This Chicken Shawarma dish will knock your socks off! A handful of common ingredients creates a fantastic Chicken Shawarma marinade that fills the chicken with distinct Middle Eastern tastes. The fragrance when this is cooking is incredible!
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Chicken Shawarma
Because I cook this so frequently, it's one of my signature recipes that all of my friends will recognize. In terms of effort versus result, it's incredible: a few common spices, garlic, lemon juice, and olive oil are all that are needed to create the most amazing flavor.
The fragrance of this chicken is amazing when it's cooking. When I lived in a townhouse complex, it was actually how I met the majority of my neighbors—random individuals I had never met before who came over the fence to ask me what in the world I was doing. When I gave them samples, they were overjoyed!
What is Chicken Shawarma, actually??
The popular Middle Eastern cuisine shawarma is a product of the region. Traditionally prepared as seasoned meats stacked on a vertical rotisserie with tiny slices cut off as it turns, it is a well-liked street dish. Don't worry, though! We can cook horizontally on the BBQ or in a traditional pan!
Although beef is now also used, shawarma was originally made using lamb, goat, and chicken. It is typically served as a wrap, but in other nations, it is also served on plates with salads and sides like fries or seasoned rice. I am providing you with two choices in this dish!
Ingredients in Chicken Shawarma
Here's everything you need to create Chicken Shawarma. I bet you already have most, if not all, of the spices in your pantry!
- Chicken - I like boneless, skinless thighs over breasts for Shawarma because they are more juicy. But chicken breast and tenderloin both work well.
- Lemon juice - fresh!
- Olive oil - Adds flavor while also diluting the lemon juice so it does not "cook" the chicken (like we do with ceviche!).
- Spices: Nothing out of the ordinary! The only one you might not have on hand is cardamom, which is now readily available at any grocery shop. It has a piney, citrusy flavor and is an important element that separates the Shawarma marinade from other cuisines, such as Mexican, which frequently include the other spices in this recipe. In short, do not skip it!
- Spice control - Cayenne pepper adds spiciness to the Shawarma marinade. It is not a crucial component of the flavor, so if you don't like it hot, reduce or eliminate it entirely. I promise you will not feel robbed. This dish has a lot of different tastes!
Sauce options for Shawarma
Shawarma is typically served with yogurt sauce or tahini sauce, which is popular in Israel. Use the tahini sauce from this recipe for Roasted Broccolini if you want to use one.
The following ingredients are needed to make a lemon yogurt sauce:
How to make Chicken Shawarma
The chicken should marinade overnight for optimal results. However, you can get away with marinating for at least three hours because the marinade's flavor and volume are so strong. I've been there, done that many times, and no one has ever voiced any complaints!
- Mix marinade: To save time, simply combine the marinade in a ziplock bag. Because the chicken stays well-coated in the marinade, a bag works best. Turn the chicken many times or add half more marinade if you would rather use a container.
- To the marinade, add the chicken. After removing any remaining air, seal the bag and massage it to coat the outside. Let marinate in the refrigerator for 12 to 24 hours. Even three hours can suffice if you're short on time!
- Yogurt sauce: Simply combine the ingredients and let them sit for at least 20 minutes to let the flavors to combine. In the refrigerator, this will last for three days.
- You can cook chicken on the stove or on a barbecue. The spices will give it a wonderful crust, and you'll love the aroma. It's euphoric!
- Before serving, let the chicken rest for at least three minutes to allow the juices to re-distribute throughout the meat; otherwise, when you slice the meat, they will simply stream out everywhere.
- Simply arrange everything on a tray for serving, then let each person create their own wraps! The yogurt sauce, chicken, lettuce, tomato slices, onion, and warmed flatbreads can be either homemade or purchased. I occasionally cut the chicken into slices if it's a little big. However, I usually just leave them whole if they are tiny.
How to Serve Chicken Shawarma
Chicken Shawarma can be served in two different ways.
- wrappers: As chicken shawarma wrappers, similar to gyros and doner kebabs, served with lettuce, tomato, and a basic yoghurt sauce. Additional optional toppings include cheese and red onion (do you want authenticity? ), hummus, and hot sauce or chilli sauce (but that's okay!).
- Rice and salads are served beside the shawarma dish. Just because it's so on theme, I normally serve pita bread or another kind of flatbread with a generous dollop of either the yogurt sauce or hummus in this recipe. ☺️
Mejadra, a Middle Eastern lentil rice, is so delicious that you may want to eat it by itself! and a Middle Eastern Chickpea Salad (I avoid adding too much kapow spices if I don't flavor the chickpeas).
Some other items that would go well with chicken shawarma include:
- Pilaf with Lemon Rice
- Rice Pilaf with Dried Fruit and Nuts
- Rice Pilaf with Chickpeas
- The flavors of a juicy Greek salad go very well with Middle Eastern cuisine.
- Shredded Cabbage, Carrot, and Mint Salad from the Middle East
- Tahini-Drizzled Roasted Middle Eastern Vegetables
- Pine Nuts and Yogurt Sauce over Roasted Pumpkin
- Roasted Tahini Sauced Broccolini
Great food for gatherings
When I'm cooking for a large group of people, I usually make this Chicken Shawarma and the Vietnamese Noodles with Lemongrass Chicken because they're easy to prepare in bulk, they're both excellent "lay it all out and let everyone serve themselves" dishes (I love that kind of food), and they travel well. On camping vacations, I've prepared this several times (along with the Greek gyros and Vietnamese noodles!).
That menu has a lot of common components and can be made in advance, which is why I adore it.
When preparing this Chicken Shawarma, be ready for the wonderful aromas!
Frequently Asked Questions
Shawarma, a dish created from thinly sliced beef that is stacked and grilled on a vertical rotisserie or spit, comes from the Arabic phrase meaning "to turn." It is extremely well-liked and typically consumed as street food.
Keep in mind that shawarma meat is more heavily flavored than doner kebabs or gyros, and it's all about the thin slices and the sauce you choose to cover them in.
Along with bread, salad, and a sauce of some kind, either the nutty tahini sauce or the yogurt sauce I'm using here.
Serving chicken shawarma as a wrap is something I really enjoy doing. I schmear the sauce on my favorite pita or flatbread, then add sliced tomatoes, a scoop of salad, and the meat. You have a tasty, juicy chicken wrap when you roll it up!
It's simple to make the yogurt mint sauce and chicken shawarma marinade ahead of time!
The sauce may be made and kept in the refrigerator up to three days ahead of time, and the meat can marinade for up to eight hours overnight, making it easy to prepare the day before you plan to serve it. To re-incorporate all of the ingredients, simply give it a thorough toss before serving.
If you tried this Chicken Shawarma (Middle Eastern) or any other recipe on my website, please feel free to leave a 🌟 star rating and let me know how it goes in the 📝 comments below. And remember to tag me on Instagram!
More Easy Chicken Recipes
- 10 Minute Copycat Taco Bell Chicken Quesadilla
- Mayonnaise Parmesan Chicken
- Blackstone Chicken (Easy Griddle Recipe)
- Crispy Honey Chicken
- Buffalo Wild Wings CrockPot Garlic Parmesan Chicken Pasta Recipe
- Crockpot Garlic Parmesan Chicken and Potatoes
- Greek Yogurt Marinated Chicken
- The Best Crispy Chicken Parmesan
- 30-Minute Grilled Buffalo Chicken
- Oven Baked Juicy Panko Chicken
- Easy Oven Baked Chicken Cutlets
- Oven Baked Thin Sliced Chicken Breasts
- Mediterranean Chicken & Rice Bowls (SUPER Easy!)
- Crockpot Cheesy Chicken Broccoli And Rice Casserole
- Grilled Boneless Chicken Thighs
- Weeknight Cream of Mushroom Chicken Skillet
- One-Pot Spanish Chicken And Yellow Rice Recipe
- Dump and Bake Chicken Alfredo Casserole
- Truly Crispy Oven Baked Chicken Wings
Recipe
Chicken Shawarma (Middle Eastern)
INGREDIENTS
- 2 lb chicken thigh fillets
Marinade
- 2 large garlic clove minced
- 1 tablespoon ground coriander
- ½ teaspoon ground cumin
- ½ tablespoon ground cardamon
- 1 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper
- 3 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 2 teaspoon salt
- Black pepper
- 2 tablespoon lemon juice
- 4 tablespoon olive oil
Yoghurt Sauce
- 1 cup Greek yoghurt
- 2 clove garlic crushed
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- lemon juice
- Salt and pepper
To Serve
- 4 flatbreads
- Sliced lettuce
- Tomato slices
- Red onion
- Hot sauce of choice
INSTRUCTIONS
- Put the marinade ingredients in a big ziplock bag and marinate the chicken. To ensure that every piece is coated, add the chicken, seal, and massage from the outside. Marinate for a whole day, or at least three hours.
- Yogurt Sauce: In a bowl, combine the ingredients for the yogurt sauce and stir. It will keep for three days in the refrigerator, so cover and store it there until needed.
- Preheat the stove or barbecue by heating a large non-stick pan over medium-high heat with 1 tablespoon of oil or by gently greasing the hotplate or grills of a barbecue and heating it to medium-high. (Refer to the baking notes.)
- Cook the chicken: Put the chicken on the grill or in a skillet and cook it for 4 to 5 minutes on the first side, or until it is well browned. Cook for 3 to 4 minutes on the opposite side after turning; the second side cooks more quickly.
- Rest: After taking the chicken from the grill, loosely wrap it in foil. Give it five minutes to rest.
- To Provide Service
- Arrange the chicken on a dish with flatbreads, salad, and the yogurt sauce (or this recipe's dairy-free tahini sauce).
- Grab a piece of flatbread and spread it with yogurt sauce to create a wrap. Add some lettuce, tomato, and chicken shawarma on top. Enjoy as you roll up!
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