Chicken Döner Kebab Recipe
In this chicken döner kebab recipe, chicken thighs are marinated in yogurt, spices, and olive oil, threaded onto skewers, and oven-roasted to perfection.
What Are the Spices in Chicken Döner Kebab?
One of the key spices for this oven-baked chicken recipe is Spanish pimenton. Spanish pimenton is made from peppers that are smoked over an oak wood fire for two weeks, and is often referred to as Spanish smoked paprika. While smoked paprika is not an essential Turkish spice, adding smoked paprika seasoning to this dish emulates the chicken being cooked over an open flame, making it easy to get the flavors of this typical Turkish street food at home.
The Best Chicken Marinade
Yogurt is one of the key ingredients for marinating the chicken in this recipe. Since yogurt is acidic, it tenderizes the meat (we’re talking fork tender here, people). Add lemon zest and lemon juice, along with a perfect blend of spices, and dinner couldn’t be any easier. In addition, feel free to use 1-2 cloves of minced fresh garlic if you like.
Cooking Kebab in the Oven
Traditionally, döner meat is threaded onto skewers and cooked upright against an open flame. In this recipe, threading the chicken thighs onto 2 skewers, and cooking perched on a baking sheet mimics the traditional method. P.S. Lining the baking sheet with foil makes clean-up super easy!
How to Serve Chicken Döner Kebab
Döner is usually served inside a pita with fresh veggies and sauce of some kind. Make a simple yogurt sauce by adding 1-2 cloves of minced garlic to one cup of plain yogurt. Or, try tahini sauce with parsley (linked in the recipe below). A perfect side for chicken döner is fingerling potatoes or sweet potato wedges with chili and cinnamon. I like making up a batch of chicken döner kebab to have throughout the week for salads and sandwiches.
Chicken Döner Kebab Recipe
Ingredients
- 1.5-2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs
- 1 lemon
- 4 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 3 Tablespoons plain yogurt (Greek or regular)
- 1 1/4 teaspoons fine sea salt
- 2 Tablespoons Turkish Chicken Seasoning
Garnish
- handful parsley leaves
- tahini dressing recipe with parsley
Instructions
- Remove chicken thighs from the refrigerator and place in a medium-sized bowl. Zest lemon over top and add juice too. Coat with olive oil, yogurt, salt, and Turkish Chicken Seasoning. Mix to coat chicken, either with a spoon or your hands. Marinate chicken for 30 minutes-24 hours. If you're cooking it within the hour, leave the marinating chicken outside of the fridge.
- When ready to cook, line a rimmed baking sheet that is big enough so to perch metal skewers on top, with foil. My baking sheet and skewers are about 16 inches long.
- Thread pieces of marinated chicken onto 2 long metal skewers and bake at 400 degrees until internal temperature reaches 165F (about 30 minutes). Flip chicken once during cooking, using tongs or hot pads. Chicken may also be grilled. If you like, broil chicken for the last 5 minutes of cooking for crispy yummy bits!
- Remove from skewers and thinly slice for use in a sandwich wrap or over a salad. Serve with tahini dressing with parsley (linked above).