Imam bayildi with BBQ lamb & tzatziki

Name: Imam bayildi with BBQ lamb & tzatziki
Prep time: 16 min
Cook time: 29 min
Total time: 45 min
Yield: 4 servings
Cuisine: Turkish
Ingredients: 3 Aubergine; 2 tablespoons Olive Oil; 1 chopped Onion; 2 cloves chopped Garlic; 1 tsp Cinnamon; 8 Tomato; Bunch Parsley; 12 Lamb Loin Chops; Pinch Paprika; 1 Lemon; 150g Greek Yogurt; 1/2 Cucumber; 2 tbs chopped Mint

By The Spice & Simmer Kitchen · Published May 3, 2026

A one-pot Lamb recipe with Turkish flavors, built for busy weeknights when you want real food without a sink full of dishes. Comes together in roughly 50 minutes, serves about 4, and uses ingredients you can find at any normal grocery store. The technique is simple: build a base in your pot, layer in the main ingredients, simmer until everything has had time to talk to each other, and serve straight from the pan. If you're cooking for picky eaters, this one tends to land — the flavors are recognizable, the texture is comforting, and there's nothing weird hiding in the ingredient list. Perfect for the kind of evening where you want dinner on the table by 7pm and the kitchen empty by 7:30.

Ingredients

Makes 4 servings · 45 min total

3 Aubergine
2 tablespoons Olive Oil
1 chopped Onion
2 cloves chopped Garlic
1 tsp Cinnamon
8 Tomato
Bunch Parsley
12 Lamb Loin Chops
Pinch Paprika
1 Lemon
150g Greek Yogurt
1/2 Cucumber
2 tbs chopped Mint

Step-by-step instructions

Heat oven to 190C/170C fan/gas 5. Halve the aubergines lengthways and score the flesh side deeply, brush with a good layer of olive oil and put on a baking sheet. Roast for 20 mins or until the flesh is soft enough to scoop out.
Fry the onion in a little oil until soft, add the garlic and cinnamon and fry for 1 min. Once the aubergines are cool enough to handle, scoop out the centres. Roughly chop the flesh and add it to the onions. Halve the tomatoes, scoop the seeds and juice into a sieve set over a bowl, then chop the flesh. Add the chopped tomatoes to the pan and cook everything for 10 mins until nice and soft. Add a little more oil if you need to. Stir in the parsley, leaving a little for scattering at the end.
Lay the aubergine halves in a baking dish and divide the tomato mixture between them. Pour over the juice from the tomatoes, drizzle with more olive oil and bake for 30 mins until the aubergines have collapsed.
Meanwhile, mix the tzatziki ingredients together and put in a small serving bowl.
Season the lamb with salt, black pepper and a pinch of paprika. Griddle, grill or barbecue for 3 mins on each side or until the fat is nicely browned, then put in a serving dish and squeeze over the lemon halves. Scatter the aubergines with parsley, then serve with the lamb and tzatziki.

Why this works on a weeknight

Imam bayildi with BBQ lamb & tzatziki lands at about 45 minutes total — a little longer than our 30-minute target, but most of that time is hands-off simmering, which is why it earned a spot in our Sheet-Pan Dinners collection. The technique is forgiving, the ingredient list is grocery-store standard, and the active cooking time is short enough that you can answer a text message in the middle without ruining dinner.

Cleanup notes

This is a single-pan recipe, so the cleanup is exactly one pan, one cutting board, and one knife. While the dish rests, fill the pan with hot soapy water — by the time you are done eating, the residue lifts off with a single pass of a sponge. Skip the steel wool on cast iron; a stiff brush and warm water are all you need to keep the seasoning intact.

Make-ahead and leftovers

Leftovers keep covered in the fridge for up to three days. Reheat in a dry pan over medium-low with a splash of water or stock to loosen the sauce. Imam bayildi with BBQ lamb & tzatziki actually improves overnight as the flavors keep talking to each other, so doubling the recipe and packing tomorrow's lunch is a high-leverage weeknight move.

Filed under 🍳 Sheet-Pan Dinners Lamb Turkish