Costco Beef and Lamb Gyro Meat (Fun & Easy Greek Food)
Daphne’s Beef and Lamb Gyro Slices are one of Costco’s hidden gems that can transform a regular weeknight meal into an exciting and festive dinner.
Daphne's Gyro Meat at Costco
Costco sells Daphne’s Beef and Lamb Gyro Slices for $11.79. These are located in the deli’s refrigerated section and in my particular Costco they are located near other items such as the Chicken Katsu, Basil Pesto, or the Octopus.
These gyro slices are a fairly unique product and you will often see them randomly placed somewhere in the deli section. This is a great alternative to the Kirkland Signature Gyro Kit.
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Costco Cost Comparison - Daphne's Beef & Lamb Gyro Slices
How Much Does The Gyro Meat Cost at Costco?
For $11.79, you will get 2 individually wrapped packages of gyro meat weighing 12 ounces each. Each pack goes for $5.89.
At first glance, this seems like a great price, but the actual price per pound is $7.86.
Are Daphne's Gyro Slices Worth the Money?
Now for me, this is where it gets a little pricey and in the $7 per pound range you could get fresh cod, lamb leg, organic chicken, or shrimp, which all may provide better value.
Pricey, but Convenient
While the price per pound is on the higher end, the convenience and uniqueness of the product make up for it.
The gyro meat can be heated up in about 5 minutes, and it is easy enough to create a homemade gyro meal with about 15 minutes of total kitchen time, including making your own homemade tzatziki sauce.
What to Eat with the Gyro Meat?
The packaging says to serve this with pita bread, but I’ve tried the pita bread from Costco and I personally wasn’t a big fan.
So we actually eat these with Costco’s Stonefire Naan bread which is a little more soft and buttery.
I’m aware an authentic Greek gyro is eaten on a Pita, but I prefer to make them with naan.
Homemade Gyros
In the CFDB household, we serve this with naan and top the gyro meat with sliced onions and tomatoes.
We also make our own Tzatziki sauce using Kirkland Signature’s greek yogurt, olive oil, lemon and some seasoning.
This is all rather easy to do, and like I mentioned earlier, it takes me about 15 minutes to make the dip, heat the naan, and cook the gyro meat.
Big Value
When we do get the gyro meat to the table in a naan bread with toppings and dip, our final cost is about $1.50 per homemade gyro. Most gyro shops charge anywhere between $8-$10 or even more depending on your local area’s cost of living.
Those gyros are going to be bigger than what we make with our Naan bread, and to be fair I would say two of our homemade gyros are equivalent in size to one restaurant gyro.
Regardless, we are looking at about $3 to get the equivalent amount of food that you would get from a Greek restaurant.
Of course it goes without saying, the Greek restaurant’s gyro will be more authentic and most likely better tasting. But this is an affordable homemade version of a Greek street food favorite.
Sidenote: Gyros can be had in Greece for 2-3 Euros. Why are they $10 in America?
First Impression
Simple Gyro Slices
The gyro meat itself actually looks rather plain in its packaging. The meat combination of beef and lamb is already cooked so the meat looks gray.
The slices are fairly uniform in size and about 2-3 inches long and 1 and a half inches wide.
The meat is packaged with an appropriate amount of hardened meat fat. When cooking the gyro meat pieces, the fat liquifies and helps provide some nice browning on the meat.
Costco Gyro Meat - Heating Instructions
How to Cook the Gyro Meat
Its pretty simple to cook the gyro meat. The bag states to heat these for about 4 minutes on medium. I cook them a little longer and on high heat.
I really like to see some browning on the meat, and I like the crispy texture that results from a hotter and longer cook.
Can you Air Fry Costco's Gyro Meat?
You can air fry Costco’s gyro meat, but I recommend against it. The meat is already cooked and just needs to be seared and reheated.
If you cook the gyro meat in the air fryer, you risk drying out the meat and not producing a delicious outer crust. The optimal method will be to pan-fry the meat.
Daphne's Beef & Lamb Gyro - Taste Test
Fantastic Tasting Meat
The gyro meat itself is rather tasty and flavorful. The beef and lamb combo provide a unique flavor that you don’t get from these meats individually.
They are seasoned really well and not overly salty in any way. The meat is tender and soft and pairs really well with the naan bread and toppings.
The tzatziki sauce makes the meal feel light and refreshing. We are big fans of the gyro meat.
How Many People Does the Gyro Meat Feed?
Each 12oz package seems to be just enough for about 2 people. We’ve eaten this meal a few times now and we will usually end up with a few gyro slices leftover.
For us it’s not worth saving for the next day and I end up just finishing it off at the end of the meal. Anymore than two people and you would have to use more than one bag.
Daphne's Gyro Meat - Nutritional Information
How Many Calories in the Beef & Lamb Gyro Meat?
Each serving size is 2 ounces, which means in each individual bag there are 6 servings. Each serving has 190 calories with 16g of fat, 5g of carbs, and 7g of protein.
The calories here aren’t the greatest. There is a significant amount of fat and the fat to carbs and protein ratio is quite poor, especially for this type meal.
With one bag we’ll make about 5-6 homemade gyros which means each gyro has about 2oz (1 serving) of gyro meat. I’ll end up eating at least 3 gyros and my wife will eat 2.
High Sodium Content
While the macros of the gyro meat may not be great, the biggest issue is going to be the sodium. Each 2oz serving contains 430 mg of sodium which is 19% of your daily value. If I’m eating 3+ servings, that’s at least 60% of my recommended daily sodium intake on the gyro meat alone.
Any sort of processed foods are going to contain sodium, but this is on the higher end. You don’t want to be eating this daily.
Who makes This?
Originally, I thought that this Daphne’s company was related to Daphne’s California Greek, a mid-sized restaurant chain. I tried to look up this gyro meat online for some more information but couldn’t find anything.
I looked all over the bag and there was no website and just a phone number and a line stating that the item is distributed by MELD Food Group Inc.
There is a QR code that leads to grainandsimpleorganicfoods.com and the phone number on the bag also leads to the same website.
After checking out the website it appears that grain and simple does mostly rice and noodle products and there is no mention of Daphne’s or any mention of gyro meat at all.
Costco White Labelled Products
To me, it’s very odd that this company produces this product but doesn’t want to tell the world. I’ve purchased this gyro meat from Costco maybe 8+ times now and I really enjoy it.
It is a little perplexing to me why I can’t find more information about and from the manufacturer. And after researching further online, I’m not even sure this product is sold outside of Costco.
I’m not here to solve mysteries or dig deep into rabbit holes, so I’m going to leave this off here. But if anybody else wants to take up the task, please update me with what you learn.
Update #1
I’ve spoken to a trusted friend who works for a mid to large size company and he mentioned that every once in a while manufacturers or merchandisers will contact his company asking to put his company’s name on the product that the manufacturer wants to make.
Essentially these companies are going to handle all production and distribution and just place the large brand’s name on the packaging and/or product. These companies specialize in getting into large retailers such as Costco and this becomes a win-win for everybody involved.
This could be what’s happening here with Daphne’s, but I don’t want to speculate too much on the matter.
Update #2
Daphne’s California Greek did confirm that this is their product. Daphne’s did not specify in regards to production of the item, but they do claim the item as theirs.
Final Thoughts
The gyro meat is great and part of a wonderful and unique meal that can be assembled with all Costco ingredients. I’ve eaten this gyro meat multiple times in the past and I’ve been very satisfied.
We make a fun night out of the meal and we have refreshing and filling homemade gyros. If you do go with Daphne’s Beef and Lamb Gyro Slices, try pairing it with either Pita or Naan, and make your own tzatziki dip with greek yogurt.
Updated April 3rd 2024
Costco Food Database User Reviews
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Costco Homemade Gyros with Naan Bread
Ingredients
- 12 oz Daphne's Beef and Lamb Gyro Meat Slices
- 5 Stonefire Mini Naan Flatbreads
Instructions
- Heat pan to medium-high heat and add in Daphne Gyro meat. Stir occasionally until meat is browned and heated through. Remove gyro meat.
- Heat Mini Naan Flatbread for 1-2 minutes until sufficiently warm and crispy.
Greg Larkin is the founder and managing editor of Costco Food Database, the premiere site for honest takes on all things Costco food. A self-proclaimed Costco super-fan since childhood, Greg turned his obsession in a mission to properly rate and review all of Costco’s delicious buys. When he’s not busy navigating Costco aisles, you can find Greg smoking Kirkland Signature meats, meal prepping, or perfecting his homemade jerky recipes.
We bought two packs of this from Costco thinking it would be wonderful. It was so bad I returned both packs and told them that whatever gyro meat they used to sell was great but this product was not that. The problems are:
1-The meat is so thick you really have issues trying to pan fry it as it says to do. It curls up like bacon and won’t fry up evenly.
2-The taste was zero. No lamb taste at all and no beef either, just a pasty nasty grainy flavor.
3-after frying up it was hard as a rock and crumbly even though it had been in the pan less than 5 minutes. It was more like really thick thick bacon not like what was expected in any kind of gyro meat. I have bought a product called OPA from Walmart that is superior to this and much cheaper, the lamb in OPA tastes like lamb and is thin and moist. Don’t waste your money on this Dauphne product it’s just not worth even a dollar to me, ruined the meal, wasted the pita, sauce and fixings. Just HORRIBLE.
Please bring these to the atlanta market!!
Picked up a bag of Daphne’s Beef and Lamb Gyro Meat the other day to try out on some homemade pita. It had a flavor profile that in my experience is not typical of gyro meat. It was heavy on the clove/cinnamon flavors that I have tasted before in some Moussaka dishes…not my fav. I could not detect any lamb flavor. If I had sampled it in the store I would not have bought it. It is edible with the typical condiments but I would not buy it again. Hope this helps.
I didn’t like it at all. It reminds me of Arbys make believe meat.
Can the Daphne’s beef and lamb meat be frozen and used as needed?
Thank You for your response.
I don’t think the packaging specifically says if you can freeze the beef and lamb meat or not, but I would have no problem freezing the meat and using it within a month or two.
We like it. I worry about the general term “spices” but so far I’m okay (allergic to nightshades and paprika is very deadly). We always use pita bread warmed up on the tortilla griddle but I’m going to try the Nan next time. We also purchase Hannah’s ready made Tzaziki sauce at Costco and because of the nightshade allergy we can’t have tomatoes but add some extra thinly sliced cucumbers and of course lettuce with a sprinkle of Feta cheese and diced shallots on top. It’s on the line of a taco. Probably not how a gyro is supposed to be but it sure is good and we’ll eat it as long as Costco sells the meat. (we’ve also done this with leftover rotisserie chicken, black pepper, and z’ataar seasoning simmered with water until water is gone, like tacos).
For the person who complained about the meat after it was fried, good grief you don’t fry it! Why ruin it? Follow the instructions! Add a little water and steam heat it for four or five minutes until the water boils away. I use a lid until the water is about 3/4 gone.
For the other complainer, I’ve never tasted clove or cinnamon.
Yes, we always freeze the second package to eat in a few weeks. Never a problem.
Does COSTCO still carry this item? I haven’t seen this at all in the Hawaii Costco’s. Been looking all over for it.
Yes, I spotted this at my local Costco just a few days ago. I’ve never noticed it not in stock, but things might be different in Hawaii.
Just tried this gyro meat, its an insult to Greeks, and to your palate. For past 30 years we have had this product purchased via Greek deli’s or via actual restaurants, but this product is a far cry from the real product.
Bland and rubber, this product is gross. It has no flavor, I mean ZERO flavor…not meat flavor, not spices flavor…NOTHING. It’s like eating boiled rubber. Don’t know how anyone could compare this product to actually tasting like gyro meat…disgusting.
Thanks for the lengthy, in-depth, thoughtful review, but everyone should jut reach for the lamb chops at Costco, 4-5 minutes per side, and give Daphne’s beef and lamb slices a hard pass. Support your local mediterranean shop if looking for a gyro.
These were great. Froze the second pack and used a month later. Use on Naan the first time and Whole wheat pita the second time and both ways it was great. Made my own Tzatziki sauce as well. Simple and easy meal. We had 2 meals out of the bag and some left over for another small one the next day.
Thanks for sharing Roy!
MadMex! You made me laugh out loud re giving it a ‘hard pass.’ I plan to do just that and get the lamb chops as you suggest. Thank you.
This tastes nothing like gyro meat. It has some crazy spice in it that doesn’t belong. I tried to determine the spice but the bag just says spices. The smell is something like the smell from a can of pedigree dog food. This is the worse product I’ve bought from Costco. I will just keep buying the Trader Joe’s.
Daphne’s Beef and Lamb Gyro Slices: this is NOT Meat. IT IS FLOUR STICKS…Completly misleading and tastes awful. Again Not Meat and they have added spices that are not traditional in Gyro Meat. All BoyCott this product.
I would not have guessed that there was a flavor of cinnamon/clove when first trying these, but after reading the reviews and preparing an additional gyro, sure enough, these flavors really did stand out to me. The next one I prepare I will try adding in Greek seasoning to see if that offsets it.
I thought these were good enough for a gyro fix, especially where I live where gyros are hard to come by and try as I might, the homemade meat mixtures I’ve made have been kind of ‘meh,’ as far as texture goes. The seasoning of homemade was better, for sure.
I served them on warmed mini naan with feta, romaine, and cucumber. Would’ve been better with additional tomatoes but I was out.
I did freeze the unopened pack of these and will note that if you go to reheat, it is one giant hunk of meat strips, so when you go to break them apart for heating on the stove, they break into a ton of little pieces. Not ideal, so I would say try thawing first if you have to go the frozen route.
I would probably get them again but knowing that these are a little ‘off’ in flavor but the convenience of them wins out.
Very disappointed ☹️ no real flavor, emphasis on real! 🤢
Package I got has no expiration date. How long do you think it is good for?