen on Pinterest, on Facebook, on Instagram, on TikTok, or on YouTube to see all the good recipes I’m sharing there.

Historical Notes for this Recipe:
These Greek lettuce wraps with Gyro Meatballs were first posted in 2012! The recipe was last updated with more information in 2023.

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