Kebab shop garlic sauce – a great fakeaway sauce for the authentic take away experience at home. This easy recipe isn’t just for kebabs: it’s perfect on grilled meat or vegetables, or drizzled over crispy chips. Gluten Free.
Jump To
Kebab Shop Garlic Sauce
This kebab shop garlic sauce is one of those I-know-I-shouldn’t-but-I-just-can’t-resist sauces. It takes bare minutes to make, but works so well on so many dishes that its a crying shame to relegate it to an infrequent treat with a guilty-secret kebab.
It’s perfect for drizzling on grilled chicken or lamb, or you could also use it as a dip for crudités or crisps, or as a sauce for chips or fries that’s a bit of a change from ketchup or mayonnaise, or even as the base for a tzatziki with an extra garlic bite. The perfect fakeaway sauce when enjoying at-home takeaway treats. Try it on our veggie falafel kebabs, a kebab filled with homemade no mayo slaw, or our freeze ahead chicken kebabs.
We’re really lucky with our local source for kebabs; an ocakbasi shop where meat is cooked over charcoal; lamb chops, chicken and lamb kebabs, served with rice, flat breads and fresh salad.
The great thing about making your own garlic sauce is that you can finesse the levels of garlic according to your taste. If, like us, it’s a favourite, then you can load up this sauce; on the other hand, you might prefer to moderate the garlic-ness and have something a bit more nuanced. Or, should you be looking to take out some of the heat and raw garlic bite, then slice the garlic thinly, place in a sieve and pour on a kettle of boiling water. Allow to drain and then crush the garlic and incorporate it into the sauce.
4 ways to make garlic less fierce!
Garlic is delicious, but can be antisocial. Here are a few ways to get all the flavour and reduce the fierceness.
- Slice the garlic, place in a sieve and pour a kettle of boiling water over.
- Roast the bulb until the flesh is soft.
- Peel, pop into a bowl and microwave for 30 seconds.
- Use just a sprinkle of garlic powder
Either way, the classic antidote to garlic breath that you might wish to try is to eat a handful of fresh parsley leaves. And if you want to avoid getting garlicky fingers when making this sauce, use a garlic crusher rather than chopping the garlic by hand. Of course you can go the other way and if you want a full on garlic onslaught what would see off several covens of vampires try my easy allioli, or Catalan garlic sauce recipe.
Serving suggestion
Try this kebab shop style garlic sauce on chicken shish kebabs, lamb koftas, or lamb shish kebabs.
Add a kebab shop salad and a drizzle of kebab shop chilli sauce for the full experience.
If you make kebabs all the time, make up your shish kebab seasoning in advance, and save time every time you cook.
This garlic sauce is also excellent drizzled over my dirty fries.
Kebab shop garlic sauce
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp mayonnaise
- 2 tbsp yoghurt
- 1 clove garlic
- 1/2 lemon zest
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Boil a kettle of water. Slice the garlic thinly, and transfer to a sieve. Pour the kettle of boiled water over the garlic
- With the back of a knife, crush the garlic with a pinch of salt into a paste.
- Mix garlic, mayonnaise, yoghurt, and lemon zest. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
Notes
- This recipe is 2 Weight Watchers Smart Points per portion
If you like this, try our Chicken Chow Mein or my Sticky Soy Chicken recipe!
How about making more of your favourite take away sauces, such as our kebab shop chilli sauce ?
or takeaway Chinese curry sauce?
Andreya
This sounds delicious. Perfect for that kebab shop experience at home.
Helen
Ideal for a kebab at home!
Nikki
oh this sounds delicious! Sadly I have developed an intolerance to garlic … I am gutted as I used to use it in everything!!
Helen
Oh no! that is such a shame. I think you need to experiment with different misos for lots of extra flavour!
Samantha Donnelly - StressedMum
I love kebab shop garlic sauce, I always have this when I have a kebab, I have tried other sauces that I thought would be the same but never found anything that is the same. i am going to be trying this thank you x
Helen
I hope you enjoy it! The trick is to make it just thin enough, and mince the garlic finely enough to be able to squirt it from a squeezy bottle.
Joanna
I love the kebab shop garlic sauce but I never thought of making it myself at home. Indeed it can be a great topping for the homemade wraps! Thanks for the recipe! :)
Helen
So good to make at home, and with no additives, preservatives or emulsifiers. Much more natural.
Candice Nikeia
Kabobs are so much fun to make and this dish is incredible! I love the sauce too! I wonder if it would work on a salad!
Helen
It would be lovely on a salad.
hannah
This looks great. Think i might try making this as i would love to get that take away taste at home
Helen
nothing like the taste of a takeaway at home
Melanie
I love garlic sauce and can’t believe how quick this is to make x
Helen
so quick and easy and hopefully a little healthier than thee sauce from the shop
Rhian Westbury
I do love a good garlic sauce but sometimes I don’t find them garlicky enough so making my own means I could make it stronger x
Helen
Gosh! You are the opposite of me then. I do like garlic, but never too strong
Jemma @ Celery and Cupcakes
Ooh delicious! I love kebab shop garlic sauce…fab tips on garlic breath too :)
Helen
Kebab shop garlic sauce is 9uch a great condiment to make at home.
adriana
Wow this sounds SO good! I have never tried something like this out. I definitely will be making it!
Helen
It certainly is delicious.
Sarah
I love fakeaway recipes! They are so much cheaper & better for you. This sounds like an amazing substitute! Yum!
Helen
there is nothing like a good fakeaway!
Super Busy Mum
This looks incredible! And your photos are beautiful.
Helen
Thank you! We did enjoy the sauce on our kebab!
Emily Leary
Sounds delicious and very fresh tasting, and I love the tips for mellowing garlic’s strong natural flavour :)
Helen
I do like garlic, but too much is too much and really nasty for people near to you the next day.
Sarah Bailey
Oh kebab shop garlic sauce is one of my favourite sauces but we rarely order from the kebab shop so don’t get it too often. Will definitely be making this with a fakeaway kebab, yum!
Helen
our local kebab shop is fantastic. Skewers of meat cooked over hot coals. So delicious!
melisssa major
Oh my goodness this looks amazingly delicious – so much better to make homemade.
Helen
thanks – homemade is so much nicer!
Pam
I had no idea garlic sauce would be so simple and easy. I can think of many things it would be delicious on. Thank you!
Helen
so useful – kebab shop garlic sauce is not just for kebabs!
Monica | Nourish & Fete
Wow, this takes me back to my days as a student in London – I can practically hear the guy at our favorite kebab shop asking “chili sauce!? garlic sauce!?” as if he’s right in front of me! How fun to be able to make this at home. Thanks for sharing! :)
Helen
my late night, post bar, snack of choice was always chips tipped with kebab meat and sauces. So wrong, and so good.
Katie D
One of my favorites! It sounds like it’s very easy to make at home so I’ll definitely have to give this a shot! I may use it on a salad. I saw that suggested in one of the comments and love that idea!
Helen
such an easy salad dressing!
Kristina @ Love & Zest
I do love a good sauce! I am going to have to try this out!
Helen
I am so with you on the sauce appreciation! Most of the time food is much better with a sauce.
Debra C.
Creamy fragrant and flavorful, great combination for a delicious dip! I also really appreciate your garlic tips, thank you!
Helen
Thanks Debra. I do love garlic, but really hate the stink the next day – I’m all for taming garlic.
Amy
This genuinely looks incredible and I can’t wait to show it to my boyfriend! We are such a sucker for kebabs and we can never quite replicate their garlic sauce ourselves. Thank you!
Helen
The sauces make the kebab
Yaya
I’ve always wondered how they make this! Thanks you for sharing this recipe. I can’t wait to make a big batch!
Helen
Enjoy it, but it really is far better when fresher.
Fritha
What. Good idea! I love these sauces but would be so much easier to make myself!
Helen
So much better when homemade with no added nasties.
Simon
Last time I make garlic sauce I put far too much garlic in. Lesson learnt the hard way. This sounds like a such friendlier recipe, must try it out.
Emma Taylor
Garlic sauce is so good over grilled chicken, served with salad and flat bread. I do love a good homemade sauce.
Amber
This sounds so good. Perfect fakeway sauce to have with your wraps at home.
Margaret
My husband would love this, in fact he would like this on just about everything if I allowed it. He will be delighted that I found this recipe.
Becca
I’m not usually a huge fan of garlic, but when it comes to kebabs late at night, it usually finds its way on there somehow. I could make this with less garlic and I’m sure it would be tasty.
Abdul
Can you store this sauce if you bulk make it? If so how?
Helen
Because of the fresh garlic I really wouldn’t recommend it. Once chopped it oxidises and will then taste pretty horrible after a day or so.
Matthew
This tastes nice, but I’ve never had a kebab shop garlic sauce that tastes like lemon. Did I do something wrong? It was only a small lemon that I tested, too…
Helen
Hi Matthew, I don’t understand that at all as the dominate flavour should be the garlic. I wonder if your garlic was especially mild so you could really taste the lemon over it?
The Vivster
Thanks for your recipe. We had pork kebabs and the garlic sauce was perfect. Did add some mint sauce which was recommended from another recipe which we felt was tops.