Roasted chickpea gyro

Cooktop Cove: Roasted chickpea gyro

By John Jasins

This simple Roasted Chickpea Gyro recipe is one that I always come back to. It's quick, easy and most importantly, delicious. This is the perfect veggie lunch dish that everyone will be coming back for. Chickpeas tossed in spices and roasted until crispy add a punch of protein. Homemade tzatziki sauce balances out the spicy chickpeas with a nice acidity and creaminess. All in all, this is a dish all wrapped up in a hearty pita. It's a winner!

I like to use canned chickpeas for this dish. If you are so inclined to use dried then of course you can! If so, use about 1 ½ cups of dried chickpeas, before they are cooked. Make sure before you start that you pat the chickpeas dry. This will help make them nice and crispy. Toss them in oil and spices and bake them off in a nice hot oven. The key is to make them nice and crispy but still soft in the center. Once they are done you can built your gyros! In this recipe we use store bought pita flatbreads. If they start to crack you can lay damp paper towel over the top and set them in the microwave for 15 seconds. Fold them in half and serve!

Roasted Chickpea Gyros

10 minutes

20 minutes

30 minutes

2 - 15 ounce can chickpeas, drained

2 tablespoon olive oil

2 teaspoons garlic powder

2 teaspoons cumin

2 teaspoons smoked paprika

½ teaspoon cayenne pepper

1 teaspoon salt

8 pita flatbreads

¼ red onion, thinly sliced

8 butter lettuce leaves

1½ cups cherry tomatoes, cut in half

to make tzatziki sauce:

1 cup Greek yogurt

½ cup finely chopped cucumber, seeded

1 tablespoon lemon juice

1 clove garlic, minced

1 tablespoon roughly chopped mint

1 tablespoon roughly chopped dill

2 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil

salt to taste

Preheat oven to 400°F

Pat chickpeas dry with paper towel

Toss chickpeas with olive oil, garlic powder, cumin, smoked paprika, cayenne pepper, and salt.

Lay out chickpeas onto a greased baking sheet and roast for 30 minutes or until lightly browned but not hard.

To make tzatziki sauce: In a small bowl mix yogurt, cucumber, lemon juice, garlic, mint, dill, olive oil and salt.

To build gyros: Spread 2 tablespoons tzatziki onto pita. Add 3 ounces of chickpeas and top with onion, lettuce and cherry tomato. Fold in half to serve.