We’re really throwing it back here now for those of you who might have LIVED by the king of late-night takeaways – the humble doner. And even if you didn’t, you’re going to love this one for a cheeky weekend fakeaway that manages to be simple, low cost and healthy. Treat your family and friends with this Homemade Doner Kebab.
After a lot of testing and tasting, it turns out that yes, a Homemade Doner Kebab can be easy AND healthy, made in a slow cooker!
Whether you’re serving this for a crowd to pile in their own fillings or a family Friday takeaway, I hope you love it as much as we do.
If you want side dishes for this meal, my Easy Greek Salad would go really well, and you could even make your own Easy Flatbreads with Garlic Butter. You could always make some homemade potato wedges for a bigger meal too.
Why you’ll love this recipe
⭐️ Feels like a big treat
⭐️ Low cost and full of flavour
⭐️ Ideal for serving to guests
About the Doner Kebab
The doner kebab originated in Turkey centuries ago, and it’s thought it arrived in London in its current form (meat and veg inside bread) around the 1960s. I love this Guardian report which talks about the origins of the humble doner, and how it’s so much more than just a post-pub indulgence.
This is my simple, homemade version with inspiration taken from the one we know and hold dear. I’ve kept it as family friendly as possible with budget, nutrition and convenience in mind.
You can also make this in the oven and details are in the FAQs below.
What you’ll need
- Lean mince – you can use beef or lamb here. Whichever is your preference. I find 10% fat works very well, and 5% is also fine but can be quite dry, so be sure to pour over plenty of the cooking liquid if you use this low-fat mince.
- Onion powder – or onion granules.
- Garlic granules – or garlic powder.
- Ground cumin
- Paprika
- Dried oregano
- Garlic – we cleverly roast off a whole bulb here to make the classic garlic sauce but even better!
For the sauce: - Mayo – use whichever type you prefer.
- Greek yoghurt – you can use natural yoghurt here but the sauce will be slightly more runny (which is fine).
- Mint sauce – the vinegary type, not mint jelly.
How to make it
1. Mix the slow cook ingredients (apart from the garlic bulb) together in a bowl with clean hands. You need to knead it with your hands until everything is fully combined and the meat is smooth.
2. Put the meat mixture onto a sheet of tin foil and shape it with your hands into a brick/log type shape.
3. Roll it up very tightly, twisting the ends of the tin foil like a sweetie wrapper to secure. Place it in the bottom of the slow cooker.
5. Cook as per the recipe. When the meat has cooled slightly, unwrap it and use a very sharp knife to slice very thin strips. Drizzle over the meat juices from the bottom of the slow cooker to serve (this is important as it will be quite dry without this).
4. Take the unpeeled garlic bulb (yes a whole bulb!) and wrap up in tin foil. Place alongside the meat parcel in the slow cooker.
6. Make the garlic sauce by squeezing the cooked very soft garlic from its skin. Just hold the bulb and squeeze from the bottom and it will squish straight out. Add the other sauce ingredients and mix well.
Substitutions
- Mince – I used beef but you could use lamb if you prefer. I find 10% fat works very well, and 5% is also fine but can be quite dry, so be sure to pour over plenty of the cooking liquid if you use this low-fat mince.
Leftovers
In the fridge You can keep this recipe in the fridge for 3 days. Reheat fully in a hot pan with a little oil before serving.
In the freezer This freezes fairly well, Just wait until it’s totally cold and then put into a freezer-proof container and freeze for up to 3 months. Defrost thoroughly before reheating in the microwave or on the hob.
The meat slices do tend to break up a little when reheated but if this doesn’t bother you, go for it.
Top tip
Meat temperature – It’s really hard to tell if the meat is cooked through as you won’t be looking at the inside (!), so for this recipe I would recommend checking the internal temperature with a meat thermometer. I find this one to be a good option. There are cheaper ones out there but this one tends to be really reliable.
How to slice the meat: It’s important to allow the block of meat to cool for 15-30 minutes before slicing it or it will fall apart when it’s cut (although it doesn’t matter so much if you’re hungry and don’t mind it crumbling!) You can reheat the slices of meat afterwards if you want it to be super hot. To do this, put the cooking liquid from the bottom of the slow cooker in a frying pan for 5 minutes or until it’s fully reheated.
FAQ
Yes! The texture may be a little courser than the slow cooker version, possibly not quite as juicy, but it will still be delicious.
Follow the recipe instructions up until the point you put it in the slow cooker (but add in the garlic to the wrapped meat instead of leaving it out). Place it in a casserole dish with a tight-fitting lid if you can to stop the meat drying out. Put in the oven and cook at 180c for 1 hour.
Make sure it’s cooked through by using a meat thermometer or cutting it open. Follow the recipe from step 6 to finish.
As well as the meat, we serve it into pittas or flatbreads with shredded cabbage, tomatoes, cucumber slices, and chilli peppers (if you dare!) with a drizzle of yoghurt-mayo-mint sauce and chilli sauce.
Yes, it’s made with lean mince and everything else is fairly low fat too.
Doner kebabs are known for being highly calorific but this one isn’t.
My favourite trusty slow cooker is the Morphy Richards Sear & Stew Slow Cooker for gas hobs as you can brown meat beforehand if necessary (I do try and avoid this most of the time though), or if anything needs a quick heat up after slow cooking. It’s also really light which is a bonus.
For induction hobs, I find that the Lakeland Digital 6.5l Slow Cooker is really good too.
I’d love to know how you got on and what you thought of this recipe if you try it.
Please rate the recipe using the ⭐️ below. Also, if you’d like to show me a photo by tagging me on Instagram (@tamingtwins) I LOVE to see your creations.
Homemade Doner Kebab {Slow Cooker Recipe}
Ingredients
- 750 g Lean mince
- 3 tsp Onion powder
- 3 tsp Garlic granules
- 3 tsp Ground cumin
- 3 tsp Paprika
- 2 tsp Dried oregano
- 1 tsp Salt
- 1/2 tsp Pepper
- 1 Bulb of garlic
For the sauce:
- 75 g Mayo
- 100 g Greek yoghurt
- 2 tsp Mint sauce
Instructions
- Mix the slow cook ingredients (apart from the garlic bulb) together in a bowl with clean hands. You need to knead it with your hands until everything is fully combined and the meat is smooth.
- Put the meat mixture onto a sheet of tin foil and shape it with your hands into a brick/log type shape. Roll it up very tightly, twisting the ends of the tin foil like a sweetie wrapper to secure. Place in the bottom of the slow cooker.
- Take the unpeeled garlic bulb (yes a whole bulb!) and wrap up in tin foil. Place alongside the meat parcel in the slow cooker.
- Cook for 3-4 hours on HIGH or 5-6 on LOW or until cooked through when you test the internal temperature with a meat thermometer (see notes).
- Remove the meat and garlic from the slow cooker. Let the meat sit to cool for 15-30 minutes (save the juices at the bottom of the slow cooker).
- When the meat has cooled slightly, unwrap it and use a very sharp knife to slice very thin strips. Drizzle over the meat juices from the bottom of the slow cooker to serve (this is important as it will be quite dry without this).
- Make the garlic sauce by squeeze the cooked, very soft garlic from it's skin. Just hold the bulb and squeeze from the bottom and it will squish straight out. Add the mayo, yoghurt and mint sauce, mix well. Add a splash of water if you'd like it to be more runny.
- Serve the meat as it is with the usual kebab accompaniments and the garlic sauce, OR reheat the meat, with the slow cooker cooking liquid in a frying pan for a few minutes until hot through (see notes).
Amber Frost says
Made this today for my family. Unfortunately I am a vegetarian , so can’t comment myself. To get a “you can make that again Mum” from my 15 year d son is high prize indeed. Easy to make. The dip, which I did taste is amazing.
Julie dickinson says
Just made this used pork mince was amazing with home made chilli sauce 👍
Angelica says
Super easy and delicious!! The leftover were even better! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Andrea says
So simple to make and so tasty. The roasted garlic sauce is UNREAL. Everyone in the house enjoyed it. I would definitely make again. Would be a great informal dinner for a Saturday night in with friends. My son added feta to his and said it tasted like being on holiday in Greece.
Stathis says
Really nice and easy. We enjoyed it on a Friday night.
Christian says
Looks great. Did you make your own chilli sauce?
Sarah Rossi says
No it’s just sriracha!
Louise says
We had this today. So easy to make and really tasty. Hubby has already asked for it to be made again. Sauce was amazing- made the kebab in my opinion!
Zoe says
Made this last night, it tastes amazing and a huge thumbs up from my picky 10 year old who LOVED it! the sauce is amazing! I’m going to make it for chicken salad wraps!
Karen says
So easy to make, great taste. My 7 year old even ate it all and at last had some cucumber. All three of my boys loved this xx
Paul says
Started making it yesterday and had it today the family enjoyed every mouthfull, although ran out of
Paprika so used cayenne pepper & it cleared all
families sinuses too .
Clare Bristow says
Made tonight with lamb mince and I have to say it tasted 💯 authentic, just like the real thing only better as hadn’t been sat around cooking for goodness knows how long 🤣 will definitely be making this again, an absolutely amazing “takeaway” probably the best I’ve tried yet and pretty much tried them all!!
Rachel says
Very easy and super tasty – will definitely be making again! It was loved by all!
Rachel says
Super tasty and very easy to make. Will definitely be making again!
Ian says
Made this last week and my Wife who hates doner loved it. will certainly make it again, thank you so much for the recipe
Deb says
Wow, what a great recipe! Really fab tasting Doner Kebab, it cut up really easily after cooking and resting. Will definitely be making it again and again.
Gemma Black says
WOW! the best fakeaway ever! And a snip compared to the cost of kebabs from my local takeaway Thank you taming twins. I cooked in the oven as my slow cooker is the tall narrow version so it wouldn’t fit in! I cooked for 1 hr in dish with small amount of water in the bottom, left for 20 mins after, sliced and poured over juices and it was awesome 🤩 and t he mint garlic sauce 😋
Rose says
Husband said it was better than a takeaway!! I used 500g lamb and 250g beef. Really easy to make, followed the tip about cooling before slicing and it worked perfectly.
Anita says
I made this today and it was delicious. I couldn’t get over how easy it was to make. The hardest part was squeezing the garlic without getting any of the skin in the sauce. I wasn’t able to get onion powder but it wasn’t missed.
Lesley says
I sliced the top off the garlic before wrapping it up..as I had the same problem as you last time! Worked a treat this time
Carol says
Just made this and it was spectacular!! Definitely the best Kebab I have ever eaten. So simple to make, thank you for the perfect recipe!!
PINKY says
MADE IT, BUT DIDN’T GET ANY JUICES LEFT IN THE BOTTOM OF MY SLOW COOKER SO IT WAS A BIT DRY. DO YOU HAVE TO PUT WATER IN THE SLOW COOKER TO COOK THIS, OR DO YOU SLOW COOK THE FOIL PARCEL DRY?
Naomi says
Well, what can I say. The proof is in the pudding. I made this for my daughter and I tonight with all the trimmings and the dip, she ate 3 lots and wants some saved for later. I had one lot. I would say its rather filling, whereas she says ‘oh I love you mum, this is the best, chomp chomp chomp, oh err, there’s too much…in my mouf…chomp chomp chomp.” *cough , splutter, scoff “mmmmm, you know how to spoil me mum, chomp, chomp”. So yeah, this is a big hit lol. There was quite a lot left over so I will definitely need to reduce the portion size. Our leftovers went to my neighbour (a bowl of it is in the fridge for my daughter don’t worry), and her kids started to attack it straight away too. TOP MARKS FOR THIS ONE, a new family favourite. Thank you
Michelle says
My hubby loves a kebab. So nice to make at home….cheaper and healthier. The garlic sauce was amazing and will definitely be making again.
Shaun says
This is my first time doing this recede and I absolutely love it. So easy to do and tastes wonderful.
Hayley says
Wow. What an excellent recipe. Incredibly simple too. Made mine with lamb & pork mince (didn’t have enough lamb in the freezer) still came out really delicious. I also used hot Paprika (again all I had) and it put a nice bit of heat through it.
Technically, meant to get 4 portions. I ate too much on the first serving so probably two. 😍