Here’s my family recipe for Chicken Shawarma! Juicy and flavorful, bursting with Middle Eastern spices, this recipe turns out delicious every single time. Just read all our 5-star reviews!
My Egyptian father was an incredible cook, and growing up, the smells coming out of our kitchen wafting through the neighborhood were mouthwatering! I always knew when it was time to ride my bike home for dinner. 😉 His chicken shawarma was one of my favorite meals, and it always brought me right back to the streets of Cairo. He had a secret blend of spices that resulted in shawarma that was wildly flavorful and juicy.
As a chef and caterer, I’ve turned to his recipe heavily in our catering business and at home, always with rave reviews! My dad’s recipe is even featured in Men’s Journal; it’s that good!
Chicken Shawarma can be served as a wrap, or over Israeli Salad for a light meal, or skewered and served as a plate with Middle Eastern Rice (or Pita Bread) with a side of Tzatziki, Tahini Yogurt Sauce, Hummus, or Baba Ganoush! The perfect combination of flavors. No grill? Use a grill pan on the stove, or try our Baked Chicken Shawarma!
But, what is chicken shawarma?
Chicken shawarma is a Middle Eastern dish (often served as street food) made by slow-roasting stacked pieces of meat, such as chicken, lamb, or beef, on a vertical spit, and then thinly slicing it for use in wraps, gyros, and mains.
Why You’ll Love it
- Bursting with Flavor: Chicken shawarma is incredibly flavorful and aromatic. The combination of spices like cumin, coriander, and garlic, makes every bite a delight for your taste buds.
- Versatile Serving Options: Chicken shawarma can be served in various ways, giving you the freedom to enjoy it according to your preferences. Whether you prefer it in a sandwich or wrap with tzatziki sauce and fresh vegetables, or over a bed of refreshing Israeli salad, there are so many delicious ways to enjoy chicken shawarma.
- Juicy and Tender: Using boneless, skinless chicken thighs in the recipe ensures that the meat remains moist, tender, and full of flavor. Grilling or baking the chicken adds a beautiful char and smoky flavor, making every bite juicy and satisfying.
- Easy to Make: This grilled chicken shawarma recipe is simple and easy to make at home. With just a few steps and basic ingredients, you can recreate the flavors of the Middle East in your own kitchen. Marinate the chicken, grill or bake it, and then slice it up for a mouthwatering meal.
- Perfect for Gatherings: Chicken shawarma is a fantastic dish to serve when you have guests over or for special occasions. Its vibrant flavors and appealing presentation make it a crowd-pleaser, and you can easily scale up the recipe to accommodate a larger group.
Chicken Shawarma Ingredients
- Chicken thighs: For this recipe, I use boneless, skinless thighs, as thighs are extra tender and juicy. Keep the chicken thighs whole or cut into bite-sized pieces for skewers.
- Shawarma Spices: Cumin, coriander, garlic cloves, kosher salt, cayenne pepper, turmeric, ground ginger, ground black pepper, and allspice are the key spices used to season the chicken.
- Olive oil: Used for marinating the chicken and providing moisture and flavor.
- Optional White sauce: Commonly served with chicken shawarma can be whipped up using garlic, lemon juice, salt and olive oil.
*See the recipe card below for a full list of ingredients and measurements.
How to Make Chicken Shawarma
STEP 1: Make the Shawarma marinade, using whole or ground spices- and stir the spices with garlic and olive oil (or pulse in a food processor) to create a flavorful paste. Tip: if making a big batch, I often place it in a food processor.
Step 2: Coat the chicken thighs well with the shawarma marinade, keeping in mind that the longer you marinate, the better the flavor. Marinate at least 20 minutes or up to 48 hours in the fridge!
Shawarma Grilling Tips:
Since most of us don’t own a rotisserie or a vertical turning spit, the next best way to mimic this technique is to grill the shawarma. You can use a gas grill or charcoal grill. We can do this in three different ways:
- Make Kabobs or skewers!
- Grill whole chicken thighs, then slice.
- Use a grill pan on the stovetop- but be sure to turn on the hood fan.
Step 3: Grill the chicken either whole or on skewers over medium-high heat, until good grill marks appear.
Step 4: Once the chicken gets a nice char, either turn the heat down and cover to cook through or place into a 350 F oven until chicken thighs are cooked all the way through (to 170F).
Step 5: Cover the chicken shawarma with foil and let it rest 10 minutes, and thinly slice!
Storage
Leftover chicken shawarma will keep up to 4 days in an airtight container in the refrigerator and can be frozen for up to 3 months. Reheat on the stovetop or in a 350F oven.
Shawarma Serving suggestions
Serve over a salad. Here, I’ve sliced up the whole Chicken Shawarma to place over a big bowl of Israeli Salad. My favorite meal, so light and refreshing! I love the warm grilled chicken over the cool and refreshing salad, so good!
Serve as a plated main. Grill skewers or whole thighs and serve over Middle Eastern Rice with a Lebanese salad , a veggie like our Zaater Zucchini and a sauce like our tahini yogurt sauce.
Serve as a wrap with pita bread, diced tomatoes and cucumbers, and tzatziki!
Create a Middle Eastern Feast!
Chicken Shawarma FAQs
Shawarma originates from the Middle East and in essence, is deeply seasoned, marinated meat (typically lamb, beef or chicken) that has been stacked on a vertical spit, to roast low and slow for hours on end while slowly turning, nestled up to the gas-burning grill. Shawarma translates to “turning” in Turkish. Once roasted, the meat is tender, juicy, and full of incredible flavor from the spices, and is often thinly sliced and folded into pita, or wraps, or made into a shawarma plate.
Toasting whole spices gives the shawarma marinade a more intense flavor, but using ground spices is quicker and easier and works well too! Use toasted whole seeds or ground spices, or a combo! Cumin, coriander, garlic cloves, salt, cayenne pepper, turmeric, ginger, black pepper, and allspice.
Shawarma is often served with a “White Sauce” that can be whipped up in a food processor or blender. It is typically made with garlic, lemon, salt, and olive oil, similar to a creamy aioli (but without the egg). More often than not, I prefer serving shawarma with yogurt-based Tzatziki.
Though we prefer the flavor of a real grill here, a grill pan or skillet works in a pinch! We also have a recipe for Baked Chicken Shawarma on the blog.
More favorite Middle Eastern Recipes
I hope you give my Chicken Shawarma recipe a try- I know you will love it, just read all the reviews! xo
Love this recipe? Please let us know in the comments and leave a 5-star ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ rating below the recipe card.
Watch How to Make Chicken Shawarma
Chicken Shawarma Recipe
- Prep Time: 30
- Cook Time: 25
- Total Time: 55 minutes
- Yield: 6
- Category: Chicken, Grilled
- Method: grilled
- Cuisine: Middle Eastern
- Diet: Gluten Free
Description
A simple delicious recipe for chicken shawarma that can be grilled or baked – full of Middle Eastern flavor. Serve with homemade pita bread and tzatziki or over Israeli Salad.
Ingredients
- 2 lbs to 2 1/4 lb chicken thighs (boneless and skinless, or skin on- see notes) leave whole or cut into bite-sized pieces for skewers.
Shawarma Marinade:
- 2 tablespoons ground cumin
- 2 tablespoons ground coriander
- 8 garlic cloves, minced
- 2 teaspoons kosher salt
- 6 tablespoons olive oil
- 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 2 teaspoon turmeric
- 1 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 2 teaspoons allspice
Instructions
- Soak skewers in water if using.
- Place all marinade ingredients in a bowl and mix, or pulse in a food processor to make a paste.
- Rub chicken on all sides with the marinade and let sit at minimum 20 minutes (or up to 24-48 hours for the best flavor, refrigerated). You can also cut the chicken into 1-inch cubes and marinate for skewers.
- Grill chicken on a pre-heated grill, on medium-high heat, closing the lid to the BBQ, until all sides have nice grill marks, about 8 minutes each side.
- Move to a cooler part of the grill or finish cooking chicken in a 350 F oven until cooked all the way through ( 170F) , about 10 minutes.
- * Alternatively, you can bake the chicken thighs in a 375 F oven for 30-40 minutes or use a grill pan on the stovetop.
- Enjoy the chicken shawarma over Israeli salad, tabouli, Lebanese Slaw, or with Middle Eastern rice and veggies, or as a sandwich with tahini yogurt, tzatziki, pita bread, tomatoes, cucumber, and red onion.
Notes
Feel free to use boneless skinless chicken breasts, understanding grilling time will shorten. I prefer thighs because they are pretty hard to overcook/dry out.
If using skewers: Make sure to soak wood skewers in water, at least 30 minutes so they don’t burn. Marinate the cubes of chicken in a bowl for at least 20 minutes, before skewering.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 4 ounces
- Calories: 213
- Sugar: 0.1 g
- Sodium: 693.7 mg
- Fat: 12.1 g
- Saturated Fat: 2.3 g
- Carbohydrates: 3 g
- Fiber: 0.6 g
- Protein: 23 g
- Cholesterol: 106.5 mg
Incredible recipe!! Thank you so much!!
My kids kept saying it’s so good!
That’s the best when the kids like it too!
Fantastic flavors! I skewered 1+ inch pieces of chicken together to grill, which made for an appealing presentation. I served the skewers with both tzatziki and green tahini dressing, both of which were great with it.
Thanks Karen!
My white sauce did not work at all – came out as an oily liquid instead. Any advice?
Shoot Julie. Sounds like it did not emulsify. You have to add the oil very very slowly, especially the first few tablespoons! It should get nice and creamy.
This recipe was excellent! The white sauce was wonderful. I am wondering about your thoughts on using the white sauce as a green salad dressing or other suggestions.
Thanks Carol! Yes you can use the sauce on other things- like you would a garlic aioli- veggies, spread, dip, etc!