How to Make Chicken Shawarma!| 60-sec video
What is Shawarma?
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.
Ways to Grill Chicken Shawarma:
Ways to serve Chicken Shawarma:
- Serve as a Sandwich: Wrap the chicken shawarma in a pita or wrap with tzatziki sauce or tahini sauce with tomatoes, cucumbers, red onions or pickled onions and serve as a flavorful sandwich or wrap.
- Serve as a Salad: Serve Chicken Shawarma over a bed of a chilled Israeli Salad – a salad made of very finely diced summer vegetables and fresh herbs. The combination of hot grilled juicy chicken, together with the chilled Israeli Salad is refreshing and delicious.
- Create a Shawarma “Plate” with Lebanese Slaw (or Israeli Salad), Basmati Rice, Tzaziki, or Baba Ganoush, or Hummus, or Labneh!
Chicken Shawarma Marinade Spices:
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
- kosher salt
- cayenne pepper
- turmeric
- ground ginger
- black pepper
- allspice
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 6: Thinly slice!
What is shawarma sauce made of?
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, but I’ll include this white sauce in the recipe below.
What to Serve with Chicken Shawarma:
Pick any of the following!
- Israeli Salad
- Lemony Tabouli Salad
- Lebanese Slaw
- Tzatziki
- Baba Ganoush
- Hummus
- Tahini Sauce
- Green Tahini Sauce
- Homemade Pita Bread
- Basmati Rice (Middle Eastern version)
More recipes you may enjoy!
Grilled 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 ¼ lb chicken thighs (boneless and skinless, or skin on- see notes)
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 teaspoon allspice
White Sauce:
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 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)
- Enjoy the chicken shawarma over Israeli salad, tabouli, Lebanese Slaw, or with rice and veggies, or as a sandwich with tzatziki, pita bread, tomatoes, cucumber and red onion.
- To make the White Sauce, place garlic, lemon and salt in a blender or food processor and pulse until relatively smooth, scraping down the sides. Whilst the motor is going, very gradually drizzle in the olive oil to create an emuslion. Pour into a bowl or jar and refrigerate until serving. (This will keep 4 days, refrigerated.)
Notes
Feel free to use 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.
Keywords: chicken shawarma, grilled chicken shawarma, chicken shawarma recipe, chicken shawarma calories, chicken shawarma calories, chicken shawarma marinade, grilled chicken shawarma
LOOKS GOOD!
Since you mention ISRAELI SALAD… Most Israelis don’t eat DAIRY with MEA, so no CACIK – Turkish yogurt w cucumbers..(TSATSIKI is the Greek, but the origin is Turkish..) and besides, SHWARMA is served with thin mixture of THINA – the sesame paste dip.. [TAHINI is the Greek word, but THINA is Arabic/Hebrew in its origin… means GROUND (the sesame seeds are ground)]
I made this with half chicken breasts and half chicken thighs. Everyone loved it and went back for more! This includes 4 teens, my mother and her friend! I served it with basmati rice and your Israeli salad. Yum!
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Great to hear Marji!
Another 5 Star, amazingly delicious recipe from FAH! Love the fresh veggies and perfectly spiced grilled chicken. Since I discovered FAH, I prefer making FAH recipes to eating out.
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Awwww…. thanks Jeff! Appreciate this so much!
This looks delish! There is a lot of sodium listed though, where is it coming from? A family member has high blood pressure and needs to cut down on sodium. I’d really like to make this.
It is coming from the salt. You can cut it back.
My first visit to your site and I will be back! This recipe is so good and easy to make. The combination of spices on the chicken was perfect- all of my favorites plus allspice! Oh, my! We made the Israeli Salad and the Tzadiki to go with the chicken. I never made Tzatziki before but my husband, who loves his sauces and dressings, said it was exceptional! Had a nice healthy glass of cucumber juice while preparing dinner, too! The salad is so fresh and the combination of herbs and lemon was sublime. Thank-you for posting this recipe!
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My husband grilled the thighs after they had been marinated about 24 hours. I had some concerns the chicken would be over-seasoned for my 88 year old mother in law, but she loved it as much as we did! My 20 year old daughter just asked me for a suggestion for chicken thighs….guess what she will be making tonight? Another wonderful recipe. Thank you!
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Awesome Cheryl!
I love this recipe. I have made it several times for company and everyOne always loves it 🙂 I am notorious to adding my own flair or doctoring to make things better but this simply doesn’t need it. LOVE THIS
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This recipe is a keeper! I have made it MANY times. I always double the recipe to be sure to have leftovers. We love it for lunches or just as a yummy snack in the upcoming few days!
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Made this for dinner and it was a HUGE hit! The only thing I will change for next time is less coriander and cumin. I also made the israeli salad, pickled onions and zhoug. Wrapped it all in a tortilla with hummus (didn’t have tahini) and WOW, DELICIOUS! Your recipes are by far my favorite for the the whole family!! Thank you so much for sharing these!
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Love it Cathi! Thanks for share!
This recipe is absolutely fantabulous. I made it along with the Israeli Salad – (perfect), tzadiki (perfect) and Basmati rice – the combination was sublime. Every recipe of yours I have tried has been absolutely amazing – thank you for sharing.
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thanks so much! Glad you enjoyed them!
I made this today with the grilles zaatar zucchini and labenah. Everything was delicious!
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Awesome Jeannine! Great to hear!
Sylvia, this is a good recipe. The whole family loved it and I love when I can say that.
We had it with Lebanese bread, lettuce, grated carrot, sliced tomatoes and radishes, tabbouleh and garlic sauce. I only made 500g but next time I will make more for planned leftovers. Soooo wonderful, thank you.
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Awesome Claire! So glad you enjoyed! 🙌
Great recipe. Served it with Israeli salad.My family and I loved it.!Thank you.
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Awesome, thanks Cheryl!
Usually I make shwarma as a kebob on sticks. This was new and so easy and delicious with the Israeli salad.
Thanks, glad you liked it!
So flavourful and delicious! We cooked the chicken entirely on the BBQ and it turned out wonderful! We served it with your Isreali salad and it was the perfect summer supper!
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So glad you liked this!
This chicken was fantastic! Definitely keeping this recipe.
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Glad you liked it!
Excellent and authentic
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Quite wonderful!!
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Absolutely delicious! And so easy. I’ve made many versions of this dish and this was the family favorite.
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Thanks so much Deborah!
I must sound like a broken record when I comment on Sylvia’s recipes….quick, flavorful, delicious! Another family favorite! A tad salty, will cut back a bit next time.
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thanks Theresa~
Delicious!! Made it in the oven instead of the grill. Convection roasted at 425 for about 30 minutes. MAde the Israeli Salad to go with it. Fed a crowd and everyone loved it. A keeper for sure!
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We have made this recipe (no changes necessary) countless times and LOVE it!
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Awww, thanks Paige, appreciate the comment! xoxo
SO, SO good!! Really flavorful and great with the Israeli salad recipe and naan! 🙂
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Awesome Virginia- thanks! xo
Favorite chicken shawarma I’ve found. Super easy and delicious. Great with tzatziki, quinoa, tomato, spinach, and cucumber as a Mediterranean bowl. I sear both sides of the chicken in my cast iron pan for a few minutes oh high and then turn to med-low to cook through. Absolutely delicious and will be making again and again.
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Made this for my gf and I with your Turkish Tomato salad (which included ground sumac) and it was a BIG hit!
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This was so good. Made it in the oven with sliced onions, mushrooms and green peppers
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Great to hear! Thanks!
Love this recipe! Have made it with chicken thighs a lot but wondering if you have any tips on making it with salmon fillets??
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Best chicken ever!!!! My family begs to make
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Was very happy with this. Now I don’t have to go to my halal spot anymore
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Came out perfect !! I used the stovetop grill pan. And added sumac as well. Thankuu
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I have made this recipe several times now and every time I get rave reviews. The flavor is amazing and the chicken so moist and tender. It is now a family favorite.
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Delicious. A bit salty but otherwise fantastic.
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This has to be one of the best chicken recipes I’ve ever tried. So delicious. I served it with Israeli couscous
Awesome! Glad you liked it!
This is an incredible recipe, so easy to makeand very delicious. Thanks
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Made the chicken and Isreali salad with your naan recipe, too–such a fabulous summer meal! Great flavor and so easy!
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OMG! Sub’d cayenne with paprika, turmeric with cardamom, awesome!!! Greek yogurt with crushed garlic, squeeze of lemon, salt & pepper. Topped all with cilantro & za’atar. I’m obsessed!
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Hi, I just subscribed to your blog. I love your recipes and photos and your instructions are so clear. I have a question about the paste in the Grilled Chicken Shawarma recipe: is there paste left over or is the entire amount supposed to be rubbed on the chicken? And if left over, can the paste be refrigerated?
yes, of course it can be refrigerated and used again!
This look amazing can you give me the recipe for the who’s in the picute with the chicken please.
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I thin you mean the Israeli Salad ??
Absolutely love this recipe, we make it every few weeks lately. So good with the Israeli salad.
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So glad you are enjoying it! Yes, love it with the Israeli Salad!