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
Units
Scale
- 2 lbs to 2 1/4 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 teaspoons allspice
White Sauce:
- juice of one large lemon
- 12– 15 garlic cloves
- 3/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup olive oil, or grape seed oil
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. While the motor is going, add 1 tablespoon of olive oil, blend for 20 seconds, then add another tablespoon of olive oil, and blend for 15 seconds. It should be creamy. Very gradually add the remaining oil, a tablespoon at a time to keep that creamy emulsion. Pour into a bowl or jar and refrigerate until serving. (This will keep 4 days, refrigerated.)
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:
- Calories: 314
- Sugar: 0.2 g
- Sodium: 1088.3 mg
- Fat: 18.5 g
- Saturated Fat: 3.4 g
- Carbohydrates: 4.8 g
- Fiber: 1 g
- Protein: 32.3 g
- Cholesterol: 149.1 mg