The Viral Doner Kebab Everyone’s Making

A couple of weeks ago, reels for a doner kebab recipe were all over my Instagram feed. It looked so delicious and approachable that I decided to give it a try and you should too, because it turned out to be both fun to make and incredibly tasty! What I love about this recipe is how it takes a dish most people assume they can only order at a restaurant and transforms it into something completely doable at home.

What is a Doner Kebab?

It’s a beloved Turkish street food made from seasoned meat cooked on a vertical rotisserie, then tucked into pita or flatbread with yogurt sauce, tomatoes and lettuce. If you’re thinking it sounds similar to gyros, you’re absolutely right. Doner is the Turkish word for “turn” or “rotate,” and when the dish made its way to Greece, it became known as gyro—a name that also literally means “turn,” referring to the vertical rotating spit.

What is the Difference Between Doner and Gyros?

The meat in a doner kebab is typically made from beef and/or lamb, while gyros are more often prepared with pork, lamb or chicken. Doner kebab meat is seasoned with a warm blend of spices such as cumin, coriander and smoked paprika whereas gyros rely more on dried herbs. A doner kebab is usually served with a simple yogurt-garlic sauce, while gyros are topped with tzatziki, a mixture of yogurt, grated cucumber and dill. So, while the two dishes share similarities, they each have their own distinct flavors, but most importantly they’re both delicious!

How to Make Doner Kebab at Home

Most people don’t have a vertical rotisserie in their home kitchen, which is why this method is so approachable for making doner kebab at home. For the meat mixture, I used equal parts ground lamb and ground beef sirloin. I like the balance of flavor the two meats provide, and I choose sirloin because it’s a bit leaner since the ground lamb already contributes plenty of fat. I seasoned the mixture with smoked paprika, coriander, black pepper, granulated garlic, onion powder, and a bit of dried thyme and oregano, plus some minced onion for extra flavor. Every doner kebab recipe varies slightly, so feel free to use the spices and herbs you enjoy—within the general scope of Turkish flavors—to make it your own.

I then divided the meat into four equal portions, each on a piece of parchment paper.

Working with one portion of meat at a time, I covered the meat with a fresh sheet of parchment and flattened it with the palm of my hand.

I then used a rolling pin to roll the meat out as thin as I could, while leaving a 2-inch border without any meat on one of the short ends of the parchment. Peel the piece of parchment off the meat and use it for rolling the next portion to conserve parchment.

Once all the meat was rolled out, it was time to fold. Start from the short end with the meat-free border and make a 2-inch fold over the meat, making sure not to press down too firmly.

Continue in this fashion until the parchment has been fully folded up; it will take approximately four folds. Place on a sheet tray.

Once all the parchment sheets have been folded up, bake at 375° for 25 minutes. Allow to rest for about 10 minutes and then unfold the sheets of meat from the parchment. Tear into approximately 2-inch by 1-inch pieces and place on a platter.

My husband, son and I nestled our doner kebab meat into warmed pita bread and topped it with a yogurt-tahini sauce, marinated red cabbage and a salad comprised of diced tomatoes, cucumbers, parsley and scallions, but simple sliced tomatoes and cucumbers will do the job just as well.

Doner Kebab with Tahini-Yogurt Sauce

Yield: 4-6 servings

Active time: 45 minutes

Start to finish: 55 minutes

For the doner kebab:

1 pound ground lamb

1 pound ground beef sirloin

1 teaspoon smoked paprika

1 teaspoon ground coriander

1 teaspoon ground black pepper

1/2 teaspoon dried thyme

1 teaspoon dried oregano

1 tablespoon granulated garlic

1 tablespoon onion powder

1/2 small onion, minced

Salt to taste

For the cabbage:

2 cups red cabbage, thinly sliced

Red wine vinegar to taste

Salt to taste

1/2 teaspoon granulated sugar

For the tahini-yogurt sauce:

1 cup plain Greek-style yogurt

2 tablespoons tahini

1 clove garlic, minced

2 tablespoons lemon juice

Salt and pepper to taste

Water as needed

Pita bread of your choice, warmed

2 tomatoes, thinly sliced

1/2 seedless cucumber, thinly sliced

1. In a large bowl, measure together all of the ingredients for the doner kebab. Using your hands or a spatula, thoroughly mix together the ingredients until well combined.
2. Preheat the oven to 375°.
3. Lay four pieces of parchment paper on your work surface. Place a quarter of the meat in the enter of each piece of parchment paper.
4. Lay a fresh piece of parchment paper on top of the first portion of meat. Using the palm of your hand, flatten the meat so it’s about 1-inch thick.
5. Using a rolling pin, continue flattening and rolling the meat until it’s as thin as you can make it, leaving a 2-inch strip on one of the short ends of the parchment without any meat.
6. Remove the top piece of parchment paper and save it for the next portion of meat.
7. To fold the meat, start from the short end without the meat and make a 2-inch fold over the meat, making sure not to press down on the meat.
8. Continue in this fashion until the parchment has been fully folded up; it will approximately take four folds. Place on a sheet tray.   
9. Repeat with the remaining portions of meat and parchment.
10. Bake the meat for 25 minutes. Once done, allow to rest for 10 minutes.
11. While the kebab is cooking, marinate the cabbage and prepare the tahini-yogurt sauce. To prepare the cabbage, toss together the cabbage, red wine vinegar and salt to taste. Add the sugar and mix well. The cabbage should be tangy and well seasoned, so adjust to your liking.
12. To prepare the sauce, whisk together yogurt, tahini, garlic, lemon juice, salt and pepper. Add water as necessary to make the sauce drizzly.
13. Once the doner kebab has rested for 10 minutes, unroll the meat from the parchment paper right onto the sheet tray.
14. Using your hands, tear the sheets of meat into approximately 2-inch by 1-inch pieces and place on a platter.
15. To build the sandwich, lay the meat onto the warmed pita. Top with a generous drizzle of the tahini-yogurt sauce followed by the cabbage, tomatoes and cucumbers.
16. Roll up the pita and enjoy!

This is a very doable, fun and flavorful weeknight meal that everyone should try. Post your pictures and tag The Chopping Block to keep the viral trend going!

If you love Middle Eastern and Mediterranean flavors as much as I do, then you won’t want to miss our Mediterranean Boot Camp on Friday, January 30 at 10am or Saturday, February 21 at 10am.