Sheet-Pan Döner Kebab
Updated December 29, 2025
Rachel Vanni for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Spencer Richards.
- Total Time
- 50 minutes
- Prep Time
- 5 minutes
- Cook Time
- 45 minutes
- Rating
- Comments
- Read comments
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Ingredients
2 medium onions, cut into large dice
¼ cup olive oil
2 pounds ground lamb or 85- to 90-percent ground beef
Heaping ½ cup plain full-fat Greek yogurt, plus ½ cup for the sauce
1 ½ tablespoons smoked paprika
1 ½ tablespoons dried oregano
1 ½ tablespoons ground cumin
1 ½ tablespoons garlic powder
1 tablespoon crushed red pepper (preferably Aleppo pepper), or less to taste
1 tablespoon kosher salt (such as Diamond Crystal)
1 tablespoon black pepper
Lemon wedges, for squeezing
Pita bread, sliced tomato, lettuce and thinly sliced onions, for serving
Nutritional analysis per serving (4 to 6 servings)
16 grams carbs; 114 milligrams cholesterol; 574 calories; 20 grams monosaturated fat; 2 grams polyunsaturated fat; 14 grams saturated fat; 43 grams fat; 2 grams trans fat; 3 grams fiber; 616 milligrams sodium; 32 grams protein; 4 grams sugar
Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
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Preparation
- Step 1
Heat the oven to 400 degrees.
- Step 2
In a food processor, blend onions with olive oil until a paste forms. Transfer to a large bowl.
- Step 3
To the bowl, add lamb, yogurt, spices, salt and pepper. Using clean hands, mix everything until the mixture is evenly brown with no visible pockets of spices or onions.
- Step 4
Place a 12-by-16-inch sheet of parchment paper on a clean counter or cutting board. Top the sheet with a heaping handful of the mixture and lay another sheet of parchment on top. Using a rolling pin, roll the mixture between the two sheets so it’s about ¼-inch thick.
- Step 5
Working from the longest side, begin rolling parchment onto itself like a cinnamon roll. If some of the mixture spills out the ends, it’s OK — just tuck it back in as best as you can. Place the roll onto a rimmed sheet pan.
- Step 6
Repeat the previous two steps with the remaining lamb mixture, laying the rolled parchments next to one another on the sheet pan. (You should have about four rolls.)
- Step 7
Bake until the parchment rolls have released their fat onto the sheet pan, about 20 minutes, and remove from oven. Pour any drippings into a small bowl. Return pan to oven and bake for 15 minutes more, until the parchment begins turning a dark brown. Let cool on the pan.
- Step 8
Once the rolls are cool enough to handle, carefully unroll them: Hold one side of the parchment and lift slightly so the cooked lamb mixture falls out naturally onto the sheet pan. Repeat with all the rolls. They should naturally break into pieces, but if they don’t, you can use kitchen shears to create strips, about 3 inches long for easier pita building. Squeeze a little lemon juice over the cooked meat.
- Step 9
To serve, add the remaining ½ cup yogurt to the reserved drippings and stir. Taste and adjust with more salt and pepper if desired.
- Step 10
Serve cooked lamb immediately with pita, tomato, lettuce, onions and yogurt sauce. Leftovers can be wrapped and kept refrigerated for a few days.
Private Notes
Comments
This is a recipe that could greatly benefit by adding a video showing how to.
Broil the meat after you’ve unraveled it to get it extra crispy! I also tried this recipe with ground turkey and it worked great! Ate it on a bed of cucumber yogurt sauce
@Bill Respectfully, bill, no one is saying you can’t, but then you’d have a smash burger in a pita, which is not the same as a doner kebab. They’re similar in some ways, but not the same. It be that way with recipes.
i made these last night with ground turkey because that's what i had on hand. They turned out really well! I think next time i might add in some lamb and/or beef because the flavor was lacking a bit of oomph and the spices were kind of overwhelming which I'm pretty certain is because of my substitution. I thought the technique was great and gave a good approximation of donor.
This was a fun project and the meat did in fact end up like shaved lamb. A few suggestions for cooks in a hurry. Remember to cut all your bottom pieces of paper first so you don’t have to tear them off with goopy hands as you go. Also you only need to reuse one top sheet - lightly oiled so the mixture does not stick to it. I found using a rolling pin unnecessary. I spread the mixture first with a broad silicone spatula and my hands and then did the final spreading with the top sheet and just my hands and it turned out fine. In terms of ingredients, I followed the recipe exactly, using all lamb and the recommended seasonings. I believed the intensity of the recommended seasonings overwhelmed the delicate lamb flavor. I would definitely use far, far less another time. Maybe use a different meat. As for draining the fat from a heavy, shallow (foil lined) sheet pant two pounds of meat rolling around! Not for me! I managed to remove it from the oven without spilling the grease all over the place but then I lifted the lamb rolls using two broad spatulas and placed them in a second foil line sheet pan for the last stage. I let the first pan cool and the fat congeal a bit before I removed it using its foil liner. I also think disposable foil pans are wonderful for messy situations like this.
@Anna frozen tofu is great!