Plant Based Jack Fruit Gyros

If there’s one thing I know for sure, it’s that I absolutely LOVE jackfruit. Ahhh… if I could marry it, I would. It’s fruity, but can be versatile in a savory recipe like these jackfruit gyros. Jackfruit adds texture, flavour, and my mouth is watering just talking about it.

As you know, I’m Greek and very proud of my Greek roots. I love anything wrapped between pita with a dollop of tzatziki. This jackfruit gyros recipe is one of my fav Greek recipes that is perfectly suitable for a vegan or plant-based diet but will also impress the meat-eaters in your house too.

Hey Maria, what’s jackfruit?

Jackfruit grows on a tree which is the same family as fig and mulberry trees. The jackfruit tree is native to India but also have started growing all over the world. The “meat” of a ripe, raw jackfruit has a similar taste to mango, pineapple, and banana. Unripe jackfruit has a neutral flavour of a potato, making it great for soaking up flavours in a savoury dish. This fruit is super versatile and loaded with nutrients, antioxidants, and fibre. Some of the benefits these magical fruit offers are:

• Improves immunity with its high amount of vitamin C and antioxidants
• Replenishes energy because it’s loaded with good carbs
• Ensures better cardio health and regulated blood pressure with its potassium levels
• Improves digestion since it’s rich in both soluble and insoluble fibres
• Helps prevent disease with its antioxidants, phytonutrients, and flavonoids
• Enhances vision because it’s rich in vitamin A
• Strengthens bones because it has high amounts of calcium
• Contains a good amount of iron, which all of us on a vegan diet need

Fresh jackfruit is always best to use; however, they can be a pain in the ass to find and chop up. So you can buy it in grocery stores in different forms that make it easier and takes out all the work! For this recipe, I used The Jackfruit Co.’s jackfruit. Keep reading for more on them!

The Jackfruit Co.

The Jackfruit Co. was started in 2011 when the founder, Annie Ryu, travelled to India as a pre-med student and spotted her first jackfruit at a street stall. Intrigued, since she had never heard or seen this fruit before, she quickly learned all the magical uses this fruit had in South and Southeast Asian dishes. What Annie quickly learned was that despite jackfruit being nutritional, the majority of it was going to waste in India. Which was odd, considering the jackfruit tree is very adaptable, resistant to climate, and easy to grow. This presented a huge opportunity within a third world country, and an opportunity to make jackfruit more globally available.

Today, The Jackfruit Co. works with over 1000 farming families to supply jackfruit to over 6000 retailers. Their vegan products range from:

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• Ready-to-eat complete meals like their Chickpeas, Spinach Garam Masala
• Smoked jackfruit “meat” that can easily be tossed on a pizza, salad, or taco
• Seasoned jackfruit meal starters like their Lemon Garlic Jackfruit Meal Starter

For this jackfruit gyros plant-based recipe, I used their Lightly Seasoned Jackfruit. I’ve also used their products in this yummy BBQ Jackfruit Burger Recipe. With these gyros, feel free to top them with your fav toppings and really make them your own. I love making pickled onions, vegan tzatziki, and throwing in my fav olives, and more. Have fun with it and get creative!

P.S. You can check out some of my fav vegan Greek recipes below.

• Greek Platted Drizzled in Olive Oil
• Plant-Based Greek Moussaka
• Greek Potatoes

See the recipe card below for how to make this yummy gyro recipe. Enjoy!

Plant Based Jack Fruit Gyros

5 from 9 votes

These plant-based jackfruit gyros are packed with flavour, making them one of my fav greek recipes. Add it to your recipe rotation because you're going to love them!

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Prep Time 25 minutes mins

Cook Time 40 minutes mins

Course Main Dishes

Cuisine Vegn

Servings 4 -5

Ingredients

  

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For the Jackfruit:

• 2 packages of light seasoned jackfruit - I used the Jackfruit Co.
• Juice of half a lemon save other half for later
• 3 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
• 1 tbsp. thyme seasoning dry
• 1 tbsp. oregano seasoning dry
• 3 cloves of garlic pressed
• small handful of fresh mint thyme or dill, roughly chopped
• dash of cumin
• dash of chili flakes

For the Potatoes:

• 4 medium sized potatoes peel and cut into 1/2 inch X potato length pieces (see photo above for reference)
• For the remainder of the recipe see HERE.

For the toppings/assembly:

• 4 warmed pitas
• vegan tzatziki or regular is fine too!
• slices of tomato
• pieces of fresh lettuce
• vegan or regular feta crumbles
• pickled onions

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Instructions

 

• Preheat oven to 425F and line one baking sheet with parchment and set a large, oiled, cast iron skillet aside.
• Into a large bowl, add your Jackfruit and using a fork mash it up and give it a good stir.  You want to ensure there are so large pieces or clumps and the Jackfruit is an even consistency. To the large bowl add the remaining of the Jackfruit ingredients, and stir till well combined. Transfer mixture to a cast iron skillet, flatter it out as much as possible.  Pop into the oven and cook for around 40 minutes.  At 20 minutes, pull it out and give it a little stir to evenly distribute the crispiness that will be developing.
• To the same bowl you prepared your Jackfruit, prepare your potatoes.  Find the full recipe HERE.
• Once your Jackfruit and Potatoes are cooked through, crispy and fragrant remove them from the oven and set aside.
• Pop your pita of choice into the oven quickly to warm.
• Assemble your Gyros by first adding Tzatziki to the base of the pita, then some Jackfruit, tomatoes, onion, lettuce, fries and a dusting of fresh herb of your choice.  Wrap it all up and enjoy hot with a fresh Greek salad!

Notes

Cooked Jackfruit lasts up to 5 days in a tight sealed container in the fridge but best enjoyed fresh.

Cook potatoes for around 45 minute or until crispy and golden on all side.  Flip and turn pan around in the middle of cooking to ensure even heat distribution.

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