Looking for a fresh, flavorful meal idea that’s easy to make and sure to satisfy? Say hello to homemade gyros with creamy, tangy tzatziki sauce! This Mediterranean-inspired dish is perfect for weeknight dinners, meal prep, or even casual entertaining. The best part? You can make everything from scratch, including the tzatziki sauce for a meal that’s not only delicious but also customizable and budget-friendly.
In this post, you’ll find helpful tips on how to keep ingredients like pitas, veggies, and sauce fresher for longer. Reducing food waste means saving money and enjoying more meals at their best and I’m here to show you how.
Homemade Gyros Ingredients
We have a grocery budget of $135/month per person. We make almost all of our meals at home using the groceries that we buy with this budget. Homemade gyros are a meal that we enjoy making and we usually have all of the ingredients on hand. I make a homemade tzatziki sauce that is allergy friendly and the recipe is at the bottom of this blog.
Pitas are the base of the gyro and are easy to keep in the freezer and take out a few at a time as needed. I also use them for homemade pizzas, chicken caesar wraps, and sometimes instead of bread for sandwiches. Buying versatile items like pitas helps to reduce waste and give you lots of options for meals since you have the ingredients on hand.
I’ve been filming all of the meals that we have eaten in 2025 and Gyros are included in my Meals 14 video. If you want to learn more about the meals that I make and our grocery budget, you can watch that video here.
How to Keep Cucumbers Fresh
Cucumbers are something that we enjoy both on our gyros and they are in the tzatziki sauce recipe. Many people find that their cucumbers seem to go bad quickly once they bring them home from the grocery store. If you wash them and store them correctly, they should last for a couple of weeks. Once you slice them, they will stay fresh for another 10 days if you store them in a glass jar with a metal lid.
You can read more about how to wash and store cucumbers in this blog post. I also have a video about that topic if you prefer learning that way and you can find it on my YouTube channel with hundreds of other videos to help you learn how to wash and store produce.
Zero Waste Produce Guide
If you want to learn more about how to keep produce fresh, check out the Zero Waste Produce Guide. It has directions for washing and storing 75 produce items in this beautiful hard cover book. There are discounted bundles with the meal planner too!
Storing Dairy Products in Glass Jars
Did you know that storing dairy products such as greek yogurt and sour cream in glass jars can keep it fresh longer? It also saves space in your fridge when everything is in the same size container. I transfer all of my dairy products into glass jars and then push back the expiration date by a week or two. It helps to reduce waste and since the container is totally airtight, it stays fresh!
If you want to hear more about fridge organization and storing dairy products in glass jars, be sure to check out this video.
Putting Together Gyros
When it comes to making our gyros we will put a variety of ingredients on them and often times it has to go with what we have in the fridge! Usually will use chicken that Mike grills on the blackstone or leftover rotisserie chicken. Being able to take rotisserie chicken from the freezer makes this a meal that can be made without too much prep work. When it comes to veggies we will use peppers, onions, and cucumbers. I also top them with feta cheese.
If you decide to make gyros a try, be sure to take a picture and tag me @TheCrossLegacy on social media! I'd love to see your completed meals and hope that you enjoy them!
Tzatziki Sauce
Ingredients
- 1 cup greek yogurt
- half lemon (juice)
- 1 T fresh dill
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ cup cucumber, shredded
Instructions
- Mince garlic
- Shred cucumber and then squeezed with a towel to remove extra moisture
- Place all ingredients into blender
- Blend until smooth
- Store in a glass jar with a metal lid in the refrigerator
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