Greek Main Courses
Giaourtlou Recipe (Thessaloniki Kebab with Yogurt and Tomato)
Γιαουρτλού yah-oor-TLOO · Giaourtlou
Photo: Γιαουρτλού κεμπάπ.jpg by ManosHacker, CC BY-SA 4.0. Placeholder until original photography is shot.
In short
Giaourtlou is a Thessaloniki dish of grilled minced meat kebabs laid over torn pieces of pita bread, covered with a warm tomato sauce and finished with a generous spoon of garlicky yogurt. It reflects the Asia Minor refugee cooking that shaped much of the city's food culture.
Giaourtlou belongs to Thessaloniki's specific culinary inheritance from the Greek refugees who arrived from Asia Minor after 1922, bringing with them dishes built on yogurt and grilled meat that had not previously been part of mainland Greek cooking in this particular combination. It sits alongside soutzoukakia and peinirli as one of the dishes that gives the city's food scene its own distinct identity within Greece.
The construction is layered rather than mixed: grilled kebab meat sits on a bed of torn, lightly toasted pita, a warm tomato sauce goes over that, and a generous spoon of thick, garlicky yogurt finishes it, so each bite carries all three elements rather than everything blended into one sauce.
It asks for real attention to timing, since the yogurt is meant to hit the hot meat and sauce cold, creating a genuine contrast, so it should not be added until the very last moment before serving.
Key preparation steps
- Grill well-seasoned minced meat kebabs until charred and cooked through.
- Make a simple, well-reduced tomato sauce.
- Toast pita and tear into pieces to form the base.
- Layer meat, tomato sauce and cold garlic yogurt just before serving.
The kebab meat
Minced beef and lamb mixed together, seasoned with grated onion, paprika and cumin, worked well and shaped around flat skewers, grilled hard over charcoal or a very hot pan until well charred outside and cooked through. The seasoning here echoes the same Asia Minor influence found in soutzoukakia, leaning on cumin in a way most mainland Greek grilled meat does not.
The tomato sauce
A simple sauce of grated or tinned tomato, cooked down with a little butter or oil and garlic until thickened and well seasoned, needs to be genuinely hot when it goes over the meat, since it is one half of the hot-cold contrast the dish depends on.
Assembling and the yogurt timing
Toast or lightly grill pieces of pita, tear them into bite-sized pieces, and arrange as a base on a warmed plate. Lay the grilled kebab meat over the top, then spoon over the hot tomato sauce.
The garlic yogurt, thick strained yogurt mixed with crushed raw garlic and a pinch of salt, goes on last, straight from the fridge, spooned generously over the hot meat and sauce right before the dish reaches the table. Adding it any earlier loses the specific contrast between the hot components and the cold yogurt that makes giaourtlou what it is.
Tips from my kitchen
Add the yogurt last, straight from the fridge
The contrast between the cold yogurt and the hot meat and sauce is the entire point. Adding it early loses that completely.
Keep the tomato sauce genuinely hot
It is one half of the hot-cold effect. A lukewarm sauce undersells the dish.
Season the meat with real cumin
This is what marks giaourtlou and its Asia Minor relatives apart from mainland Greek grilled meat, which leans on oregano instead.
Giaourtlou Recipe (Thessaloniki Kebab with Yogurt and Tomato)
Γιαουρτλού · by Kalliopi Andreou · updated 2026-07-31
- Prep
- 30m
- Cook
- 15m
- Total
- 45m
- Serves
- 4
Ingredients
For the kebabs
For the tomato sauce
For the yogurt and base
Method
- Mix the minced meat with the grated onion, paprika, cumin, salt and pepper. Shape around flat skewers or into oval patties.
- Grill over hot charcoal or in a very hot ridged pan for 3 to 4 minutes per side, until well charred and cooked through.
- For the sauce, heat the butter or oil in a pan, add the garlic and cook for 30 seconds, then add the tomatoes. Season and simmer for 12 to 15 minutes, until thickened. Keep hot.
- Mix the cold yogurt with the crushed garlic and a pinch of salt. Keep refrigerated until the last moment.
- Lightly toast or grill the pita, then tear into bite-sized pieces and arrange on warmed plates as a base.
- Lay the grilled kebab meat over the pita, then spoon the hot tomato sauce generously over the top.
- Immediately before serving, spoon the cold garlic yogurt over everything and serve at once.
Nutrition, per 1 portion
- Calories
- 486
- Protein
- 32 g
- Carbs
- 24 g
- Fat
- 28 g
- Sat fat
- 12 g
- Fibre
- 2 g
These figures are calculated estimates based on the ingredients listed, not laboratory analysis. Actual values vary with brands, cuts and portion size.
Frequently asked questions about Giaourtlou
Where does giaourtlou come from?
It is specifically associated with Thessaloniki, tracing back to the cooking of Greek refugees who resettled from Asia Minor after 1922 and brought yogurt-and-meat dishes with them that had not previously been part of mainland Greek cuisine in this form.
Why is the yogurt added last?
The dish depends on a genuine contrast between hot grilled meat, hot tomato sauce, and cold garlicky yogurt. Adding the yogurt any earlier than serving loses that contrast.
Can you use lamb alone instead of a beef and lamb mix?
Yes, though the traditional mix of both gives a slightly milder, more balanced flavour than lamb alone, which can taste stronger once grilled hard.
