Gyro Seasoning substitute

Best substitute

Homemade gyro seasoning (oregano, garlic, marjoram, rosemary)

1 tbsp dried oregano + 1 tsp garlic powder + 1 tsp onion powder + 1 tsp salt + ½ tsp black pepper + ½ tsp dried marjoram + ½ tsp ground dried rosemary + ¼ tsp dried thyme; makes about 2 ½ tbsp, use 1:1

Best for homemade gyro meat loaf from ground lamb and beef

Close match

The blend rebuilt from ordinary dried herbs, in the oregano-dominant proportions a Greek gyro loaf actually uses.

Other gyro seasoning substitutes

Ranked, with the exact amount to use

2Greek seasoning
Close match
Use the same amount ; taste before adding any additional salt
The near-identical commercial blend, built on oregano, garlic, onion, dill, marjoram and often lemon.
What changes
Best for
gyro meat, chicken and pork, Greek salad dressings and marinades, roast potatoes and vegetables, tzatziki and yoghurt sauces
Practically the same product, and if your shop stocks one of the two this is the one to buy. The small differences: many Greek seasoning blends include dill and dried lemon peel, which brighten the meat in a way that is pleasant but slightly different from a classic gyro loaf, and most are already salted, sometimes heavily. Hold back the recipe's salt until you have tasted a cooked pinch of the mixture. If it contains lemon, skip any lemon zest the recipe adds.
3Dried oregano plus garlic powder and salt
Different taste
Per 1 tbsp gyro seasoning: 2 tsp dried oregano + ½ tsp garlic powder + ½ tsp salt + ¼ tsp black pepper
The honest three-jar answer that gets most of the way there because oregano is the defining flavour.
What changes
Best for
weeknight gyros with a basic pantry, chicken gyros and souvlaki, gyro-style burgers and meatballs, pita fillings with plenty of tzatziki
Better than it looks on paper. Oregano and garlic are the two flavours people actually recognise as gyro, so the result tastes right rather than merely acceptable. What you lose is depth: without marjoram and rosemary the loaf tastes a little thinner and less savoury, more like seasoned meatball than like the spit-roasted thing in a shop. If you have a pinch of any woody herb, thyme, rosemary or marjoram, add it and the gap mostly closes.
4Italian seasoning plus extra oregano and garlic powder
Different taste
Use the same amount plus ½ tsp dried oregano and ½ tsp garlic powder per tablespoon
A dried Mediterranean herb blend, usually oregano, basil, thyme, rosemary and marjoram.
What changes
Best for
gyro meat when it is the only herb blend on hand, chicken and pork, meatballs and burgers, roast vegetables
Works well and shares four herbs with gyro seasoning. The tell is basil: it is sweet and slightly aniseed and it pushes the meat toward Italian meatball territory, which is why the extra oregano matters, to shout over it. Italian seasoning is also normally unsalted, unlike most gyro blends, so add about 3/4 teaspoon of salt per tablespoon used or the loaf will taste bland. It contains no onion or garlic, hence the added garlic powder.
5Shawarma seasoning
Different taste
Use ¾ of the amount called for, plus 1 tsp dried oregano for every tablespoon replaced
The Middle Eastern spit-roast blend, built on cumin, coriander, paprika, allspice and cinnamon.
What changes
Best for
lamb and beef, wraps and pita sandwiches with garlic sauce, when you want a spiced rather than herbal result, cooks who keep Middle Eastern spices
A good-tasting dish, just not a Greek one. Shawarma seasoning is spice-led where gyro seasoning is herb-led, so the meat comes out warm, earthy and faintly sweet from the cinnamon and allspice rather than green and resinous from the oregano. Served in a pita with tzatziki it is genuinely delicious and nobody will send it back, but it will taste of Beirut rather than Athens. The added oregano pulls it back toward Greek noticeably.
6Herbes de Provence
Different taste
Use ¾ of the amount called for, plus 1 tsp dried oregano and ½ tsp garlic powder for every tablespoon; check the label for lavender first
The least-bad remaining herb blend, sharing thyme, rosemary, marjoram and often oregano.
What changes
Best for
emergencies where nothing else is available, lamb, which suits the herbs well, roast chicken and potatoes
Use with one caution: many versions contain dried lavender, which in a gyro loaf tastes soapy and perfumed and will be the only thing anyone notices. Read the ingredients, and if lavender is listed, sift the blend or choose something else. Without lavender it is a decent savoury herb mix, though savory and fennel make it read as French roast rather than Greek gyro. Herbes de Provence is unsalted, so add about 3/4 teaspoon salt per tablespoon used.

What is Gyro Seasoning?

Gyro Seasoning is Gyro seasoning, also sold as gyro spice blend or Greek gyro seasoning, is a dried herb-led mix of Greek oregano, garlic and onion powder, marjoram, rosemary, thyme, salt and black pepper, used to season the pressed lamb-and-beef loaf served in a gyro.

Cooking tips

Oregano is the flavour people identify as gyro, so if you can only get one thing right, make it that. Greek oregano (rigani) is far more pungent than the standard supermarket jar; if you are using ordinary dried oregano, use about a quarter more than the recipe says.
Grind any rosemary and thyme fine before it goes into a pressed gyro loaf. The loaf is meant to slice smooth, and whole dried needles read as splinters against that texture.
Gyro meat gets its texture from being processed to a paste, not from the seasoning. Pulse the ground lamb and beef in a food processor with the blend, grated onion squeezed dry and a little breadcrumb until it is genuinely sticky, then chill it before baking, or it will crumble when sliced.
Most commercial gyro blends are already salted, and most homemade herb substitutes are not. Fry a teaspoon of the seasoned mixture in a pan and taste it before you commit the whole loaf, because you cannot fix salt after it is cooked.
The lemon and garlic in the tzatziki are doing as much for the finished sandwich as the seasoning is. If your substitute tastes a little flat, add a squeeze of lemon to the meat mixture or serve with a sharper, more garlicky yoghurt sauce rather than adding more dried herbs.

Frequently asked questions

Can I just leave gyro seasoning out?

The loaf will still cook and slice properly, since the blend adds no structure or moisture, but it will taste like plain ground lamb. The single most important component is oregano, so if you have nothing else, use 1 tablespoon of dried oregano, 1 teaspoon of garlic powder and 1 teaspoon of salt per pound of meat and you will have something recognisably gyro.

Is gyro seasoning the same as Greek seasoning?

Very nearly, and they swap one for one. Both are oregano, garlic and onion led. Greek seasoning is a broader all-purpose blend that often adds dill, mint or dried lemon peel and is aimed at salads and dressings as much as at meat; gyro seasoning leans harder on marjoram, rosemary and thyme because it is built for a rich lamb loaf. Either will make a good gyro.

What is the difference between gyro seasoning and shawarma seasoning?

Herbs versus spices. Gyro seasoning is a Greek dried-herb blend: oregano, marjoram, rosemary, thyme, garlic. Shawarma seasoning is a Levantine spice blend: cumin, coriander, paprika, allspice, cinnamon, turmeric. They are both used on vertical spit-roasted meat, which is why people confuse them, but they taste completely different. You can swap them if you accept the cuisine changes.

How much gyro seasoning do I need per pound of meat?

About 1 to 1 1/2 tablespoons of a salted commercial blend per pound of ground lamb or lamb-and-beef mix, or the same quantity of the homemade blend above. For marinating chicken or pork for souvlaki, use 1 tablespoon per pound along with 2 tablespoons olive oil, the juice of half a lemon and two crushed garlic cloves, and marinate at least two hours.

Can I use fresh oregano instead of a dried blend?

Yes, using roughly three times the volume, so 1 tablespoon of chopped fresh oregano for 1 teaspoon of dried. Fresh oregano tastes greener, brighter and less musty, which is lovely on grilled chicken. In a pressed gyro loaf it is slightly less successful, because the dried herb's concentrated, almost dusty flavour is part of what people recognise; use half fresh and half dried if you can.

Related substitutes

More seasonings substitutes

Gyro Seasoning substitute

Other gyro seasoning substitutes

2Greek seasoning

3Dried oregano plus garlic powder and salt

4Italian seasoning plus extra oregano and garlic powder

5Shawarma seasoning

6Herbes de Provence