Greek Recipes
Homemade Doner Meat 🍢
Prep
15 minutes
Cook
35 minutes
Yield
6 -8 portions
Bring the taste of the Mediterranean home with this easy homemade Doner Meat recipe, packed with juicy, spiced beef and lamb. Perfectly seasoned and broiled to crispy perfection, this meat is ideal for wraps, plates, or even pita sandwiches.
If you are like me and love a fresh doner kebab from a street vendor, then you’re lucky because you can bring that flavor right into your own kitchen with this homemade Doner Meat. This recipe takes spiced beef and lamb and transforms them into perfectly seasoned rolls that bake up tender with the perfect crispy edges. Serve it with fresh pita, a Greek salad, and a drizzle (or bath) of tzatziki. No vacation required for this recipe!
❤️ Why You’ll Love This Doner Meat
- Bold Flavors: A mix of beef and lamb seasoned with smoked paprika, turmeric, cumin, oregano, and fresh mint gives every bite a rich, Mediterranean-inspired taste that we all love so much.
- Crispy & Tender: The unique roll-and-bake technique creates a juicy interior while letting the outside get perfectly golden and slightly crispy, just like your favorite doner meat.
- Versatile: Enjoy this Doner Meat as a plated meal with pita, salad, and tzatziki, or toss the shredded meat into wraps, bowls, or even on top of pizza for a quick flavour upgrade.
🍲 Ingredients
Ground Lamb – Lamb is rich in high-quality protein and essential vitamins, such as B12 and zinc, which support energy metabolism and a healthy immune system. Its natural fat content keeps the meat juicy and adds depth to the flavour, making it a perfect partner for the spices in this recipe.
Fresh Mint – Mint isn’t just a refreshing herb; it also contains antioxidants and has been shown to aid digestion and soothe the stomach. For this Doner Meat, it adds a bright, aromatic note that balances the rich, spiced meat.
👩🍳 How to Make Homemade Doner Meat
- Preheat the oven to 400F and set aside a large sheet pan.
- To a medium bowl add all of the ingredients for the beef and lamb mixture – ground beef, ground lamb, grated onion, minced garlic, smoked paprika, ground turmeric, dried oregano, kosher salt, ground pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, ground cumin, finely chopped fresh mint, tomato paste, extra-virgin olive oil and beef stock paste. Knead well with your hands to fully combine – it’s ok to be more of a paste-like texture.
- Divide the meat mixture into 5 portions (about 245-250 grams each)
- Lay out one large piece of parchment paper, a little less than the size of your sheet pan, on the counter. Add one quarter of the meat mixture to it and use your hands / fingers with a bit of water on them to flatten out the meat mixture onto the parchment paper. Then place a second piece of parchment on top of the meat (it should be about the same size as the bottom piece of parchment paper) and use a rolling pin to roll it quite thin (not paper thin). Once rolled out, gently remove the top piece of parchment paper. Then from the long side of the parchment paper with the meat on it, fold the sheet over and over kind of like an accordian in 1-2 inch folds until you have a roll / accordion of meat. Place on the sheet pan. Repeat with the remaining meat until you have 5 rolls on the sheet pan.
- Bake for 20 minutes, remove from the oven, drain any liquid from the sheet pan and then cook for another 15 minutes.
- Let the rolls cool slightly before handling. Then, unroll the parchment paper doner meat and break apart the meat into pieces. Drain any liquid from the sheet pan and place the broken up pieces of meat on the pan. Broil on low heat in the oven until you get some crispy edges, about 5 minutes.
- We love to serve this as a plate with our Fluffy Greek Pita Bread Recipe, Easy & Authentic Greek Salad Recipe and Greek Tzatziki Sauce if desired.
🪄 Tips and Tricks
- Keep Your Hands Wet – When flattening and rolling the meat, dip your fingers in water to prevent sticking and get smooth, even rolls.
- Let it Rest – Letting the baked rolls cool slightly before unrolling keeps the meat from falling apart too early and makes it easier to break into chunks.
- Drain Liquid – After the first bake, drain any liquid from the sheet pan; this helps the meat crisp up nicely in the final broil.
- Roll Evenly – Aim for a uniform thickness so the meat cooks evenly, but avoid rolling it too thin or it will dry out.
- Use Fresh Herbs – Fresh mint really brightens the flavour; dried mint won’t give the same vibrant punch. You won’t get the same effect from dried mint.
🗒 Variations
If you love this Doner Meat, you’re going to love some of my other kebab recipes:
🍽️ Best served with
👝 How to Store Leftovers
This Doner Meat stores great in the fridge for up to 4 days. It can be a great recipe to meal prep for the week for easy bowls or wraps.
🤔 Common Questions
Yes! You can prepare the meat rolls a few hours ahead and keep them in the fridge until ready to bake. Just bring them to room temperature before cooking.
Using just one type of meat will work, though a mix of beef and lamb gives the most authentic flavor and juiciness.
After baking, break the rolls into pieces and broil on low until the edges are golden and crispy. Make sure to drain excess liquid before broiling.
Homemade Doner Meat 🍢
Your Greek mommy that is. 😍 Step into my kitchen to learn how to make yummy Greek food. 🍽️💃
Ingredients
- 450 grams lean ground beef
- 450 grams ground lamb
- 1 large yellow onion, grated and excess juices squeezed out
- 6 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 tsp smoked paprika
- 1 tsp ground turmeric
- 2 tsp dried oregano
- 2 tsp kosher salt
- 1 tsp ground pepper
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 2 tsp onion powder
- 3 tsp ground cumin
- ⅓ cup finely chopped fresh mint
- 1 tbsp tomato paste
- 2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 tbsp beef stock paste
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400F and set aside a large sheet pan.
- To a medium bowl add all of the ingredients for the beef and lamb mixture – ground beef, ground lamb, grated onion, minced garlic, smoked paprika, ground turmeric, dried oregano, kosher salt, ground pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, ground cumin, finely chopped fresh mint, tomato paste, extra-virgin olive oil and beef stock paste. Knead well with your hands to fully combine – it’s ok to be more of a paste-like texture.
- Divide the meat mixture into 5 portions (about 245-250 grams each)
- Lay out one large piece of parchment paper, a little less than the size of your sheet pan, on the counter. Add one quarter of the meat mixture to it and use your hands / fingers with a bit of water on them to flatten out the meat mixture onto the parchment paper. Then place a second piece of parchment on top of the meat (it should be about the same size as the bottom piece of parchment paper) and use a rolling pin to roll it quite thin (not paper thin). Once rolled out, gently remove the top piece of parchment paper. Then from the long side of the parchment paper with the meat on it, fold the sheet over and over kind of like an accordian in 1-2 inch folds until you have a roll / accordion of meat. Place on the sheet pan. Repeat with the remaining meat until you have 5 rolls on the sheet pan.
- Bake for 20 minutes, remove from the oven, drain any liquid from the sheet pan and then cook for another 15 minutes.
- Let the rolls cool slightly before handling. Then, unroll the parchment paper doner meat and break apart the meat into pieces. Drain any liquid from the sheet pan and place the broken up pieces of meat on the pan. Broil on low heat in the oven until you get some crispy edges, about 5 minutes.
- We love to serve this as a plate with our Fluffy Greek Pita Bread Recipe, Easy & Authentic Greek Salad Recipe and Greek Tzatziki Sauce if desired.
Notes
- While lamb is traditional, you could substitute with all beef if desired.
- We love to serve this as a plate with our Fluffy Greek Pita Bread Recipe, Easy & Authentic Greek Salad Recipe and Greek Tzatziki Sauce if desired.
- If you love this recipe, try our Kofta Kebab with Tzatziki + Pita
