Homemade Chicken Doner Kebab recipe!!! Carve it up, just like it’s done at the neon-lit kebab shops, then use it to roll up your very own Doner Kebabs or make kebab plates.
This Doner Kebab recipe is marinated in a heady spice mix before roasting the oven or grilled on the BBQ. Great food to make in vast quantities for feeding a crowd!
Doner Kebab recipe
It’s practically an Aussie right of passage to do the post-pub midnight kebab run at some point in your life.
Usually at the tender age of 18 when we hit the legal drinking limit (*cough, cough, no mum, I never drank a drop before then*). Late night outs with uni friends, being booted out of pubs at closing, drawn like moths to the brightly lit kebab stores.
You can’t miss the giant rotisserie of meat that greets you when you walk into a Kebab store. Sometimes, it’s concerning to think about how long it’s been there, lazily rotating around, waiting for the next customer to wander in before being carved.
In kebab shops, they are giant – like the size of a punching bag.
For this homemade Doner Kebab recipe, we are going a little smaller.
Like – 2% of the size. 😂
What is Doner Kebab meat made of?
While the chicken kebab meat does actually look like meat, the lamb and beef kebab meats have a uniform texture that’s a dead giveaway that there’s plenty of non-real-food fillers in them!
As for seasonings / preservatives / additives…. who knows?? (She says, with an exaggerated shrug of her shoulders)
And therein lies the greatest upside of homemade doner kebabs:
You know exactly what’s in this.
So. This teeny homemade doner kebab scores big points in this field – you know this is made with all real ingredients!
Marinate, thread onto skewers, prop on edges of baking pan and bake.
Then carve up that meat, just like at the kebab shop!
Well, a teeny version of it.(Remember, for today, the rule is that size doesn’t matter!)
What’s the difference between Doner Kebab and Shawarma?
Shawarma and Doner Kebabs are prepared and used in similar ways (ie cooked on a vertical spit, shaved and served wrapped in flatbread) but they have different spice flavourings. Shawarma originates from the Middle East whereas Doner Kebabs originate from Turkey.
What to use Doner Kebab meat for
The two main uses are Doner Kebab Rolls and Doner Kebab plates. However, the meat is also used in Pide, Gozleme and even on pizza – I love them all! 😂
To make Doner Kebab Rolls, lebanese flat bread is smeared with Hummus then topped with Tabbouleh (recipe in notes), shredded lettuce, tomato slices, optional onion then a big pile of the done kebab meat drizzled with sauce of choice (I always go chilli).
Rolled up tightly, wrapped in foil then sometimes toasted to make the bread crisp before slotting it into a paper sleeve (like pictured below).
Kebab Plates are a great alternative for something a bit different. I love the variety you get on the plates. It comes with Hummus, Tabbouleh (recipe in notes), tomato, lettuce, Mejadra (Middle Eastern Spiced Lentil Rice that’s so tasty, you can eat it plain) OR Curried Basmati Rice, and Lebanese Bread (aka pita bread). This is pretty much the standard selection that comes on Kebab plates.
Kebab plates are also a good option for a low carb meal – skip the rice and bread, go heavy on the fresh veg.
Whether you make Doner Kebab rolls or plates, both are equally delicious because of the meat! it’s loaded with flavour, juicy with caramelised edges. Just like from the kebab shop! – Nagi x
Doner Kebab recipe
Watch how to make it
Hungry for more? Subscribe to my newsletter and follow along on Facebook, Pinterest and Instagram for all of the latest updates.
Doner Kebab recipe
Ingredients
- 1 kg / 2 lb chicken thighs , skinless and boneless (Note 1)
- Olive oil , for drizzling
Marinade:
- 1 cup plain yoghurt , unsweetened (I use Greek)
- 3 garlic cloves minced
- 1 1/2 tsp coriander powder
- 2 tsp cumin powder
- 2 tsp paprika
- 1 tsp cayenne pepper , optional
- 1 1/2 tsp onion powder
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
- 2 1/2 tbsp tomato paste
- 1 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
- 2 tbsp olive oil
For Serving (choose):
Instructions
- Mix Marinade in a large bowl. Add chicken and mix to coat well.
- Cover and marinate in the fridge for a minimum of 3 hours, 24 hours is ideal. If only 3 hours, add an extra 1/2 tsp salt.
- Preheat oven to 220C / 430F (standard) or 200C / 390F (fan / convection).
- Choose a pan of a size such that the skewers will stay propped up on the pan walls (see photos in post or video) and the chicken will be elevated off the base. Line with foil.
- Remove chicken from fridge. Divide the chicken into 2 piles.
- Take one piece of chicken, fold in half then thread onto two skewers (see video). Repeat and push the chicken snugly up against each other. Repeat with other skewer.
- Prop the 2 skewers on the edges of the baking pan. Drizzle surface with oil.
- Bake for 35 minutes or until the surface is golden with some charred bits (char is good!).
- Spoon the pan juices over the chicken. Then turn, drizzle with oil and bake for 20 minutes (or 25 - 30 minutes if you had large thighs). If you need / want more colour, switch to grill/broil for a few minutes on high - I don't do this.
- Baste again with pan juices and stand for 5 minutes.
- Carving: Stand the skewers upright or on an angle, and slice meat fairly thinly. Use to make Doner Kebabs or Kebab Plates.
Doner Kebabs:
- Place a lebanese bread (or pita bread or other flatbread) on a piece of foil. Spread with a generous dollop of Hummus (or yoghurt - Note 2). Top with shredded lettuce, slices of tomato, Tabbouleh (for a truly authentic experience! Note 3), cheese (I usually go this) and Chicken. Drizzle with chilli sauce if desired (I use Sriracha, it's perfect).
- Roll up tightly and wrap in foil. Consume and be happy!
Kebab Plates:
- Serve chicken with Mejadra (Middle Eastern Spiced Rice with Lentils), shredded lettuce, tomatoes, slices of red onion, tabbouleh, dollop of hummus. Optional to serve flatbread / lebanese bread on the side.
Recipe Notes:
Nutrition Information:
Life of Dozer
At the local markets – no dogs allow inside so Dozer gets ditched in the Dog Parking Area!!
Yum!!! Made this tonight and got a thumbs up from my 15 yr old son which is a tough one to please! Simple to make and very enjoyable. Made the lemon garlic sauce and sooooo good. Thanks so much for the recipe😆
That’s terrific to hear Robyn! So glad your son enjoyed this 🙂 N xx
Is it okay to grill the kabobs, or is this specifically for the oven?
I made this for my family tonight and everyone really liked it!! I will make again! I grilled on a gas grill instead of an oven and cut the salt in half to reduce th sodium some. I appreciate this being shared! Thanks! Jim
Love hearing that Jim! So pleased you enjoyed this so much! N xx
Made these tonight and loved them. I thought I had some tomato paste but went to the pantry and it was gone. Added some harissa in its place.
To me the key was the tabouli. That rocked the whole thing!
I LOVE hearing that Tom! Thanks so much for letting me know! N xx
Hello, my first time here. I saw you mentioned lamb. How long would you cook them and what size pieces would you cut them into? Thanks for doing what you do so well!
Hi Eileen! Have you seen my lamb shawarma? 🙂 https://www.recipetineats.com/slow-cooked-lamb-shawarma/
I love this recipe! I have made it for several family gatherings and it’s now my “go to.” I’m having a unexpected gathering tonight and was able to mix up the marinade but only had chicken tenders. I don’t want to dry them out and the thighs are perfect but I don’t have the time to get to the store ahead of time. Any guidance on how long to cook them? I saw the person who did 45 mins for breasts and was thinking to try 20 mins on each side?
Sorry for the delay responding! I know it’s too late now but I would have said to pan fry them, it would work much better to get the char without drying out the inside and it would only take 5 minutes per batch! N x
Nagi, I just left my dinner table and came here to write to you. These Chicken Shawarma Wraps were amazing. I followed your recipe to a T. My 16 year old said this was the best new recipe I ever tried. Then asked if he can have another one in an hour since he was stuffed but wanted more!~~
Many Thanks from a very grateful family from British Columbia, Canada!
I LOVE HEARING THAT!!! Thanks so much for letting me know Hope! N xx
Hi! Is there a substitute for yogurt, for the chicken marinade? Thanks!
Wow. Thank you so much for such a fantastic recipe. Hubby and I love it. We have it every week now. Such a refreshing and easy meal in our hot summer. I am going to marinade some to take camping with us next week. I am sure we are going to love it in winter too.
That’s terrific to hear Julie! Thanks for taking the time to let me know – N x
I adore your “taste” and your writing style. Thank you and please keep it up! I am preparing this recipe as we speak. It’s marinating. REQUEST FOR YOU: I am a confident cook, but have avoided meat prep for very long and have some skill gaps. Could you please provide a tutorial for preparing chicken thighs? To me, “trim” means remove all WHITE and CONNECTOR PARTS. That leaves me with very little red meat, and also TAKES FOREVER. I see in your photos your thighs are almost in tact. Do you only remove the chunky white fat, and leave the rest? Please consider creating a video on this topic.
Thanks so much for the compliment Sonia and I NEVER PLAN TO STOP! 🙂 As for trimming, I just trim any big fatty bits hanging off the chicken, I do not trim all the fat because it is what makes the thigh SO JUICY!! N x
Just made those today! They tasted great! I always make shawerma on grill not this way and using chicken breasts. These are much better and juicy. I am from middle eastband these shawrma tasted very close to shawrma in my country. Thank you, I love all your recipes.
One of the things I miss about Auckland especially when fast food midnight takeaways are not the best options. Kebab stands are always open late that you can easily drop by and get one. We are now based in Texas, fajitas are good but nothing beats the middle eastern flavor kebab has to offer! I will definitely give this a try.
I love hearing that!!! Sounds like kebab stands here 🙂 Hope you love it! N x
This is amazing! I give it 6 stars! I made it tonight, and used chicken breast on the skewers, and use a bit less salt. I only had to cook it for 45 mintues and it was extremely tender. Great job on balancing out the flavors. This recipe is THE BOMB! Delicous! Can’t wait to check out your other recipes!
I love hearing that!! Thanks for letting me know you enjoyed it! N x
Hi Nagi!
I am from Aruba and I went to study at a university in Holland. Every day, on my way to and from school I would stop at this shwarma store and eat two, on my way for breakfast and then eat another two after school (I do not know how I am still thin!) It must be said that this kebab took me back to my younger years. Sooo good!! We do have a Shwarma store here, but now that I have made this one, I don’t think I’ll be visiting much! My chicken did not rest for 5 minutes though, my husband could not wait any longer! We ate and it has never been so quiet at the table; we savored every single bite. So Nagi I’d like to say thank you. Thank you for not only the wonderful recipe, but thank you for the memories that came along for the ride while I was eating!. I cannot wait to try other recipes from ‘recipetineats’!!
I absolutely LOVE reading that story Jean! Especially that your chicken didn’t rest 5 minutes! 😂
Had these last night and they were delish,only problem was the chicken was too tender to carve and it just fell apart,worked just as well though,made them using your wrap recipe,definite dinner regular from now on.
Glad they were still tasty Kevin! PS Try pushing them together tightly, that helps 🙂 N xx
I just made this it was so easy to do and it was soooo yummy. Was a big hit with my family. I halved the recipe and it fed 4 of us generously.. Definitely won’t be buying chicken kebabs anymore..
That’s so great to hear Ange! Thanks for letting me know – N x ❤️
This was sooo good!
I didn’t put mine a skewers the second time around I just put them on a flat backing sheet. Then toasted rice with pine nuts and pasta. Put it in the rice cooker, then when chicken was done I chopped it up tossed rice in all the good juices in the pan and BAM! Yummy!
That’s so great to hear Gina! Thanks for letting me know – N x ❤️
Delicious! We loved this Nagi; I made this ripper doner kerbab with your flatbread and accompaniments and it was a total winner. Mr Beck has leftover chicken for lunch today and I am officially jealous. It was really hard to put the chicken in the flatbread as we kept eating it off the board as he cut it – and the dark bits are the BEST. Thanks for a yum Sunday dinner!
That’s so great to hear Beck! Thank you for letting me know you enjoyed this – N x ❤️
I made this for Sunday dinner last week and it is delicious. Instead of sandwiches I made them plates with the chicken, tabouli, hummus, lettuce, tomato, cucumber, and some feta cheese. The only thing I would do different is separate the thighs a bit on the “spit” so that they will get crispy all over. Where they were budged up against each other was fine, but they didn’t get nice and crispy edges where they touched. I didn’t get nearly the amount of liquid as you did to baste the chicken, but it was still moist.
I also love this technique to create a spit-roaster on the cheap with equipment you likely already have. This will come in handy for a lot of things. Thanks for the idea!
So great to hear you enjoyed this Beth! Definitely separate the chicken if you want more charred bits 🙂 I copied the way it’s done at kebab shops!! N xx
Yum Nagi, this looks delicious! I did home made lamb kebabs last night using your slow roasted lamb leg with lettuce, tomato, cheese (for some), tabouli (from El Jannahs), tzatzikik (bought, Obela’s), hommos (bought, SSS foods), garlic sauce (from the produce markets) and sriacha. I then toasted them using the sandwich press. Really good.
I noticed in your instructions for tabouli that you used 1 car tomato. I don’t understand what that means? Hoping to make this over the weekend 😊
I was so excited to try this recipe, went grocery shopping last night and was making the marinade at midnight. It was well worth it. I made them tonight. So good. So good! My husband raved about them. I’m in Canada and it almost made me want to throw a bbq in this cold just to make these and impress friends! I dare say this is even better than the donairs (how we call them) we get here.
By the way your chicken wings are awesome too!
So glad you loved this Cher!!! That you considered braving the cold to BBQ this is a compliment! 😂