Gyro Lettuce Boats

Think of a gyro sandwich without the bread. The meat in these Gyro Lettuce Boats is full of Mediterranean flavor and easy to make. This version is low carb and keto friendly for anyone watching that micronutrient. I have been making variations of this meal for years! It is definitely a favorite in our house.

Gyro Lettuce Boat Recipe

Makes: 8-10 lettuce wraps
Time: 30-40 minutes

Ingredients

Instructions

1. Make Sauce
   • Mix yogurt, sour cream, cucumber, garlic, cumin, and salt in a bowl.
   • Refrigerate while cooking meat.

2. Cook Meat
   • In a skillet or sauté pan, sauté the onions. Once translucent, add the garlic.
   • Add the ground turkey. Cook until the turkey is done.
   • When the meat is ready add the fresh ginger and ground spices: cumin, cayenne pepper and coriander. Mix until blended and fragrant.
   • Add lemon juice and fresh parsley.
   • Salt and pepper to taste.
3. Assemble the Gyro Lettuce Boats
   • Prep romaine lettuce: wash, dry and separate each leaf.
   • Place meat on one lettuce leaf. Top with sauce and cut tomatoes.
4. Enjoy your meal!

*Substitutions

These Gyro Lettuce Boats work best with fresh garlic, ginger & parsley. If you are anything like me, my fridge and pantry sometimes runs low. If you find yourself out of something check out these easy substitutions.

Turkey: I like turkey with this meal. It offers a different meat into our rotation but it works just as well with ground beef.

Garlic: I use minced garlic. For garlic cloves, one clove is about 1/2 teaspoon of minced garlic. So use 3-4 garlic cloves. If you use garlic powder the ratio is 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder to 1 teaspoon minced garlic. Use 1/2 teaspoon for the gyro lettuce boats.

Ginger: Fresh and stir-in Ginger paste are my ginger staples. They work interchangeable in a recipe. If you use ground ginger the substitution ratio is 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger to 1 tablespoon fresh grated ginger. This recipe would use 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger.

Parsley: I omit the parsley if I don’t have fresh. Parsley brightens the dish, but you can easily do without. Or, toss in some dried parsley for that fresh flavor.

Cayenne Pepper: Omit cayenne pepper if you don’t want any spice/heat. The gyro meat tastes great either way. When our kids were young I often made this without cayenne pepper.

Some words about Low Carb

Gyro lettuce boats are a staple when we do a low-carb/Keto diet.

The meat is very low carb, but fresh ginger does contain carbohydrates. The one tablespoon of fresh ginger required will add about 2.5 grams of carbohydrates to the meal. Spread over the whole recipe this is a nominal amount. However, if you don’t want these added carbs, using powdered ginger will lower the carb count to about 0.5 grams for the meal. See above for the substitution amounts.

The biggest use of carbs will be in the sauce. Both sour cream and plain Greek yogurt have carbohydrate counts. To find the lowest count, read the labels for the brands offered in your grocery store. I’m sure many of you are experts at this! I have found sour cream ranges from 1g to 3g per 2 tablespoons. I have started to buy the 1g brand. The same goes for the Greek yogurt. Buy the kind with the lowest carbs. As you see cups of dairy in the recipe, keep in mind you drizzle the sauce on the lettuce boats. Each boat will have about 2 tablespoons of sauce. With the dairy I use, this equates to 1-2g of sauce carbohydrates per gyro lettuce boat.

If you are counting carbohydrates, it can be a hassle to count your carbs, I know this from experience. I am sorry I can’t give you an exact breakdown for this recipe; there are too many variables for an accurate count.

Initial Review

This meal is the first I made for my now-husband, becoming a family favorite. Anything I can get four kids to eat without fuss is a success!

There you have it, an easy Gyro Lettuce Boat. They are family approved.