The viral doner kebab that’s all over TikTok and Instagram? I turned it into a lighter, juicier, quicker air fryer chicken version – and I’m instantly obsessed. Serve it mezze-platter style for an elevated, shareable main that’s perfect for easy weeknights, weekend hosting, or whenever you want a simple crowd-pleaser.
This recipe is my lighter, faster take on the trend made famous by MezeMike – this time with juicy ground chicken and cooked in just 12 minutes in the air fryer.
It’s genuinely such a clever technique for recreating that iconic thin, crispy doner texture at home and I’m still shocked that it works so well.
And because I can never resist a loaded hummus moment, I’m serving it up platter style, layered over creamy super smooth hummus, with a bright tomato-cucumber salad, warm soft two-ingredient flatbreads, and your choice of garlicky sauces for dipping. It’s vibrant, very fun, and perfect for sharing.
Table of Contents
- Why This Viral Doner Kebab Is Different (and Better)
- Ingredients You’ll Need
- How to Make the Viral Doner Kebab (Air Fryer Method)
- Kate’s Tips for Perfect Crispy Doner at Home
- Viral Doner Kebab FAQs
- Like this recipe? Try these easy weeknight dinner ideas next
- Air Fryer Viral Chicken Doner Kebab Platter Recipe
Why This Viral Doner Kebab Is Different (and Better)
- Lighter, but still juicy and satisfying. Ground chicken (instead of the typical beef or lamb) delivers that same iconic flavor, but feels a little less heavy.
- Air fry for speed and ease. The original recipe calls for a longer oven bake, and then an optional pan-fry to crisp up the meat. This version can be cooked in 12 minutes in the air fryer.
- Fabulous for entertaining. Serving it up, mezze platter style, makes it instantly shareable for a crowd.
- Brilliant for meal prep. Pile leftover meat into wraps, salads, toss through rice, or enjoy with crispy baked pita chips and a couple of lovely dips (I love it with creamy spinach and feta dip, spicy whipped cottage cheese dip, or creamy tzatziki sauce).
Ingredients You’ll Need
- Ground chicken. This lightens up the dish, while the rest of the ingredients help keep things juicy. Try to use thigh meat if possible – breast tends to be a bit too dry. You can swap it for ground turkey, beef, lamb, or a plant-based alternative.
- Onion. Keeping the doner meat juicy is more important when we’re using chicken (which is leaner = less juicy by itself). Finely chopping, or processing, the onion into an almost paste-like texture releases its juices and helps to keep the meat moist.
- Spices. There are quite a few spices here, but they should be cupboard staples (apart from the sumac and za’atar). If you don’t have them or can’t find them at the store, just use more dried oregano and ground cumin.
- Greek yogurt. Use full-fat Greek yogurt if possible – though low or zero-fat versions are fine too. This, along with the olive oil and the onion, helps to keep the doner juicy. You can use regular plain yogurt, too, or whipped cottage cheese.
How to Make the Viral Doner Kebab (Air Fryer Method)
- Combine all your ingredients into a mixing bowl – you can do this in a food processor if you have one.
- Mix everything very well until it looks like a thick paste.
- Place about a third of the mixture onto a piece of parchment paper.
- Place another piece of parchment paper on top, then roll into a super thin rectangle.
- Carefully peel off the top layer of parchment paper.
- Roll up the parchment paper on the long side, then slice it in half if you’re cooking it in the air fryer.
- Air fry until lovely and golden and cooked through, then carefully unroll the doner meat.
- Tear the meat, then pile it on top of hummus, with a quick salad, flatbreads, and extra garlic tahini sauce.
Kate’s Tips for Perfect Crispy Doner at Home
- Make sure to roll your chicken doner mixture thinly and evenly between your parchment paper, for the best texture.
- Tear, rather than chop your cooked doner meat once you unroll it. This gives you more of a takeout style finish.
- Don’t skip the extra crisping step if you’re after that takeout style texture – the extra three minutes in the air fryer is worth it for a more authentic result.
Viral Doner Kebab FAQs
You can! Just bake the logs at 400°F (200°C) in the oven for 20 to 25 minutes. Then you can unroll, tear it, and pop it under the broiler to crisp up the edges, or pan-fry for a couple of minutes.
You’ll want to roll it very thinly – about 1/8 inch or 0.5cm – the thinner you go, the more tender and tearable the meat becomes once it’s folded and air fried. It also helps it cook quickly.
Yes! You can mix the doner meat up to 48 hours in advance, and keep it in an airtight container in the fridge. Or you can roll the doner logs and store them in the fridge for up to 48 hours – then just cook them when you’re ready.
The microwave or the air fryer is best – the air fryer will give you that crispy texture, while the microwave will soften it. Air fry at 380°F (180°C) for about 4 minutes.
Like this recipe? Try these easy weeknight dinner ideas next
If you make this recipe, I’d love to hear from you! You can leave a recipe rating and a comment below. And remember to tag @DishedByKate on Instagram, Facebook and TikTok if you’ve made one of my recipes. Seeing your recreations really makes my day 😊.
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Air Fryer Viral Chicken Doner Kebab Platter
- Total Time: 25 minutes
- Yield: 4 servings 1x
- Diet: Low Calorie
Description
The viral doner kebab that’s all over TikTok and Instagram? I turned it into a lighter, juicier, quicker air fryer chicken version – and I’m instantly obsessed. Serve it mezze-platter style for an elevated, shareable main that’s perfect for easy weeknights, weekend hosting, or whenever you want a simple crowd-pleaser.
Ingredients
For the chicken doner –
- 1 large white or brown onion
- 4 garlic cloves, peeled
- 1/2 cup flat-leaf parsley
- 1 lb (500g) ground chicken (or use lamb, beef, pork, turkey, or a plant-based alternative)
- 1 tablespoon ground cumin
- 1 tablespoon smoked paprika
- 1 tablespoon dried oregano
- 2 teaspoons chili flakes
- 2 teaspoons sumac
- 2 teaspoons za’atar
- 2 teaspoons salt
- Black pepper
- 1/4 cup Greek yogurt
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
For the salad –
- 8 oz (225g) cherry tomatoes, chopped (roughly 1.5 cups)
- 1 cucumber, diced
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- Salt
- Pepper
To serve –
- Creamy super smooth hummus (I use about 1 1/2 cups)
- Soft flatbreads (I love these two-ingredient dough garlic flatbreads)
- Garlicky tahini yogurt sauce (optional)
- Creamy tzatziki sauce (optional)
- Egg-free garlic aioli (optional)
- Green tahini sauce (optional)
Instructions
- Prepare the aromatics. Finely chop the onion, garlic cloves, and the flat-leaf parsley – or you can pulse everything in a food processor or food chopper if you have one – until it forms a very fine, almost paste-like mixture. This will help the doner meat stick together and stay nice and juicy.
- Make the doner mixture. In a large mixing bowl, combine the finely chopped onion, garlic, and parsley, then add the ground chicken. Add 1 tablespoon of ground cumin, 1 tablespoon of smoked paprika, 1 tablespoon of dried oregano, 2 teaspoons of chili flakes, 2 teaspoons of sumac, 2 teaspoons of za’atar, 2 teaspoons of salt, a good grind of black pepper, 1/4 cup Greek yogurt, and 1 tablespoon of olive oil.
- Mix the doner meat. Use either your hands (wear gloves if you like), or a wooden spoon or spatula to mix everything until the meat becomes a sticky, cohesive paste. This is important to get that proper ‘doner’ texture.
- Place the meat onto parchment paper. Lay a large sheet of parchment paper onto your counter (about 12 x 16 inches or 30 x 40cm works well). Scoop one-third of the meat mixture into the center. Place a second sheet of parchment paper on top. Use your hands to flatten it into a rough rectangle, then use a rolling pin to roll it out very thinly to make an even rectangle, almost to the edges of the parchment paper.
- Form the doner ‘logs’. Peel off the top sheet of parchment paper and set it aside (you can use this for the next doner log). Starting from the long side, fold the meat sheet over itself a few times – like folding a letter – until you have a long, flat ‘log’. Repeat these steps with the remaining meat mixture.
- Air fry the doner. Slice each doner log in half so they fit in your air fryer basket. Arrange the pieces in your basket, trying not to overlap them too much. Air fry at 400°F (200°C) for 12 minutes.
- Make the salad. While the doner cooks, mix the sliced cherry tomatoes with the diced cucumber, then stir through 1 tablespoon of lemon juice, 1/2 teaspoon of salt, and a good grind of black pepper. Set aside.
- Crisp up the doner (optional). After 12 minutes, carefully remove the parchment paper-wrapped logs from the air fryer. Unroll them on a wooden board, then tear or chop the meat into small pieces. For crispy edges, return the pieces to your air fryer basket at air fry for a further 3 minutes at 400°F (200°C).
- Arrange and serve. Spread your hummus onto a serving platter, then pile the doner meat on top. Spoon the salad around the edges, then finish with a drizzle of your chosen sauce (egg-free garlic aioli, tahini yogurt sauce, creamy tzatziki sauce, or green tahini sauce are excellent here). Serve warm, with flatbreads on the side.
Notes
NO AIR FRYER? Just bake the doner logs in your oven at 400°F (200°C) for 20 to 25 minutes, then unroll, tear, and pop under the broiler for 4 minutes to crisp up the edges.
INGREDIENT NOTES: Try to use ground chicken thigh meat if possible – or a mix – chicken breast can be quite dry even when mixed with the other ingredients. If you can’t find sumac and za’atar, use extra dried oregano and ground cumin.
MAKE AHEAD TIPS: You can mix the chicken doner meat 48 hours in advance, then store it in the fridge until you’re ready to roll and cook. You can also roll the doner logs and pop them in the fridge for up to 48 hours before cooking.
LEFTOVER IDEAS: There are so many wonderful things you can do with leftover doner meat – throw into salads, use in wraps or loaded flatbreads, toss it through pasta or rice, or serve it up with a selection of colorful dips (I love creamy spinach and feta dip, pink beet dip, or whipped spicy cottage cheese dip) and crispy baked pita chips.
- Prep Time: 10
- Cook Time: 15
- Category: better than takeout
- Method: air fryer
- Cuisine: mediterranean
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 200g
- Calories: 515
- Sugar: 7g
- Sodium: 1,620mg
- Fat: 19g
- Saturated Fat: 5g
- Unsaturated Fat: 14g
- Trans Fat: 0g
- Carbohydrates: 48g
- Fiber: 5g
- Protein: 38g
- Cholesterol: 95mg
