Kebab Shop Salad with Chicken {35 Minutes, Under 400kcal!}
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You know the cabbage salad that comes with your midnight doner, the fresh, crunchy companion to your fave wrap? This is that, but it’s an actual meal. Kebab shop salad is part of my Salads That Last series (you may have found my page through my Mexican Chicken Salad, which is from the same series), with the added trend of tray-baked kebab meat. The spiced chicken mince is baked flat on a tray until it has that golden, doner-style crust. Under 400 calories, 42g of protein, and about £2 a serving. Wohoo!
Recipe Summary: Kebab Shop Salad with Chicken
- ✅ Recipe Name: Kebab Salad / Kebab Shop Salad with Chicken
- 🕦 Ready in: 35 minutes
- 🤝 Serves: 5
- 🍴 Calories: 397 kcal
- 🧑🍳 Main ingredients: spiced chicken mince, cabbage, cucumber, cherry tomatoes
- ✨ Summary: This kebab shop salad with chicken is a full meal, not a side. 43g protein, under 400kcal, ready in 35 minutes, the only kebab salad recipe built for meal prep.
Why you’ll love this recipe
- Kebab salad recipe but make it a full, balanced meal: Every other version out there is purely a cabbage side. This one gives you 42g of protein per bowl, which means it works as a proper lunch or dinner, helping you to stay full throughout your day. For an easy win in your high-protein meal prep routine, this is the one.
- The viral baked chicken mince technique: Seasoned chicken mince gets spread flat on a foil-lined baking tray (hello easy clean) and roasted at high heat until it goes golden and slightly crispy around the edges. We then hand-tear it for a rustic, doner meat feel.
- It actually stores well in the fridge: The biggest complaint in the comments of every other kebab shop salad recipe is that it turns soggy within 24 to 48 hours. This one is built to stay fresh in meal prep containers for up to 4 days. Hence, my series being called ‘Salads That Last’! If you want to try some others from the series, my cold noodle salad & tabbouleh inspired salad are also winners!
- Under 400kcal and £2 a serving: Five generous portions from one tray of chicken and one head of cabbage. I love how much volume the cabbage brings- it’s a massive portion size for the amount of calories so it’s great if you love volume eating.
- Pantry-friendly spices: smoked paprika, cumin, dried mint. Nothing fancy or expensive! And you can also strip it back if you’re feeling less experimental.
Table of Contents
Ingredients For Kebab Shop Salad with Chicken
A few of the hero ingredients in this recipe are worth a special mention:
Chicken mince: The star of the show. I opted for 5% fat chicken mince from Tesco which is only £2.50 per 500g! It’s one of my favourite ingredients for high-protein meal prep. But I love that this kebab salad recipe uses it in a way that I’ve never used it before!
White cabbage: The backbone of every proper kebab shop salad, and the reason this version holds its crunch far longer than any recipe made with lettuce. I’d steer clear of red cabbage as it might turn everything in the container purple, which is not the vibe we’re going for.
Spicy pickled peppers: Little salty hits of spicy flavour throughout. Plus, the a spoonful of the brine goes straight into the dressing and gives it that sharp tang that makes the whole bowl taste as if it came from an actual kebab shop (whilst somehow feeling healthy, I promise) Fresh coriander and parsley: I love using both to amp up the freshness, but if you want to cut the ingredient list I would buy just coriander or even mint as a nod to a Turkish kebab salad recipe.
See the recipe card for full information on all ingredients and quantities.
Variations/ Adaptations
Swap the protein. Chicken mince is ideal for the doner-style bake, but beef mince or turkey mince both work here if that’s what’s in the fridge. Beef gives a slightly richer, deeper flavour while turkey keeps it even leaner. With turkey mince, I’d suggest even though you can buy 2% fat, I wouldn’t recommend it as it would probably dry out too much.
Add a carb base. As written, this kebab shop salad with chicken is low-carb, but if you’re feeding bigger appetites a scoop of chicken broth rice, bulgur wheat or couscous would up the carbs if you’re needing some more energy for the gym. My creamy corn pasta also works brilliantly as a carb-heavy, high-protein pasta meal prep if that’s what you’re into.
Adjust the heat. The spicy pickled peppers are where the kick in this doner kebab salad recipe comes from (I’ve found this can vary massively from brand to brand), so if you’re cooking for your children or anyone sensitive to spice, you could swap them for chopped roasted red peppers or even sundried tomatoes would be a really nice sweet hit in this kebab inspired salad.
How to make kebab salad
Step 1: Combine the spices and grated onion with the chicken mince.
Step 2: Spread the seasoned chicken mince on a foil-lined baking tray and coat with 1 tbsp olive oil.
Step 3: Prep your salad ingredients.
Step 4: Combine the ingredients for your dressing.
Step 5: Once the chicken has cooled, combine everything together.
Step 6: Divide into meal prep containers and store in the fridge.
Tips for the best result
- Cool the chicken completely before tearing and adding to the salad. Adding it warm will steam the cabbage and this will make your salad…not last.
- Squeeze as much moisture from the grated onion as you can before mixing it into the mince. This will maximise the browning and prevent steaming in the oven.
- Thin, even slices are the difference between a salad that lasts 4 days and one that goes limp by lunchtime. I would avoid a mandolin or shredding the cabbage so that it holds up on day 3 and 4 for your meal prep.
- Store the yoghurt separately and only drizzle it on right before eating.
Serving Suggestions
This kebab shop salad with chicken is filling enough to stand alone, but I love making it part of a bigger prep session. My peanut sauce noodles and pea pesto pasta are great to meal prep for dinner alongside this recipe, as they’re higher in carbs.
If you fancied upping the veg, you could have a side of my roasted leeks and sautéed mushrooms. Room for dessert? Try out my sweet potato brownies or chocolate crinkle cookies, because who doesn’t need a sweet treat after a salty, balanced kebab salad.
Leftover Storage and Reheat Instructions
Refrigerator: Store the assembled salad (without the yoghurt) in airtight meal prep containers for up to 4 days. Keep the yoghurt in a separate small pot and drizzle it on just before eating.
Freezer: This kebab shop salad with chicken is not suitable for freezing. The cabbage and fresh herbs don’t hold their texture once thawed, and the whole point of this recipe is the crunch.
Kebab Salad FAQs
Yes, and it was designed with that in mind. Divide everything into 5 airtight containers after assembling and it’ll stay fresh in the fridge for up to 4 days. The only rule is to keep the yoghurt separate and drizzle it on right before eating, otherwise it makes the whole thing wet.
Up to 4 days, which is what sets this apart from most other kebab shop salad recipes that start going limp within 24 hours. The key is keeping the yoghurt drizzle separate, slicing the cabbage not too thin, and making sure the chicken is completely cool before it goes into the containers.
The doner-style technique relies specifically on chicken mince, it spreads flat on the tray and creates that golden, slightly crispy crust that breast simply can’t replicate. If chicken mince isn’t available, turkey mince or beef mince is the closest swap and gives a very similar result.
Regular pickled peppers or roasted red peppers work well if you want to take the heat down.
It takes inspiration from the flavours you’d find in a Turkish kebab shop salad, but this version is far from traditional. I’ve taken inspiration from the flavours and adapted the method to be homemade-friendly.
Under 400kcal per serving, with 42g of protein per bowl.
If you tried this Kebab Shop Chicken Salad, it would mean so much to me if you could leave a review & a star rating to let me know how you found it! I love hearing about your experiences – it motivates me to keep creating more and more recipes for you guys 💛 Let’s get cooking! – Mimi x
Watch how to make this recipe
Kebab Shop Chicken Salad
Ingredients
- 1 kg chicken mince
- 1 red onion half thinly sliced, half grated
- 1 head of white cabbage thinly sliced
- 1 bunch of coriander finely chopped
- 1 bunch of parsley finely chopped
- 1 cucumber thinly sliced
- 300 g cherry tomatoes halved
- 50 g spicy pickled peppers thinly sliced
- 300 g yoghurt for drizzling
- 1 tbsp olive oil
For The Dressing
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 tsp oregano
- Juice of half a lemon
- 1 tbsp pepper brine
- Salt & Pepper
Spice Mix For Chicken
- 1 tbsp smoked paprika
- 2 tsp cumin
- 1 tsp dried mint
- 1 tsp garlic granules
- Salt
- Pepper
Method
- Preheat your oven to 200°C FAN.
- Squeeze the moisture out of the grated onion, then combine the chicken mince, spice mix and grated onion with your hands to thoroughly mix.
- Place on a foil-lined baking sheet and spread to coat the base of the tray. Using an oil brush, brush the spiced chicken mince with 1 tbsp olive oil. Bake for 25 minutes, or until cooked through and golden.
- Meanwhile, prepare all of your salad ingredients and place in a large mixing bowl.
- Combine the ingredients for the dressing.
- When the chicken is cooked and cooled completely, tear into bite-sized pieces with your hands.
- Add the torn chicken kebab pieces, dressing and chopped fresh herbs into the bowl. Use tongs to mix everything, then combine into 5 meal prep containers.
- When you’re about to eat, drizzle yogurt on top and dive in.
Notes
- Cool the chicken completely before tearing and adding to the salad. Adding it warm will steam the cabbage and this will make your salad…not last.
- Squeeze as much moisture from the grated onion as you can before mixing it into the mince. This will maximise the browning and prevent steaming in the oven.
- Thin, even slices are the difference between a salad that lasts 4 days and one that goes limp by lunchtime. I would avoid a mandolin or shredding the cabbage so that it holds up on day 3 and 4 for your meal prep.
- Store the yoghurt separately and only drizzle it on right before eating.
Nutrition
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