These Greek-inspired gyro bowls are packed with flavor from the combination of lamb meatballs, crumbled feta, cauliflower rice and a drizzle of homemade tzatziki sauce. Ready in just over 30 minutes, it's the perfect weeknight dinner.
This post may contain sales affiliate links. Please see my full Disclosure Policy for details.
Gyros have always been one of those foods that I've loved. I just think the flavor combination is so good! Spit-cooked gyro meat is not the easiest thing to make at home, so I took some inspiration from traditional gyros and created this version in the form of a bowl filled with spiced lamb meatballs!
All of the components of this bowl can be prepped ahead of time, making it ideal for meal prep. This means you can have lunch or dinner ready in a flash any day of the week!
Contents:
Ingredient Notes
You'll find the full ingredients list & measurements provided in the Recipe Card below.
- Ground lamb: Most grocery stores carry ground lamb but you may have to go to a more specialty store like Whole Foods or Sprouts to find it in your area. A local butcher is also a good option.
- Greek yogurt: I prefer low-fat greek yogurt when making sauces.
- Brown rice: I typically use long-grain brown rice. Cook the rice according to the package directions as cooking times can vary slightly.
- Cauliflower rice: I decided to use frozen cauliflower rice for this recipe. I wanted to create a dish that was easy enough for a weeknight meal and while making cauliflower rice is not too time-consuming, it would have added a bit of time to prep.
- Pita chips: For this recipe, I typically use bagged pita chips but if you prefer to make them yourself check out this recipe for baked pita chips.
How to make this recipe
Since most of the components can be made ahead of time, bowls are generally an ideal choice for weekday meals.
- Form the meatballs. You'll mix all of the meatball ingredients in a small bowl and then form them into balls using a dough scoop.
- Cook the meatballs. They need to bake in a 350°F oven for about 20 minutes or to an internal temp of 160°F.
- Make the rice. For these bowls, I decided to mix it up a little and make the base a combo of brown and cauliflower rice. Cook each according to the package directions. Adding cauliflower rice to the mix lightens up the brown rice and gives it a fluffier texture.
- Make the sauce. This is a quick and easy sauce. Just mix up all of the sauce ingredients in a small bowl and chill until you are ready to use it.
- Assemble the bowl: Start by adding some of the rice mixture to each bowl. Then top with the cooked meatballs, chopped veggies and crumbled feta cheese. Finish the bowl with a drizzle of the sauce and a sprinkle of crushed pita chips.
Meal prep tip ⇢ You can make the meatballs, the brown rice and sauce a day or two in advance so everything is ready to go when it’s time to start cooking.
Recommended Tools
Rimmed baking sheet – I've switched all my baking sheets out to rimmed ones like this. They give you a lot more flexibility to use them for things like meatballs and sheet pan meals. The rimmed edge keeps cooking juices from running off the edges and making a mess in your oven and they still work great for cookies and other traditional baking.
Dough scoop – I'm a big fan of these types of scoops as kitchen tools. They are great for the traditional use of making evenly sized cookies and other baked goods but they are also great for making meatballs and other things that need to be round and evenly sized.
Serving Suggestions
By design, this dish is a complete meal in a bowl so you don't really need to pair it with anything other than a nice glass of wine and maybe dessert. For dessert, I'd pair it with these Mini Lemon Cheesecakes.
Click here to subscribe to Urban Foodie Kitchen's Newsletter for free and fresh smaller scale recipes right to your inbox!
If you try this recipe, please let me know by leaving a comment with a star rating below. You can also take a photo & tag @urbanfoodiekitchen on Instagram.
Greek Lamb Meatball Gyro Bowl
Ingredients
For the meatballs:
- ¾ pound ground lamb
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- ½ teaspoon dried dill
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon dried onion
- ½ teaspoon lemon zest, fresh or dried
For the bowl:
- ½ cup brown rice
- ¾ cup cauliflower rice
- 1 cup grape tomatoes, halved
- ¼ cup diced red onion
- ¼ cup diced English cucumber, the seedless kind
- ¼ cup crumbled feta cheese
- ¼ cup pita chips, smashed into small pieces
For the sauce:
- ½ cup plain greek yogurt
- ¼ cup finely diced English cucumber
- 1 teaspoon dried minced garlic
- 1 teaspoon dried dill
- 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
Instructions
- Heat the oven. Preheat oven to 350°.
- Make the meatballs. Mix the lamb, oregano, thyme, dill, garlic powder, onion and lemon zest together in a small mixing bowl. Using a tablespoon sized scoop, form the mixture into balls, it should make 12 - 13 meatballs. Place meatballs on a baking sheet and cook for 20 minutes.
- Cook the brown rice. While the meatballs are cooking add the brown rice to a medium saucepan. Add ¾ cup of water. Bring to a boil; cover and reduce heat to medium-low. Simmer for 20 minutes until water is absorbed and rice is tender.
- Cook the cauliflower rice. Follow the package directions for the particuar type of rice you are using.
- Make the sauce. To make the sauce combine the yogurt, cucumber, dried garlic and dill in a small bowl; mix well. Add the lemon juice and stir until combined. Refrigerate until ready to use.
- Assemble the bowls. To assemble the bowls divide the brown and cauliflower rice between two bowls. Top with meatballs, tomato, onion, cucumber, pita chips and sauce. Serve immediately.
This post was originally published in May 2017. It was updated in October 2025 with some new information and photos. No changes were made to the original recipe.
christine
I love the flavors in this bowl! Cauliflower rice is perfect with it. I can see why it's kid approved - so good!
Suzy | The Mediterranean Dish
My kinda meal!
sue | theviewfromgreatisland
OMG this has my name written ALL over it ~ I adore lamb meatballs and I adore this kind of easy healthy bowl ~ this is my ideal meal!
Platter Talk
OHGosh... this looks and sounds incredible. I'm printing this out for later in the week. YUM!!!
Tina Dawson |
This is an absolutely fabulous bowl! I never knew you could buy frozen cauliflower rice until recently, maybe I haven't been looking in the frozen aisle as well as I thought I have. I think I'll do ALL cauliflower rice for this one, thank you very much!
Tina Dawson | Love is in my Tummy
This is an absolutely fabulous bowl! I never knew you could buy frozen cauliflower rice until recently, maybe I haven't been looking in the frozen aisle as well as I thought I have. I think I'll do ALL cauliflower rice for this one, thank you very much!
Marlee
What a great take on a classic Greek staple. I love the rice (and cauliflower rice) addition to this! Well done!